First Car and It's a Comanche - Tips and Suggestions

[Terran024]

Hey fellow Comanche owners!

I got the chance to work for my Aunt and Uncle at their farm over the summer and in return they gave me their old Comanche because they were planning on selling it but really wanted to keep it in the family. I was actually already saving up to buy a car so I do have some money to spend on it. It's a completely stock 1991 4.0L rwd ax15 manual long bed sitting at about 90,000 miles. From what I can tell, it runs like a top and drives well but obviously I'm a first car owner and Comanche owner so any tips and Suggestions? I'm sort of thinking of doing some handling mods but keeping it mostly stock.

[HOrnbrod]

Congrats on earning a Jeep Comanche (truck, not car) and welcome to the forum. You are fortunate it's has low mileage and it's a 91 or 92, the last years of manufacture by Chrysler and the rarest and most desirable models. Post some pics on the forum when you can. 

[Pete M]

welcome to the addiction!  :)  the forums are a bit of a mess right now (in the middle of updating the software), but there's some good reading pinned at the top of the DIY forum.  

the key pointer I can give you is to be nice to the truck.  my first ride was also an MJ (many years ago) and my biggest regret was that I didn't take care of it as well as I should have.  you've got a real classic there.  treat her well and she'll be good to you. :)  

[Skorpyo]

Congrats! That is a great sounding first vehicle, and definitely seems to be a great truck in good condition. I still pine over my first vehicle, my 88 XJ. I've even gone so far as to pay to see a carfax report to see if it was still on the road. It might be and I keep thinking if I see it for sale, I'm gonna buy it.

 

As far as being a first time Comanche owner I'd recommend a few quick things, the most important of which is to find ANY rust and eliminate it ASAP. Rockers, floorboards, cab corners. If you have the time and ability pull out the carpet and check the entire floor board area and cab corners for rust. Clean it up and use POR-15 or similar to seal them. See if you can find a heat blanket, the kind on later model XJs over the catalytic converter, and install that over yours to reduce the heat on the floorboards as that really increases the likelihood of rust there.

 

Outside of that do the following:

1. Read this thread: 

2. Have fun with it, make it yours

3. Lastly, always ALWAYS perform routine maintenance on it when its time, if you do, she'll last you a LONG time.

[Minuit]

I got my first Comanche when I was 15 years old. Still have it now - actually, it's parked about 50 feet from me as I type this. Learn how to do things right. A 91 Comanche is truly something special, so do it justice no matter what you plan on doing to it. Treat it nice or you'll really regret it later on. These trucks are at the point where they're going up in value.

 

If I were you, I wouldn't do anything I couldn't undo. Some day you might want to turn the truck back to how it came from the factory. I've regretted it every time I've gotten rid of my truck's original parts. Every time I see someone take a cutting wheel to one of these trucks I die a little bit inside.

 

Some handling mods to start you off would be a 28mm front sway bar, 1999-2004 Grand Cherokee front lower control arms, and new suspension parts wherever they're needed. Those are fairly easy jobs and won't permanently change anything about your truck. I haven't done it yet but adding a rear sway bar seems to really tighten up the handling too.