MLT Lulu Posted March 30, 2020 Share Posted March 30, 2020 This Comanche is my first Jeep anything, ever. Some of these questions are gonna sound dumb. I'm Ok with that. You better be too. Am I losing my mind, or are these things like half metric, half torx? All the screws in my grille and headlight bezels are aluminum. Seriously. And it looks like there was other hardware that rusted off, so they tapped in new holes for these aluminum screws. Anybody seen that before? Were they using a low grade of hardware or something? What are all the lights supposed to be to the left of the gauges? I've only ever seen the seatbelt light, and that was like one time. What's the little flat panel supposed to be under the factory clock to the right of the gauges? None of that is lighting up or working in any way. Could just be a delete panel, for all I know. Here's a big one. I want to replace my wiper switch/turn signal arm. The lever part with the twisty part for the wipers. Can't find it anywhere except in $#!&ty Dorman stuff. What gives? Arright, you've suffered this fool long enough. Any help of commentary is appreciated. I've done nothing buy Volvos and Datsuns for like 10 years, and forgot how rough the learning curve can be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglescout526 Posted March 30, 2020 Share Posted March 30, 2020 One word for all the bolts, France. That's your information center. It has seatbelt, E-brake/brake warning, 4WD stuff, Emissions maintenance(Renix), Check engine(2.8L GM and H.O.s) Low washer. I think that's all. If you have a clock and see blank panels underneath, those are nothing. Steering column is GM. Just search for a GM stalk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted March 30, 2020 Share Posted March 30, 2020 28 minutes ago, MLT Lulu said: Am I losing my mind, or are these things like half metric, half torx? half metric, half torx, and half standard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdog Posted March 30, 2020 Share Posted March 30, 2020 No stupid questions here, the grille area has crappy bolts, lights to the left are as eaglescout said, if not lighting they are just small bulbs that get removed from the rear. As old as these things are they are metric, standard, to rf, rounded off bolts, nuts and screws. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derf Posted March 30, 2020 Share Posted March 30, 2020 I knew a guy who's father was in charge of procurement of fasteners for AMC. He explained it to me. When the engineers turned in a spec for a bolt, it usually has a range, or at least a minimum. So he'd go out and find fasteners they could buy in bulk for manufacturing. Given the penny pinching going on in AMC at the time, they would buy the cheapest fastener that met spec. Sometimes that was metric, sometimes that was standard. Even if they only saved $10 on 10,000 fasteners, they'd choose the cheaper one. That's why you have a mix of standard and metric bolts on vehicles of that era. As far as torx, there's something about it that makes it better for manufacturing in the assembly plant so they use it a lot. But I forget the exact reason why. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZJeff Posted March 30, 2020 Share Posted March 30, 2020 A LOT of the reason there is a mix of fastener types between metric and SAE on older Jeeps has to do with the history of the pieces used in them. For example, the axles and engines date back to the AMC period, specifically into the 1960's. In the 1960's, ALL domestic vehicles used SAE fasteners. As time went on, the industry began transfer to using metric fasteners, particularly in the late 1980's and beyond. BUT.....if they were using a part or subsystem that was a legacy item from the earlier models with SAE threaded fasteners, there was no real economic reason to retool the part to switch to metric fasteners. That legacy stuff stayed SAE, and only newly design parts and subsystems got metric stuff. Jeep wasn't the only one who did this. My old 1991 F150 was SAE all over the engine and rear axle, but metric in the transmission and PART of the body. And one other thing: AMC bought LOTS of parts from other auto makers. Whatever THAT maker used for a given part might be SAE or metric, depending on a bunch of factors. The AW-4 transmission is a good example: it was designed/manufactured in Japan, where metric fasteners have been commonplace for along time. That is why the threads on all AW-4 fastners are metric. (It's also why the one stater bolt holding on a starter for a 4.0 married to an AW-4 is SAE and one is metric. The one threaded into the trans is metric. The one threaded into the starter (an older US design) is SAE.) It can be fun to figure this stuff out, so the only solution is a full set of sockets and wrenches in both SAE and metric. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dzimm Posted March 30, 2020 Share Posted March 30, 2020 54 minutes ago, Pete M said: half metric, half torx, and half standard. This^^^^ Just make sure to have a few spare 10mm sockets on hand. 90% of those half metric of the 1/3 of all fasteners are 10mm and for some odd reason, you can't ever find that 10mm you were just holding... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MLT Lulu Posted March 31, 2020 Author Share Posted March 31, 2020 Well thanks, all. I found the only thing not answered, and after digging a few cherokee sites, there it was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiser54 Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 Here's the one I have used for years. Taken in my garage. As far as fasteners, most US car companies used a mix of SAE and mumblemeters. Not simple like Datsuns or Volvos for sure. Be sure to visit my website for helpful tips designed to save future aggravation and familiarize you with your Jeep. www.cruiser54.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolwind57 Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 2 hours ago, cruiser54 said: Here's the one I have used for years. Taken in my garage. As far as fasteners, most US car companies used a mix of SAE and mumblemeters. Not simple like Datsuns or Volvos for sure. Be sure to visit my website for helpful tips designed to save future aggravation and familiarize you with your Jeep. www.cruiser54.com What's that UP arrow for, Cruiser? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dzimm Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 Just now, coolwind57 said: What's that UP arrow for, Cruiser? Shift light for manual trans Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liketosmash Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 Couple more gauge light panels just for fun. I think the one I have in the truck is slightly different than the one already posted. So be aware there are some differences. Also note the gauge clusters are often not wired for all those lights. Low washer fluid on mine doesn't even have contacts for the bulb so even with the right sensors it will never light up. I had 3 gauge clusters and what is or is not wired seemed to vary year to year and model by model. I also will say the mix of metric and sae drives me crazy and I own another Jeep where the only metric items are those that have been replaced over the years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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