'87 Pioneer Longbed

[Eagle_SX4]

I have wanted to start a build thread on my Comanche for a while but have got around to it until now. So I will start at the beginning. I picked it up on July 3, 2021. Here is how it looked after I got it home.

To get it home I changed the alternator in the sellers driveway jump started it and hit the road. It had been sitting for about a year with the dead alternator. The previous owner had lost interest in it. He had an internal slave AX15 swapped into it and the original 231 transfer case got rebuilt with a 23 spline input shaft swapped in. (Build date of January 87 on the case)

One of the first things I had to do was fix the wipers. The motor had seized up so I got a rebuilt one and swapped it in. Added a delay box and which was working but was over a minute between wipes. I found out that the timer is actually in the switch in the steering column so got that swapped out as well. Now it works like it should.

There was a lot of oil in the air filter so I cut down the crank case vent tube inside the valve cover and it has helped a bit but hasn't stopped the issue entirely. Also got the proper vacuum harness's installed.

[Eagle_SX4]

Aug 2021. After driving it for about a month I realized that the truck didn't have a front cross member. It looks like the truck had gotten stuck and a roped was rapped around the cross member and it was ripped out of the truck. Here is a picture of what was left and the replacement I put in.Got it all welded in and got a front skid plate installed.

A 97+ front clip came with the truck and while the front end was apart I swapped that out as well. Still have the '87 fenders on it. My plan is to cut the radius off the corners and match the chamfer of the fenders. 

[Eagle_SX4]

Sep 2021. Got the cracked exhaust header replaced with a high output one and cut out the bung for the EGR out of the old one and welded it in to the new one. I also extended the EGR tube to make it all work.

The top rail of the bench seat broke so I cut all the foam off the back and and welded it up with some angle to fix it.

[Eagle_SX4]

Dec 2021. Ordered a new sending unit from MTS.  To replace the Cherokee sending unit that was in the tank. Got it installed and filled up the gas tank and it leaked a lot. So I found the problem the new sending unit had not been assembled correctly. I was able to fix it with a clamp and a socket but what a pain. If any one else orders a MTS sending unit make sure the wires are sealed before you install it.

I was also having issues with the transmission. It would shift in to gear for 2 reasons. The biggest problem was the clutch master cylinder kept going out I had already replaced it once but it was going out again. The 2nd problem was that the synchros were destroyed. 

So I swapped the master cylinder for the 2nd time and drained and swapped the fluid in the trans. Now it was time to find another one I could rebuild and swap so there would be less time off the road.

[Eagle_SX4]

Jan 2022. Finally fixed the speedometer issue. The transfer case had the wrong gear in it and I swapped in the correct one. The next big thing I did was do the full size 97+ window swap. Bleepingjeep has a great video about what you need and how to do it. The only difference was I switched to electric windows and electric locks at the same time. It came out great and I have not had any problems with the windows since.

 

In March 2022 I swapped in a '97 NP242. I really like the full time 4 wheel drive on the snowy ice streets. That paired with the studded snow tires I have this thing is unstoppable in the winter.

 

July 2022. I finally found another AX15 I could rebuild. Got it rebuilt by the first week of August. The guy I bought it from said he had rebuilt it recently but it kept popping out of 1st gear. That issue turned out to be a worn out shift forks that wouldn't push it all the way into any gear. I replaced the shift forks, synchros and gears 2 and 3. I didn't replace the bearings as they felt really good and there was no play in any of them.

I didn't want to keep the internal slave cylinder so I found an external slave bell housing and got all the parts to make the swap. I switched to to the later style master and slave because I was sick of replacing the older style master with cheap parts store ones that would only last 6 months. I managed to find an aluminum master cylinder on Rock Auto but was forced to use a plastic slave cylinder as I couldn't find an aluminum one. The new master works well you just have to clearance out the hole in the push rod for the pedal and also open up the mounting holes a little bit for the different bolt spacing. I went with Advance Adapters clutch line and adapters because I didn't like that the only other option was an unprotected plastic line. Also if you have an AX15 I highly recommend getting a short throw shifter for it. It makes a world of difference. 

[Eagle_SX4]

Feb 2023. Was having some issues with the shifter for the transfer case. When the previous owner did the AX15 swap they cobbled together the Peugeot shifter and it worked but not very well. I couldn't find one so I went with Novak's cable shifter and it works a lot better than the old mess. I would like to get a little more throw out of it so I don't have to push past the shifter gate to get it in 2 high and 4 lo. (Probably just an issue with the 5 options of the 242). But it is smooth as butter every where else.

 

March 2023. Went in to the parts store and the attendant came up to me and asked if I was the one that owned the Comanche. I said yeah and he said well your truck just rolled away. I ran outside and luckily it had hit anything or anyone but I knew it was finally time to fix the emergency brake pedal mechanism. I did a few things to try and fix it. It would have worked if the teeth of the ratchet pawl weren't so worn down on the side. Here is a link to what I did to try and fix it some of this might be helpful to someone.

https://comancheclub.com/topic/48483-parking-brake-pedal-refurb/page/2/#comments

[Eagle_SX4]

The end of March I decided to install a third brake light from a '98 Dodge Dakota. Here is the link to the right up on that.

https://comancheclub.com/topic/71225-98-dodge-dakota-third-brake-light/

[Eagle_SX4]

April 2023. Got a lot done this month. Swapped in a different gauge cluster because I thought the needles had been moved on mine because they had some after gauge faces installed. (They weren't the new cluster reads the same as the old one).

Still trying to figure out why my gauges are more accurate the colder it is. Mainly my volt meter. I did add an extra ground for my cluster before I took these pics.

Also got a R.E.M clock installed. 

 

Next I got some new rear springs from General spring and installed them with some Chevy drop shackles. Now the back is finally level with the 3 inch lift up front.

I fixed the sagging driver door. The door pins were worn out. What a pain they were to change. Some one had tried to replace the pins before but failed. The top pin was never fully installed and the bottom pin was never replaced. There is still some slop in the bottom hinge so I had to re shim the door to get it right. Now it closes like it is new and all the gaps are even.

Found some old paint. Looks like this truck has been re painted twice

From what I can tell someone put a blue stripe between the bodylines all the back to the tail lights and then someone else repainted it again. I think it looked like this but with a blue stripe instead. Was the blue a factory option?

[Eagle_SX4]

Most recently I replaced the bench with some Dakota bucket seats.

I got them as low as I could get them. Including moving the inside driver's side seat rail out board to clear the transmission tunnel and still having to bash the floor a bit to get them to sit almost as low as the factory bucket seats would have been. I don't know for sure if they are as low as the factory buckets but from the pictures I can find they are close. I still need to section and lower the center seat because as it sit right now my head goes through the roof of I sit there. Don't know how anyone can use these seats bolted together like they are in the Dakota.

[fiatslug87]

28 minutes ago, Eagle_SX4 said:

I think it looked like this but with a blue stripe instead. Was the blue a factory option?

Is it listed in the Registy? If it is the original paint info should be in the Registry spreadsheet.

[Eagle_SX4]

It is not in the registry yet I will work on that tonight.

[Eagle_SX4]

Got super lucky at the junkyard last weekend. Got a wood dash trim bezel from a '93 Cherokee country.

The radio slot has been cut out a bit but isn't very noticeable.

[Eagle_SX4]

Been to busy with my Eagle over the last month to work on my Comanche. Today I put it to work and took my motorcycle over to my parents house were I will be replacing the rear shock with a QA1 coilover.

I am really happy with the new rear springs even with my 300 lb moto in the back it doesn't sag much. With the old springs it would almost stuff the wheel inside fender.

[Eagle_SX4]

Finally got around to reworking the front suspension. I used TJ axle shafts (with new 760 u-joints) to delete the C.A.D., installed core 4x4 control arms, ACOS with new springs and some new rotors and pads. Pics coming tomorrow night after I finish double checking everything.

[Eagle_SX4]

Here are some pics of the suspension and all the new parts.

[Pete M]

nice!   doing the steering linkage next?

[Eagle_SX4]

Right now I am just planning on the tie rod ends but that may turn into more

[Pete M]

I'd probably also do a track bar bracket brace for one with that much drop. 

[Eagle_SX4]

That is a good idea I will look into that. 

[Drahcir495]

I enjoyed reading this 
 

How do you like the NP242? I have it in my XJ and really like it. I had read somewhere that it is not a good fit behind a manual transmission, so I decided against it. Depending on what you think, I may start to reconsider?

[Eagle_SX4]

I really like the NP242. It is great for snowy slushy roads and has not given me any issues regarding the transmission. I have had some issues with the shifter and ended up getting Novak's cable shifter. It works a lot better than the cobbled mess that was in there but not perfect.

[Eagle_SX4]

Today I got a tonneau cover to fit without removing my toolbox. It is just a cheap one made for a late 90's Ford Ranger. I did have to shorten it 5 inches for it to fit right. Still need to finish sewing up the cover but I think it came out good.

 

[fiatslug87]

Looks good, nice improvising.

[Pete M]

impressive 

[Eagle_SX4]

Finally got a track bar cross brace made still need to pick up one more bolt at the hardware store but so far it does seem to have helped a little bit with stability.

(Sorry about the last picture it is upside down. Even when I rotated it and uploaded again it always comes out this way)