1988 SoCal Jeep Comanche Build

[boxyjeep]

13 hours ago, Skylynx said:

Gosh, i'm in the process of doing the exact same thing, do you happen to have taken notes of what you did/keep/ditch? i'm not the most savy person electrically and just looking at that Renix mess makes me shiver in fear, i'd rather just follow on the steps i know someone already took.

Honestly, looking back I probably would have just skipped this part.  Sure, the wiring looks clean, but it took way too long and I have concerns that electrical gremlins may pop up in the future that are hard to diagnose.  My advice would be to buy a new generic relay/fuse center and just use that to replace the stock relays and fusible links, and keep everything else intact.

[boxyjeep]

8 hours ago, Limeyjeeper said:

Brown dog mounts are not for the faint of heart. NVH takes on a whole new meaning!!!

Haha yep.  I also had purchased their engine-side mounts which I ended up returning because the welds were terrible.  I know the company has a great reputation, but I don’t understand the hype.

 

 

 

 

[Limeyjeeper]

Looks like the wire speed or voltage was too high, or they were welding unclean metal. Welding rusty metal will cause this. Looks like caulking not a weld!!

[boxyjeep]

5 hours ago, Limeyjeeper said:

Looks like the wire speed or voltage was too high, or they were welding unclean metal. Welding rusty metal will cause this. Looks like caulking not a weld!!

 

Yep, really bad penetration.  When I buy something from a fabricator, I gauge the quality on whether or not my own welds would be better.  Considering my limited welding experience and 120v MIG, it's a pretty low bar that I expect 

[boxyjeep]

Today I got the oil pan gasket replaced.  As months go by, I continue to find more and more reasons why I should have installed the stroker engine myself instead of paying a shop to do it.  So far, I've found a handful of loose/missing bolts on the engine and ended up also having an oil leak from what appears to be some of the oil pan bolts (presumably from not following the proper torque sequence).  I had a new Fel-Pro blue gasket installed, so I would not have expected this.  Nevertheless, I pulled the pan while I had the front suspension out and took a look.  Surfaces were clean and the corners had the expected RTV, so it must have been due to not following the circular sequence or over-torqueing the bolts.  Also took a peek at the camshaft and cylinder walls--they appear good with no notable issues.

 

 

It has about 700 miles on it now, so I also changed the oil and put in another 5 quarts of Royal Purple break-in oil (planning to run this to about 1500 miles, then swap over to dino oil until 4k miles, then full synthetic).

[Skylynx]

17 hours ago, SoCalJeepComanche said:

Honestly, looking back I probably would have just skipped this part.  Sure, the wiring looks clean, but it took way too long and I have concerns that electrical gremlins may pop up in the future that are hard to diagnose.  My advice would be to buy a new generic relay/fuse center and just use that to replace the stock relays and fusible links, and keep everything else intact.

Oh yeah, i was thinking on doing that already anyways, but i would like to at least re-route the cables from the front to the back just so there's less of a mess under the hood.

Great build by the way! i also went for those seats only for the manual versions!

[Skylynx]

On 11/7/2022 at 6:08 AM, SoCalJeepComanche said:

Honestly, looking back I probably would have just skipped this part.  Sure, the wiring looks clean, but it took way too long and I have concerns that electrical gremlins may pop up in the future that are hard to diagnose.  My advice would be to buy a new generic relay/fuse center and just use that to replace the stock relays and fusible links, and keep everything else intact.

I'm actually in the process of doing exactly that actually, i got a fuse block from amazon today and i'll be making a mount for it tomorrow so i can replace those, but i can't seem to find the Amp rating for the fusable links anywhere i look so i have no idea how big of a fuse goes to which wire, what amps are the fuses you replaced your fusable links with?

[Pete M]

On 11/7/2022 at 9:00 AM, Limeyjeeper said:

Looks like the wire speed or voltage was too high, or they were welding unclean metal. Welding rusty metal will cause this. Looks like caulking not a weld!!

 

poor caulking too.   I'm a bit shocked that ever got sent out. 

[boxyjeep]

On 11/27/2022 at 11:08 AM, Pete M said:

 

poor caulking too.   I'm a bit shocked that ever got sent out. 

 

Same.  But it got sent right back too ;-)

[boxyjeep]

Been making some slow and steady progress on the truck.  I've got most of the suspension parts accumulated and have been cleaning up the fender wells in preparation of installing the new front axle.

 

Before:

 

 

And after:

 

 

Still debating on whether or not to run fender liners or pool noodles...  

 

Also have a bunch of brand new and reconditioned parts ready to install once the paint dries.  5.5" RE lift springs, Core 4x4 adjustable short arms, WJ knuckles and brakes, CavFab OTA track bar w/ RE bracket, freshly painted front driveshaft and axles (with new u-joints).

 

 

Front axle with new ball joints, upper control arm bushings, and ARB cover (will be doing e-locker when I eventually re-gear).

 

 

You can also see the Quadratec Hardrock wheels in the background (same style as I currently have, but wider and with better offset).  Hoping to have the truck back together and on 4 wheels before the end of the year.  Will then switch to the rear end for SOA to match the front lift.

[boxyjeep]

Also wired-wheeled all the suspension nuts/bolts/brackets and got a fresh coat on them:

 

 

[boxyjeep]

Made some great progress the past few weeks with installing the front axle, front suspension, and steering.  Went with Wide Open Design custom aluminum steering links with 1 ton TRE's along with CavFab OTA track bar bracket.  I'm really happy with how the steering geometry lines up with everything.

 

 

 

 

 

Also got the Quadratec Hardrock wheels (wider version of the stock Rubicon wheels):

 

 

Remaining to do:

1. Clean up the rear half of the frame and get it painted.
2. Pull out the rear axle and install SOA brackets.
3. Measure for shocks (ideally with maximum travel) -- will be testing this beforehand.
4. Re-upholster the headliner and visors and get them installed.
5. Install correct weather stripping on the doors.

Once all this is done, I'll likely be getting it re-geared to 4.56 with a front e-locker.  I think that will be ideal with these 33's.

[89 MJ]

Those wheels look great on there!

[boxyjeep]

Finally got the truck out of the garage for the first time in a few months.  I've completed the front half of the lift and got everything torqued to spec.  I'll be doing the rear SOA next and painting the back half of the frame.  I'm running custom aluminum steering links and WJ knuckles on an HP D30 with CavFab OTA track-bar.  5.5" RE coils and Fox shocks.

 

 

I was also able to get some of my custom reproduction data labels installed in the engine bay (fan warnings, oil filter thread, and emissions info):

 

 

I've started making these and selling them--details in signature if you're interested.

[neohic]

Beautiful truck. Well done! 

[boxyjeep]

I've been making incremental progress on the truck.  I got the rear axle flipped into SOA orientation, but didn't like how much lift I was getting with the 5" shackles and new spring perches (~1" above axle tube)".  I ended up pulling out the overload leaf, swapping in XJ shackles, and building my own "low-profile" perches with 2.5" 1/4" wall square tube.  Here's how it sat:

 

 

"Homemade" spring perches (top) vs. the typical ones you get from popular vendors (bottom).  I may trim the top ones to have an angled lip.  Notice the decreased height above the axle tube:

 

 

Then got the axle pulled out and prepped for new perches and paint:

 

 

I've also pulled out the rear driveshaft and exhaust.  I'll be cleaning up the frame and getting the underside of the truck fully painted before installing the new axle.

 

 

With this rear spring configuration, it measures about 23.25" from center of axle to bottom of flare.  I'll be swapping in RE 4.5" coils with an extra isolator to hopefully achieve about 22.75" up front.  This should result in a very minor rake.  I also plan to throw in the overload leaf or longer shackles if the rear sags at all.

 

You may also be wondering why I'm spending so much time with fine-tuning the ride height.  I feel like there is a delicate balance between too low (where you need to trim fenders--something I won't be doing), versus something too high that ultimately looks a bit dumb.  My goal with this truck is to be in that perfect middle ground.

 

 

[boxyjeep]

I forgot to mention that I've also gone down the rabbit hole on rear brakes.  I'm running full WJ outers up front (without adapters) and would like to also eliminate adapters in the rear.

 

I was planning to re-drill my axle shafts to 5-on-5", but discovered that the hub doesn't have enough material and there is also the access hole that would need to be welded up.  I started looking into a set of custom shafts, but then realized that the larger flange may be too big to fit inside standard ZJ discs.  Then I had the bright idea of simply adapting WJ rear disc brakes and ordered the parts I'd need and then realized that there may be issues with offset or width (as WJ axles are 5" wider IIRC).  Luckily I canceled the order before it shipped.

 

My next plan is to go to the local pick-n-pull and grab a set of ZJ or Crown Vic backing plates, measure the ID of the rotor, and see if I can order a set of custom MJ Dana 44 5-on-5" shafts that will fit inside.

 

To top it all off, it looks like my wheel bearing races are floating around in the housing.  Hopefully this can be fixed :-)

 

 

 

[boxyjeep]

Another thing to mention--I've disassembled and cleaned the rear leaf springs.  I'll be installing new spring pads and bushings, and also painting them.  It's insane how rusty these things got...

 

[Pete M]

keep us posted on how the spring wrap is.  pulling the overload usually increases it a lot. I'm curious as to how that pans out.  

[boxyjeep]

15 hours ago, Pete M said:

keep us posted on how the spring wrap is.  pulling the overload usually increases it a lot. I'm curious as to how that pans out.  

 

Thanks Pete!  I do have some concerns about that as well as the risk of running XJ shackles.  I'm going to test things out but also be ready to adjust in the future.

[boxyjeep]

Been making some good progress on underbody painting and rear axle.  I abandoned my attempts to run native 5-on-5" axle shafts with Eldorado calipers/weld-on brackets.  Apparently these calipers are notorious for having issues (hence why most factory rear disc brake configurations use "drum-in-rotor-hat" instead).  That being said, I've had the truck in the garage for the past few months and really want to get it back on the road, so I ordered a new set of rear drums/shoes and will be sticking with those for now with slim 1" 5-on-4.5" to 5-on-5" adapters.

 

All taped off to prevent any overspray:

 

 

Sanded/scuffed:

 

 

First coat (using Rustoleum flat black):

 

 

Also getting some semi-gloss on the rear leaf springs before reassembly:

 

 

And wire wheel/rust converter/wire wheel on the rear drum backing plates.  I'm actually super impressed by how well the water-based converter works (this is the one I used).  Pictures show before/after:

 

 

 

 

Remaining tasks:

1. Finish up under-body painting (this is a really unenjoyable job--rattle can doesn't do so well spraying upwards).
2. Reassemble spring packs (will be using new pads and grease).
3. Weld up new spring perches/shock mounts on rear axle.  Paint rear axle afterwards.
4. Install new rear drum brake components and longer wheel studs.
5. Weld up exhaust (CA-legal cat, Flowmaster 40, Walker tail pipe) and paint with high-temp paint.
6. Measure and install cut-to-fit emergency brake cables.
7. Swap in 4.5" RE front springs, install high-steer sway-bar mounts, paint steering linkage.
8. Alignment.
9. Get it re-geared to 4.56 and install front locker (still deciding between an e-locker and ARB).

I've also been debating a manual transmission swap.  My first few Cherokees were 5-speed and while it can get frustrating in traffic and in some off-road situations, this isn't a daily driver and I do miss the level of control and fun.

[Salvagedcircuit]

Excellent work! 

A good reminder that I need to sort out my rear suspension and undercoat this spring.

[boxyjeep]

I've been going a little crazy with painting parts for the rear axle/suspension and getting the rear SOA brackets installed.

 

 

 

The best method I've found to paint hardware:  Clean it up with rust converter/wire wheel/etc.  Then use an old box with holes in it to get everything positioned.  I also like to use masking tape face-up to keep nuts and washers in place.

 

 

 

At this point, I don't have too much left to do:

1. Paint rear axle and assemble axle shafts/brakes.
2. Install rear suspension: springs, shocks, axle, and driveshaft.
3. Install new gas tank straps and skid plate.
4. Install and weld up exhaust.

While I've been working on this I started contemplating whether or not I'd like to have a manual transmission instead of the automatic that's currently in the truck.  My first few Cherokees were stick shift and I really enjoyed that back when I was younger.  I may start hunting for the parts for the swap...

[boxyjeep]

Rear axle fully painted, installed and the truck is back on 4 wheels:

 

 

 

I also welded up the exhaust with a new Flowmaster 40 series muffler and nice chrome exhaust tip (not too flashy, don't worry).

 

Now, there's a few things to do:

1. Install new rear shocks.  I made the mistake of buying Fox 985-24-131 for 2-3" rear lift, but they are too long when compressed with only ~2.5" of uptravel possible.  I could have solved this with longer lower shock mounts at the loss of ground clearance, but will be returning them and getting Fox 985-24-130, which should fit perfectly.
2. Cut emergency brake cables to length.  I need to make a custom aluminum coupler before I can do this.  I'm using this kit.
3. Install fluids/bleed brakes.
4. Adjust the front suspension height by swapping in RE 4.5" coils and an extra set of isolators.  Also need to install the bump stop extensions and high-steer sway bar brackets (using this kit from Claytons).
5. Paint front steering linkage.  Raw aluminum just isn't my vibe.
6. Alignment and road testing.  And hopefully offroad testing...  :-)

 

[Salvagedcircuit]

On 3/27/2023 at 2:54 PM, SoCalJeepComanche said:

The best method I've found to paint hardware:  Clean it up with rust converter/wire wheel/etc.  Then use an old box with holes in it to get everything positioned.  I also like to use masking tape face-up to keep nuts and washers in place.

 

 

 

 

That's one excellent method to paint bolts! The United States Postal Service, If it fits it ships a proud sponsor American vehicle restoration.

 

3 hours ago, SoCalJeepComanche said:

Cut emergency brake cables to length.  I need to make a custom aluminum coupler before I can do this.  I'm using this kit.

 

The seller on that amazon link is:

Quote

Detailed Seller Information
Business Name: WEN ZHOU SHI YA YI MAO YI YOU XIAN GONG SI
Business Address:
丽岙街道白门锦园8幢一单元1302室
温州市
瓯海区
浙江省
325200
CN

There is a good chance that kit is import rubbish that might not meet your expectations.

I've used these cables below on my longbed and they fit and work well. Granted, I don't know if raybestos quality is any better than the link you posted, but just thought i'd let you know. One of these cables is for longbed only. There is a shorter shortbed version of one of the cables. I forgot which one.

 

Parking brake cable cabin:
RAYBESTOS BC93589
Parking brake cable rear:
RAYBESTOS BC93591