mooseinabox Posted April 14, 2019 Author Share Posted April 14, 2019 1 hour ago, Pete M said: you're a pro! now come over here and do all that to my truck The right tools can make anyone look like an expert. I'm a glorified tire tech. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJXJjeepguy Posted April 14, 2019 Share Posted April 14, 2019 Since u already got it overheated issue solved, but have u ever heard or have try coolant burp funnel? It work with me everytime, I always use that after flush coolant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mooseinabox Posted April 14, 2019 Author Share Posted April 14, 2019 1 hour ago, MJXJjeepguy said: Since u already got it overheated issue solved, but have u ever heard or have try coolant burp funnel? It work with me everytime, I always use that after flush coolant. I was going to consider getting that if my problem persisted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mooseinabox Posted April 21, 2019 Author Share Posted April 21, 2019 The truck came home this week!! I've already put on almost 150 miles and the truck has absolutely exceeded my expectations. I took it on backroads, highways, daytime, nighttime, rain and shine. 65-70mph, smooth as silk. I could not be happier. It's a dream come true. Pretty early in this thread, I'm sure I mentioned the fuel gauge not working. Well, now that I've put on a few miles, I realize that it was just really really full. So relieved that not only it works properly, but that I didn't pull out the sending unit and attempt to fix it. Considering the gauge was so past full, I'm wondering if it's also really inaccurate and 1/4 will be empty. I guess we'll find out! I still have plenty of small things to wrap up - - No gauge cluster lights - No dome lights - No radio - Passenger side bulb socket - Sometimes brake lights don't work (have to wiggle some fuses to get them working) - Install window rubber kit - Clean up grounds - Fab up new exhaust - Refinish all 5 alloy wheels (2 done) I've made some progress on the wheels put it is a pain in the butt getting these shined up. Basically I'm just polishing the outside lips. The process is really time consuming though. I have to carefully sand down the lips with my die grinder and an abrasive pad, then sand with 320, 500, 1000, 1200, and 2000 sand paper. After, hit it with some metal polish. The results are really nice at least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted April 22, 2019 Share Posted April 22, 2019 always a good day when you finally see them sitting in the driveway for the first time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gilbos440rt Posted April 25, 2019 Share Posted April 25, 2019 I'm a newbie to the Comanches, what did the dash with the tach come out of? Also is there a thread about installing that style of gauges? Your truck is coming along great I hope the 88 I'm about to get goes around as nicely, same color as yours, it's a 4.0, 5 speed, 4x4, LB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mooseinabox Posted April 25, 2019 Author Share Posted April 25, 2019 1 hour ago, gilbos440rt said: I'm a newbie to the Comanches, what did the dash with the tach come out of? Also is there a thread about installing that style of gauges? Your truck is coming along great I hope the 88 I'm about to get goes around as nicely, same color as yours, it's a 4.0, 5 speed, 4x4, LB So if you have an '88, you need a cluster out of an '87-'90 MJ or XJ. Installation can be tricky for the first time, but manageable. You first need to remove the plastic dash trim held in by numerous philips screws. Then, remove the screws for the cluster. The hardest part is removing the cluster because the speedometer cable will keep you from pulling it out far enough to get everything unhooked. What I did was unscrew the speedo cable from the transfer case, then loosen the bracket that's under the truck about halfway between the tcase and the firewall. Once you get the cable loose you can push it through the firewall giving you enough slack to get the cluster plugs and speedo cable undone. The cable will either have a push clip, or two ends to squeeze. Another thing to note is you will need a different coolant temp sender, located on the back right of the head if you're looking at the engine from the front, and a different oil pressure sensor, located on top of the oil filter housing. These will allow your cluster to read out temperature and oil pressure. Careful removing the temp sender if the motor is hot, as it will shoot coolant out. Make a thread if you end up getting it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gilbos440rt Posted April 25, 2019 Share Posted April 25, 2019 Thanks it's on the list of things to do now for sure! Gauges look really good in there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buxmj Posted May 18, 2019 Share Posted May 18, 2019 You have already done some great work on your mj, making the rest of us jealous! Thanks for the inspiration in the attention to detail! Buck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mooseinabox Posted February 14, 2020 Author Share Posted February 14, 2020 Wow I have not touched this thread in quite a while. Life goes by fast when you start getting older. So much has happened with this truck I barely even know where to start! I'll make a few posts to separate the "events." Also I'll be explaining the pictures by memory so we'll see how much detail I can remember. Here goes - Friend of mine has an '85 F-150. We both love short bed 4x4s, so it's fun to go cruise around together. I'm jealous of his cab size. May 2019 - Pulling up the carpet for the first time. I knew there was a few pinholes showing on the driver side so my expectations for anything clean was low. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mooseinabox Posted February 14, 2020 Author Share Posted February 14, 2020 More rust pics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mooseinabox Posted February 14, 2020 Author Share Posted February 14, 2020 May 2019 still - Got the Ravines all polished up and mounted! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mooseinabox Posted February 14, 2020 Author Share Posted February 14, 2020 Late June 2019 - Had my coworker get started on some rust repair. I trusted his skills for this and let him do his thing. Unfortunately I don't think rust repair is his specialty but I just said thank you and smiled. He is a great welder, but I will always wonder why he thought just welding over rust rather than cutting it out was the best option. Not to mention there was still plenty of rust left behind. Oh well. I wasn't ready to dive into rust repair this season, so it stayed like that for a long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mooseinabox Posted February 14, 2020 Author Share Posted February 14, 2020 July 2019 - I remember finally getting ready to take the truck home for good instead of keeping it at work, and seeing oil dripping pretty severely under the truck. Well, turned out it was the rear main. I guess 16 years of sitting will do that to a few seals. I'm definitely lacking on pictures because my hands were so dirty the whole time, but this was a bear of a job for me. I struggled for hours to get the oil pan out. I thought they used one hell of a gasket maker on those pans until I realized there was one point covered in oil hiding from me... To squeeze the pan out I had to disconnect the exhaust from the downpipe. With the pan out, I thoroughly cleaned the pan and the block. The rear main seal was a little scary to install, but I got it in nicely using needle nose pliers and a small punch. I used a bit of rtv on the curves of the pan as suggested to avoid leaks. I started this job around 6pm after work, and I don't think I got done until around 2am. If I had to do it again I could probably knock it out in 2 hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mooseinabox Posted February 14, 2020 Author Share Posted February 14, 2020 Still July 2019 - When I took the exhaust off to replace the rear main, I decided to just go ahead and replace the whole thing minus the manifold. Every part was made by Walker exhaust and fit really well. I was really impressed with the fitment and spent less than $200 including a new cat! I may end up replacing the muffler for something a little rumbly down the road. Booty pics 70mph down the turnpike driving straight as an arrow, nice and smooth. I'm tired so I'll have to keep updating tomorrow or Saturday. Stay tuned! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Limeyjeeper Posted February 14, 2020 Share Posted February 14, 2020 Great build. Walker do a great job with the Comanche exhaust. And that R32 epic vehicle to drive!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMO413 Posted February 15, 2020 Share Posted February 15, 2020 Walker does make a nice system for these trucks. I did the same in mine but used a Thrush muffler and it sounds good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mooseinabox Posted February 15, 2020 Author Share Posted February 15, 2020 14 hours ago, Limeyjeeper said: Great build. Walker do a great job with the Comanche exhaust. And that R32 epic vehicle to drive!! Nice to see when people recognize the R. I’m probably selling it this spring though. Too nice and expensive of a car for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mooseinabox Posted February 15, 2020 Author Share Posted February 15, 2020 14 hours ago, JMO413 said: Walker does make a nice system for these trucks. I did the same in mine but used a Thrush muffler and it sounds good. Ohhh that sounds awesome! I might have to change that out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mooseinabox Posted February 16, 2020 Author Share Posted February 16, 2020 August 2019 - This was a big month for my truck. So earlier in the thread you may have seen the pictures of my fuse box and my complaints of electrical issues. Like a lot of manual trucks, my clutch master was leaking on the box and destroyed it. I had issues with the wipers, tail lights, radio, cluster lights, and probably a couple other things. Well, I finally bit the bullet and soldered in a new box. It was a very time consuming, nerve-wracking, tedious, and difficult job. Definitely the scariest and most difficult job I've done on any vehicle to date. To pull this off I bought a full, uncut interior harness for a very good price from an automatic Renix Cherokee. It was untouched minus the radio harness but that section was far from the box. I spent one or two full nights prepping both harnesses before cutting anything. There were lots of instances where two and even three wires were the same color so I needed to label each and every one to keep track. Even though I spent hours doing I still missed a few sets and had to spend hours afterwards trying to figure out which one went where. I had zero soldering experience before this by the way. Old box - You can see how many pins are damaged. Labeling while the old box is still in. "Int" stood for interior side, or a wire that was connected to box side. "Eng" stood for engine side, or wires that connected to the firewall plug. New box and harness after cutting and separating. I used this cool tool from Matco to keep the two wires together while I soldered them. I used a few old brake rotors boxes for a stand. Soldering done. Nicely taped up. Look how nice those terminals are. Like nothing ever happened. Everything works perfectly now. Hopefully I never have to mess with that dumb box again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buxmj Posted February 16, 2020 Share Posted February 16, 2020 Wow, that is some amazing work! Congrats on finishing. Buck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mooseinabox Posted February 16, 2020 Author Share Posted February 16, 2020 Early September 2019 New headlights! Less than $9 each at Walmart. I also added finally the headlight harness relay so my truck doesn't burn down. I recommend replacing the inline fuse if you get the one on eBay. It melted on me after a month or so and my lights suddenly went out when it was dark out. Late September 2019 Moving day for the Comanche and me! Bought my first house and it came with a hell of a garage. I've never had a garage before. It took several trips but I moved everything with just my little truck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mooseinabox Posted February 16, 2020 Author Share Posted February 16, 2020 14 minutes ago, buxmj said: Wow, that is some amazing work! Congrats on finishing. Buck. Thank you! As bad as the job was, it was so satisfying when it started up and everything finally worked properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mooseinabox Posted February 16, 2020 Author Share Posted February 16, 2020 After finishing up the harness I didn't do much to the truck except drive it! Since I moved my commute temporarily changed to almost 40 minutes each way. Most days I drove the truck and she did just fine. November 2019 No salt for my southern gem. I got some dollies from harbor freight so I could push the truck sideways in the garage. With this setup I am able to get all my toys stored and still have two spots left for the daily drivers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mooseinabox Posted February 16, 2020 Author Share Posted February 16, 2020 Starting to get close to being fully updated! Hopefully I will stay on top of it from now on. Late January 2020 Every time I looked at the truck in the garage, I thought about the floor rust and how I really needed to address it soon. We got a couple hard rains that washed away the salt and I decided to take it out and bring it to my work to try to get it all fixed up before spring. My company opened a new location very close to my new house and this shop has a ton more storage. Most days I keep the truck in my bay, but when we're busy she gets to hang out in the warehouse. Rust time!!!!!! Started with the driver side. I finally grew some sense and popped off the upper frame rails. Spot welds can kiss my butt. I was really surprised when I saw how rotted out it was under the caps. Pan from Keyparts. 18 guage, decent fitment. Welded in. My coworker used to weld for a living so I handed the welder to him. I'm not gonna learn to weld on my floor pans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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