Bringing my old Comanche back to life.

[Jeep Addict]

So I finally have an update on the Comanche! It's been interesting because I've had issues with a ton of things that I kept trying to do but I finally got it all straightened out. One of the things I ordered for the Comanche was four brand new tires since the old tires didn't hold air for more then a few days. Well when I was trying to take the old tires off, four of the lug nuts stripped and so two of the tires were stuck on the Comanche. While I was trying to get those off the truck sat for a bit since I've had to split my time between working full time and going to school full time. This took a while since I was trying to protect the stock wheels from any damage and the lug nuts were seized onto the wheels.

 

By the time I got all the new tires on, the engine didn't want to turn over. So began the process of working on the engine to get that running again. The main process was the engine would crank but wouldn't turn over. So my buddy and I started going through the engine checking parts to see if we could figure out what was wrong. We determined that the engine wasn't getting a spark. We ended up putting in a computer that slightly remedied the issue where we were getting a spark but the voltage was too low for the engine. So we started going through the engine again but couldn't find what could be the issue. My buddy had the idea that the first computer we put in the engine was faulty so we ordered another one and put it in. Lo and behold the first computer was faulty because we got the second computer in and it started right up.

 

So now the Jeep is back up and running. We threw a bunch of parts into the Jeep to help eliminate any possible issues. We deep cleaned the interior with a shampoo vacuum cleaner and oh boy was there some dirt that came out of those seats. Next on the list is to redo the brakes all the way around and then to look at the front end since the steering is a bit loose to put it lightly.

 

[Pete M]

love the umbrella and fan.   been there, done that! 

[Jeep Addict]

So I finally have an update on the Comanche, haven't done a crazy amount of work since I had to stop putting money in the Comanche so I could replace my horribly unreliable daily. Things that have been done recently is that we put in a new radiator, thermostat and water pump to try and help the Comanche's overheating issues. The Comanche would overheat in warmer weather in heavy traffic and other situations where you weren't moving enough to get air moving through the engine bay. It's not completely resolved so I'm going to throw an upgraded fan in the engine bay. Hopefully after all that I won't have to worry about that old iron block getting to hot. 

 

Two other small things I got done is I added a new heater core, blower motor resistor, and blower motor to get the fan/heater working again so I can comfortably drive through the winter. One small thing I have to look at is that now that the fan is working I need to see why I can't adjust where the air comes out of the vents. For some reason it's stuck on blowing air onto the windshield but I can't adjust it. No big deal but would be nice to get that working. I also got some KO2's and some steel wheels for off-roading/all this snow we've been getting over here in NJ. It's kind of hilarious since they're little 29 inch off-road tires but they definitely do the job. 

 

New issue that I trying to fix is I took the Comanche to my mechanic shop to have them look at the suspension and steering setup to see if we could tighten up the steering to help with on-road comfort. While looking at the underside we noticed that my track bar is bent, the track bar bushing has about a half inch of space in there where nothing is sitting. So we were going to get that fixed when we noticed the reason the track arm is bent, it's because the frame has a minor bend in it . So now we are trying to find a shop that will bend the frame back into shape so we can fix all the other issues that we can see. Hopefully after that the only mechanical issue I need to fix is that I'm pretty sure the transfer case is shot because it makes a grinding noise when I tried to engage 4WD when I first took the Comanche off-road. 

[jdog]

The heater is a vacuum issue, check to make sure the lines are still connected under the hood and check the vacuum ball behind the front bumper. The transfer case could be that the linkage needs adjusted. That sucks about the frame.

[Pete M]

can we see photos of all this bent hardware up front?  I'd hate for you to be freaking out over something that's completely normal.

 

were you struggling with hi-range or with lo-range?