Limeyjeeper Posted February 14, 2020 Share Posted February 14, 2020 Love the buld. Wish I could get mine done as fast. Just not enough hours in the day!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liketosmash Posted February 20, 2020 Author Share Posted February 20, 2020 Quick update on the build. Took it out for a drive last week to get a chip repaired in the windshield and the engine died and I had to tow it home. After some investigation the Fuel pump went out. Bought a Delphi HP10148 Fuel Pump assembly that I found a $20 deal on and spent hours retrofitting the pump to fit the pump to the Comanche hanger and fuel sender. Meanwhile I couldn't leave things alone and started pulling my rear bumper to get it painted and to add some license plate lighting since it had none and I decided to bite the bullet and purchased a used AX-15 to replace the BA-10. The Ax-15 is out of a wrangler so it seems like it is clocked a little higher and I had to change the input shaft on the transfer case from 21 to 23 spline. Thankfully a friend had the part I needed to make that change. About halfway through getting the transfer case back together. Thankfully the bearing, clutch and other parts all seem like they will work with the current setup. Guess we will find out when we put it all back together. Funny part to the story, the guy I bought the AX-15 from threw in a 4x4 Comanche rear drive shaft. It is nearly identical to the one I just had made. Wish I had that 2 weeks ago to save me a little $$$. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted February 25, 2020 Share Posted February 25, 2020 now you have a spare shaft Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SouthernComanche Posted February 25, 2020 Share Posted February 25, 2020 Quick update on the build. Took it out for a drive last week to get a chip repaired in the windshield and the engine died and I had to tow it home. After some investigation the Fuel pump went out. Bought a Delphi HP10148 Fuel Pump assembly that I found a $20 deal on and spent hours retrofitting the pump to fit the pump to the Comanche hanger and fuel sender. Meanwhile I couldn't leave things alone and started pulling my rear bumper to get it painted and to add some license plate lighting since it had none and I decided to bite the bullet and purchased a used AX-15 to replace the BA-10. The Ax-15 is out of a wrangler so it seems like it is clocked a little higher and I had to change the input shaft on the transfer case from 21 to 23 spline. Thankfully a friend had the part I needed to make that change. About halfway through getting the transfer case back together. Thankfully the bearing, clutch and other parts all seem like they will work with the current setup. Guess we will find out when we put it all back together. Funny part to the story, the guy I bought the AX-15 from threw in a 4x4 Comanche rear drive shaft. It is nearly identical to the one I just had made. Wish I had that 2 weeks ago to save me a little $$$. Is that 4x4 driveshaft for a shortbox? and would you be willing to sell it?... hahaSent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liketosmash Posted March 10, 2020 Author Share Posted March 10, 2020 Things have been slow going and frustrating so I just haven't been motivated to post lately. After many days I finally got the AX-15 installed. As the transmission was clocked for a wrangler it too much more work then I thought it would. I ended up banging out some sheet metal, getting a poly mount that was a 1/2" shorter and cutting and welding the center of the BA-10 cross member to get the clearances I needed. The result is that it's tucked up real nicely under the truck but if I had to do it again... I would have re-clocked the transmission. It was just a lot more work than I expected. The 4x4 linkage also didn't work as I was missing the plate on the transmission so I ended up getting a copy of 'Azzy's Design Works' linkage. Still haven't gotten that adjusted right yet. Put it all back together only to find that the syncro is gone on 3 and 5 is a bit rough so out it comes again for a rebuild. The other special treat is that the fuel sender is not working again so I guess that needs to come out again and see If I broke a wire or something putting it back in. Also lost brakes and discovered one of the rear cylinders blew so got that replaced. Changed out battery terminals as well. The good new is I was able to put another 50+ miles on the truck and the motor is very strong and I much prefer the gearing of the ax-15 over the BA-10. Next up .. transmission rebuild Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liketosmash Posted March 24, 2020 Author Share Posted March 24, 2020 Well the other rear brake cylinder blew out so now they are both replaced with new. I have about 150 miles on the new engine now and decided since we are all quarantined to our homes its time to do the transmission and a few other things. I picked up a 241 C transfer case for next to nothing and took a look at swapping it in for the 231 that is in there now. This transfer case is larger and much stronger than the 231. The 2 big benefits are that has a stronger 6 gear planetary and larger chain/gears. After tearing it down, the 241 case is essentially the same as the 242 but it is very different than the 231 case. The 241 Chevy case is also clocked differently. I decided I would have to buy parts and deal with clearing the transfer case all over again and it just wasn't worth the upgraded strength that isn't really needed for this build. I did take the stronger 6 gear planetary from the 241 and put it into the 231 as that was a direct drop in and is the majority of the strength from the 241. After buttoning the transfer cases back up it was time to move on to the Transmission. It's torn down and on the bench and I should be able to start working on the rebuild tonight. Based on the gold glitter and chunks of syncro in the oil it was in desperate need of the rebuild. Well the other rear brake cylinder blew out so now they are both replaced with new. I have about 150 miles on the new engine now and decided since we are all quarantined to our homes its time to do the transmission and a few other things. I picked up a 241 C transfer case for next to nothing and took a look at swapping it in for the 231 that is in there now. This transfer case is larger and much stronger than the 231. The 2 big benefits are that has a stronger 6 gear planetary and larger chain/gears. After tearing it down, the 241 case is essentially the same as the 242 but it is very different than the 231 case. The 241 Chevy case is also clocked differently. I decided I would have to buy parts and deal with clearing the transfer case all over again and it just wasn't worth the upgraded strength that isn't really needed for this build. I did take the stronger 6 gear planetary from the 241 and put it into the 231 as that was a direct drop in and is the majority of the strength from the 241. After buttoning the transfer cases back up it was time to move on to the Transmission. It's torn down and on the bench and I should be able to start working on the rebuild tonight. Based on the gold glitter and chunks of syncro in the oil it was in desperate need of the rebuild. Also working on getting the rear bumper painted, rear plate lights working, gas tank seal leak fixed, and a bunch of other small issues taken care of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liketosmash Posted April 13, 2020 Author Share Posted April 13, 2020 Quick status update. Wrestled the rebuilt ax-15 in place with the upgraded 231. Changed the shifter stick back to the original vs the too tall wrangler stick, added lights to the rear bumper for the license plate and fixed the door stops on both doors. Finally back in a drive-able state and the newly built transmission is wonderful. It also got a quick bath with the pressure washer since it hasn't been cleaned for many many years. Still need to diagnose the reverse lights, interior lights, brake light, put the shift console back together and lots of other body work and interior work. But its running and driving great. Here it is next to the old CJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liketosmash Posted May 1, 2020 Author Share Posted May 1, 2020 Put a few hundred more mile's on and of course I can't leave it alone. So on to the next phase. The dash was terrible so I pulled a donor from the salvage yard. While I'm at it I'm swapping steering wheels, putting in a tilt column from an automatic, fixing the radio and maybe switching over to power windows and locks. Also changing up the interior to some newer panels. If only I can find the one broken one... Driver above the door. Seems these are broken on all the Cherokees. Updates to come... Still have some mystery items too. No reverse lights, interior dash lights went out and my passenger front axle seal is leaking probably from when I switched to a one piece axle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdog Posted May 1, 2020 Share Posted May 1, 2020 If You're going with the auto column make sure you disable the key release. It's a rod at the bottom of the collar about midway down the column. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjeff87 Posted May 1, 2020 Share Posted May 1, 2020 On the dash lights.....are your brake lights working out back? The two are on the same circuit...it was some engineer's idea of a safety of sorts....because you normally can't see if your brake lights are out while driving, if your dash lights cut out it is/was a visual clue to let you know your brake lights were not working. That said, I had intermittent problems with my dash lights once, ended up being the 5A "instrument light" fuse in the block. Fuse itself was fine, but my fuseblock had some damage done to it by a leaking clutch MC at one point and the wires on the back side of the block for that fuse position were loose. Try wiggling that fuse around a bit to see if you can get them to light up. I ended up having to "shim" my fuse so it made constant contact with the connectors in the block. Good luck. Nice build and thread writeup to all the hard work you've been doing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted May 1, 2020 Share Posted May 1, 2020 On 4/13/2020 at 12:27 PM, Liketosmash said: couple of nice ol' classics right there. sweetness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liketosmash Posted May 8, 2020 Author Share Posted May 8, 2020 Thanks for the encouragement and tips. Got the auto column and new dash in and they seem to be working great once I figured out how to wire up the column disconnect. Love the new/used dash as the old one was trashed. It's not perfect either but much much better. What a pain to pull and install though. While on this adventure, got a new radio in and blew some fuses in the process. What do you know I replaced the blown fuses (trans and instrument light fuses) and now I have gauge lights and reverse lights. Can't explain why that fixed things because I already tested the fuses for continuity and the were good before hand. I'll take the win though cause I really was not looking forward to tracing either of those down. I did run into a new issue with the headlight switch. The dash I got as a replacement I pulled from a much newer jeep and it had a switch with more pins. Seemed backwards compatible so I went with it. Then I noticed when the car was running my led headlights were on all the time just super dim. I had already ordered a new headlight harness (thanks to Pete M's signature) because the headlights would dim badly when the brights were on and I hit the brakes. Putting the new harness in was super easy and took care of both problems. I mounted the relays to the passenger side of the engine bay and used the front clip brace bolts for the grounds at each light. Pulled the front grill and ran the wire right next to the stock harness. Of course now I have a few new problems I discovered: Rear Differential is leaking again. I've already re-sealed it 2x but maybe 3rd time will be the charm Front passenger axle seal is leaking. I replaced the 2 piece axle with a one piece and I added an axle seal at the diff. Guess it failed and I may need to find a larger seal and try again. Radiator is still very slowly leaking fluid Steering wheel is not centered with the new column. It was perfect before the column swap, maybe I can just adjust the steering wheel? And then there is still the list of things to do: Interior is still all torn apart Need to get visors recovered Need to fabricate some sort of back panel Need to get the bench seat recovered Fix rust on floor boards and rockers Hood replacement needs to be prepped and put on Door replacements need to get prepped and put on Need to decide if I want to keep my manual windows and locks or go electric (electric is what is in the new doors) Paint or wrap it? And the best part... the pictures Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiatslug87 Posted May 8, 2020 Share Posted May 8, 2020 That looks like a NOS steering wheel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liketosmash Posted May 11, 2020 Author Share Posted May 11, 2020 No just got really lucky and found a Wagoneer at the salvage yard with this wheel and column. The wheel was covered in black and looked terrible. Almost didn't grab it because it looked totally ruined. Cleaned up really nice. All the people at the yard didn't realize the Wagoneer was even in the yard as we all just ask for a list of Cherokees (which are always stripped). We forget about the Wagoneer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89 MJ Posted May 11, 2020 Share Posted May 11, 2020 1 hour ago, Liketosmash said: No just got really lucky and found a Wagoneer at the salvage yard with this wheel and column. The wheel was covered in black and looked terrible. Almost didn't grab it because it looked totally ruined. Cleaned up really nice. All the people at the yard didn't realize the Wagoneer was even in the yard as we all just ask for a list of Cherokees (which are always stripped). We forget about the Wagoneer. How was the grille in it? Was it an XJ Wagoneer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liketosmash Posted May 12, 2020 Author Share Posted May 12, 2020 Yeah it was an XJ Wagoneer. I almost grabbed the grill and whole front panel but the more I looked the more I found was broken. It could have been repaired I think but the actual grill was broken in several places. If I wasn't already rocking a 10 slot with LED headlights I might have gone for it just for those weird quad headlights. I gently put the grill in the back a couple of weeks ago hoping maybe the next guy would save it. It and the mirrors where also purple in a lot of places and I still can't decide if that was due to the chrome coming off or if someone really did that intentionally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89 MJ Posted May 12, 2020 Share Posted May 12, 2020 1 hour ago, Liketosmash said: Yeah it was an XJ Wagoneer. I almost grabbed the grill and whole front panel but the more I looked the more I found was broken. It could have been repaired I think but the actual grill was broken in several places. If I wasn't already rocking a 10 slot with LED headlights I might have gone for it just for those weird quad headlights. I gently put the grill in the back a couple of weeks ago hoping maybe the next guy would save it. It and the mirrors where also purple in a lot of places and I still can't decide if that was due to the chrome coming off or if someone really did that intentionally. The side marker lights in the XJ wagoneer are worth big bucks if they aren’t broken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglescout526 Posted May 12, 2020 Share Posted May 12, 2020 To add on to what 89 said, theres a few thing unique to the XJ Waggy that you can't find new such as the tails, chrome trim, interior pieces, and the front fascia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liketosmash Posted May 13, 2020 Author Share Posted May 13, 2020 You two are really trying to get me to go back to the junkyard aren't you I got the first oil change in last night and drained the front and rear diffs. Gonna try a gasket on the back to try and solve that problem and need to pull the front axles to put in a new passenger inner axle seal. Not looking forward to that part. Also got newish speakers in the rear speaker locations and it sounds so much better now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89 MJ Posted May 13, 2020 Share Posted May 13, 2020 32 minutes ago, Liketosmash said: You two are really trying to get me to go back to the junkyard aren't you 100% Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglescout526 Posted May 13, 2020 Share Posted May 13, 2020 55 minutes ago, Liketosmash said: You two are really trying to get me to go back to the junkyard aren't you Hey, if I lived in the rust belt with yall, id be going to junkyards when I could. But all I got is AMC salvage and a lot of the good stuff is gone usually. And folks out here will drag a dead XJ from the junkyard and build it into something because rust free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liketosmash Posted May 15, 2020 Author Share Posted May 15, 2020 On 5/13/2020 at 4:54 PM, eaglescout526 said: Hey, if I lived in the rust belt with yall, id be going to junkyards when I could. But all I got is AMC salvage and a lot of the good stuff is gone usually. And folks out here will drag a dead XJ from the junkyard and build it into something because rust free. I lived in Phoenix for a few years and although I wasn't into jeeps back then I did visit a junkyard or 2 and I'm willing to trade my rusted out mud covered, snow covered, wasp ridden yard for one of yours any day. LOL But yeah I can see your point things seems to last forever out there and on second thought not sure I want to be pulling parts in 126 degrees of heat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglescout526 Posted May 15, 2020 Share Posted May 15, 2020 2 minutes ago, Liketosmash said: on second thought not sure I want to be pulling parts in 126 degrees of heat. Desperation comes in many temps lol. But I haven't been to a junkyard out here in a few years. Only AMC salvage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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