Don't have it yet so need Comanche buying tips.

[R1.]

I am going to look and 89 Comanche short bed 4 x 4 five-speed 4 L in-line six. Are there any tips on what I should to look out for?

[quaddub_comanche]

Look for rust under the carpet if you can. Check for any weird wiring by the previous owner. I'm sure someone else will chime in with much more input.

[Megadan]

If you can't get under the carpet, crawl under the truck just behind the front wheel and look at the areas on each side of the frame rail right before the firewall.  If it's got holes in the floor, you should see them from underneat (and the back side of the carpet).  Check the frame rail sections just behind the cab under the bed if you can as well, this is another spot for bad rust.  Otherwise, I would do the same as with any used vehicle.

[Keyav8r]

Take a good flashlight and a tarp or old blanket so that you can get under the truck. In addition to the floors, check the rockers, cab corners and rear wheel arches for rust. Look at the inside of the wheel wells as the rust may be hidden by the flares.

As previously said, look for bad wiring, especially in the engine bay - extra wires running all over the place, unbundled wiring harnesses, etc. Check wiring under the dash also. People sometimes hack wiring up when adding new radios, amps, etc. if some of the lights (headlights, tail lights, brake lights and turn signals) don't work correctly that's a signal of wiring issues.

Check the valve cover, timing cover, oil pan/rear main seal, transmission, transfer case and differential for leakage - future work for you if they're leaking.

Check the heater/vent/AC controls to make sure everything works. If air flow doesn't change when you move the control from vent to heat to defrost you may have vacuum leak issues.

Check that the gauges work in the instrument cluster.

Remember that you're looking at a 27 year old truck. There will be some things wrong. If there are a lot of things wrong either adjust the price you pay to compensate for what it will cost you to fix them or walk away and wait for a better one.

[R1.]

Thanks for your help. I'm going to look at it in a few days. It's good to know the spots t look out for.

[Tykerp]

They are very addictive. You should know that I think. I think the girlfriend is a little jealous of the time I spend with my Comanche.

[DirtyComanche]

Personally I'd just look for rust, body damage, and cracks.  Everything else can be fixed, IMHO, and often for not a lot of money.

 

Check for rust on the firewall at the clutch master and brake master, if they're leaking the brake fluid peels the paint and causes rust.  It's not a huge amount of fun to repair, but not the worst repair to have to do. 

 

Paint bubbling around the window seals (front or back) isn't a good sign, worse if it's full on rust bubbles.

 

As said, floor pans and wheel wells.  If the front fenders are starting to bubble around the flares, at least you can get them.  The box, not so easy.  Look up and inside the box, it rusts from the inside out, hard to fix.

 

If the battery has leaked at any point, the area around and under the battery tray will be rusted.  Potentially quite badly.  The good news is it's not that hard to fix since you can cut the section out of an XJ, the bad news is it's still a time consuming repair.

 

Rockers, cab corners, and the pinch seam under the door tend to be a problem.  I replace them with tubing, but again, time consuming repair.

 

If the seat brackets are rusted, the floors are probably pretty bad too...

 

Doors at least can be stolen from an XJ.

 

There was another place I wanted to say to look for rust, but it's not coming to me.

[DirtyComanche]

Oh, watch for the driver side top door hinge tearing off.  Pretty common.  Check the other ones and the strikers.  They're easy to fix, providing you can weld sheetmetal.

 

And always check the around the steering box for cracks.

[R1.]

That one was a no go.  Another one came up and was gone before I could get to it.  I am still on the lookout.

[87Chief]

Good luck! They are fun!