New to JEEP

[rssuby2001]

Hi, I have my first jeep, a free 1987 long bed auto 2WD 4.0l, it need a little touch up but its all orginal 221,000 miles. Replaced the rear main seal, installed canyon wheels with 30.5X9.5 Its a basic truck, AM radio, no power anything and a bench seat, rubber floor. I need a headliner, i have a 3 spoke jeep wheel to install to replace the ugly 2 spoke and I'm looking a 2" lift, its my daily driver so i don't want to go crazy, and last i need to fab up a tailgate strap and replace the drivers side floor which someone has done already, but a piss poor job, the door isnt sealing up to so it was just leaking right back in on the floor to rust it again. i will get some pics up soon, one last question, why is the rear track shorter then the front axle, noticed it when i changed the wheels, any thoughts of adding the bolt on spacers to correct this? oh and do all these come with a limited slip?

[Pete M]

Hi! welcome to the club! :waving:

 

this forum is more for owners showing what they're doing. Questions should really go in the Tech forum so more people will see them and also so the answers are in the search database. :thumbsup:

 

but real quick; it's not that the axles are different widths, it's that the bed of a Comanche is wider than the front end. but yes, quality spacers can be added to the rear to make things more aesthetically pleasing. :D

 

and the limited-slip rear was an option that could have been added to any MJ.

[rssuby2001]

thanks yea i figured i just throw the questions out there, i work in a euro shop and have seen many cars with wrong wheels and way too many spacers trying to make up the difference and then they wonder why the wheel bearings don't last.....

 

i am starting to like the truck, i took it off my dad cause it was just sitting around and not being taken care of, just makeing a list and trying to do one thing a month to make it my own without losing the look of the MJ

[jpnjim]

Welcome to the board. :waving:

 

 

 

I was going to start a thread on this,

but a good axle swap, to widen up our rear axles, and give *near* D 60 strength in one of those 'stop sign' 9.25's out of a 1980's Ramcharger/D150.

 

They were 5 on 4.5" for those years (I *think* it was 1975.5 to 1980something, but I'll try to dig out the info),

and it seems like they were around 64" wide.

 

That's like adding 2" spacers, AND getting a much stronger rear axle.

 

They do use C-clips, but they use the same brake/axle end pattern as Mopar/Jeep 8.25's, so disc brake swaps should be just as easy.

(disc brakes will usually keep the wheel from sliding out when you break an axleshaft,

helping to band-aid one of the problems with C-clip axles).

 

I was thinking about this the other day (for the Grandpa Jeep), and wondering why no one else here has tried it.

Those axles are completely undesired by the full size crowd (because of the 5 on 4.5" bolt pattern), underrated for their size, and 'falling out of tree's' cheap.

[rssuby2001]

it just so happens i have a d150 sitting at my parents place in Maryland..... i think its a 84, i was going to get it on the road, but the horrible ECU setup is shot and i have no time or money to rewire the slant 6 for a hall effect distributor.... but the one nice thing with the rear i have is its a limited slip, but i havent checked what gears are in it yet. I found some road racing Comanche's......

 

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=108907&l=3e2f3896a9&id=100001216780264

 

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=108906&l=c02a46b3be&id=100001216780264

 

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=108905&l=e465bc52c5&id=100001216780264

[jpnjim]

You *should* have 3.55's:

 

but some of the 87-89 factory literature claimed 3.07's for 4.0L/auto MJ's.

I figured the 3.07/auto data was in error, but never verified it either way (my 89' is 2wd/4.0L/auto, but I still haven't pulled the cover).

 

 

Does your's have the D44 rear? (longbed-metric ton).

Tho even the D44 Limited slip (Trac-Lok) isn't that great.

If you have the D35, LSD, or not, it's not worth hanging on to for most of the MJ's out there.

 

If you have a D150 to check out, maybe you could post the true wheel mounting surface to WMS distance, so we could see exactly how much wider the rear is.

 

I don't know enough about the D's to know if the slant 6 versions got the big 'stop sign' axle, or not.

 

 

Not the greatest pics, but here's some more MJ racing scans:

 

 

 

 

 

[rssuby2001]

cool thanks for the info, yea the D150 is 2 hours away, i think i am going back down in a few weeks and will check it out. I'm not sure what axle is in the jeep, i heard the quickest way is to see if it has bolt in axles or a "c" clip right? sorry I'm new to the jeep and dodge... i love road racing but my wife would kill me if i did that, i have a old bmw that is gona make it on the track soon...

 

oh how do i check for the metric ton? i think it had 15X7.5 wheels i have to recheck, do you count the leafs or what?

[jpnjim]

All 87's had non-C-clip axles,

so if it's a Dana 35, or a Dana 44, it will have bolt in axles.

 

C-clip 35's didn't start till 1990.

 

The best way to tell if it's a D44 is to look at the diff covers,

D44 has a more symmetrical cover, seems almost as tall as it is wide,

D35 has a squished down appearance, almost lemon shaped.

 

edit:

if we're talking about the D150 axle, the 9.25" cover looks exactly like a stop sign,

really easy to spot.

 

For 87' MJ's you could have gotten the D44 rear by ordering the Towing package, the Off Road Package (NA for 2wd tho), Metric Ton package (LWB only), or even as a stand alone "HD rear Axle" package.

 

There's a few threads where it's described what the MT leaf packs look like, but I never had a set, so I'm not the best one to describe them.

[rssuby2001]

thanks I'm gona have the mj at my shop today, ill check it out. thanks for the info

[rssuby2001]

http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2467055120073750069QAQaeS?vhost=rides

took a pic today.....

 

I'm lookn for some original pics of when i first got it.

[rssuby2001]

i saw a post in the DYI section with pics of the diff covers, i have a dana 44 with lsd

[streetjeep2.5]

If you used a rear end out of the D150 in an 87 'manche with a D35, you undoubtedly would have to change/relocate the spring perches, right? And, what about my backing plates for my drum brakes? Can I use my originals, or would I have to go with the D150 brakes?

[rssuby2001]

all i can say is I'm going dow this weekend and i will take some pics and mesurements, i will post the info next week and hopefully we can learn from it......

[carnuck]

Anyone else notice the front suspension in almost all those rigs wasn't a straight axle?

[rssuby2001]

this is for the rear, to space out the track of the rear wheels

[jpnjim]

Anyone else notice the front suspension in almost all those rigs wasn't a straight axle?

 

It was a class (racing) thing,

 

but the road racing MJ's did have a (2wd) solid ft axle :yes:

 

and they SMOKED the IFS competition :thumbsup:

[jpnjim]

If you used a rear end out of the D150 in an 87 'manche with a D35, you undoubtedly would have to change/relocate the spring perches, right? And, what about my backing plates for my drum brakes? Can I use my originals, or would I have to go with the D150 brakes?

 

I would use the D150's brakes,

Mopar had some decent size brakes, I think even the 'small' ones were 10"x2.5" (vs 10"x1.75" for your 87' D35).

 

I run a Mopar rear in my trail-MJ, and use Mopar 11"x2.5" drums, with beefy finned cast drums,

decent upgrade over the stock 9-10" Jeep drums, and the XJ e-brake cables connected right up (= reasonable assumption that MJ cables 'should' also bolt up)

[rssuby2001]

sorry to carnuck, didn't realize you were talkn about the race trucks, I'm usually up late writing these things.....

 

i got down to Maryland to check the D150 with the slant 6, it has the smaller axle so its of no use i guess....

 

I'm headn to pick up a headliner this weekend i hope, one piece at a time to redo the interior, also have a 3 spoke wheel to replace the ugly 2 spoke, but i need a new turn signal switch, the left rear brake light works, then does not work, look at a wiring diagram and saw the brake lights run through the turn signal switch so when i slightly hold the right turn on my left brake light works..... go figure

 

also looking for a replacement pillar lights

 

i also see a lot of guys switching to a open cooling system, whats the advantage? most of the euro cars i work on have the closed system, haven't really had problems with them.

[rssuby2001]

[rssuby2001]

working on posting pics....

 

oh one other question, all the comanches i see have little mirrors mounted near the vent window, would someone of added the big ones on my doors or am i missing something?

[jpnjim]

Factory tow mirrors like that were an option.

 

I don't know if those are the exact mirrors, or if your mirrors are aftermarket,

but door mirrors + the little black plastic covers where the mirrors usually are = optional equipment.

 

 

Jeep looks nice. :yes: :thumbsup:

[carnuck]

sorry to carnuck, didn't realize you were talkn about the race trucks, I'm usually up late writing these things.....

 

i got down to Maryland to check the D150 with the slant 6, it has the smaller axle so its of no use i guess....

 

I'm headn to pick up a headliner this weekend i hope, one piece at a time to redo the interior, also have a 3 spoke wheel to replace the ugly 2 spoke, but i need a new turn signal switch, the left rear brake light works, then does not work, look at a wiring diagram and saw the brake lights run through the turn signal switch so when i slightly hold the right turn on my left brake light works..... go figure

 

also looking for a replacement pillar lights

 

i also see a lot of guys switching to a open cooling system, whats the advantage? most of the euro cars i work on have the closed system, haven't really had problems with them.

 

Take apart the signal assembly on the column and clean the contacts.

 

My replacement lights are ex-military on cords and with blackouts.

 

Open cooling works better because the stock rad has tubes that are too tiny and 95% are clogged by now. The bottle has too small of threads and the cap tends to pop off the bottle. When I first put in a '91 rad with a built in cap, I epoxied the lid on the bottle and stopped my rig from running so hot.

[rssuby2001]

well here's some updates, 240,000 miles, swapped out the idiot lights for gauges, had to trim the new fuel gauge since I have a column shift, have a headliner that i need to rehab next, also have a sliding rear window to install, replaced every leaking seal on the motor, resealed the injectors and replaced the fuel pressure regulator.

 

Other then maintenance items this has been a great truck, other then the motor mount that broke yesterday. I am looking at a 3" lift and i see everyone has a opinion on what to buy or how to do it. My control arm bushings are shot, so i figured new bushings up front, adjustable track rod, new coil springs since mine have a ton of miles on them and a spacer.

 

as for the rear i was thinking of doing the spring over axle kit. How much does this lift the truck?

 

also looking for ideas on shocks, I drive 100 miles a day mostly highway and it all ready changes lanes on really rough roads. Its 2WD 4.0 auto with a long bed.

 

Oh one other thing, I need to replace the window wipes on the doors, they are shot and the drivers door glass is scratched to hell from them. oh and yes the large mirrors are original, this is a bare bones truck, no a/c, still had the factory AM radio, does have the D44 locker rear, not sure what gears yet, bench seat and column shift, oh and lets not forget the lovely brown paint

 

 

I will get some more pics soon