Rymanrph

Pete, you're definitely right about the air bag situation. After doing the '97 conversion, there is no way I can put my two year old in the truck and drive safely. Plus, we'd have to leave mom at home. In case anyone was wondering why I pulled down my for sale thread, I've actually listed the truck on Cars & Bids. Part of their agreement for listing a vehicle is that it can't be listed for sale anywhere else during the auction. In case anyone wants to watch the auction (or bid), here's the link: https://carsandbids.com/auctions/KZDmBXLb/1990-jeep-comanche-4x4?c=all. There have been four other Comanches sold on the site in the past including an '89 short bed 4x4 doing well just a few weeks ago. Watching the bidding can be addicting and can also get pretty exciting at the end if multiple bidders get involved. Crossing my fingers for a good result.

The time has come to sell the Comanche. I have a son now and need a truck with a rear seat. It will be difficult to see it go, but I've certainly had my fun with it and now someone else will get to. Of all my Jeeps and cars that I've owned, this has been my favorite. The experience of owning and building this truck has been second to none, and this forum was a huge part of that experience. This community will always hold a special place in my heart. Thanks for everything!

How do you separate the lens from the housing?

I probably liked the all green better too, but I don't dislike this. I don't get to wheel it much at all. I'm working on my masters and have a 17 month old. I do like working in the yard so it gets a lot of work going to the nurseries for plants and to Lowes for mulch and dirt. I drive it enough to keep the battery good.

Well it's been a year since I talked about painting it and now I have. Not all Maacos are the same and I was able to inspect some of their work on other vehicles beforehand, so I took a chance. They weren't able to get the rescue green paint and since only the top surfaces were bad, I decided to two-tone it. I'm guessing reactions will be split, but I'm happy with the job they did and happy with how it looks. Thoughts on the green grill? I still have the black unpainted one I could for. I also thought about plasti dipping the recesses on the green headlight buckets black to break it up a bit.

How do I get in on this deal?

What level did you pay for? The premium is supposed to have a five year warranty. If I have to get it painted every five years at $2k, that's still better than spending double or triple that. I suppose a $7k paint job will last considerably longer and be more cost effective in the long run, but that is just not an option for me. If that's what it takes, I'll sand down the clear coat and pasti-dip it. I'm not looking for a show car finish.

Well, it didn't quite last 9 years, but that's just how long it took to look like it does now. Here's one terribly cropped picture of the side and one during a storm with my LJ and my wife's Cherokee in the back. The side looks decent from a distance, but the top edge of the bed, the fenders, and the tailgate are starting to flake too.

A local guy did it for me. I gave him I think about $1,300 and some TJ half doors with uppers. I think he used decent paint, but lousy clear coat. Plus, I hardly ever wash or wax it and it sits outside all the time, so I can't be too surprised.

I can't believe it's been almost 2 years since I posted in this thread. A lot has changed in my life since then (moved, had a baby), but the Comanche is still going strong. It does however need some work. The electrical connections going through the doors are continuing to deteriorate. Sometimes the power locks work and sometimes they don't. Sometimes the motors engage constantly just sitting there. The power mirror controls don't work any more and the power window control on the passenger door doesn't work, so I know that I need to pull the harness and figure out which wires have failed me. The worse part about the truck though is the paint. I didn't spend much on the original paint job nine years ago and it shows now. Some of the body filler on the back of the cab started lifting and flaking. I chipped back what I could and just sprayed some rust reformer to keep it from getting worse. The cheap clear coat just isn't holding up and is flaking pretty badly. The sides aren't bad (not great either), but the roof and hood are toast. The body shop that I like to use quoted me $5-7k for a full respray if I do some of the prep work myself. They do good work, but I can't justify that kind of money. The guy that painted my Barracuda quoted me $4k, but even that is just too much. I'm actually tempted to see what Maaco would say (their online estimate for their premium paint service is $1,330 to $2,220 and has a five year warranty). I could do a substantial amount of prep work by removing unnecessary items like the flares, bumpers, grill, cab vents, etc. One thing I'm not sure of is if they could stick with the same Rescue Green paint that I already have on it. If not, I would need some suggestions on a new color. I imagine I would go with something completely different. I loved the Copperhead on my '14 JK. I certainly would want something that would stand out and be unique (no whites, grays, black, silver, etc.). Maybe Inca Gold from the Prowler? Let me know what you guys think. Am I crazy to even consider Maaco, or do they just get a bad rap because of their cheaper entry level spray jobs? I love this truck, but I have no delusions that it's worth a $7k paint job. I just want it to look good sitting in the driveway since I don't ever put it in the garage. I like to take pride in what I drive and flaking paint doesn't sit well with me.

Thanks! That's pretty cool to see that my truck started out in Charlotte (which is where it is now, but not where I bought it).

The housing that I have and the ones from the 231 are definitely different from what I've seen. Even the housing on the 242 of the WJ was different because it didn't have a spot for the speedometer gear. Fortunately, when I removed the housing, the crack is just superficial. The missing third of the speedometer gear o-ring is probably where all my fluid was coming out. After replacing it and the rear seal, I haven't had any issues.

1990 Comanche Originally: 4.0, AX-15 2wd, Dana 30/35 Sort Bed Build date: I sold the original doors, but I have the build sheet somewhere... Current Location: Charlotte, NC Status: Full 1997 conversion with AW4, hp Dana 30, 8.25, NP242. Notes: Originally black with grey interior. Now the exterior is rescue green. Current owner: Rymanrph.

Well if it's not structural, then it might be worth trying. I just got back from the pull a part with no luck. I found several WJs with 242s, but they were too new and didn't accept a speedometer gear.

I've been losing a little transfer case fluid for a while and today I saw this. My question is, is the tail shaft housing the same between the 242 and the 231? It's a lot harder to find 242s. If I could go to the pull a part, with some snap ring pliers, a socket set and some other small tools, I think I could get one pretty easily. I'd just have to make sure they're the same. I did notice that there are some 242 cases that don't have a provision for the speedometer gear. I've swapped plenty of transfer cases, but I've never taken one apart, so I'm just a little ignorant.