JE39 Posted June 4, 2017 Share Posted June 4, 2017 Hi! First post here, it's probably not going to be the last... I'm usually found in the Mercedes world, but I was lusting for something different, having done about 200.000km (124k miles) with various Mercs in the last couple of years. So... I found this Comanche, never heard of it before. It was advertised for a long time, I stumbled across the ad a couple of times. and the more I looked at it, the more it grew on me. So - I called the seller and arranged a test drive. I drove an XJ and a ZJ & WJ of mates a couple of times, it was different to what I'm used, but somehow - relaxing. The Comanche was no different. I had to think about it, but eventually I though "**** it, why not?". And so bought it. I'm yet to collect it, but here's a picture from when I parked it after the test drive (on a wet dirt road). Has done close to 100k miles. The Taxi is my current daily driver which did it's millionth kilometer on the way back from the Comanche test drive (about 621k mls). ^pictured is it's good side, the bed got a hit on the passenger's side which I will have to fix. And no, there are no beds to be found in junkyards over here, even XJs are a rare sight. Getting parts will be much harder, for the Mercs I just go to the dealer. Who still has almost everything on the shelves after 30+ years. Worst case is a 2 days wait for parts to arrive, pretty luxurious. It's got a column shift and bench seat without cutout, since it's RWD. I always wanted a car with bench & column shift. So this was also a reason I bought this. More pictures as soon as I collected it, which will hopefully be during the next week. And then there's a lot of work ahead. At least it still has a year worth of Security Inspection (TÜV) on it, so I can register & drive it "as is" after I insured it. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offthepavement Posted June 4, 2017 Share Posted June 4, 2017 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G00SE Posted June 4, 2017 Share Posted June 4, 2017 Here's my 1989 MJ 2WD I just picked up 2weeks ago for $500USD I've had to clean out the fuel system and replace some fuel injectors to get it to live again it's been sitting for almost 5yrs less than 150K miles on it but no rust that I've found... Congratulations on your find, I hope you enjoy your MJ I know I really like mine Sent from my LGLS990 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyComanche Posted June 4, 2017 Share Posted June 4, 2017 Welcome :waving: Post up more pictures when you pick 'er up. Looks real nice from this side, so I'm curious how bad the hit is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JE39 Posted June 11, 2017 Author Share Posted June 11, 2017 This was wednesday: I took a mate with me, after I had finished work. It was about a 1h drive away, so not too far away. A lot of petrol head chat - and we bled the sellers Mercs clutch, sadly without any success. After a bit more talking, we zip-tied my temporary plates to the Jeep and headed off. It was at this point that I knew I had done something incredibly stupid. I bought my most expensive ever car, my worst looking and most beat up car ever. We drove both cars to my place (about 100 mls), had a coffee and then went for a little dirt road drive to watch the sunset. Today I took it to get to work. and when I wanted to head home after finishing time, it didn't start. No turning of the starter motor. I fiddled with the neutral safety switch, fiddled with every fuse & relay I could find - and after an 3/4h the starter eventually turned and the engine started. Sigh. Already least reliable car ever. I headed to my mates place, some birthday party. His sisters boyfriend showed up with daddys 911 - though the crowd gathered around the Comanche. Show stopper :D But when I wanted to head home in the evening - same thing. No starter motor turning. Eventually we figured out it was a rotten connector on a relais. So I headed home - when the speedo cable snapped. Awesome. No speedo, no cars to follow... Wipers only work when you push the screen wash button, the glas roof doesn't close properly, engine doesn't like starting... In all honesty; it's the worst car I ever bought so far. And I love it! :) It's a got a bit of a "Roadkill" vibe to it :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JE39 Posted June 11, 2017 Author Share Posted June 11, 2017 Drove it into the garage on friday. And... Nice colour match, huh? :D I wanted to fix two things; the broken speedo and the loose tilting steering column. So off came the steering wheel. Had to use a puller to unseat it. Next I had to remove a circlip, that holds the turn lock, which is tensioned by a STRONG spring which preloads the upper column bearing, a ball bearing. Had to improvise, but it worked very good! To get to the speedo, I had to remove the fascia surrounding the gauges & switches and what not. To remove it without breaking it, I had to drop the whole steering column, since it didn't get past the column shifter shroud. To get to the steering column, I had to remove the lower dash panel. So basically; I had to tear apart everything... Turned out it was the speedo, not the cable. It had jammed going from 99.999 to 100.000 mls. I oiled it, and the more oil & grease I put on all the little shafts & gears, the better it moved. Unfortunately, it looks like the square at the end of the cable rounded off when the speedo jammed. The speedo cable is not snapped, like I assumed, but damaged. And of course the speedo cable is a discontinued part and not available anywhere. Sigh. Worst case is that I need to find a speed sensor and make use of the later model two-piece speedo cable. Or find something else with the correct length. Which might be an YJ cable. So far the speedo seems to work again, though. But the odometer is still not turning. Sigh. Anyway, next task: fix the engine vacuum kraken... The seller had included a replacement part. Didn't cure the bad starting, but it seems to idle a lot better now. And speaking of bad starting; after I cleaned this relais connectors, the starter turns over every time now. So far my "no crank"-issue has not re-appeared. Next up; the dreaded upper column wobble... So I dismantled the steering column further. I cut a torx socket apart and welded it to a bit of flat bar, which I then ground down and bent untill I could reach two of the torx bolts. It worked, the wobble is mostly gone. I didn't realy fancy to take the upper column & tilt mechanism apart, it looks terribly complicated. The whole steering column thing it just incredible, so complicated for such an "agricultural" car... Amazing! Anyway, speedo works, wobbly column fixed 99%, engine runs better - all in all a productive day. Also found Jugoslavian money under the dash... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JE39 Posted June 11, 2017 Author Share Posted June 11, 2017 Yesterday. Installed universal rubber extension to the wheel arches, to make it at least borderline legal. This is actually what it says in the paperwork, rubber arch extensions. In germany, every modification has to be declared and approved by an engineer and registered in the vehicles documents. Wheels & tyres are legal, with this rubber extension at least. Tyres are 255/60s on 8x15" steels. Then I found a muddy ditch and drove the MJ in... To take a couple of proper pictures. It's ugly side in the sunshine; looks better in the pictures. Someone's had a go at fixing it, but some spots are high, some still low. This requires some more work. Good thing I work as a panel beater... Drove it home, parked it on the street. Bit later wanted to drive it back into the garage - again no starting. This time - not at all. Bypassed the NSS, bypassed this & that, switched relais, traced wires, jumped things - nothing. Starter worked by jumping the terminals, but the key did not make the starter motor run. So... Maybe NSS still? Pulled it, cleaned it and reinstalled it. Having no clue about those cars - maybe the dreaded C101 plug?? Cleaned it as good as possible (what the f, what were they thinking??) - but as expected no luck, still no starter motor... In the end I finally traced it down to the big silver relais; opened it up, cleaned everything inside, cleaned the connectors. And after I put it back in, she seems to start every time now. Maybe I finally fixed it, I guess I'll find out. At least I know how to start the engine; just put the green wire on the center of the relais on the positive terminal of the battery... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyComanche Posted June 11, 2017 Share Posted June 11, 2017 Do you have cruise control? Either way, the speedo cable, or one that will work, should be available. However, it looks like the worm gear that drives the odometer has rounded off... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JE39 Posted June 11, 2017 Author Share Posted June 11, 2017 No cruise control, unfortunately. I've ordered a cable that should fit, I'll report. I have a full gauge cluster headed my way, I really don't like the idiot lights :dunno: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwagner2169 Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 Mine was doing the same thing and it turned out to be the Negative battery cable that's connected at the motor block. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JE39 Posted June 15, 2017 Author Share Posted June 15, 2017 So that was that... :D Solution; Wrangler cable: http://comancheclub.com/topic/53226-speedo-cable-snapped/?p=543265 And I installed a rear view mirror, as this was missing when I bought the MJ. It's a Wrangler mirror and apparantly a bit wider, had to mount it to the inner roof structure, else the sun visors would collide with it. Screwed the bracket in place, I don't like glue. And took her through the local vine yards to get a feel for her. Temporary plates have now expired, need insurance than I can get her registered and street legal (they put you in jail if you drive an uninsured vehicle, also you can't register a vehicle without insurance in Joymoney, nor get away with driving one un-registered). That's all for now, more to come for sure though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JE39 Posted July 2, 2017 Author Share Posted July 2, 2017 So, some updates on this... I temporarily installed a "red" cluster from a Cherokee. This will do until I get hold of my "unicorn" gauge cluster. Turns out the correct sensor had allready been installed by the previous owner, which explains the glowing oil press & temp idiot lights :doh: I used the black face cover, didn't like the grey that came with the "red" cluster. And then, I finally insured & registered the car. I was very lucky that my county still has plate numbers available that fit the rear bumper recess. This is the shortest possible plate one can have, many countys are very reluctant to hand them out, due to the low quantity of possible combinations. Usually it's 2-3 digit county code, two letters and 1 to 4 numbers. P.e. XX(X) XX 123(4). I was a happy bunny when the chief officer at the registration office permitted me a shorty plate. Yes!! That's like german car guy's dream plate :D ^also installed my favourite long, flexible fiber glas antenna... And here's a picture from the interior. The bench seat will be fixed when it comes out for welding the floors... Which of course are rusted out. :grrrr: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeanLemons Posted July 3, 2017 Share Posted July 3, 2017 You are on a good progress Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crumbscomanche Posted July 5, 2017 Share Posted July 5, 2017 Beautiful little truck! I have a couple junkyards by me, let me know if i can ever help you find a part! You cover the shipping of course :laughin: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minuit Posted July 5, 2017 Share Posted July 5, 2017 Very nice truck! You did a great job cutting out the tach for the gear indicator :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JE39 Posted July 11, 2017 Author Share Posted July 11, 2017 Thank you guys!! :) The car made a rythmic noise when driving, didn't sound like a wheel bearing. But cornering the noise changed. So I ordered a set of new bearings. Wasn't all that easy over here, but I found a supplier who actually stocked them. So quickly pulled the front hub. I took many test-drives, but in the end I was about sure it was the front left bearing that was at fault. All pretty crusty down there... Luckily you don't have to remove the caliper carrier bracket, since I don't have the correct Torx socket for the job... :D It's surprising, that Jeep used so many Torx bolts, I only know them on cars from the mid- to late 90s on. Anyway, knocked out the old bearing races with a drift, knocked the new ones in - quick job. I like replacing bearings on non-driven wheels :D Packed with Castrol LMX, ready to go back in. A quick test drive confirmed that my diagnosis was right. Not that I needed the test-drive to confirm my diagnosis........ That's the worst I have ever come across....... Wow. Just - wow. No wonder the car made noises like a fully loaded freight train :D :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RustyRodder Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 You are making quick progress! I wonder how many of those MJs are left on that side of the world?And I am not sure why I am surprised that you know Roadkill over there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JE39 Posted July 30, 2017 Author Share Posted July 30, 2017 Hi! Don't know, I guess not more than a hand full... As far as I know, they never officially sold them over here? So I also replaced the rear wheel bearings, since I still had a wheel bearing noise after I replaced the front wheel bearing. This time it didn't change when cornering, so I assumed it was one of the rears that was gone as well. But they were actually fine... I replaced them anyway, since one race had some slight wear and I had the parts. I didn't make a difference. Still have a bearing noise. I think I'm just missjudging and it's actually the other front bearing that's shot. I'll take it apart soon and have a look. It's not super-evil, but present. I felt comfortable enough to put the MJ on tat hauling duty... I feared some metric/imperial incompatibility, but the quad-locker fitted perfect. Just - perfect! Maybe 1/8" of an inch clearance to the tail gate :D What surprises me; I get a fairly constant consumption of around 18.8 MPG. That's far better than what I was expecting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JE39 Posted August 13, 2017 Author Share Posted August 13, 2017 I took out the "Customliner"... And was surprised, in a good way. That's FAR better than I was expecting it to be... Awesome! Also installed overriders to the front bumper and painted the headlight surrounds black. Gave the bumper a lick with linseed oil, and all is "fresh" again. And I finally replaced the other front bearing. at first, it didn't look too bad and I feared that I might have another bearing in the trans or rear axle that's broken... But when I took out the rollers from the inner (big) bearing... I had found my problem: It's almost beautiful to look at! :D Anyway; no more bearing noises, all quiet as a whistle. Not even whining from the diff, which is nice. I'm currently in two minds whether to leave it 2WD or convert to 4WD. But before I take that decision, I'll need to replace a lot of brake lines and most importantly; both floor panels. Had not lifted the carpet yet, but I can see pinholes (being very euphemistic here :D) from below... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeeppapa Posted August 13, 2017 Share Posted August 13, 2017 So that was that... :D Solution; Wrangler cable: http://comancheclub.com/topic/53226-speedo-cable-snapped/?p=543265 And I installed a rear view mirror, as this was missing when I bought the MJ. It's a Wrangler mirror and apparantly a bit wider, had to mount it to the inner roof structure, else the sun visors would collide with it. Screwed the bracket in place, I don't like glue. And took her through the local vine yards to get a feel for her. Temporary plates have now expired, need insurance than I can get her registered and street legal (they put you in jail if you drive an uninsured vehicle, also you can't register a vehicle without insurance in Joymoney, nor get away with driving one un-registered). That's all for now, more to come for sure though. Looks good Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JE39 Posted August 26, 2017 Author Share Posted August 26, 2017 So, it's pretty much on daily duty currently... Took it to Lake Constance, to collect yet another hydraulic floor jack (I have 12 of them)... Also used it for gardening... ...and to clear out my second garage, where my other Mercedes is locked up. So far it's been very realiable, never missed a beat. I'm starting to trust it's reliability (it's gone to many less caring hands before me). I put on about 1000km the last couple of weeks (620mls). Only onething is bugging me; there's a big oil leak somewhere I can't pin down exactly. But it looks like the front crank seal or oil pan. So - there's work ahead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted August 26, 2017 Share Posted August 26, 2017 Love the 124 CE's. Had a couple of them, and they have timeless classic styling. Have been looking for a nice W124 500E for years. There aren't very many here, and those that exist and are decent are usually super expensive. Did Benz ever sell a 500 in the coupe 2-door version in Germany? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JE39 Posted August 26, 2017 Author Share Posted August 26, 2017 Hi! Yeah, I think it's one of the best looking Coupés they ever made. The V8s only ever went into the sedans, the 3.2l L6 was the biggest engine that went into the coupés. Mine's got a heart transplant that was never offered from factory - it's now a 3l turbodiesel :D 500Es are way overprices over here as well... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JE39 Posted September 2, 2017 Author Share Posted September 2, 2017 Today I noticed that the distributor was loosed and shaking when the engine ran... I tried to tighten the bolt of the clamp - it was tight. So a little research showed that this clamp is actualkly not supposed to be there... So I removed my "clamp". And, well.. To the right - this was in there. Note the nut someone wedged under to try and give it some leverage... To the left is my version, I quickly knocked up from an old Merc exhaust hanger. Result: distributor is firmly attached and clamped down rock solid. The cause was a broken flange, which apparently is not that unusual? Anyway, my slightly less quick&dirty hackjob seems to have fixed the issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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