Vakarian Posted November 25, 2019 Author Share Posted November 25, 2019 Well Thursday night my junkyard gem became what one would expect to be found in the junkyard. At 5:45 p.m. a ten point buck decided to dart out and remodel the front end. So now its back into the queue for fixing and upgrading. Got to keep the deer and the rack. Neighbor joking said to mount somewhere outside on the property or on the front of the truck once fixed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rylee144 Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 Really sorry to hear this. Bummer deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecodemonk Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 Ouch! Glad you're ok and looking forward to seeing your journey in fixing up the MJ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vakarian Posted November 26, 2019 Author Share Posted November 26, 2019 20 hours ago, rylee144 said: Really sorry to hear this. Bummer deal. Yeah it sucked as i never seem to reduce my to-do list. But guess it means the wife can't be to upset on the extra upgrade parts added in to repair it. 16 hours ago, thecodemonk said: Ouch! Glad you're ok and looking forward to seeing your journey in fixing up the MJ! I lucked out as the buck's body was mostly above the hood so it could have been a lot worse. Hoping the journey gets start soon after the red comahce clutch issue gets resolved. Be sure more pictures to come as she is rebuild. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vakarian Posted February 19, 2020 Author Share Posted February 19, 2020 Well Saturday Feb 15 was the day the Junkyard Gem made it into the garage to begin the repair process and now I have a nice deadline goal of April 11th to be completed before. There is a local autocross even that a few buddies of mine want to go check out with their cars (Mazda Speed 3, Integra and imported Skyline) and I want to go check out with the truck. So here goes the process for setting the truck up for the street and autocross because now is the best time to upgrade since it needs repairing First thing first was getting the hood off and pulling all the shattered pieces of the auxiliary fan that was in bedded into the radiator. The air box was shattered, power steering pump is shot as the pulley is bent about 60 degrees, clutch fan is bend and jammed on, condenser is an accordion in parts and the cross member above the radiator ripped out the inserts that are used to bolt into on the fender support. The good news is there seems to be a Comanche of matching color in a local junkyard that was hit on the mirrored side so I might luck out on matching color except for the hood. So the truck had an air flapper in the air box that was connected to a fabric hose that feed into the exhaust manifold. I have no idea why or what it is suppose to do. Anyone have any input of what it was for or what would happen if I don't reconnect? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglescout526 Posted February 19, 2020 Share Posted February 19, 2020 That flapper closes on cold starts to allow the hot exhaust to circulate and heat up the fuel for better atomization. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdog Posted February 19, 2020 Share Posted February 19, 2020 If you leave it out it won't hurt anythingStock 1988 swb 4.0 ax15 np 231. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vakarian Posted February 19, 2020 Author Share Posted February 19, 2020 1 hour ago, eaglescout526 said: That flapper closes on cold starts to allow the hot exhaust to circulate and heat up the fuel for better atomization. Interesting and thank you for the information eaglescout526. During disassembly it through me off as I had never seen or heard of it before. 36 minutes ago, jdog said: If you leave it out it won't hurt anything Stock 1988 swb 4.0 ax15 np 231. Thank you for the information jdog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglescout526 Posted February 19, 2020 Share Posted February 19, 2020 No problem! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vakarian Posted March 25, 2020 Author Share Posted March 25, 2020 Have been spending time in the garage this past month and have finally made some great progress on the repairs. Lots of pictures showing the process. Got the damage panels off, removed the AC condenser and power steering pump. Took the Comanche outside and tired it to a tree. Using the winch on my buddies wrangler slowly bent the vertical corner support back into place. Use blocks of wood and hammers for adjustments while under tension with the winch. After this experience I jive major props to people that do body work for a living. It was so much just trial and error figuring out what was need to be done. From here it was pushed back into the garage to continue the work. After a while was able to get the fender to align up and bolt up. That was a wonderful feeling. Additionally, I get to join the four / five color truck group with the hood being placed on. Just to need to adjust the hood some as the driver side is sitting back a little bit. All that is left now is the radiator open system, electric fan to be wired, installing the new headlight harness since the driver head light connector got smashed and the power steering pump. As i installed the pulley with the press, the pump shaft popped and push out the back some home. Here is the headlight harness to be installed. Seems like a good quality for only $18 dollars. So close to be able to get back on the road and keep me from having to drive the big dually around right now. Well the junkyard gem is slowly getting there and has changed which side of the title it match. That is all for now and everyone have a great day until next time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buxmj Posted March 26, 2020 Share Posted March 26, 2020 Great work! Way to save it from the crusher! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vakarian Posted March 26, 2020 Author Share Posted March 26, 2020 14 hours ago, buxmj said: Great work! Way to save it from the crusher! Thanks buxmj! I was going to do what I could to keep it. Nothing major wrong and besides the body damage and it is a fun little truck to drive. My wife said she would enjoy driving it if it was not a manual. (she doesn't know how to drive it and it has been a struggle trying to get her to accept to learn) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buxmj Posted March 26, 2020 Share Posted March 26, 2020 My wife and I have been married for almost 20 years and she makes a snide comment from time to time about me never having taken her out and teaching her how to drive my mj which is a 5 speed. She did drive it years ago on a road trip so I could rest but we started in a gravel parking lot next to the interstate so it really wasn't driving a stick. At one point I really was trying to baby an old clutch but I have had a new one for a while now and should get her out. Someday I hope to come across a deal on an xj since I am feeling more and more comfortable working on this platform, thanks to CC and threads like yours! Buck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vakarian Posted March 27, 2020 Author Share Posted March 27, 2020 20 hours ago, buxmj said: My wife and I have been married for almost 20 years and she makes a snide comment from time to time about me never having taken her out and teaching her how to drive my mj which is a 5 speed. She did drive it years ago on a road trip so I could rest but we started in a gravel parking lot next to the interstate so it really wasn't driving a stick. At one point I really was trying to baby an old clutch but I have had a new one for a while now and should get her out. Someday I hope to come across a deal on an xj since I am feeling more and more comfortable working on this platform, thanks to CC and threads like yours! Buck. I keep trying but after my first attempt to teach on a Wrangler where she couldn't reach the pedals it has been hard to get her out. I appreciate the compliment regarding my build threads. They are nothing special but glad to hear that they have been useful / helpful. Hoping to have the truck up and running by the end of this weekend. Stay tuned! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted March 27, 2020 Share Posted March 27, 2020 you never know who all your words might reach. the vast majority of people that stop by don't post, but they do read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vakarian Posted March 27, 2020 Author Share Posted March 27, 2020 1 hour ago, Pete M said: you never know who all your words might reach. the vast majority of people that stop by don't post, but they do read. That is true Pete M, I didn't think of it that way. Just love all the insight, feedback and support that CC has to offer each other on our awesome trucks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted March 27, 2020 Share Posted March 27, 2020 this thread has almost 1400 views. I certainly wish more people would chime in, but you can only do what you can do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CapitalCityPioneer Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 On 3/27/2020 at 11:33 AM, Pete M said: you never know who all your words might reach. the vast majority of people that stop by don't post, but they do read. I've learned basically everything I've done to my vehicles off of knowledge from a few friends (mainly Vakarian lol), my Hane's manuals, and being that silent reader across thousands of pages across countless forums. ComancheClub has done leaps and bounds for my knowledge about parts needed for my MJ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vakarian Posted March 31, 2020 Author Share Posted March 31, 2020 I was able to get some work done this weekend before having to stop to catch up on homework. The front clip and headlights have been installed after noticing the highlight buckets changed on the later XJ. The second support / adjustment screw changed sides as you can see in the second picture. You have to swap the driver and passenger light bucket to work as they moved the screw from the outside on the Comanche to the inside for the later model XJ. After completing this I took my volt meter to the fuse box under the steering wheel to find a ignition only power source. Not wanting to just plug a spade connector into the front of the fuse box I have been trying to determine what type of connector end are within the fuse box. I would like to install one in the blank slot next to the ignition source to have a fuse there to keep it nice and clean. This would finish up the electric fan upgrade leaving only the power steering pump and coolant. The truck is close to being back on the road and I'm excited. Also what is the process for getting air out of the closed cooling system? Thanks for the visit and have great evening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vakarian Posted April 4, 2020 Author Share Posted April 4, 2020 Well last night was a busy and successful night! She is not pretty looking and still has a little cosmetic work but she is able to be driven again! Ran a little rough at first from sitting i guess but its nice to have her back on the road. Plus I missed driving a standard transmission. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minuit Posted April 4, 2020 Share Posted April 4, 2020 The fuse box contacts are called "Pack-Con" connectors. Readily available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vakarian Posted April 5, 2020 Author Share Posted April 5, 2020 17 hours ago, Minuit said: The fuse box contacts are called "Pack-Con" connectors. Readily available. Thank you for the information Minuit. Yesterday morning after starting the Comanche up and backing out of the garage I walked out and saw this. Looking of the radiator it turns out the hose clamp had shifted and was not seated correctly. So after that readjustment it stopped leaking and I moved onto the burping of cooling system. I jack the back end up and started her up pouring coolant into the reservoir. Took about 20 minus to stop bubbling and was staying around 190 degrees. Tires all have air and she will be taken out for a little test drive later today so see how she handles. Now to just finish the cosmetic look of her then figure out how to repaint her per the wife's statement. Per her word "It doesn't look as good when you first got it until you paint it but it runs." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WesD Posted April 5, 2020 Share Posted April 5, 2020 Great rescue and impressive redneck engineering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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