badchad Posted May 2, 2007 Share Posted May 2, 2007 I am new to the forum, I am thinking about buying a Comanche. It is 2wheel drive and I want to convert it to 4wheel drive. is this a hard conversion, let me know what all i need thanks. This is a great forum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oizarod115 Posted May 2, 2007 Share Posted May 2, 2007 uh the best thing would be a cherokee donor vehicle with the same engine as your truck and matches your trucks tranny style (auto or manual) but you'd need the front axle, (might as well take the springs too the 4x4 ones are higher) driveshaft, transfer case, transmission, floor shifter for 4x4, linkage for t-case shifter, floor console from 4x4, shorter rear driveshaft iirc, and make sure the axle's gearign matches your rear axle. all bolt in if you get the right parts. welcome to da club! :cheers: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badchad Posted May 2, 2007 Author Share Posted May 2, 2007 Thanks for the info Oizarod115 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duner Posted May 2, 2007 Share Posted May 2, 2007 Welcome to the forum. The conversion is relatively straight forward and does not require great mechanical skill (thank you jeep for building both 2's and 4's the same). I highly recommend the Cherokee donor vehicle as stated above it is the way to go. If I did it again I would buy a running donor vehicle with matching drivetrain or at least the drivetrain that you would like to have. Second spend some time going through the forum here as just about any question you will ask has already been answered, but remember we don't mind answering any question again that's what makes this such a great forum. Third are you lifting your truck as well or just converting to 4wd? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jage Posted May 2, 2007 Share Posted May 2, 2007 uh the best thing would be a cherokee donor vehicle with the same engine as your truck and matches your trucks tranny style (auto or manual) but you'd need the front axle, (might as well take the springs too the 4x4 ones are higher) driveshaft, transfer case, transmission, floor shifter for 4x4, linkage for t-case shifter, floor console from 4x4, shorter rear driveshaft iirc, and make sure the axle's gearign matches your rear axle. all bolt in if you get the right parts. welcome to da club! :cheers: Swapping tranny's is no fun for some of us, and that's the part where people usually go "huh?" because the 2wd tranny output is as different from the 4wd as an icecream cone from a donut... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjbliley Posted May 2, 2007 Share Posted May 2, 2007 I just finished the same thing. If you have questions, this is the place to ask. Mjeff is also a good resource. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjeff87 Posted May 2, 2007 Share Posted May 2, 2007 I piecemealed my parts together over the course of time and saved a bunch of $$$$ (also didn't have access to a full XJ carcass). When I saw a part I needed for a good price, I bought it and stashed it away until I had everything I needed. Hence, my tranny is from an 86 XJ, the front axle is from a 87 XJ, the front driveshaft is from a 95 XJ, the TC came from an 89 XJ that had an AW4 attached to it (both free :D ). The rear DS is the only thing that you can't swap over from an XJ....mine's from another shortbed 87 MJ (but you can opt to have your 2WD one cut down if you want). I traded the AW4 for something, somewhere along the line.... Feel free to post up any questions. There's a ton of knowledge on this board. And welcome to the club! Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CEThomas Posted May 2, 2007 Share Posted May 2, 2007 Yep, Doing the same thing as Jeff. Pick this and that up as I find a great deal. Down the the front DS, trans, t-case shifter and floor console. Charles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johngw43 Posted May 5, 2007 Share Posted May 5, 2007 I want to convert my 2 wd into a 4 wd also, only having 2 teenager's, I'm a little worried about the cost of doing this. And I'm scared to start on it, then run into an expensive surprise. Anyone know about what it'll cost, an estimate, naturally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jage Posted May 5, 2007 Share Posted May 5, 2007 I'd say you're looking at the cost of a donor XJ that has the same setup as the MJ and the cost of driveshaft shortening for the rear. If you're looking at a non-quite-exactly-matching XJ (say a 2.8L v6's ax5 and tcase going on a 2.5L MJ) the cost of a clutch kit, miscellaneous pieces (say the throwout bearing in kit isn't right on install) and the time to take out the tranny and put it back for tweaking. That's about as close to an estimate as I think you can get as it depends on your ability to get the donor vehicle (or parts piecemeal). While you're in there, putting a new clutch and checking your freeze plugs and even a rear main are all good ideas. As long as you've got the tranny out... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted May 5, 2007 Share Posted May 5, 2007 I prefer junkyard parts with a warranty to a. Also, picking and choosing lets you make the truck better than Jeep ever did. You can improve the transmission, the t-case (for awd), the front U-joints, or most importantly, the gear ratios. :D That's what I'm doing with my 90 (although that one was 4wd to start with). I've added an external slave, NP-242, and better gears to match the bigger tires. The costs mostly depend on the junkyards you have access too. What are your end goals? Lift? Tire size? trails? street-only? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duner Posted May 5, 2007 Share Posted May 5, 2007 If your talking only about the 4wd conversion and no lift it cost me about $650 with all the transmission, driveshafts, brakes, axle, shifters, linkage, fluids, etc. and two weekends to make the swap. One weekend to remove and clean all the donor parts and another to swap it over to your MJ. But like I said if I do it again I will find a running driving donor XJ for $800 or $900 because of all the extra parts, fenders doors, interior, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johngw43 Posted May 7, 2007 Share Posted May 7, 2007 Pete, I'd like it to be street legal,but, turn heads everywhere i go. I want it to have the biggest tire's possible, you know, bout like the 4 wheel drive you imagined having when you were 16. I want to be able to go off road anytime and anywhere. Down here in Georgia, we ride the power lines all the time, don't have many trail's. I think there's a couple of good pick and pulls here in atlanta, which is only 45 minutes from me. I'm a certified welder, I work shutdown's in power plants. Also the guy I work for is also a good friend of mine, therefore I have access to our welding shop 24-7! My only problem, is that I don't know my 2wd's, OR my 4 wd's, like you guy's do. I'm lost, but really would love to do all this. This coming week, I'm due about $1700.00, from the ole IRS. and would like to spend a good part of this on converting my mj into 4 wd!! get it painted, headliner, steering problem fixed........after all that , I'm good to go! Sum this up: With my money I got coming, I want to be able to hear the tires humming, riding down the road. Have 4wd under me, and a nice,maybe "Black", paint job. I know with all of yall's experience, I might be able to make this happen.............. :cheers: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiscus Posted May 7, 2007 Share Posted May 7, 2007 I've done this 3 times now on XJs, but I would assume a MJ would be darn near the same thing. It takes at least 2 days (depending on help). Basically you just unbolt the 2wd & bolt in the 4wd, but it's the little stuff that adds up. (stuck/broke bolts, lines, cables, etc.) (last time took me around 20 hrs total including trips to parts stores & tool stores replacing broken tools, also including lifting the rear of the Jeep at the same time) (+ another 4-6 hrs to pull the parts from a donor too) Get a matching front for your rear end, or get a set of 4.10 axles (regearing is good!) and a 4wd tranny/tcase & driveshafts. Be sure to get the tranny tunnel linkage & handle for the tcase. Everything bolts right in, but I would suggest that if you're gonna have the front axle off, you might as well drop in a lift at the same time. I recently purchased a Rough Country 4.5" lift for my XJ, I believe their MJ kit is a great price as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johngw43 Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 Hey, I found a Cherokee Laredo, at the junk yard, I've already robbed some small crap off it, like bulbs, and a rear view mirror( mine was broken). Will the front axle,, 4WD drive stuff off there, fit to my frame and all? In other word's, is this what I'm looking for? :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjbliley Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 yes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badchad Posted May 10, 2007 Author Share Posted May 10, 2007 Everyone thanks for the good info, this is a grate forum.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitch Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 This is a GREAT forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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