HellCreek

BTW Tom, did you get the Group 34 Duralast? This was for a 1986 Bronco, not my '89 Comanche, so I got a group 24F.

I carried the red top Optima from my Bronco to AutoZone today. It had a bad cell and was out of warranty (3 years free replacement) (I bought it in 2005). I traded it in on a Gold top AutoZone battery which also has a 3 year free replacement plus 5 years prorated warranty. It was half the cost of the Optima. I know some just love their Optimas because you can turn them upside down without leaking, but I like my vehicles sitting on the tires, so it doesn't really matter. Did I mention it was 1/2 the cost? -Tom

I have a red top Optima in my Bronco, and in my opinion I would not waste my money. Mine (2 years old) will not hold a charge for more than 2 or 3 days. The battery that I use in my Comanche, that turned over the starter until the battery ran down, is just a yellow top AutoZone battery. After it sat for a week without being recharged, it cranked the Comanche with no problem. I'm sure that some people love their Optima battery, but for twice the price I would not buy another one, and I am replacing mine with a Yellow top AutoZone. -Tom

EXCELLENT CHOICE on the rear springs !! :thumbsup: (Shameless Plug :oops: ) Some of the guys on here have paired up our rear springs with Rubicon Express front coils and are very happy. Thanks, Tom

Hi, Jonathan, Pete is correct. That price is for a pair of springs (2). Thanks, Tom

Hi, Everyone, Problem solved. It was the starter relay --- or at least that was the last thing I changed. Funny thing was NAPA, Auto Zone and O'Reilly's all said that a 1989 Comanche with a 2.5 L did not have a starter relay. :wall: The local Mom & Pop ordered me one. Eagle, we seem to have gone to the same technical academy. :cheers: Don, from now on I will just disconnect the battery when I change the oil filter. :doh: Thanks, Tom

My relay doesn't look like the 1" square plastic relays used for everything else. It is encased in metal and is about 1" wide and 2" long. It has a 5/16" post at the top with a lot of red wires attached. Under that is a spade terminal with a green wire going to the starter solenoid. Under that are two other spade terminals. One has a green wire going to the ignition, and the other one is a ground. I opened it up and looked inside, expecting to see a melted mess, but it looked brand new, and the contacts were not fused. I ordered a new one anyway. -Tom

Yeah, I know, but the tools were about 50 ft. from the truck, and it was up on the lift at the time. :oops: I take it there was a lot of: " Holy crap! :eek: OH GOD! OH GOD! OH GOD!, What do I do?!?! Jeez! :grrrr: Oh man!" ** **All while running in circles around the truck. Been there, you'lll figure it out. No worries mate. We are here to help. ;) Rob L. Let's just say, "it was scary." :eek:

Yeah, I know, but the tools were about 50 ft. from the truck, and it was up on the lift at the time. :oops:

I had my Comanche on a four post lift and was changing the oil and filter on my 2.5L today, when the oil filter wrench slipped and contacted the starter solenoid. Suddenly, the engine was turning over (a technical term) and wouldn't stop. (Yes, I removed the wrench after it caused a spark.) Since I didn't have a wrench to disconnect the battery, the engine kept cranking (another technical term) until the battery was discharged and the front wheels were left hanging off the lift. The truck was in gear, and the keys were in my pocket. Thinking I had ruined the starter and the solenoid, I replaced them after I got the truck back on the lift, but when I reconnected the battery, the new starter started on its own. Does anyone have any idea what the problem could be? I have already ordered a starter relay. Other than the ignition switch, there is nothing else that I can see in the starter circuit.

We use nothing but rubber bushings now - no squeak. Thanks, Tom

Hi ! I'm still here. Yes, HellCreek on ebay is Hell Creek Suspensions, Inc. Thanks, Dog. Our 3+2 Metric Tonne springs are stock height. Our MJ-3 springs are a 3" lift, and our MJ-4.5 are a 4-1/2" lift. Both of the latter are 4+1 springs. Hope this clears everything up. Tom

I know that no one here as any rust on their Comanche :roll: , but you might have a non-Jeep vehicle that could use some help. I just received this from Handy Magazine, and I wanted to pass it along. http://www.evaporust.com/evaporust.html Thanks, Tom

I have rebuilt several engines, most of which were really cruddy. I have used pretty much everything that you can buy at AZ, NAPA or Wally World, but the best thing that I have ever used is Easy-Off Oven Cleaner. Just spray it on, let it sit a couple of minutes and hose it off. It works better than Gunk, Simple Green, the purple stuff or anything else that Billy Mays would sell, plus it is cheap. Don't let it sit too long on sensors though.

I have pictures of my 2WD Sport Truck with a 3 inch lift and a 4.5 inch lift on our website at www.hellcreeksuspensions.com. They are in the "Customer Photos" link. It is easiest if you use the drop-down list, instead of going through all of the pictures. In both pictures my Comanche has 31 X 10.50 X 15 inch tires mounted on Cherokee aluminum rims. These will give you an idea of what to expect. Tom

"But what about those "gold seal u joints" by tom woods drive shaft. The grease fitting is on the top of one of the caps for the joint." We have a Tom Wood's drive shaft in our CJ-7, and it is a great drive shaft. As for the Gold Seal u-joints, they are good, but really not much better than the ones you get at NAPA or AutoZone, and you don't have to wait for UPS to deliver the latter. By the way, i have the same Cardan joint in my '86 Bronco, and it is a PITA to repair, but it can be done at home.

Our 3 inch lift 4+1 MJ rear springs are actually made from slightly heavier steel than the 1440 lb. capacity 4+1 MT springs, but, since they are also a little longer due to the lift, we rate them at 1440 lbs. We would be happy to make a batch run of the 3+2 MT rear springs, if we thought folks would actually buy them. As you can see from Don's post, we do have the blueprint. The only problem is getting folks to actually buy the springs once they are completed. We have run into this before, making springs that people "really wished someone would make" for their truck, only to have the springs sit on a pallet for two years gathering dust and tying up our money. It's not always true that "if you build it, they will come." I don't mean to sound cynical about this, but we really can't afford to tie up funds in this economy on products that may or may not sell -- someday. Having said that, if four or five people would commit to buy the springs, we will make them. We would have to order the steel and work them into the schedule, so it would probably take about 4 weeks. Thanks, Tom

Hi, Phenryiv1, I looked, and we do not have any 6123 add-a-leaves. I agree with Hornbrod, though, and, in my opinion, add-a-leaves are only a temporary fix -- not a solution. A set of Metric Tonne springs is probably what you are after. Tom

I agree with everyone above on the placement of the leaf within the spring pack. You should NEVER install an add-a-leaf below the factory 2nd stage (overload) leaf. The torque chart in the Chilton's manual shows 15 ft. lbs. for a 3/8" grade 2 bolt and 25 ft.lbs. for a grade 5 bolt.

Hi, Steeler, I will check our stock tomorrow to see if we have any of the 6123 long add-a-leaves. They would be for XJs, so they would be a little shorter than a MJ leaf, but they should work. We are not really big fans of add-a-leaves, even though we do offer them, for the reasons that I have often seen here on this forum -- they have to hold up the rest of the spring pack and, because of this, tend to loose their arch after about a year. They will increase load carrying capacity, but are not really a long term solution for a lift. When we install leaves in our factory, we always re-arch the rest of the spring and fit the add-a-leaf to the existing spring pack. This makes them last much longer. Thanks, Tom

Rough Country has both. 6104 is the short leaf part number, and 6123 is for the long leaves.

What you have are the three leaf springs with the factory two-stage leaf (the thicker one on the bottom) plus an aftermarket helper leaf added. "The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten". Amen, CW

I am running Rough Country (Heckethorn) hydro shocks on my truck with our 4.5 inch lift, and the perform well. They sell for $32.00 each, plus UPS. Thanks, Tom

:agree: That is correct according to the FSM That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

:agree: When you reassemble the engine, all rod cap nuts, main bearing bolts and head bolts should have oil on the threads - not Loctite. This is done so that you get a smooth and accurate torque on those fasteners with no binding. As for the bearings, it looks like there was little or no assembly lube applied before assembly. Dry bearings make for a tight engine and speedy bearing wear. When you reassemble, make sure that you lube the bearings before you lay the crank in the block and the rod bearings and caps as well with either the mix that Eagle suggested or a commercial assembly lube. While you have the crankshaft out it would be wise to pull the camshaft and lube those bearings too. You will already have the timing chain off to remove the crankshaft, and the cam shaft just slides out the front of the block. Also, when you have the engine installed in your truck, before you attempt to crank it, and before you install the distributor, prime the entire engine with oil using a long screwdriver with the handle broken off and attached to an electric drill.