Comanche Find!

[sevenn07]

Ok I have found a Comanche for $300. It is 2wd, has body damage, a good engine but doesn't run, a good tranny as far as I know, 155k on the clock original, and has been set up a while. I want to convert it to a 4wd and pull and fix the engine. Can you tell me if this is honestly worth it or even possible to complete this task?

 

PS. It has pioneer graphics on the side? Is this good? (I have no clues about comanche's)

 

 

 

I appreciate all of the answers. This project (if started) is more of a learning experience. It has the I-6 with an auto tranny. apparently a mechanic has given it a look before but the cost of fixing it was out of this guys price to fix it and so he has let it sit and he bought a new truck. Well this December the owner died so his wife is selling everything like the house and all the stuff in the yard. I talked to her and she said $400 and i asked $250 to $300 and she said $300. I would like to try and grab it for around 100 to 150 though. The body has been hit right behind the drivers side door but not to bad (didn't get the door and didn't get the bed, in between). The front left fender has been hit pretty bad, it can't be fixed just needs a new panel. I would just leave it as is and beat out what I could. This truck is not to be made pretty right now. Just a learning experience.

 

Since I wrote the first post in a hurry, his is exactly what I wanted to say.

 

First I want to pull the motor and tear it down. Is it hard to pull a motor and leave the tranny? If I pull this motor and tear it down to clean it up and out am I stupid? I don't have any specialty tools to do it really. I may have a piston ring clamp though. But is this gonna open a can of worms that a kid who has only torn down lawnmower motors before can't handle? (I plan on taking pictures of every step so I can know exactly how to put it back together. And how hard is the timing mechanism to work with when I put it back together?

 

Is there any special tools needed to pull the front end out and put a new axle in? And will any D30 work? I will probably want to lift it (if I have the funds) while I got all of this taken apart. Are the parts hard to find to lift it or for anything on this vehicle for that matter? And what are the gear ratios for this truck? And how hard is putting a TC on? Do all have the ability of taking the 2wd housing or will I have to buy a whole tranny?

 

I know this is a long post with many questions. I have tried getting onto Comancheclub.com but the have yet to respond to my registration. I appreciate all the help given and all the help to come. I promise an amazing build thread (well a well done build thread) if I can get the pointers I need if it is even worth it. If you need more info on the truck to help me out I hope to find out soon. Just ask me and I will try and tell you. Thank you!

 

Could anyone hit up a build cost? I mean just the trans case and front axle. Work done by me. Part numbers are also very nice :dunno:

 

These are some posts off of Jeep forum in which I posted. Pete M said to come here and told me basically this is MJ heaven and yall were the perfect people to talk to. Any help is greatly appreciated.

[75sv1]

Well, Welcome to the Tribe. I did post on your thread over on the other forum.

First, any Dana 30 from an XJ or MJ or possibly a ZJ or TJ, (that Cherokee, Comanche, Grand Cherokee or Wrangler) should be a direct swap. I think your present gear ratios should be 3:55. I would check though. There should be a metal tag on your rear end housing.

Now you mention a lift. I'm not an expert in this area. I am doing a lift to mine. Basically, how high of a lift depends on the size of tire you want to put on. Ltes say a 31 inch tire. Then probably at least a 3 inch lift. If you went up to a 33 inch tire then you'd probably want at least a 4.5" to 5" lift. Then when you put on those larger tires, you need to regear your front and rear axels. What grears you want to go with will depend on size of tires and weather auto or manual transmission.

An auto needs a bit lower gearing than a manual trans. I'm not much up on auto trans myself. So you'll probably need to search a bit further for exact gearing. There is one of the Lift companies that has a gearing matrix for tire size and auto or manual. Lets say you went with 31". With a manual, you'd need a 3:77 for a daily driver. A 4:10 for all around, and good wheeling or off road, and a 4:30 or lower for a more dedicated off road machine. For an Auto, then 4:10 for a mainly street machine (mainly for gas mileage), 4:65 for a good wheeling machine. My neighbor wheels a Grand Cherokke with a V-8 and probably 33" to 35" with 3:73s for gears. Also, 31" tires are probably minimal for running offroad.

So, in your project, if you take steeps to get it running and 4wd, then lift it, then tires and gears, you would have spent money on regearing it. If you planned your setup, you could save that money.

I don't know how big of tires or lift you want. So, you might have to regear anyways. There is a big difference in price between a Dana 30 with 3:55 ($150) or one with 4:10s ($400) found in 4 cly.

OK, now the lift options. Basically the front of the Comanche is the same as the Cherokee. So springs, trackbars etc are the same. The rear springs are different. You have three options: AAL (add a leaf), New springs ($300 for a pair) or SOA (spring Over axel). AAL are fairly cheap, and some like them other don't. New springs you have the option of 3 icnh and 4.5 inches of lift. Obviously cost is a factor. Look at Hells Creek Suspension. The Comanche is Spring Under Axel (SUA). The Cherokee is Spring Over Axel (SOA). By converting from SUA to SOA, you will net around 5 to 6 inches of lift in the rear. It is fairly cheap to do. I think there are complete lift kits for this around $500. I hope this helps and I'm not misguiding you any.

Now onto engines. I think on the other forum you did rebuild lawn mower engines. Its a good start and you should be able to rebuild a 4.0L. I rebuilt car motors first and then a lawn mower motor. So go figure. I would get a Factory Service Manual (FSM). You will need and engine hoist and an engine stand. Get and engine stand with four (4) wheels. The I-6 is a bit longer and mine wanted to tip over very easy on a 3 wheel engine stand.

I'd pull both motor and transmission together. I just think it is easier and saves time in the long run. I'd also pull the radiator, front header too. It makes getting out the engine a lot easier, not having to hoist it up in the air as much.

Tom

[88pioneer]

Search is your friend, lots of 4x4 swaps on here that people have done. Tires can go up to 31's on stock 7" wheels with some rubbing on the LCA's at full lock. Pretty much what all you want to do has been done multiple times, so search should come up with a lot of results to help. OH and 4.0's don't have a timing mechanism

[sevenn07]

Thank yall so very much! I will run with this as far as I can. I was hoping not to get to much tied up into this. Or atleast not yet. I don't care to trim and fabricate on this vehicle because of the shape the body is in. (not horrible shape and for the price not to big of a loss). I do have one last question for now. Does it have a frame or unibody or does it depend on the year. I am going back home this weekend and hope to find a lot more out about it! We will see.

 

PS I did search some posts and $500 MJ had a good one. I just didn't see what I really wanted to know in the posts. I think this one helped out a lot. The biggest surprise to me was the cost of axels with lower gears. I will see what I can't find at local junkyards though.

[88pioneer]

MJ's have a unibody, similar to XJ's, from the cab forward, however it is stronger. Behind the cab is a frame