Jump to content

1986 Comanche X


Recommended Posts

  • Replies 79
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

10 hours ago, fiatslug87 said:

I thought supply was rear.

I could have been wrong, and I'm having a heck of a time finding an answer online. How sure are you?

 

Today I buttoned up some of the engine bay, connected misc things under the Jeep, modified the cross member, took a driveshaft measurement, and made a plan for how I'm going to squeeze a radiator in up front.

 

I came to the realization that the exhaust for the 2.8 is only 2" pipe even though Walker lists 2.25 for both 2.8 and 4.0 equipped Comanches. I'm ordering a 2.25 tail pipe tonight. I'll use the muffler and cat from the XJ.

 

Another piece of the puzzle I overlooked is that the MJ doesn't have the holes in the floor for the tcase selector linkage bracket. For the time being I'm going to roll with a non functioning lever until I find a front axle, at which point I'll install AZZY linkage kit and avoid drilling the holes through the floor.

 

Hopefully I can get back to the junkyard Thursday, I think they have a couple of driveshafts that could work for me. I'm also going to hunt for some ceramic o2 sensors, snag a steering wheel, a Clayton trackbar/bracket, possibly a nice tailgate depending on what they want for it, and a set of mopar 4 hole injectors that were on a 1990 XJ that looked like it was well cared for under the hood.

 

Also, my wife has been using our shampooer on the carpet and bench seat once a day to clean them up. She really wants to drive the MJ so she's contributing to the progress.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A lot of progress was made over the last few days. Front end was reworked so the radiator, condenser, and a trans cooler could fit. I was able to retain the hood latch as well, so no need to swap hoods. Only a couple small details left under the hood. One of them being this wire, which wasn't plugged into anything before I dismantled the xj. Any ideas? It is just a single female side of a spade terminal. It's not for the a/c switch, and it's not for a horn.

PXL_20231018_005516947.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Under hood is buttoned up minus 1 vac line. I installed the dash today but I'm not sure what this plug goes to. The other plug in the picture (with blue tape) is the plug for the glove box. The unidentified plug has a short (14") wire connecting it to the glove box plug. Any ideas?

 

For anyone wondering, I'm 59 hours into this project, including stripping down the XJ and the MJ.

PXL_20231019_231347659.jpg

PXL_20231019_230330684.MP.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I haven't made much progress in the last few days. I cleaned all of the interior plastics and installed the dash. I dropped the rear driveshaft off to be shortened. I need to splice the XJ harness into the MJ rear/interior harness and then I can test start it. It's going to be 2 weeks before I have my driveshaft, so I should have everything buttoned up by the time I have that.

 

The issue with my wobbly steering wheel was that I installed the spring before the collar that pressed against the bearing race, so the race did not have tension on it, allowing some play.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

She's up and running! Progress was slow the last week and a half but I finally got there. Interior is in the truck (Need to clean some things still).

 

I picked up the driveshaft from the drive line shop yesterday. I need to change the rear diff fluid/figure out the ratio. If it's 3.55 I'll stick the dana 30 from the Cherokee in. Then I just have to get the brakes sorted, tires on,  and I'll be on the road!

PXL_20231106_204110010.jpg

PXL_20231106_204406881.jpg

PXL_20231106_204459270.jpg

PXL_20231106_204431963.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the comments guys.

 

I cracked open the rear diff this morning. 37 9 on the ring gear, so 4.11s. I'm happy to have a little deeper gearing but now this means that my truck will be staying 2wd for awhile. I'm not going to dump money into regearing the 30 I have and I doubt I'll come across a factory 4.10 axle. Maybe I should sell my built wrangler and start looking for tons? Haha.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
On 11/12/2023 at 9:49 PM, Pete M said:

car-part.com might help find a 4.10er.  be sure to search for various years since the website sorts them purely by part number and that changed over the years.  also look for TJ units.

Thanks for the link, and info... I'll keep an eye out on there.

 

She's moving on her own. I rebuilt the drum brakes because the last person to do a brake job on it assembled them incorrectly and caused some damage to the drums, the shoes were also soaked with fluid.

 

I have no rear brakes, or just rear brakes. No in-between no matter how much I adjust the rod on the load sensing valve. And yes, I bled the brakes following the proper procedure.

 

Today I swapped out the prop valve for the one in the XJ. I'm going to pick up an inverted flare coupler tomorrow and delete the valve at the rear. I'll reuse one of the factory hard lines, they are in good shape.

 

My goal is to drive it to work before EOW

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

My Wrangler went down so it's time to get this project buttoned up.

 

I finally sorted out the brakes so it was time for a test drive. About 10 minutes in the power steering pump was screaming. I pulled over and checked the temp of the fluid reservoir... 380°! Fluid was full and no air bumbles in the reservoir. After that cooled down I limped it home. In the process my coolant temp gauge spiked almost to the red about a block from my house.

 

I *think* the original cluster in the donor vehicle had dummy lights, so I may need to swap out a sensor to get my gauges to work correctly. I checked the temp on a few things and the thermostat housing was 202°, passenger side of radiator was 178°, driver side was 139°. E fan never came on.

 

I'll pick up the sensor today, as well as new a new power steering pump and hoses. Hopefully that will get these problems sorted out and I'll be on the road!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

New coolant sensor fixed the gauge issue.

 

New PS pump and lines did not fix the whining. New pump whines just as much. I replace the high pressure line. Inspected the return line and vacuum bled the system. There appears to be no air bubbles in the reservoir and no fluid loss. Could the steering box be the cause of this issue? PS reservoir hit 210°

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, chance_p said:

New coolant sensor fixed the gauge issue.

 

New PS pump and lines did not fix the whining. New pump whines just as much. I replace the high pressure line. Inspected the return line and vacuum bled the system. There appears to be no air bubbles in the reservoir and no fluid loss. Could the steering box be the cause of this issue? PS reservoir hit 210°

Have you tried the screwdriver to the ear trick to see if the whine is coming from the pump?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

Using this thread, can anyone tell me how to wire the renix XJ harness to the MJ harness that will make the brake lights work? Turn signals work when connecting them bit the light blue/black wire from the XJ harness is not connected to anything and I don't understand how to connect it to the MJ harness. Thanks in advance.

 

 

Edit: it looks like I glossed over this section

 

"Pin 11 on XJ Black connector, need to run a wire to pin P on the turn signal/hazard switch.(11 pin flat connector on lower steering column) This will provide proper wiring for the brake lights"

 

Makes sense, I just need to figure out the easiest place to tap into this.

 

 

Second edit: the above quote is pertaining to the HO harness, the renix XJ harness does not have an 11th pin, but I believe I can achieve the same result by connecting the light blue/black wire to the hazard switch circuit.

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share


×
×
  • Create New...