05mxdiesel Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 Ok so I bought this truck in January, it looked to be in really good shape for its age. Then I began working on it and realized it needed a lot of things, mostly minor. I brought it home inspected, horribly warped rotors, 1 out of 3 fuel tank straps, wouldn't warm up, fraying serpentine belt, but I was happy with with it. 114k on the truck and an older gentleman owned it, its whole life. I changed the fuel filter, replaced the fuel tank straps (had to make one j-hook) and checked the air filter. There was mice and bedding all through the air filter housing. Then I went to replace the thermostat and realized it did not have one. I replaced all the fluids and noticed some nice chunks taken out of the spider gears in the rear 35. Also thanks to this site the peugeot fluid swap was made easy. Then I started the ripping the interior out since this site makes everybody aware. I did not think I would have any rust, due to the vinyl floor and general cleaniless of this truck, boy was I wrong. A couple small holes and lots of surface rust. I wirewheeled the floor, por15 all the rust and undercoated it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
05mxdiesel Posted March 7, 2011 Author Share Posted March 7, 2011 I then decided I wanted a small lift but all the vendors on this site had outrageous shipping costs. I went to JC Whitney and got a 3" rough country lift with their 9000 shocks. I also picked up rotors, caliper, pads, cj brake stock brake lines, 92 xj sway bar end links all for free shipping. I got everything together in the front minus a few broken bolts. Then I went to work on the brakes which led me to replace all the lines in the rear and doing a lot of investigating the rear proportioning valve since I thought mine was shot, but I just had rotten lines. I was going to lose the valve but ended up keeping it since it still worked. With the front all buttoned up for now I started cleaning up the frame painted two of the wheels so far. I took it out for a drive in a snow storm we got yesterday. It did really well but my brake pedal is still really soft. This truck reminds me of my 85 Toyota LWB i had when I was 18. With the lift in the front it is finally level. I plan to add a small spacer in the front later on after get a new track bar and lower control arms. When the weather gets a little better I plan on pulling the bed and adding the aal and new shocks along with some painting and cleaning up. I plan to only run 30x9.50s build a rear bumper and some small paintwork on the exterior and call it quits. I have motorcycles to take out on the trails, but this will see a little here there, more hauling than anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
05mxdiesel Posted March 7, 2011 Author Share Posted March 7, 2011 Also the serpatine belt had to be the hardest to replace out of all the vehicles I've owned. If I can find a wagoneer front dana 44, I have a isuzu dana 44 with disc brakes. Or I may just get a 8.8 or 8.25 and the leave the 30 alone. This is not a daily driver or a trail only rig. I sold my DD 05 Dodge 2500 CTD two years ago when I lost my job and been truckless since. I was looking for another yota or older ford ranger TTB suspended but I ran across this and couldn't be happier. This site made everything I ran into so far pretty easy with all the writeups and info. I know most of everyone on here wants a short bed but I love my lwb for hauling motorcycles and atvs. The 4.0 runs pretty well, I am going to do a tune up on it and replace the o2 sensor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shelbyluvv Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 Beautiful long box! I love me a long bed MJ. Welcome to Comanche Club. I want dibs on the roll bar if you ever want to sell it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buxmj Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 X2 on liking the long bed. It is so much better for hauling stuff. Great find, I don't think I've seen that paint scheme. Welcome to the club and the madness! How is the condition of the rest of the interior? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
05mxdiesel Posted March 8, 2011 Author Share Posted March 8, 2011 Thanks guys. The interior is in good shape aside from the broken console around the trans and transfercase shifters. I have the bench seat which is in good shape and have to keep it incase I have to haul my two little girls. I haven't decided if I would keep the rollbar or not. It sure was a pain in the butt getting it out with rusty bolts and a plastic bedliner to contend with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
05mxdiesel Posted March 8, 2011 Author Share Posted March 8, 2011 Cruising ebay today I was looking for bike parts and ended up with a set of fixed lower control arms for cheap, good for 4.5" lift. So when I get around to getting a new track bar, I will add a 2" spacer for the front. Maybe I should be looking into 31s now when I need new tires. I see the slippery slope coming already. Then I'll want new gears because these 3.07s suck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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