1987 Comanche Build

[CGS]

Hello everyone! My name is Connor, and I recently acquired a 1987 Comanche. So I am new to comanches, but not new to jeeps. Fresh out of high school I bought a 1992 Cherokee, and daily drove it for years. Sadly, she is off the road currently, mostly due to rust and death wobble. 

So i grabbed this comanche from a young guy who said it did not run. Towed it home, took the valve cover off and cleaned some gunk out, installed a rubber piece that goes around the CCV on the cover, and drained the oil. Actually, what came out was basically water, not oil. Put fresh oil in, cranked her up, and have been driving her around the farm since. Since then I have also pressure washed a lot of the mud off, and installed exhaust/muffler (it was cut off right behind header when I got her). Engine has a mild tick, but seems to be doing alright. 

So I am new to this 2.5 engine. There is some kind of major oil leak at the top, slinging oil everywhere. It could be the valve cover, since I did a rough job reinstalling. I will tackle that part shortly. However, I think it has more to do with the CCV section. At this point, it is really two rubber grommets on top of the valve cover with an open hole in each. Is it safe to plug these, will that help or hurt in any way? Or is there a better way to go about it?

I would like to make this a daily driver in the near future. Is it worth investing into the 2.5? I have the cherokee 4.0 and auto tranny, plus another 4.0 laying around. I consider long term rebuilding a 4.0 and throwing it in there. 

 

Here are a few pics:
Comanche the day I got her

Cherokee tribute early into our relationship
Then after quite a few beatings