Pete M Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 My 88 was the first vehicle I'd ever bought myself (had been driving family hand-me-downs before that). Taught me a ton about how much it costs to pay someone else to work on it. :ack: I quickly learned all sorts of useful things. :D Things to keep in mind when shopping: the hardest things to change are the engine size, bed length and adding A/C. So if you want A/C and a 4.0l, don't compromise with a 2.5L basemodel. Best tidbit I can suggest is: ask first. There's a TON of geeky Jeep smartness here and we will do our best to help you avoid the common pitfalls and setbacks. :thumbsup: second best is: never ever sink any money into repairing a Dana 35 or a ba-10/5 trans. Your money is far better spent on upgrading them from a junkyard. :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knucklehead97 Posted June 12, 2012 Author Share Posted June 12, 2012 I deffinetely won't be settling for a 2.5. I want the same thing thats in my brothers, the 4.0 I6. I love the ammount of horsepower and torque thats in it, along with the sound (gets really good gas mileage too, in his at least) Which I have got a question about your signature Pete M, how can I check for rust before I buy the truck? I don't think the seller would let me rip up his carpets beforehand >. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 first crawl underneath and look at the floorboards. tap on them and poke at them to check for rot. after that, the easiest place to pull back the carpet is in front of the drivers/passengers feet. feel for wetness underneath as best you can. most trucks with moisture problems will have significant moisture underneath and you can feel it in the padding (or even smell it). check out your brother's Jeep and you'll see what I mean. :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86customanche Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 I guess it'll all come down to if I can find a decent one at a good price then. I'm still fretting over 6 foot or 8 foot bed >.< The options are 6 and 7 foot beds. 8 would look very strange on these trucks. 7 looks odly long IMO. Stick with the plan, youll be very happy. As far as streat legal seats in the bed. Youll have to check state laws. I'm pretty sure here in VA I can have as many people sitting in the bed of my truck (assuming they are 16 or 18) as long as they are sitting on the bed floor and not in a chair or on a rock. Ive strapped a beach lawn chair into it and havent had a problem in the past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParadiseMJ Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 As far as streat legal seats in the bed. Youll have to check state laws. Out here in CA I don't think there is any such thing as legal seats in the back...even if you have a dog back there they have to be leashed, or in a cage...or wearing a parachute and a helmet...or all of the above. Cops can always find something to bust you for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knucklehead97 Posted June 13, 2012 Author Share Posted June 13, 2012 Oh, I thought the options were 6 and 8 foot, thats what it says on KBB >.< I'll check the state laws, I hate cops. Down here in AL they'll get you for absolutely anything, and theres one sitting at the bottom of every mountain waiting to catch you speeding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimoshel Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Cops have a dirty job. If you've ever been at the scene of a accident where a pregnant woman went thru the windshield of a car and her belly was ripped open and you can see the heart beating of her unborn fetus laying on the hood, or examined the wreckage of a station wagon with a family of 6 all dead after being rammed head on by a drunk driver then maybe you''l understand. Anytime I'm stopped by a police officer I make it a point to call him sir and not get pissed at him. Cops are just like everybody else. There are good ones and there are bad ones. But they all deserve our respect. Unfortunately in some areas cops are nothing more than revenue agents for the local government. My 2 cents worth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knucklehead97 Posted June 13, 2012 Author Share Posted June 13, 2012 ^ I agree. Except all of them down here that I see, are pretty much bad cops. I've met good ones though too. But lets not get off subject. I've been wondering for awhile, whats the average gas mileage on the Comanches? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimoshel Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 On my '87, 2.5, 4speed 20-22mpg. on my '86, 2.8, 5speed. 18-20mpg. And I've got a heavy foot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knucklehead97 Posted June 13, 2012 Author Share Posted June 13, 2012 Wow. Thats really good mileage for a pickup, I was expecting 17-19 at most with a 4.0L 5-speed 4X4. My brothers 97 XJ, 4.0L, AX4, 4X4 with 33's gets about 21 and it only has a cheap cold air intake on it (soon to be snorkel, flowmaster exhaust, and performance chip upgraded. Wonder what the mileage will be then >.>) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue88Comanche Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 whats the average gas mileage on the Comanches? my 88 4.0 4WD gets 14-19 mpg but i average 16.5 - 17 depending on my driving. If you want you can keep track of my MPG at Fuelly.com, my user there is Blue88Comanche here is a link http://www.fuelly.com/driver/blue88comanche Oceanic815 also has his Comanche on there as well I think his MJ has the 2.5L Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knucklehead97 Posted June 13, 2012 Author Share Posted June 13, 2012 I would keep track, but my dialup internet won't load it >.> Gotta love livin in the country. Knucklehead97 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dadinator Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 As far as streat legal seats in the bed. Youll have to check state laws. Out here in CA I don't think there is any such thing as legal seats in the back...even if you have a dog back there they have to be leashed, or in a cage...or wearing a parachute and a helmet...or all of the above. Cops can always find something to bust you for. I could never live out there, I don't care how nice the climate is. As for bed size, I've got a 7 foot one on mine. If you plan on making it strickly a wheeler, then get a short bed. If you plan on using it to haul, the short bed will work, but obviously you get more stuff in a long bed. Also the long beds are the only ones that you could get the big ton option in. I do like the looks of the short beds better, but I like the looks of the long beds too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpace6a Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 I have an '86 with the 2.8, still havent driven it since I'm in the middle of swapping in a new(er) 2.8. I hear doing that is as bad as putting money in a d35..but oh well, it was the best option till i get back from basic training. Glad to know it won't do horrid on gas. Also, I love longbeds, especially with a bit of lift and 33s. With the right stance, they look great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knucklehead97 Posted June 14, 2012 Author Share Posted June 14, 2012 Well I've only see a short bed in real life, so I really can't judge from just pictures if I like one or the other better. I'll be searching for a long bed to look at and decide which I would want more. The one thing I don't want mine to have, is a lower front then the back. I hate the looks of trucks that are un-equally lifted. I'll be mudding kindof in it, but not like rockcrawling super suspension type things. Just trails and highgrass. Knucklehead97 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 nothing wrong with replacing a 2.8/d35/peugeot with another one (though try to upgrade if you can). just don't spend money repairing one. :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knucklehead97 Posted June 14, 2012 Author Share Posted June 14, 2012 Oh and Mr. Pete Montie, I would like to say that today my dad walked in with a copy of S-A designs Jeep Cherokee builders guide, that he's planning on using to help fix my brothers XJ's problems. So I picked it up and read the whole thing, running into the section about your '88 MJ, that was probably the best read I've had in months! Beautiful truck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 :cheers: thanks. quite proud of the old girl. and technically I sorta wrote it myself too. he wanted to hear my truck's story so I gave it to him. then he turned around and got lazy and just changed it to be from a 3rd person pov. :rotf: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue88Comanche Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 The one thing I don't want mine to have, is a lower front then the back. I hate the looks of trucks that are un-equally lifted. Knucklehead97 well if you are going to haul stuff i would deal with the rear being higher than the front, when you add weight that will level it out but I do agree with you to a point This does not look right this with the rear slightly higher than the front looks "right" to me to me it just looks stupid when someone levels their truck then put a trailer that pulls it way down in the rear when if it where stock it would have been level. But we all have out own opinions there is mine. if you do level it get some metric ton springs, at least then it will stay level better and not lower it too much.. and the Hell Creek Metric Ton springs lifted the rear of my Comanche about 3 inches as seen if the top picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knucklehead97 Posted June 14, 2012 Author Share Posted June 14, 2012 Well it was great getting to hear about the great transformation from a stock, to a offroad dream that you did (while being on a budget). And I'd live with it being a little uneven, but I'm going to try my best to have it as close as I can to being level. The most I'd be hauling (as far as I know of course) would just be a riding lawnmower, or a bed full of wood/rocks. I'll check out the Hells Creek springs though, they seem to have done a good job on yours! I was thinking about doing an SOA rear (eventually) what are ya'lls intake on doing them? Thanks. Knucklehead97 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue88Comanche Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 I haven't done a SOA but it will lift it a lot it can be anywhere from 5-8 inches of lift. you can get a close guess by adding axle thickness + spring perch height + spring pack thickness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86customanche Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 SOA will add quite a few inches. I haven't done a SOA but it will lift it a lot it can be anywhere from 5-8 inches of lift. you can get a close guess by adding axle thickness + spring perch height + spring pack thickness How sagged your springs are also factor into it. I got about 6 when I did mine. It had an old 3" pack and now sits about 9" which is too much for what I want. Not too complicated tho. Cut off perch and weld new one onto the top of the tube, just make sure the angle of the perche is the same and is appropriate to your ride height. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue88Comanche Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 SOA will add quite a few inches. I haven't done a SOA but it will lift it a lot it can be anywhere from 5-8 inches of lift. you can get a close guess by adding axle thickness + spring perch height + spring pack thickness How sagged your springs are also factor into it. I got about 6 when I did mine. It had an old 3" pack and now sits about 9" which is too much for what I want. Not too complicated tho. Cut off perch and weld new one onto the top of the tube, just make sure the angle of the perche is the same and is appropriate to your ride height. What did you do to lift the front? don't most of the front suspension components need to be replaced with longer components? control arms, trackbar and such Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knucklehead97 Posted June 14, 2012 Author Share Posted June 14, 2012 ^ Exactly what I was about to ask. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 all of the above. 5"+ needs lots of parts. track bar, control arms (or drop brackets), brake lines, sway bar drop (or longer links preferably), etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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