new to the commanche and i have a few ?'s

[mx215]

Hey guys i just recently sold my suzuki samurai and bought a 89 commanche with a rustys 9 inch lift 33's, 4.0 manuel, and its rust free. then last week i was on craigslist and found a 87 commanche stock 4.0 auto for 400 bucks (parts truck) . it runs rough but i thought it was a deal. So i had a few ?'s. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

 

Was the 87 a good idea? work with the 89?

what tire size with Dana 30 and 44?

rebuilding a 4.0 moneywise?

manuel 2 auto conversion? difficult?

wheel base for a truggy?

 

i"ll post pics later and i may have a few items for sale if u guys need anything. i just plan on it to be a woods jeep also.

[mfpdm]

 

First off, welcome to the Club. :cheers:

 

Was the 87 a good idea? work with the 89?

 

Yes. Anytime you can get a $400 MJ, jump on it. You can get your money back if it doesn't pan out just on parts and yes they are compatable with each other.

 

what tire size with Dana 30 and 44?

 

33's have been said to be the limit on the 30 with mild wheeling. Hardcore wheeling, and you'll be pushing your luck. 44 can handle the 33's and 35's with not to much trouble.

 

rebuilding a 4.0 moneywise?

 

If you do it, you'll cut out the $600-700 in labor. Will depend on your area. Around here it would cost me $1500-2000 to have a shop do it. Good thing about the 4.0 is a lot of them in the junk yards to pick from.

 

manuel 2 auto conversion? difficult?

 

Not too difficult. A mild wrencher and a weekend could do it. Have been several thread in tech on it.

 

wheel base for a truggy?

 

That one I don't know, but someone will chime in.

 

:cheers:

[mx215]

hey thanks a lot i do plan on wrenching on it with my dad. I thought that the purchase wasn't bad. i bought it in the hood and he tried to start it and the muffler blow up :laughin: but i got fenders, door glass,handles, windshield,back glass, motor, tranny, transfer another dirty 30 and a lot of scrap metal :laughin:

[Motion Offroad]

9" of lift is a LOT of lift to fit 33's. Heck we run 33's on 3.5" of lift on our XJ.

 

The D30 can handle upto 35's without issues. If you have the vac. disco version you can easily swap in a new 1-peice shaft in to make it stronger. You can also swap in the 290x joint shafts out of a new XJ D30 (they go right in without issues) to make it even stronger. Do a few minimal mods and you'll be fine upto 37" tires on the D30.

 

The manual to auto conversion can be a pain, as you'll need a lot of the auto wiring harness to do the job. Your best bet is to just find a donor and yank the entire harness out with the TCU/ECM attached.

 

Also I think the MJ Shortbed is the perfect wheelbase personally. Bob the bed so it doesn't get hung up but the wheelbase has served my needs perfectly in the years I've been wheeling.

 

Also glad to see another MJ owner in the Indiana area. :cheers:

[mx215]

yeah i traded my samurai for it and the other kid wanted to keep his 36 iroks. they looked good. i want to run 35 or 36's. i do have a parts truck with auto wiring. but i don't plan to swap anything till i have to lol. Check the for sale section if you guys need anything. thanks again

[Wildman]

I'll agree that any MJ for $400 and running is a good deal :brows:

 

Unless the engine is really shot, and you feel it needs rebuilding, the option of dropping a low mileage used 4.0 would be a much better choice money wise.

 

And there are ton's of 4.0 out there, with prices ranging from $250-$450.

 

Converting from a stick to automatic, can be a real major project, not only the wire harness are different, the pedals, and a couple of sensors need to be changed, like the TPS.

 

Another option is finding a XJ in the '87-'90 Renix era, and using that as a donor......that way, you have your good MJ, your $400 MJ, and your saving 2 MJ's :D

 

Just about everything from the back of the doors forward on a XJ and the MJ are interchangeable ;) Including the doors and glass, and the windshield, there another source for your glass.

 

I'll leave the lift answers to the lift experts ;)

 

Oh......and welcome to the CC :nuts:

 

oops........wrong emotion......... :waving:

[mx215]

i can't spell comanche in my other posts :laughin:

[Wildman]

Ah.....yea.......there's only 1 "m" and 1 "e"

 

:teehee:

 

When you get over 25 posts, then you'll be 'able to spell Comanche'.

[Pete M]

I think it might be 25. :hmm:

[Wildman]

Yea......I changed it :roll:

[mx215]

My junk :D

parts truck 87

 

project

[FxRacing282]

:beerhead:

[mx215]

hey whats the price to build up a D30 and a parts list.

[Oizarod115]

try a super30 kit.

 

this is from the rusty's website (which don't let anyone hear me condone them, but that's where my brothers kit come from and it's fine.)

"Upgrade your stock 27 spline to 30 spline. Includes ARB air locker, Left & Right axle shafts with U-joints installed TIMKEN bearings, seals & shims, 35% Stronger!"

 

bit pricey at 1365$ but it upgrades the spline count to 30 and theyre cromolly shafts from alloy usa iirc.

 

also check out the warn hub kit:

http://www.quadratec.com/products/16132_99_07.htm

 

that ups the size of your wheel bearings making them take the abuse of a larger tire better (d30 hubs aren't the best for 35s)

and gives you the choice of unlocking the hubs in case of failure

 

check out any offroad website for steering solutions and trackbars.

 

trusses? check out jeepspeed stuff probably

 

maybe try teraflex

[Oizarod115]

also with the hub kit you can buy fail-safe's that are easy to replace and its basically a weak-part installed in the hub so that instead of busting the gears or axles you pop the piece in the hub for like 20 bucks a set of 2 and it takes 20minutes to change instead of being completely BROKE.