JeepcoMJ Posted January 15, 2010 Share Posted January 15, 2010 This was the first comanche in my family...an '86 (longbed, of course) 4x4 with a Renault 2.1l turbo diesel, ax5 5 speed, np207 t-case, AMC20 rear axle, metric tonne with 4.10 gears. 10(ish) years ago when we got it, it wasn't too bad. My dad bought it from the original owner, and we even have all the window stickers and tags for it. When we got it, it had 102,000 miles on it and a blown timing belt...the owner had ignored the "suggested" advisory to replace the timing belt @ 89k miles, as per the factory service manual. end result, since it's an interference motor, was a few bent valves, some broken rockers, and $1000 in parts. not bad, though...the truck was $200. So, now it's rusty, and the frame has started to go what I will term "freakjeep", though I still believe he's got me one-upped. pics. battery is located on driver's side, rather than the typical pass. side. intercooler on the driver's side air filter canister and turbo gauge cluster boost gauge replaces the volt meter...unfortunate, but cool enough to justify it ugly blue interior very rusty bed. cab corners and floors are gone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepcoMJ Posted January 15, 2010 Author Share Posted January 15, 2010 amc20 rear, with metric tonne leafs. this is all factory, with 4.10 gears. and yes, the load sensing valve is inoperative the truck itself plan is to restore the truck using the 3800 as parts. the 3800 was my 3.8l camaro v6 powered 86 MJ...started out life as a 2.8l v6 5 speed 2wd. I won't mention what I'm doing exactly, but that it is legal and will require "inspection" and positive proof of where the majority of the parts came from, as well as proof of legal ownership of both vehicles. The basic idea is to restore the body and interior as well as reseal the BRAND NEW engine for it then swap everything over in a weekend or two. This is still my dad's truck until he gets his cummins, and I'm restoring it because he hates driving a POS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knever3 Posted January 15, 2010 Share Posted January 15, 2010 Whew, looks like a long road ahead. The turbo gauge is worth the rebuild, although it would be better with a nicer looking updated gauge cluster. A bigger turbo is a must if the engine can take the stress. More volume of air instead of more boost isn't hard on a motor, just creates more turbo lag. Thanks for the pics, haven't seen a diesel Comanche yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepcoMJ Posted January 15, 2010 Author Share Posted January 15, 2010 We lucked out big time, several years ago. knowing that the engine in the truck has issues (cracked precup cylinder #3, cracked cylinder wall in #2, plus 238,000 miles), we were looking for a new engine for it. My dad was driving home one day and saw an oil pan facing skywards on a guys trailer, surrounded by scrap. noted that it was the same as the diesel's oil pan..so he turned around to look. low and behold it's a complete, brand new, never installed or run beyond testing @ the factory...2.1L turbo diesel motor. it'd been in storage for 19 years, as the owner had bought it as a "spare" for the cherokee he loved so much. the cherokee, long gone from rust and a car accident, never got the motor. so the motor sat...covered, high, and dry, for all that time. he finally gave it away to a guy to use on a log splitter...but the guy couldn't figure the engine out, so he gave up and just so happened to toss it on the scrap trailer on the same day my dad was driving by. $75 later, we had a brand new 2.1l motor (complete less intake and exhaust manifold and turbo). We proceeded to tear it down to inspect it...and the story rings true..it's new. We wanted to reseal it anyways, as the seals are all 20 years old and haven't been lubed in memorable past. anyways, pics of the motor the motor even had a fuel injector timer/pump on it...a part that retails for $3600. the big deal about the price on the motor is that you can't even buy a valve for $75, much less a complete motor...there's around 12,000 in parts on that new motor if we stripped it out. heck, all of the little anodized gold parts are still perfect anodized gold contrary to belief, the 2.1l block is NOT a 60 degree gm bellhousing block. though it does use an ax5, like the 2.5 and 2.8l motors, it doesn't even share the input shaft much less the bellhousing...this makes it very, very hard to find. cylinders look brand new as well pile of parts...valve cover, etc. head gasket and renault 2.1L OEM technical book. we kept the head gasket because we'll need to measure it and compare it to the available head gaskets...there were 4 different ones, and the correct one must be used or the motor could detonate (very, very fine tolerences/clearances for the valves) the nice, new, uncracked head. I have pressure tested it and it's kosher this is an OHC motor... nicely machined compression surface... This will be months in the making. I hope to start on the body work within the next few weeks. -Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepcoMJ Posted January 15, 2010 Author Share Posted January 15, 2010 Whew, looks like a long road ahead. The turbo gauge is worth the rebuild, although it would be better with a nicer looking updated gauge cluster. A bigger turbo is a must if the engine can take the stress. More volume of air instead of more boost isn't hard on a motor, just creates more turbo lag. Thanks for the pics, haven't seen a diesel Comanche yet. it's one of 23 that I have found in the states, so yes, very rare. I didn't know that when we started out...but the first MJ I ever drove just so happened to be one of the rarest out there lol. as far as turbo, I have no interest in modifying this. they're hard enough to keep together as-is...they require very, very meticulous maintenance to keep them going w/o issues. I like the gauge cluster as well...because it's original. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeep stuff Posted January 15, 2010 Share Posted January 15, 2010 your very lucky nice find i have been looking for about a month to even find a 2.1l to throw in my comanche but you can't find them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepcoMJ Posted January 15, 2010 Author Share Posted January 15, 2010 your very lucky nice find i have been looking for about a month to even find a 2.1l to throw in my comanche but you can't find them thanks to even build one, you're going to have to swap every single little mechanical or electrical part just to make it work...not even the transmission is directly interchangeable with anything else. you're better off going with a cummins 4bt swap over a renault...the renault's are a haphazard motor to begin with, and really not something you should daily drive unless you have a good amount of diesel experience, and either buy special tools for timing and whatnot, or can manage to make them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landlubber Posted January 15, 2010 Share Posted January 15, 2010 Sweet, Never seen a 2.1L up close before. good luck! :popcorn: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpnjim Posted January 15, 2010 Share Posted January 15, 2010 This will be a nice build to watch :popcorn: You definitely have your hands full, any thoughts to looking for a different donor truck (or two) instead of cutting up your 'other' MJ? Just seems a shame to chop up something you've been working on already when there are still decent MJ's around. BTW, great eye on your dad for finding that engine. :eek: :cheers: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpdocdave Posted January 15, 2010 Share Posted January 15, 2010 glad to see that poor old thing get some attention, i didn't realize your old man put that many miles on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepinSoldier Posted January 15, 2010 Share Posted January 15, 2010 My dad was driving home one day and saw an oil pan facing skywards on a guys trailer, surrounded by scrap. noted that it was the same as the diesel's oil pan..so he turned around to look. low and behold it's a complete, brand new, never installed or run beyond testing @ the factory...2.1L turbo diesel motor. it'd been in storage for 19 years, as the owner had bought it as a "spare" for the cherokee he loved so much. the cherokee, long gone from rust and a car accident, never got the motor. so the motor sat...covered, high, and dry, for all that time. he finally gave it away to a guy to use on a log splitter...but the guy couldn't figure the engine out, so he gave up and just so happened to toss it on the scrap trailer on the same day my dad was driving by. $75 later, we had a brand new 2.1l motor (complete less intake and exhaust manifold and turbo). We proceeded to tear it down to inspect it...and the story rings true..it's new. We wanted to reseal it anyways, as the seals are all 20 years old and haven't been lubed in memorable past. Ah fickle Fate. She usually likes to kick you in the balls and then laugh about it. But when she decides to be nice to you, she can be very nice indeed......... Congrats on a great find. I really like oil burners. One day I would like to have Burnsville off road put a Grand Cherokee or Liberty diesel in the LJ. A diesel in the Comanche would be great as well. Ill be watching this closely. :drool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freakjeep93 Posted January 15, 2010 Share Posted January 15, 2010 ive never seen the 2.1 before. what are they like for power?. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mvusse Posted January 15, 2010 Share Posted January 15, 2010 Only 85 hp, but torque equivalent to the 2.5 (130-135 foot pounds). 30+ mpg, though. I wouldn't mind one of those Italian 2.5l turbo diesels they put in Cherokees overseas. Same hp as the 2.5, with torque on par with the 4.0. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freakjeep93 Posted January 15, 2010 Share Posted January 15, 2010 :agree: that would be pretty awsome. but still the 2.1 would feel sorta like a 2.5? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepcoMJ Posted January 15, 2010 Author Share Posted January 15, 2010 what mvusse said. they suck to maintain, but it's too rare to scrap out. as far as finding another MJ to buiild off of....I have to have an '86 to build the diesel off of. thins down the numbers, plus it needs to be as rust free as possible...also thinning down my options. the 3800 fits both of those bills. this will take a long time...probably won't have an update for several months, as I'm now going to be building a DD 4 cyl mpfi mj as well.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren Posted January 16, 2010 Share Posted January 16, 2010 You better do a good job with this! No update for months? I'm sorry Pat but that is unacceptable. Get to work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beaterjeep Posted January 16, 2010 Share Posted January 16, 2010 I've personally seen and looked over this MJ, and am still in awe of it. In fact, I think there still might be some drool from me in the engine bay :yes: . as far as finding another MJ to buiild off of....I have to have an '86 to build the diesel off of. thins down the numbers, plus it needs to be as rust free as possible...also thinning down my options. the 3800 fits both of those bills. this will take a long time...probably won't have an update for several months, as I'm now going to be building a DD 4 cyl mpfi mj as well.. I gave you ample opportunity to buy the MJ15, so can't say they weren't out there :waving: . Oh well, I trust the new owner and the direction it's headed. :thumbsup: Also, what's this about a DD 4cyl MPFI? Where have I been? :chillin: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepcoMJ Posted January 16, 2010 Author Share Posted January 16, 2010 I've personally seen and looked over this MJ, and am still in awe of it. In fact, I think there still might be some drool from me in the engine bay :yes: . I gave you ample opportunity to buy the MJ15, so can't say they weren't out there :waving: . Oh well, I trust the new owner and the direction it's headed. :thumbsup: Also, what's this about a DD 4cyl MPFI? Where have I been? :chillin: lol, it's definitely something to drool over. I know I passed on your '86 but it wasn't quite what I was looking for. the 3800 met the requirements all around...and yours is the only '86 around for a decent price that I could have used. now it's up to jpdocdave. the DD 4 cyl is steve's tan MJ...he stole my $1000 desktop computer when he moved out, and I told him that's not OK...so he gave me the tan MJ. it needs floors, bed, fenders, rockers, cab corners, a drivetrain swap, and 410 axles....oh well. I passed on the TJ because I already have everuthing but a box to fix this thing up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepcoMJ Posted January 16, 2010 Author Share Posted January 16, 2010 You better do a good job with this! No update for months? I'm sorry Pat but that is unacceptable. Get to work! sorry, I'm in the middle of moving out, getting a motor finished, doing some maintenance on the wheeler, helping fix a friend's jeep, working on this truck, and figuring out what to do when I lose shop privelages to work on things in my dad's shop (my mom doesn't want any more projects) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TnMonkeyMan Posted May 7, 2010 Share Posted May 7, 2010 where did you get renault 2.1 shop manual? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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