Brenton Posted April 6, 2010 Share Posted April 6, 2010 I got a wild hair a little over a month ago, and added a 1988 Comanche Pioneer 4x4 to my Jeep line up. :D First thing I did was to join ComancheClub.com and then order a 3" aal lift kit. I took some advice from a member here who said to "buy parts when possible" and bought another Comanche...kinda....it is the frame with the bed (no tailgate :( ), and cab with doors for $200 with the title. To my luck, the rusty floor issue had already been taken care of and the bench seat is in good condition. I decided to do the lift myself to save some money. Took me a little over a week of after-work-work to finish...didn't have too many issues at all. :clapping: I picked up some 245/70R16 Goodyear Wrangler MT/Rs used and now I'm on the hunt for some black steelies. Everyone on this sight who said these MJ's were addictive, weren't kidding. Anyone out there who has some advice for a new MJ owner, feel free to share the wisdom. I have some pics to add, but not quite sure how....could use some pointers. Thanks! I got the picture thing figured out... thanks for the help. Here's some pics of my lift in progress and one of my other Jeeps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yeahright16 Posted April 6, 2010 Share Posted April 6, 2010 I got a wild hair a little over a month ago, and added a 1988 Comanche Pioneer 4x4 to my Jeep line up. :D First thing I did was to join ComancheClub.com and then order a 3" aal lift kit. I took some advice from a member here who said to "buy parts when possible" and bought another Comanche...kinda....it is the frame with the bed (no tailgate :( ), and cab with doors for $200 with the title. To my luck, the rusty floor issue had already been taken care of and the bench seat is in good condition. I decided to do the lift myself to save some money. Took me a little over a week of after-work-work to finish...didn't have too many issues at all. :clapping: I picked up some 245/70R16 Goodyear Wrangler MT/Rs used and now I'm on the hunt for some black steelies. Everyone on this sight who said these MJ's were addictive, weren't kidding. Anyone out there who has some advice for a new MJ owner, feel free to share the wisdom. I have some pics to add, but not quite sure how....could use some pointers. Thanks! sounds promising! to post pics..... the way i found easiest was to upload on photobucket.com and then just do the embedded thing. there are like 4 options and the one with in the title is the one you copy and just paste it into the text box like this one. but basically upload all your photo's their and its pretty easy to get the hang of it! Can'et wait to see some pictures! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-600JeepMJ Posted April 6, 2010 Share Posted April 6, 2010 :cheers: welcome to the club. :needpics: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88pioneer Posted April 7, 2010 Share Posted April 7, 2010 that WJ is nasty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-600JeepMJ Posted April 13, 2010 Share Posted April 13, 2010 :cheers: nice MJ! :waving: I have seen the green XJ befor on the north side of SA. You can find some cheap jeep liberty 16 inch steelies on CL. I have a set that I am going to paint OD green for my 86 MJ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenton Posted April 14, 2010 Author Share Posted April 14, 2010 :cheers: nice MJ! :waving: I have seen the green XJ befor on the north side of SA. You can find some cheap jeep liberty 16 inch steelies on CL. I have a set that I am going to paint OD green for my 86 MJ. Ha....if you saw it recently, it was probably when I was getting tires for my MJ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buxmj Posted April 15, 2010 Share Posted April 15, 2010 Cool, jeep fleet. Great find on the mj. Welcome to the club and good luck controlling the madness! As for suggestions, I don't know what interior you have, if you have a bench seat and don't need to carry more than one passenger, I would go to buckets. My first mj had a bench and I like the buckets 10 times better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
High2by Posted April 16, 2010 Share Posted April 16, 2010 That is a nice looking truck. How does it ride with the AAL? Rougher? Have you loaded the bed to "work" the leaves yet? I need some lift just not sure how I want to do it. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avnsteve Posted April 16, 2010 Share Posted April 16, 2010 welcome aboard! If you ever need a hand, or wanna get together for an adult beverage with like minded jeople, I'm about 45 minutes away from you in Kyle. send me a pm sometime... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenton Posted April 16, 2010 Author Share Posted April 16, 2010 That is a nice looking truck. How does it ride with the AAL? Rougher? Have you loaded the bed to "work" the leaves yet? I need some lift just not sure how I want to do it. Thanks. It does have a "stiffer" ride :doh: , but it is a completely empty truck (haven't "worked" the leaves). What I want to do is find an old steel double door tool box, cut in half, weld a new side, and then mount that to one side of the bed with a spare tire mount and tire attached to it. After that and some gear, I hope the extra weight will take a little of the "bounce" out of its ride. :banana: Having said all that, the ride is highly bareable when you consider the lift cost me only about $325 to get it to my doorstep (shipping and all). :yes: And as non-mechanically inclined as I am, the lift was simple enough for me to do without any serious difficulties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
High2by Posted April 17, 2010 Share Posted April 17, 2010 That is a good price for getting it lifted. It looks good. Keep up the good work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
one_bad_MJ Posted April 17, 2010 Share Posted April 17, 2010 more flex without bumpstops BTW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenton Posted April 17, 2010 Author Share Posted April 17, 2010 Went out today to play in the rain at the local salvage yard. :clapping: Just got a few interior parts...window hand cranks, visor center clip, and a cigarette lighter. Not much, but I just wanted to fill in the "gaps". And hey, as long as you're playing with a Jeep, its gotta be at least a little fun. :banana: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenton Posted April 18, 2010 Author Share Posted April 18, 2010 Got to do a little work on my MJ today. Installed the new cigarette lighter...I think it really brought the interior together....... :D Nah I'm just kiddin', but I did get some stuff done. Made it to the all important step of "pulling the carpet back, and checking for rust". Pleasantly surprised...I would call the rust level "moderate surface rust", so easy fix. :clapping: The interior is out of the way and vacuumed up and ready for some grinding. I also discovered that this truck is already wired for an audio amplifer and has four new speakers. :banana: I just have to get an amp and hook up the extra pioneer head unit I already have and its good to go. I will have to do something about the interior shifter boot, or whats left of it. :shake: Here's a few pics of what I got done today....... disappearing interior boot hmmm??? passenger side floor board driver side floor board just waitin to be hooked to somethin new speaker peekin through the grill A few days ago, I took a fellow CC member's advice about refinishing taillights. I did a little more lazy method by not taking the the red lense piece off of the housing....it's still better than before though. :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenton Posted May 9, 2010 Author Share Posted May 9, 2010 I was one of the lucky ones with almost know rust in the floor pans...no repairs at all, just a little grinding, priming, and some bed liner. My approach was a little more function than form (not the prettiest looking), but there's no more rust and there shouldn't be for a while now. As you can see from the picture, I haven't quite addressed the console issue yet. My Comanche Club swag, thanks to Pete :bowdown: Oh... and on a side note, I picked up a XJ/MJ grill at the local annual swap meet for $5. After walking around for 10 minutes I took a second look at it and realized it was a 10 slot grill. I thought it was pretty cool find. :yes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenton Posted May 15, 2010 Author Share Posted May 15, 2010 Finally got my new wheels in and the tires on them!!! :yes: Cool, but then the dude tells me I should wait two days to put them on because the lube they used to get the tires on needs to dry...huh :dunno: :ack: What a tease, they're just sittin in the garage. Just look at em..... :( I'm gonna have to do something about all those freakin balancing weights messin up the face of those nice, shiny, black steelies. :shake: Geeez, was there no other way to get em right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Automan2164 Posted May 15, 2010 Share Posted May 15, 2010 There is a way to balance the rims so all the weights are on the inner lip. Or, you could put sticky weights on the inside of the rim surface. Thats what I did on my black steels after I got them painted. Didn't want to take the risk of having to get them done again. Non-scratching sticky weights it is. Rob L. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenton Posted May 16, 2010 Author Share Posted May 16, 2010 I ran down to the parts shop and got a little thing of DupliColor Universal Black touch up paint and painted all the balancing weights on the outside of the rim...looks tons better. :yes: Not exactly a highly involved "upgrade", but it sure helped the look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenton Posted May 17, 2010 Author Share Posted May 17, 2010 Son of......AHHHHH. I actually managed to wait two full days before mounting my new wheels. I get three of them on and on the last one, the stupid p.o.s. keyed lug nut strips out on me. I can't get it off for nothin. :mad: :headpop: I hate to leave something like changing the wheels undone, especially new ones. I guess I gotta sacrifice a regular socket, and pound it over the keyed lug to get it off (and I have to buy one cause I don't already have one that big) :ack: And the day started off so good... I got to snoop around two pick-n-pulls and found three extra "turbine" wheels, and four center caps that fit on them, and a few other things. Oh well, I guess its Round 2 with the Mr. LugNut tomorrow. :thwak: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenton Posted May 17, 2010 Author Share Posted May 17, 2010 Round 2 came early this morning in the form of a pipe wrench. The lug nut was off in like 20 seconds. :shake: Here's some pics of the carnage and finished product..... Mighta got a little carried away.... I know, I know Just for tire fit reference, this is what a 3" AAL lift looks like with 30 1/2" tall tires mounted on 16x7 wheels with 0 backspacing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancome433 Posted May 19, 2010 Share Posted May 19, 2010 Mj looks good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenton Posted June 5, 2010 Author Share Posted June 5, 2010 Sooo....it turns out if you don't re-bolt your sway bar after installing a lift, you're likely to experience a knocking noise while driving. :doh: And I was all proud that I was able to do it myself...well at least nothing got messed up. :shake: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
javelinkid Posted June 8, 2010 Share Posted June 8, 2010 Cool ride and welcome to the club! I'm amazed how how many of us are close to each other. I'm like 20 minutes from New Braunfels in Wimberley. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenton Posted June 8, 2010 Author Share Posted June 8, 2010 Cool ride and welcome to the club! I'm amazed how how many of us are close to each other. I'm like 20 minutes from New Braunfels in Wimberley. Thanks!....this place and people help alot. :thumbsup: :bowdown: I've had a reply from somebody in Buda...just about 15 minutes away, somebody in San Antonio...about the same...and I found a classified ad in Hutto. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
javelinkid Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 I talked to the guy from Hutto, I think? I believe he has put an ad here in the classifieds. His name is Dan. Seems like a pretty straight shooter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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