Well the bench is out......

[13 Legion]

Decided to have my bench seat repaired. Well of course as with everything one thing leads to another..... I pulled bench out. Ripped up rubber floor and padding. Took off visors and took down headliner( which was shot)

[Minuit]

Oh hey, I took my bench out today too! I'm not putting a bench back in though. Looks like a fairly solid truck, and I love the black interior. I'm SO jealous of how much garage space you have.

 

Those funky clips for the headliner are factory. They grab the sides of the headliner to help with positioning it before you put the interior panels back together. The headliner is held in by the velcro, the metal clips, then finally the interior panels.

 

Won't comment on the floors since I've never put floors in these. 

[13 Legion]

Thanks for letting me know. I couldn't figure that headliner out with those sheet metal pieces. It looked very 'non-factory!'

[13 Legion]

Well I finally got to working on getting my steering gearbox out. It's manual and I was just gonna swap out with another manual. Had my brother over helping me. I've been off the last 2 months recovering from a broken arm as well as knee surgery. I'm hopefully going back to work May 1st. Going stir crazy because this is the longest I've been off work since being an 18 yo kid. I use the term "working" lightly on my Jeep. It was more my brother as I basically handed tools to him as well as giving morale support :banana: !! Well took off the airbox to gain some access as well as removing front drivers tire. Note to self front coils are pretty shot. Put it on the list. Anyone know of a good replacement? This is not an off roader but I would like some opinions on coils and shocks if you have one!!

I also tried to mark the linkage as best I could. Made a mark in the engine bay. Well that's when we ran into a problem. Besides rusty bolts (only broke two to get to the gearbox!) the steering linkage wouldn't separate from the gearbox. It has 1 bolt holding the linkage on to the splines of the gearbox input shaft. We were able to remove bolt and you can separate a bit with a screwdriver but neither piece, the gearbox or linkage would budge. Everything was seized at this point.

So after a lot of :fs1: :hmm: we took a small beater(sledge hammer) as well as a piece of round stock and beat on the spline on the end where it made into the linkage. Not how it probably should be done, but we were kinda out of ideas(other than some heat) to separate this. After about 5-10 min. of hitting it finally broke loose. Checked the inside of linkage and looks fine. A little rusty but after almost 30 years I can't complain......Wait yes I can!!

Well there it is out, in all its former glory. We had to rent a puller to remove the pitman arm. That was just as difficult as the steering linkage side.Just age and worn out parts, kinda like me. I'm thinking most people keeping their Jeep stock will never have to deal with that.

thanks to my bro for helping me out and I hope I can return the favor when I'm a 100%

Stay tuned for next weeks installation...How bad could it be???? :brows: List of things I also realized that I need to get done. In no particular order. Leaking oil pan gasket,leaking coolant from area around water pump( thought just the lower hose clamp may be loose. It's not I can see some seepage above the hose leaking down on it.) Change fuel filter. It looks like the PO has changed it at least once. Pretty sure the connections on either end are NOT factory.

I also as earlier stated need to check out my brake lines. Nothing leaking there..yet..but I have to move a bit to get them away from my floorboard when I cut out and patch. The last thing I need is severing a brake line with a cutting wheel!!!  If you look on the right of this last pic you can see the brake lines underneath.

[benjy_26]

As far as your front springs go, see if you can get some JK front take offs. We installed a set on my brother's 2.5 XJ. They dropped right in and brought him back to stock height while being very smooth on-road.

[13 Legion]

Identification help please? Thanks.

[Strokermjcomanche]

1st pic ( cargo lamp ) 2nd pic ( speaker ) 3rd pic ( harness for 4wd / floor shifter illumination ) .

[13 Legion]

Thx bro for the ID of wires!!! Planning on putting rear speakers in. I looked through schematic in my Haynes manual. The wire colors were different for what was listed as speaker. Pretty sure there may have been discrepancies in wire colors especially with options available as well as years covered.

[13 Legion]

Got the rad installed. I purchased a Spectra. Direct fit for my 2.5. The only items you need to keep and reuse are the old radiator support bushings and bolts. Fit perfect. A special thanks to Hornbrod who sent me a link to purchase this rad at a fantastic price. Although I had already purchased I hope someone that's looking for a 2.5 rad will check out his post in the classified section here and take advantage. Finished product installed.

Now onto interior...patch floor, rust proof, redo headliner and visors, maybe dynamat(or some like product) padding, carpet, rob bank, upgrade stereo system and put interior all back together!! The saga continues....

[Whiz]

Looking good!!  I have fuel filter change on my list as well.  The connections on mine actually look very close to how your is and also thought that can't be factory. 

[13 Legion]

I've looked at the illustration in the Haynes repair manual (Page 1-25) The picture only reveals one side of the connection on the fuel filter which is a small clamped hose. The tank side connection is shadowed in the pic. I'm guessing the hidden side mimics the out side with a small clamped hose. I'm taking it than since your fuel filter hookup looks identical than this was a factory installation. Thanks Wiz.

[Minuit]

My fuel filter hookup looks exactly like that also.

[13 Legion]

Hey all! Well a quick little update. Cut/fabed some patch panels for the floor. My initial prototype needed some working on. Got it to my liking and welded in. I than seam sealed top and bottom and covered with a rustoleum primer.

After I completed that I purchased the POR 15 3 stage kit. Instructions were pretty straight forward. I spent most of Saturday wire brushing, cleaning and getting the floors prepped for actual painting on. This meant my Jeep got to move out of the garage!!!! It's been sitting since October.

Last night I finished the second coat. I'm very pleased with the results. Next up  is reinstalling headliner and visors, update stereo with rear speakers, dynamat or some type of sound deadener on the floor, jute padding and carpet.

[13 Legion]

Little update. Bought some Eastwood Xmat sound deadner/heat barrier last week. Got around to installing today. I have to admit I thought it would have went a lot quicker than it did. Think it would be faster to do on an older muscle type car than a Comanche floor!! From the directions it sounded pretty straight forward. Use big pieces to cover large portions of floor...which equated to me that I would be doing lot of cutting. I really think its just the design of the floor which caused it to be time consuming. In the end though I realized it's still going to be covered with padding and carpet. Still like anyone else I wanted to do the best job I could. I'm pleased with the end results though. I also pulled the radio. Plan on installing a new one as well as put in some rear speakers. This truck really put the BASE in base model! ;) Any thoughts on carpet suppliers you've had luck with or a radio brand/ model you like is much appreciated. Take care all. Semper.

[scguy]

I used to run Pioneer radios, but they've really cheaped out. I like JVCs for the money now.

[FireManDango]

Floor board looks good. I'll be doing that in the near future!

[KyleSVT]

Nice work so far! 

[Reddout]

Looks good.  I've seen quite of people use a sound deadener/heat barrier material but don't know much about it other than is deadens the sound (duh).  But how much does it really do?  Would it be advisable to use it on the back panel & even under the headliner?

 

Trying to gather info for when it's my turn to find my Comanche

[13 Legion]

Thanks for the input. As to your question 'how much will the barrier do?', well until I'm actually driving it again the jury is out on any improvements. I know this product can also be used on the rear interior of cab as well , below window. I asked if it can be used under headliner, answer was no. There is a specific product for that application. I'm using it to see if I can muffle some road sound as well as lower cab temps in the summertime since I don't have AC. This entire process came about when I realized I had to patch the drivers side floor. I will update on this product when I get the Jeep back on the road. Maybe someone else will chime in about use of this product or similar ones.

[Reddout]

Thanks for the reply. I'd be interested in your thoughts once you get it back on the road. Great job on the floor patches by the way

[FireManDango]

It is a great idea however, if you four wheel a lot and through deeper water I would advise against it. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think that material is like a fiber board and will hold moisture.

[13 Legion]

My Comanche is a 2.5 RWD. It's not an off road truck. That's why I'm putting in padding and carpet. Obviously if I was a 4x4 this would never have progressed to the point it is now. I would have gone a different route. Yes you are correct though I probably wouldn't advise someone to do this if they have an off road rig for obvious reasons. The material has a sticky background covered with a foil type material. It's peel and stick ( with some cutting around areas). The sections are about 1/16-1/8 inches thick.

[13 Legion]

Well gonna update this a little, it’s been awhile!!!! My Jeep spends the majority of its time in my garage. I think in the past year I drove it less than a few hundred miles. Plating issues I blame (emissions) but in reality work, life and such takes precedent. Not that I don’t enjoy driving it, but usually doing so involves me avoiding the police since my plates have been expired since Feb of 2017. But hey, if you’re gonna be a rule breaker be a rule breaker. So since the past update I’ve done a few minor things to improve my Jeep. Carpet. I had that rubber mat stuff down, which was actually feasible and ideal for my truck, but I ripped it all out, along with padding to address my floor issues. I replaced carpet. New headliner. Ordered from SMS ( highly recommend).Benchseat. I bought from a member here and had it reupholstered. I also purchased some visors from Krustyballer as well as a new rear carpet piece from Saveeveryjeep. Thanks boys. So a couple interior shots.

[13 Legion]

Next I wanted to do a small lift... 2-3 inches. I purchased some Rubicon shocks( used/ take offs) and bought some drop shackles. I followed a members write up to guide me along the way! 

I still plan on getting some bigger tires with some spacers in the future. I just want to have a more aggressive stance. I’m currently still running 265/70/R15s. I currently have about 33 inches of height from the ground to the bottom of my front fender flare. 

[13 Legion]

Fast forward to this weekend.... Cruiser54... you Sir have the patience of a Saint!!!! I had a driver side front turn signal issue. The light would only turn on when being used as such. Headlights on, that light wouldn’t illuminate. Parking lights on, same. It would only work as a flasher. So I figured you know what, I’m gonna cut through the chase. I’ll go right to our resident Renix guru... Cruiser! Well about 50 pms, possibly more!!!, back and forth, he deducted it was more than likely a faulty socket. Along the way he taught me the use of a multi meter to check the wiring on my truck. A skill that is much needed in diagnosing these electrical gremlins. Sorry for the excessive PMs again and thank you for your insight and patience!!! I made a run to the local boneyard. I love when they ask what vehicle your looking for...’ umm a Comanche’ What? Forget it. A Jeep XJ. ‘Oh yeah ok’.... Well low an behold I found an 89 XJ. Let me tell you that’s a needle in a haystack here. I found the light socket I needed and grabbed rescued a black dash bezel. I didn’t need it, but I wasn’t going to let it go to the crusher. The guy had one hell of a hillbilly( I can say that..) overflow set up! I also did Cruisers Headlight Harness cleaning tip.... another must do. Next things I’m planning on doing no particular order.... Paint headlight bezels and grill, plates, C101 DELETE, install my visors, and finally like Joe Dirt says... ‘Keep on keeping on...pics now.