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Hey Guys! I'm down in South Florida, just snagged a 88' Comanche Pioneer for cheap last week! I'm super excited, I'm a big fan of Comanche's. Can't wait for the journey. 88 Comanche Pioneer -2wd Aw4 (doesn't catch in drive, gotta start on 1st) -Floor pan rust (both sides) -Toolbox -Headliner needs work -Dash cracked -Orignal rims -Back window seal leak I'm excited to get to work honestly. I'm taking baby steps and doing it right. Gonna restore, weld, drill and paint my way into a restored Comanche!

Hello Everyone!!! I am officially new to the site, but have been browsing for quite some time as this is the best source of information for my new jeep project. I few months back I was lucky enough to pick up an 88 MJ in good shape. it has the 2.5L, so it is kind of a dog but I'm not trying to race anyone or do any rock crawling at the moment. However, I am in the process of installing a 4.5 Rusty's long arm kit, and ran into an issue late into the project last night; I set the lower arms to right specializations (35 3/8" eye to eye only about 3 full rotations of the joint) and mounted them from the cross-member to the axle, but the axle seems too far forward. After calling it a night I have been doing some research; and I know my geometry on the front axle is all jacked up currently, but could my lower arms be too long? I am pretty sure my manual transmission is an AX5 (since it is the 2.5L), but I recall that the trans cross-member is in different locations of about 2" between the AX15 and the Peugeot(87-89???). The only years that Rusty's notes a difference is 87-89 due to the Peugeot mounting a couple inches forward, but does the AX5 and the AX15 mount at the same location? Thanks!

I'm thinking about replacing my radiator in my 88 4.0. Does paying more for a "high performance" radiator make the difference? Aluminum vs stock? I've been doing some research and came across the Mishimoto MMRAD but I'm not sure I feel like forking over $400. Does anyone have something they really like? Thanks.

Hey. I just did a cluster swap on my 88 4.0 from dummy lights to gauges. So far everything is working fine except the oil pressure gauge. With the truck off, the gauge is at 40. When I'm moving, the gauge just goes up from there. Any ideas? Thanks.

Hey all. I've been trying to buy this 88 Comanche for a couple of months and he hasn't been able to sell it to me because it won't pass California smog. He's replaced the O2 sensor, sparkplugs, wires, catalytic converter, MAP sensor, dist cap, fixed manifold gasket, adjusted the tps, and still won't pass. I don't have the numbers right now but I'll add them later when I get it. Any thought would be helpful. Thanks.

Several months ago i replaced the orginal front axle for one out of a 94 XJ. During the swap i replaced all front end bushings, ball joints, u-joints, and axle seals. I also installed a rough country adjustable track bar (The truck has an unknown lift that came with it). The front end was aligned right after the swap. After the swap i noticed a hard clunk when going around tight turns mainly switch backs, and when hitting bumps while turning. I had the mechanic that performed the alignment try to search for the cause, but he couldn't narrow it down. The one thing he did notice was that the sway bar had some witness marks at the bushings where it looked like it had been shifting side to side. When i got it home i disconnected the sway bar and took it for a ride, and the noice was gone. Thinking that this was an issue with the bushings binding i went and greased up all the sway bar bushings, put it back together, and the noise was back. Today while doing some electrical work i noticed that some of the grease had made its way onto the passenger side coil springs. I went and check the drivers side and there was grease on the frame rail and the road grime had been scraped away. So it looks like this issue may be with the sway-bar or sway-bar links. I did my research before performing the axle swap, but maybe i missed something. Do i need to get a different sway-bar for the 94 axle and/or different end-links? Driver's Side: Notice the vertical scrap on the frame, just above the sway-bar end-link. Passenger's Side: Notice the grease on the coil spring, above the sway-bar end-link.

I figured it was time to start a build thread for my new truck. It's an 88 Pioneer 4.0L with the 5 speed tranny. 2wd. Someone along the line converted it into this "zombie" themed truck. its cool, but not really my style. I posted a wanted add on craigslist and the PO sent me these pictures asking $1500 As you can see, the PO attacked it with Plastidip :doh: I talked him down to $1250, and ended up getting it for $1150 plus a new alternator. I changed the alternator, checked fluids, got title and tag, drove it for a couple of days, and.. Had to get it towed home. $85 down the drain. While driving through some mountain roads, it died on me. Possible bad fuel pump/filter. I also noticed the ground cable from the battery was not connected, so maybe that had something to do with it. While waiting for parts to come in, I installed a new shift knob (I'm still a child at heart) And that brings us to today. Today I removed that annoying buzzer thing, took the doors off, and swapped out the battery for the better one out of my TJ. Tomorrow should result in the fuel filter being replaced, and a test drive up the road to make sure my issue is solved with it. Finally, here are the plans for it. In order of priority. Fix the dying issue Replace some leaky gaskets Replace front passenger side fender Sand off the plastidip PAINT! Brighter headlights Fix parking brake Fix issue with gauges not working Fix gas gauge reading wrong Get one of those nifty "comanche club" stickers This truck is mostly going to be a DD. I have my TJ for offroading, and I would feel like a monster beating this truck up. This will be a pretty slow build. I have no garage or shop, so I'm at the mercy of mother nature.

So, chances are very likely that I will be buying this truck tomorrow. Just wanted to see if anyone on here has seen this truck before, anyone know any of the history on it? Seller says it's an 88, 4.0, 5 speed. Which is everything i'm looking for, minus 4x4. So I'm pretty excited about it. If I do end up driving it home, I'll post more pictures on friday.

FNG here, call me Grumpy. My MJ is NOT pretty. It has led a tough life. Got her off the 'net for $400 . It was sitting under a tree in a self store, with a flat tire, and windows open. The bed was full of some ladies treasures, leaves, and a foot of water. No water in cab, because driver side floorboard was rusted away. Got her home, cleaned her up, had the flat fixed(rusty rim) bled the clutch - and have been running her ever since. Pulled the manifolds and trued them, new fel-pro gaskets. New vacuum tree, new valve cover gaskets. New waterpump, made a new piece to adjust the belt (the little block with threads and a hole at 90*). Hoses, belts etc .E brake cable, Made a boot for the Pukegeot from a glove..... Moved to Texas last year, and she made inspection. Cleared 2 1/3 acres with her, hauled a yard of gravel a couple times. Recently replaced ALL the relays. The Bosh style relays are easy, but the starter relay most sell is worthless. Found a Standard brand that is made like the origional. Clutch finally went out, had the front hitch installed while it was there (Just Jeeps in Austin). Gas tank is leaking so just ordered a tank,pump, and straps fro JCW they had the right Bosh pump. When I finally get a new 'puter I will be able to post pics.

I just picked up a 2wd 88 eliminator and id like to do a 4x4 conversion. What all will i need to do to accomplish this task? I believe all i will need will be a front axle trans and matching t-case all linage involved a bell housing and a front driveshaft. Now this is my plan: I'd like to do a Dana 30 with 4:10 gear ratio, a bell housing from a late 93+ Cherokee with the external slave, an AX15 trans with matching NP231 t-case 23 spline, a new center console to account for the 4x4 shifter lever, and a custom front driveshaft. Now am i able to keep my original rear axle or will i have to swap that as well, And if i can keep it how can i change it to make it work with the 4:10 gear ratio i'm seeking? Let me know if i'm missing or forgetting anything. I'm also looking to give it a 3"-4.5" lift. With that lift what size tire would ​you recommend? I'm thinking of running 35's. ​​ :driving:

Sometimes it is just better to buy something already built. I have wanted a Comanche for a while now and this is almost to the letter what I had in mind building. Couple highlights without going on to much 88 body/chassis with a mix of 88-98 parts Built 4.7 ax-15 ARB front and rear, 4.56 gears 35" tires Warn hubs Roll cage ZJ rear brakes Comanche Club sticker I daily drive this thing. It handles great both on and off road. In the short term a winch and some electrical work. In the long term some body work and paint.

I'll start this off with, this is not a build, it is a hypothetical project that I want to work on in near future. So one day I'm driving around Upstate NY somewhere. And I'm allows on the look out for Jeeps, even have a lame roadtrip game for Jeeps. Then I see a rusty Comanche in a yard. Naturally I pull over to investigate this fairly rare sighting. Go to the owner's porch and knock on the door. He seems confused to see a stranger on his property. I tell him I'm here to talk about the Comanche. I bring up how I am driving my 89 MJ longbed. Instantly earn his respect and attention. Tells me he used to use it in a local offroad club but lost interest. Says I can check it out. Its an 88 MJ shortbed, rusty, carpet sagging through floor pan, I6 4.0L 5 speed, with a bench seat. Stock nothing fancy. Tells me he is ready to sell for scrap price and it is loaded with misc. scrap. I tell him if he can wait awhile, I'll pay more than scrap to save it and make a project of it. He loves the idea. He previously turned down offers from local junkers. I guess he was just holding onto it for such a day. I almost have enough money and a trailer secured to move to a friend's property. Here's my rough plan in kind of order: Get money for owner and make it decently higher than any scrap price. Get car trailer to haul it. Bring it to my friend's property since I have no room for it at the moment. Scrap the misc. stuff out of the bed. Pull the interior and see what is left of the floor. Put the interior on pallets and wrap in tarps to store in barn for near future. Pull the engine and transmission. Sell said powertrain for like $75-100 (170k ish) Pull the tail lights and recondition them per CC instructions. Source a bedliner for the bed and hope it isn't rotted. Find a fuel injected I4 2.5L and automatic transmission that mates up (not most common combo but I've seen them) Find corresponding 4WD system for the truck I want. Find small lift components, thinking 2-3" lift. Find or buy new 30" tires (when close to done) Find holy grail of cool Comanche parts. (Visor, roll bar, buckets maybe, etc...) Get Nates bumpers for front and back. Get the Harbor Freight special roof rack. Get LED lighting inside and outside. (Roof light bar, bumper light bar, A pillar lights, Truck-Lite LEDs, and misc interior too) Hope to have money for a nice tune up and money to register/insure it lol This is all off the top of my head. Hope to update with more ideas. Taking ideas, opinions, and questions is always appreciated!

Hows it going I just got a new clutch kit and flywheel for my 88 Comanche also comes with the hydraulic throw out bearing /slave cylinder... I know how to bleed my clutch but I don't know how to bleed a new hydraulic throw out bearing and I think it has to get bled before installing to prevent it from rupture... can anyone please help me thank you

Hey guys, New to the forums here - Glad to find a club specifically dedicated to these diamonds. For my 22nd birthday my dad bought me a 1988 Comanche 4x4 4.0 5 speed for $140 and some old rock sliders off of my XJ (Pavement Princess doesn't need them.) THE FUN STARTS HERE. Let's break down first impressions. She's missing the whole header panel and passenger side fender. The windshield is cracked. The seat is out of a Grand Caravan, and is secured to the floor with... nothing. It's resting on a piece of wood thats deck screwed into the pan. There is some god-awful form of makeshift wiring harness in the front... I mean nightmareish. The fuel pump is powered by a toggle switch thats mounted in the dash, and it's wired backwards. The Steering column looks like it's out of a 90's model XJ and the dash is spray painted black and red. She doesn't have a tailgate, passenger window, or taillights... I WAS IN LOVE. The Speedometer (Which I later found to be 100% accurate) reads 379,000 miles... Wow. That's a lot even for the venerable 4.0. The young man I was purchasing it from did not have the title but had purchased it from a friend of mine, who apparently had the title. The reason my friend originally bought the MJ was my original XJ that he loved. Interesting how all of the people can be connected in a small town. 5 Speed - I hope it's not the peugot, but I haven't had any better luck with my AX-15's either. We go to pick up a U-haul car trailer from town to tow it home. By now with all of the project Jeeps and Volkswagens we've paid them to tow, we could've bought two cheap car haulers. They refuse to rent it to us, because my mom's 2000 Grand Cherokee V8 4x4 apparently isn't strong enough to haul a Comanche (Which was complete BULLSH*%, as they had rented me a trailer a year prior to haul an XJ with the same vehicle and trailer type...) We went across town to a more Redneck-Friendly U-haul yard. The woman has also rented me a trailer for ANOTHER XJ with the same configuration and never given me a hard time. She followed suit in this case as well, bless her little heart. We go to pick it up - The kid wants the battery and tires back. I told him I would bring them back that night, and he reluctantly let me pull it up on to the trailer. While driving it, I noticed the brakes are done, Which I expected from the get -go. I got it home, and immediately swapped the tires with my superior spare set, pulled his battery, loaded them into my Grand Cherokee and brought them promptly back to his house 6 hours after picking up the truck, in the pitch black, in the middle of tweaker-ville. He later texted me to say that I had restored his faith in humanity for keeping my word, and as a reward he would track down the original bench seat on his property. Still haven't heard back on that one, going on three weeks now... The good list is short. The body that's still there is not in bad shape. The frame is straight. I pulled the horrendous seat and mount, and inspected the interior for rust- Nothing but some slight surface rust. Easily stoppable with some sanding and rust reformer (My primer of choice). She runs, and has a very good amount of power. The transfer case is flawless, and my god can this old girl climb. Now, I do NOT plan on wheeling her, but making her able to if needs be. There weren't enough of these things made to justify that - I'd buy another XJ first... But even in her neutered and stock form I was able to climb a rock face by my pond that not even my beefiest XJ could ever climb... The love grows. The bad list, including the above initial things I noticed, runs deep. I discovered it was being prepared and stripped to become a pre-runner or tough truck. The front suspension looks to have been stripped down a tad. The wiring harnesses are messy as hell. The Fuse block is damaged in the footwell, and definitely Needs to be replaced. So here's my plan: Full, ground up tear down and wiring replacement. Body, paint, and interior. Going either black or silver. Front end 97+ XJ upgrade. Customized bed- Possible removable camping setup- this will be in the future but I really want to experiment. POSSIBLE High output conversion. If I go this route, i'm going to try to find a 91-96 XJ and rip all of the wiring and drivetrain out of it and swap it. She's getting the works in regards to Power and accessories- roof console with temp gauge, power doors and locks, 2 door XJ Bucket seats. While I'm fixing the suspension and such I will be lifting her anywhere from 2 to 4.5 inches. This all depends on pricing and such. I may leave it stock height and focus on tanking it out. I'd like experiment with body armor. Various other odds and ends. The fun part so far has been tracking down the title. The DMV understandably believes that anyone trying to find the last registered owner of a vehicle is a stalker and cannot be trusted. I was able to find out that there is a lien on the title from a dealership that no longer exists. after spending a solid few hours on the phone with the Secretary of State I was able to receive a signed and notarized form stating that they no longer exist, which in effect makes this null and void and should no longer cause an issue with the titling process. After many days of hunting I was able to find the last Gentleman that owned the MJ - Turns out I got lucky. He is incredibly friendly, glad to see that she hasn't been destroyed completely by tweakers and is doing everything he can to find the title. The truck was originally purchased Brand-New off the lot in Grants Pass, OR by his grandmother. Finding this out is incredibly cool... I've never owned a vehicle that I can trace the full lines of ownership with. This is how I found out it really has 380k miles, and still runs as well as it does. He also says he has some parts laying around, and only asked that he could keep the glove box lock he stole from it in his s-10 ad to receive updates on the progress of the MJ as I bring it back (He almost invited me to his wedding, though we had never met.. I was more than happy to oblige, considering the possible hell he is willing to go through to help me track down the title. So there it is! Much more to share and update later, but for now the fun begins. I live in Eugene, and travel back to Grants Pass (2.25 hour drive) at least 4 times a month, where the MJ is located. For now, I'm going to start collecting parts and research all of my options. If you folks have any input to offer, or helpful advice, feel free to shoot me a message. Hope you enjoyed the abridged version of my adventure so far - Cheers!

HOWDY ALL! So I've been lurking around here for a while researching MJ's and making the decision to buy my first one. I've got an XJ already, but really wanted a long-bed to use for camping on forest roads and as a ski chalet in the winter. Ultimately, I'd like to do a full 4wd (maybe auto) HO swap with 97+ facelift (lmk your opinions on that one), 3" lift and all the comforts of home inside a nice topper. I'm going to try to make this a fun to read thread with lots of updates. I'm making my posts in blue so it's easy to follow. Thanks for reading! Being married, our budget is small; so I had to be frugal and wait until an exactly right MJ came around. Requirements were: It had to be 4.0L, long-bed with bench seat. I determined that they are all difficult swaps to manage if you don't already have a MJ with it from the factory. Thanks Craigslist: 1988 Pioneer longbox, 4.0L, 2WD, 5speed, with bench seat. $700 and a 255 mile mad dash to be the first one to it. There's no shortage of things wrong with it, but it drove home at 60+mph ignoring ominous u-joint vibration while managing a stunning 255 MILES ON LESS THAN 15 GALLONS. Thinking of U-joint noise. I'm sure it has something to do with this mess of a XJ SOA swap with serious pinion angle issues: Floors aren't too bad though-- should clean right up: The bed and panels have some big dents but the cab and rockers are clean and the panel gaps look straight, so I'm willing to overlook them and wait for replacement: The driver door was almost ripped off in some sort of reverse over-opening snafu. I'm super familiar with this damage because both myself and my brother have done it. Go figure. I really enjoy the PO's charming bathroom door sliding bolt lock: My first thought was that I can easily re-position the door and get it to close. Then I saw this: "Dude, where's my striker?" Further investigation reveals someone was learning to weld while attempting to repair the oh-so-common MJ/XJ hinge issue. More to come! Loaner topper to keep parts dry: JAN 2015 STATUS: Replaced/New parts (excluding basic maintenance stuff)- D44 with Tracloc 3" Lift Open cooing system Fuse box and 100% of the interior wiring. Steering column Dashboard and all interior panels swapped to black Vinyl floor w jute padding and POR-15 Headliner Full gauges Refurbished damper box Foam firewall pad Front brush guard Brake prop. valve Brake front calipers, rear cylinders and some lines Pedal assembly U-joints Wheel bearings Wheels & tires Bed (w topper) Exhaust Doors (w broken hinge repair on d. side and missing striker pin replacement) Windshield Rear Glass Wiper motor & mechanism 91+ Lighting harness Probably a million little things that I forgot!

1988 Jeep Comanche Pioneer 4x4, Limited Edition "Olympic Comanche." Only 71,300 original miles! 6 cylinder, 4.0 liter engine, 5-speed manual, bed liner, metal tool box, sliding rear window, new tires, AM/FM/CD. A must see truck! Hard to find another all-original in better condition. Price negotiable. Please call (570) 407-4152 for additional details. http://scranton.craigslist.org/cto/3955560438.html Very nice but very expensive for a 25 year old truck. Not mine.

Hey there Comanche Club. Noobie here. Just wanted to start this as my Build Progresses. Few weeks back I Picked up this beauty an 88 4.0 shortbed Comanche for $1100. Besides the cancer i think she is pretty. Yes I Plow with her. The previous owner had already done some Mods, check out the interior Also Has the 4 inch lift and Nice tires. has the x15 tranny. Frame looks to have no rot surprising up this side of the east coast. Now only owned her for a few weeks and have had to do a break line, waterpump, thermostat and replaced a cracked housing around the water pump. I was going to wait for the warmer months to start my own build. then ther other day this happened.... So now i have the perfect excuse to start the build sooner :) on to the good stuff- What i plan to do first, Danna 44's Front and rear 3:55 ratio, rear disc breaks. Full Front Suspension Replacement Trackbar,Steering Stabalizer, Control Arms (poly Graphite bushings), Skyjacker Soft Rides, and of course Ball Joints. Convert from foot pedal to Custom Hand break. Also plan to rewire the cab as it looks as if it was not the previous owners forte ;) (fuse taps are bad mmkay, shorting out and being pulled out anytime you clutch) Thats it for the imediate project. After that is finished ill be getting new doors and ripping out the interior to check under those carpets for cancer. and replace the fenders. then I plan to Rhino Line the whole truck nice and Black ;) then customer bumpers in the long haul with a sealed tank ;) and nice winch. then have some fun with her off road in the quarries out westward. this is just a beginning to keep myself a bit organized and let everyone see there is still newbies out there reviving old comanches and loving them everybit! any input or advice is always appreciated. thanks for keeping the old jeeps alive and kicking and thanks for all the inspiration !!