razrwild Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 No I don't have pics until tomorrow when i go get another car reader to upload em :(. Hello to all, never posted up a new to the board thread so here's one. Just got an 87 comanche for $550 with a 2" RE lift and 31's. I wheel mostly just trails, some hills, and mud/water/sand. I don't have that heavy of a foot. Wondering what you would recommend for I'm looking for recommendations as to keeping or ditching the d35 rear. I mostly wheel close to stock but this one I'm going to put money in as I get to it. First will be the 92+ radiator swap. Then the ax-15 to get rid of the ba-10. After those two are down I'm going to attempt to tackle axles/gears. How long do you think the d35 would last with 31's wheeling trails and some mud? Not sure on gears, haven't gotten around to checking the axles closely. Sorry if they're too big, I don't upload pics a lot [/img] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CEThomas Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 Welcome, Get a ford 8.8 and drop in. If you get a mid 90's and up you also can use the disk brakes. Charles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
razrwild Posted February 10, 2007 Author Share Posted February 10, 2007 the 8.8's off exploders right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 Yup. Explorers and Mountaineers. 95+ have disks. car-part.com can help you locate one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
razrwild Posted February 10, 2007 Author Share Posted February 10, 2007 just searched and $200 was the best I found. Hell I'm looking at $75 for a radiator through that place. Time to break out the phone book Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 200 is a fairly good deal if the axle is complete and the rotors are good. Make sure the e-brake stuff inside is in good shape if you plan on use it. Stock gears for a 4.0/manual is 3.07. Good gears for 31s would be 3.55 and that's a common ratio for the 8.8s and Dana 30s. Don't forget that your new AX-15 won't bolt to the current T-case. You'll need a 23 spline t-case too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
razrwild Posted February 10, 2007 Author Share Posted February 10, 2007 most likely that ax swap will happen when the ba10 goes. give it 2 months lol. I'm going to hold out for the exploder with 4.10's and locker. Seem easy enough to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randimal Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 Honestly, if you have a light foot, you could wheel for years on the D35 with 31s. Unless you like spending money, I would recommend leaving it alone for a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
razrwild Posted February 10, 2007 Author Share Posted February 10, 2007 One of my reasons for upgrading from the d35 is I want to lock the axle too and I like the idea of the rear disc brakes. If the d35 won't stand up too well I figure I could go with the 8.8. This is the reason I put up the topic, so many different viewpoints on the strength of the d35 I figured I'd ask since not everyone wheels the same or uses the same setup so the way it holds up. Thanks for all the input Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87manche Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 I wheeled with a D35, with 31's and a detroit, it was fine for moderate to hard trails. nothing extreme. I'm still wheeling it with 34's, so we'll see how t holds up. I'm worried about shafts and the ring gear shattering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLHTAZ Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 Welcome to the board and to Comanche ownership. :cheers: I will be doing the radiator swap in the next couple weeks. I have all of the hoses, heater valve, t-stat housing, new temp sensor & wiring etc, etc... I am just waiting on the new 3-row HD radiator to get here, which should be on Tuesday of this week. I will be doing a complete write up with part numbers and pics when I do it. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carnuck Posted February 11, 2007 Share Posted February 11, 2007 Do a '91 rad and put a regular cap on it! (assuming it's 4.0L) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLHTAZ Posted February 11, 2007 Share Posted February 11, 2007 Do a '91 rad and put a regular cap on it! (assuming it's 4.0L)That's what I am doing, but it requires that you change a lot of other stuff as well. razrwild.... That is a good looking truck for the price. As the others have said...I would not be overly concerned about the D35 for right now. If you have access to the 8.8 for a good price ($200 or less) then get it, but don't go crazy trying to find one and over pay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
razrwild Posted February 11, 2007 Author Share Posted February 11, 2007 yeah i sanded/sprayed the surface rust on it. Still gotta fix the fact that I can see the driveway through the floor when i move the mudflap. Big plans, big dreams, little wallet. What's the differences in the 91 and the 92+? Isn't the change a midyear change on 91's? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carnuck Posted February 11, 2007 Share Posted February 11, 2007 Do a '91 rad and put a regular cap on it! (assuming it's 4.0L)That's what I am doing, but it requires that you change a lot of other stuff as well. razrwild.... That is a good looking truck for the price. As the others have said...I would not be overly concerned about the D35 for right now. If you have access to the 8.8 for a good price ($200 or less) then get it, but don't go crazy trying to find one and over pay. You don't HAVE to change the other stuff, but it cleans things up nicely if you do! (I did mine already) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLHTAZ Posted February 11, 2007 Share Posted February 11, 2007 What's the differences in the 91 and the 92+? Isn't the change a midyear change on 91's?As I have found out, there is no difference in them. Everything that I have looked up has been '91-'97 Cherokee...no mention of any split year issues. Yes...carnuck, you are right, I should not have said "requires", but I am just the type of person that will not short cut something, so "to me" it is required, but not to do the job. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted February 11, 2007 Share Posted February 11, 2007 There is nothing wrong with a pressurized system. The parts just may require a bit of maintenance after spending 20 years in a truck. I swapped in a 91 radiator (old one went south) just to get a cap and a second place to add liquid. Never had a problem since (with the pressure-related stuff, I've had e-fan failures and pump failures). Still running the same ol' pressure bottle and cap too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cocco78 Posted February 14, 2007 Share Posted February 14, 2007 I ran for 2 years on a D35 and 33" tires, both open and with an aussie locker. The D35 gets a bad rap, its fine for the type of wheeling that you'd do with 31-33 inch tires. My gf's MJ is running 32" race cut mt/r's and she beat the crap out of it with the D35 still holding. Going to upgrade to a 9" soon tho. But, the 8.8 is a great axle. I can pick up a complete D35, I can not pick up a complete 8.8, they are very beefy compared to a 35! Disk brakes are nice but not really needed on a pickup with a light rear end... Properly adjusted rear drums work great. But if you find a disk brake one, great! They do come with 4.10 gears stock, but most of them have 3.73... They sell for 200-300, I'd pay even a little more for one with disk brakes and 4.10's... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carnuck Posted February 15, 2007 Share Posted February 15, 2007 I've been running my D35 for a couple years and haven't been the easiest on it (treat it like a Metric Tonne and occasional lengthy burnouts as well as "wheeling" my class two 4 mile long driveway near Reiter Trails) with 33"/9.50 tires. If I ran wider tires I probably would have snapped it by now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cocco78 Posted February 15, 2007 Share Posted February 15, 2007 I might be wrong but I just remembered that the disk brake 8.8's came with 31 spline shafts and the older ones with drums only had 27 spline. So go with the disk brake one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted February 15, 2007 Share Posted February 15, 2007 Yup, you're right that you're wrong. All Explorer 8.8s have 31 spline shafts, disk or drum. It's the rangers and cars that have the 28 spline. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
razrwild Posted February 15, 2007 Author Share Posted February 15, 2007 appreciate all the information i'm getting from you guys on this. For now I might stick with the stock axles until I NEED to upgrade. 31's are fine for me to wheel with since I don't do anything too hard so that should mean the 35 can do for now. Later when I get money (story of my life) I'll look into axles so I can upgrade gears and everything in one shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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