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I have been working thru various systems on my 86 Jeep Comanche. So far I have worked on the following systems 1. Serviced front axle with new u joints on both sides, new brake pads and new gear oil in the differential. 2 .Serviced rear axle with new wheel bearings, brake shoes and brake slave cylinders and new gear oil in differential. 3. Changed engine oil and filter twice. 4. Changed oil in AX5 transmission and NP207 transfer case. 5. The truck came to me with steel wheels mounted 31x10.5-R15 BGF All-terrain tires with about 20% tread left. These rubbed a little bit at certain suspension conditions. 6. Replaced wheels and tires mentioned in No. 5 with set of Jeep alloy wheels mounted with 30x9.5-R15 BFG All-Terrain tires with about 90% tread. No cracks on tires and No clearance issues. 7. Replace plus lead to starter and wire from starter relay to starter solenoid. Originals had burnt on exhaust manifold and shorted together.... 8. Greased every zerk I could find. The oil pressure seems a little low on the 2.8, but there are no knocks and pressure meets the 10psi per 1000 rpm rule with Shell Rotella 15w- 40. The engine leaks oil enough to coat the bell housing and transmission. I think this might be coming mostly from the back of the intake manifold as verse the real main seal as there is more oil towards the top of the bell housing. All things considered, the engine runs pretty well, I have done a couple of 250 mile trips with no issues. Reducing the tire size reduced the overdrive aspect from about 11% to 8% which makes 5th gear a little more usable. The speedo is about 4 mph slow at 55. I usually shift into 5th at about 60 mph. The mileage on a recent long trip was about 16.5 mpg running at about 65 - 70 mph with about 1200 pounds in the back (2 motorcycles and a drill press). Overall, the old truck rattles and one has to slam the doors to get them to latch, but it drives OK. Reminds me of my maternal grandfather, old, cantankerous, and played a mean game of Cribbage. His name was Herman. My grandfather passed away a couple of decades ago, but I think I will apply his name to this old Comanche. Herman. There is a 94 Carmro 3.4 engine waiting in the wings.

Hello. I have an 87 SporTruck 4x2 with the gas 2.5L inline 4 and the AX-5 transmission. My clutch fluid was leaking out of the transmission so I pulled the transmission out and replaced the internal clutch slave cylinder. Then I started driving it again and the clutch engagement point was very low, but if I pumped it up, it would move up, so I replaced the clutch master cylinder too. I’ve got everything really nice and tightened down. I bled it once, and then later a second time. Now my clutch engagement point is moving around wildly and I am very concerned. The fluid level in the little plastic reservoir is exactly the same every time I check it, right at the MAX line. Sometimes it is a long and gradual engagement, and sometimes it is a very short and abrupt engagement. Sometimes it is right near the bottom and sometimes it is closer to the top. I looked around and nothing appears to be leaking, but it’s been wet out and it’s hard to tell. The fluid level hasn’t gone down so I guess it’s not that.

Finally posting my truck after about a year and a half of ownership, I purchased 2 Comanches from a guy in Woodstock, Illinois. One 86 red 2.5, 2wd, dana 35 long bed and one 86 silver 2.8, manual, 4wd, long bed. All I knew about the silver truck was that it supposedly had a wiring/ground issue and was taken apart and prepared to be parted out. They were both purchased for $500, as well as an additional $150 for a stock pile of extra parts. Both trucks had rust on rockers/bed ect., but at 500 for the pair I couldn't say no. They mark the 4th and 5th Jeeps that I've owned at 20 years old, and the MJ is quickly becoming one of my favorite chassis. When purchased the red truck ran and drove but smoked white out of the tailpipe bad, it sat for awhile and i replaced the head gasket and general top end gaskets, including a check on the head, after it was back together it ran better but smoked even more. I sold it on craigslist for $450 after it sat in the driveway for awhile. I purchased a third MJ around 2 months after the first two, I paid $250 for an 89 Pioneer lwb 4.0 4wd with no motor and the trans in the back, floors were rusted but I wanted a specific set of parts for the other truck. The silver Comanche was missing a drivers side floor, no gas tank, no dash, no interior, no steering column, a broken shock mount on the rear bed frame, and a broken leaf spring plate shock mount. The 89 truck had a burgandy interior with bench seat, a column,a long bed camper shell and the general small parts I needed for the other truck. I took a couple of months getting the parts I needed and then cut up the 89 Pioneer and hauled it to the scrap yard. It left me with all the parts I would need and I got to work patching the floor on the truck. An amazon floor pan didn't fit precisely, but I made it work, I put in a brand new grey carpet that matched a flawless grey dash. The burgandy bench seat followed after I had refinished the bench mounts. I wired the necessities into the dash and discovered that signal was going to and from the column with the key but would not start. I rewired the starter relay to a push button start, replaced a broken engine ground strap and the ignition coil, mounted the fuel tank with new straps and it started and ran alright for less than a $1000 invested. After that I installed a 4.5 inch zone lift and put a set of rubicon rims from a jk on that i picked up on craigslist. Redid the headliner too, new radio with new speakers all around, smoker windows waiting to be installed, and a lund visor to top it off. Shes registered, but not insured, driven alright on the road so far except for a scare or two. Just finished up the Ares Fab DIY Front XJ bumper as they're local to me and installed a harbor freight 9,000 pound winch. Hoping to take her on a lot of great adventures this summer and many after that. Pics follow

I have a 1989 Comanche sport truck. It is a 2.5l 4cyl 2wd. I am in the current process or rebuilding the engine and doing a 4wd swap. I have pulled the ax4 as it is worn out with nearly 350,000 miles on it and intend to replace it with a Ax5/np231 combination. I have sourced a pair from a 97 2.5l TJ. Will that bolt up to my '89 block once i get done rebuilding my engine? and is there any serious modification required to do that swap? Any extra electronics on the '97?

ok I'm planning on converting my 92 mj from 2x4 to 4x4, and was wondering how hard it would be to swap to automatic while I'm at it? and what all would be needed?

As many of you know the peugot tranny(AX-5) that came in the renix style MJs is pretty embarassing. I was wondering if anyone knows how big of a deal swapping an AX-15 would be. I have one laying around with low miles mated to a np231. My jeep is an 88 MJ with the 4.0.

AX4/ AX5 internal and external slave bellhousings are the same part. The internal slave model doesnt have the studs for the external slave or the ball stud for the throw-out, otherwise they are the same. And through comparing part numbers, they use the same clutch disc and pressure plate between the two as well. The driveshaft for a short bed 2.5, AX5, 231 combo will work in a 2.5, AX5, 207 combo. This is assuming that the 207 was only used in the 86 model Comanches. If I'm wrong please let me know. The driveshaft I bought said it was out of an 87, so I assume it was with a 231. I was really worried about this one as I bought the driveshaft 3-4 years ago for my project to convert to 4x4. Measuring the differences in the 2wd and 4wd trans setups comes to almost exactly 12 inches longer for the 4wd one, but measuring the driveshafts I came up that the 2wd one was about 13 1/2 inches longer than the 4wd one I bought. Looking at the 4wd one installed on the lift with the rear at full droop, I have about a full half of spline engagement in the t-case output, so looks like I will be good! All I have left now to finish my 4x4 conversion is re attach exhaust, install crank sensor, install the little bracket that supports the t-case shifter, bleed the clutch master and slave. I also have new U-joints to install, but those will come after I can get this thing moving again. And I guess I need a new speedo cable as the 2wd one is way too short now. Never heard about that being an issue before in reading about other peoples conversions. Oh well. Its also getting new park brake cables as soon as I get the chance as well. Mine have collapsed on themselves rendering the park brake useless.