Jimmy Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 I picked up my '86 Comanche today. First drive in her was about 60 miles from Radcliff, KY to New Albany, IN. She ran great the whole way. After about 30 miles though, the clutch stopped disengaging. When I would come to a stop, I had to kill her, drop her into first, then start her in gear to get going again. After about 20 miles of that I decided to stop and check the clutch fluid level. A little shot of fluid and she was fully functional again. Finding the leak and fixing it is no on my official to do list, but there are a few more urgent projects to tackle first. She's a '86 with the 2.8 V6 and a five speed. I know it's not the most desirable drivetrain combo, but I wasn't even really looking for a Comanche, I was looking for any truck under $1000 that ran, drove, didn't have too much cancer, and if it was a Toyota or Nissan, it had to be extended cab because I just can't get comfortable in standard cabs on the really small imports. I picked her up for $800. Her steering feels good, no slop. She cruised along nicely at 60-65mph Her radio and gas gauge work intermittently - another thing on the to do list. She doesn't make any bad noises or smoke. Here are my first pics of her after getting her home. The only rust you can see on her from standing next to her is above the rear wheel well on the driver side, and it's just bubbling under the paint. The passenger side front wheel is not the same as the other three. The interior is a little rough, but usable. The passenger side floor is great. The driver side... not so great. The drivers door doesn't close all the way. Before I went to look at her, I perused the forums here and saw people having rust problems around the hinge, so when I looked at her and noticed the door doesn't close all the way, I inspected the hinges and they looked alright. I figured it was just an adjustment issue. When I got her home I noticed this. The striker pin area on the cab is cracked. Weld the cracks up??? Replace the metal around it with one from a junkyard Comanche (maybe Cherokee?)??? Or fabricate a reinforcement and stick it in behind (assuming that area can be accessed from inside the cab with the trim removed)??? I open to suggestions on that one. A bed full of incriminating evidence from the previous owner. Glad I didn't get pulled over on the way home. My plans for her are to get to be a reliable work truck. To me that means using her a few times a week for trips to Home Depot for house stuff. I also will be using her for runs to the steel shop to get metal for fabrication projects in the garage (the cinder block building behind her in the first couple of pics). I plan to fabricate a front and rear bumper and roll bar for her that will be part of a bigger project to make racks for carrying 20' sections of tubular steel when I need to. Longer term plans might include fabricating my own arms for the suspension, lifting her a little bit, slightly larger tires, and some kind of engine swap, but those will have to wait for a future day when I have more disposable income to play with. If you have any suggestions for things to check on her, what to do about that door striker, or any other projects that will make her a good reliable worker, I'm still on the learning curve when it comes to Comanches, so I'm totally open to advice. Thanks for looking! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjeff87 Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 check the driverside floorboards for rust issues ....oh wait, you already did that :yes: (mine was exactly the same at one time) Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 Rip out that carpet asap so you can see the true extent of the rust and nip it in the butt before it spreads any more (chances are very good the carpet insulation is soaking wet). Also, the rear fenders rust from the inside-out. That's not just surface rust you're seeing there. Other than that it looks like a sound foundation. :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beaterjeep Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 Looks like you got a solid base to start with there. My 88 has the same striker troubles on the driver's door, to the point where it fell apart, and I screwed it back in. It's not pretty, but it's held so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSimon Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 I had the exact same striker pin issue in my truck .... it looked identical to yours. I took it to a guy who does body work and is a great welder. There is a metal plate behind the sheet metal that the pin is screwed to. He used a little air powered jig saw cutter thing and cut the sheet metal enough to get the metal plate out. Then he cleaned everything up with a grinder and welded the plate back in. Its perfect now. I paid him $50 bucks. Find someone with a welder and some decent fab skills .... its an easy fix. Oh, and he set my bin back just a bit so the door seals really well now too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Posted March 10, 2009 Author Share Posted March 10, 2009 I had the exact same striker pin issue in my truck .... it looked identical to yours. I took it to a guy who does body work and is a great welder. There is a metal plate behind the sheet metal that the pin is screwed to. He used a little air powered jig saw cutter thing and cut the sheet metal enough to get the metal plate out. Then he cleaned everything up with a grinder and welded the plate back in. Its perfect now. I paid him $50 bucks. Find someone with a welder and some decent fab skills .... its an easy fix. Oh, and he set my bin back just a bit so the door seals really well now too. Thanks for the tip. I have a nice MIG welder, but I've never tried to do anything as thin as body panels. I have a friend that is a certified welder though, I'm sure he can do it if I can't. If you pull the interior side panels out is the back of that area still not accessible? I need to take the headliner out - it's destroyed and dropping nasty bits of something when I go over bumps, plus I need to pull the seat to do the floor. I'll probably tackle those this weekend, I figured I'd pull those side panels too and see if I can get to the back of that area and see what I need to do to fix it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbhill Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 i would grind the paint off and weld the cracks up, grind em down and paint em. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfpdm Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 Here's a few pic's that might give you an idea of what your facing. Here's the striker and plate after it's cracked completely out. You can access it through the hole from inside but I don't think you can get any kind of welder in there. :dunno: You can see that it was just pinch welded in place. You could replace the backing plate with a larger piece of flat steel and maybe bolt it in there, but I think welding it in would be best. Maybe I should have posted this in tech. :doh: :cheers: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beaterjeep Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 Maybe I should have posted this in tech. :doh: :cheers: You still can, you do know that right? I'd personally add a couple more pics of the actual fix and then put it in the DIY. :idea: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 I don't know how bad it is, but try to get the headliner out intact and see if you can repair it if at all possible. They can be hard to find in any condition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Posted March 11, 2009 Author Share Posted March 11, 2009 I don't know how bad it is, but try to get the headliner out intact and see if you can repair it if at all possible. They can be hard to find in any condition. My headliner is not too bad. The cloth is gone, there is a lot of glue scum left, it's a little frayed around the edges. I'll probably pull it out and try to save it to reupholster another day. It's not torn or bent or anything. Thanks for the heads up on that. I didn't realize that they were becoming rare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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