New Owner 1988 Comanche 4.0 Problems

[spleenmachine]

I just bought a 1988 Comanche long bed, it has a 4.0, rear wheel drive other than an exhaust and radio its bone stock. Its my first car I've purchased with my own money and I'm pretty excited. It has been sitting for 3 and a half years now with only the occasional start up but hasn't really been driven since 2012/2013. I replaced the vacuum tubes and catalytic converter to pass smog, and changed the oil. Other then that is there anything that should be done? I have the repair records and around when she stopped driving it she replaced the clutch, among other things. I noticed driving it the engine will knock sporadicly usually under low load and its a very very subtle knock to the point where you could easily talked over is this something to be concerned with? It also started smoking coolant from the passenger side I let it cool and drove it to an autozone, on the way over it stopped leaking but i bypassed the heater core to be safe is there a blowoff for the core? or am I going to need a new one put in. What would you recommend I do to make it more off road worthy what can I do to it to get the most bang for my buck? Thanks!

 

[4.0forlife]

Since nobody spoke up here I'll throw in my 2 cents. The knock that your herein my be lifter tick which isn't a big deal, but might be solved with a heavier weight oil. I'm not sure what you ment by blowoff for the heater core. As for the offroad part goes. It really depends on a couple factors. How much time can you put in to it. How deep is your wallet. And can you survive without driving it for a couple days while work is in progress on it. Obviously a 4x4 conversion would be a great addition to your rig. That being said there are lots of people wheeling their 2wd trucks and have no problem. I just like the insurance of 4x4 if I need it. Last of all don't be afraid to ask questions. These guys are super friendly and really know what their talking about.

[tugalo]

look up cruisers tips on this forum and do them religiously !!  Also, change your oil to a good synthetic like Rotella or Delo.

[cruiser54]

Rotella T3 and Wix filter. 

 

Check all fluid levels and conditions.

 

Grease every nipple on the truck and get a good gander under there.