Comanche MJ build thread.

[jeepmike887]

I'll try and get the rest of the buildup pics posted tomorrow, pics are uploading onto photobucket.

waiting. . .. . . . .. . .
. . . . . . .. .. . . . .. . . . . .. :hang:

 

[Pat]

hell yeah! let's see it dude.

P "might bring a tear to my eye" Main

 

[jeepmike887]

day I brought it home,

Next to my cherokee

I just realized I dont have any completed pictures, Im goin to sleep, I'll take some in the am.

 

[jeepmike887]

New front ride height with 4" yj leaves

motor back in and painted the block red, instead of tan.

finishing patching some holes in the floor

my buddy jake welding up the fuel cell

FINALLY getting the front brakes together after a monthlong search for the correct caliper brackets, ended up buying another "parts axle" on ebay for 100$ that had the right brackets.

general idea of what the interior looks like

motor all finished

ended up going with a psc hydro assist box "bling":thumbup:

gotta love the woodgrain

heres a pic of the serpentine belt setup, had to make a custom bracket for the power steering pump to go on the other side so it wouldn't hit the box.

More of the motor

Headers are a TIGHT fit thats for sure, but they dont hit anywhere
btw headmen tight tubes.

 

[jeepmike887]

And a couple pics I took this morning, If you guys want to see more pics of anything just ask, I've got a bunch more just don't want to upload em all.

front view

fuel cell and battery

dash

we call it the hill brake, just a stock xj parking brake lever.

fuel pump mounted behind the drivers seat, you would think it would be noisy, but you can't even hear it over the motor..

Its not quite done yet, but really close, havnt driven it yet cause the brakes have to be bled yet. also I need a dust cover/ inpection cover for the sm465 trans. other than that just got some cleaning up of the wiring to do and it'll be ready to wheel. what do you guys think.

 

[jeepmike887]

well today i decided to work on the brakes, found out the diaphram was rusted through and just leaking out air, so went to the junkyard and picked up a dual diaphram booster and master cylinder out of a 96 cherokee, definetly a worthwhile upgrade, the brakes work awesome now.

tryed to take it out for a little drive, but something in the front end is binding up, I'll check it out tomorrow, also, the power steering ain't working, I believe the pump is bad I'll check that out tomorrow also. other than that, the thing stays at 190 degrees from what I can see, 195 at the most, and idles pretty well, oil pressure is close to 60, runs really good,

I just want to drive it. I've only crawled up and down the driveway, the binding is pretty bad so I didn't want to go any further.

 

[Big Hank]

So awesome man. Great work. I can't wait to see it. Hows that engine sound? Where things setup okay? I was only nervous about valve adjustment.

Binding sounds scarry. It always rolled around alright for me, just never had a front driveshaft. Maybe get lucky and have it be brake related.

Either way....Awesome!!!!

Big "American V8's bring a tear to my eye" Hank

 

[jeepmike887]

the motor is great!! sounds awesome, the valves don't seem to be a problem at all, in fact, everything on the motor works perfectly as of now. sounds great even though I might rework the exhaust a bit, I just ran it single all the way back instead of duals, and I think the pipe I used was a bit small, 2 1/4", but it is loud and sounds good nonetheless, I think if it was dual 2 1/4" or single 2 1/2 it would sound even better.

the binding in the front end is either brake related or something wrong with the hubs, the front driveshaft is not in yet, I still have to notch out the crossmember to make it fit.

btw, gene, what is the mounting setup for the crossmember, it doesn't look like a bushing in their.

I jacked up the front end last night, and the passenger side wheel rolls fine, the drivers side only spins one turn maybe one and a half if you roll it as hard as you can. so thats where the problem is.

one more question for gene, what year approximately is this axle out of, After 3 trips to napa, I still can't seem to find selectable hubs that will fit on it.

 

[jeepmike887]

eehhhhhhh, still not workin right, think it might be in the trans/ t case, I took the whole front end apart today, and everything works fine, the hubs are open, so the axle shafts dont spin, which eliminates ring and pinion, just brakes or wheel bearings which are both fine,

took it for a drive hoping to break something so I could figure out what it was, binding still persists, and the only damage done was a radiator hose popped off.

 

[Big Hank]

Pretty confident the ring and pinion are stamped 1974. Odd thing about it is the 8lug part. You may have to enquire more with google, or other guys on here or Pirate that may know more.

If there is no DS in the front then I wouldn't think I would question the tcase or transmission. Both Pat and I are great friends with the guy who hooked me up with the tranny and tcase combo. I was pretty much there on its last drive before I purchased it.

Binding is in a straight line?

Does the binding act different based on turning direction?

Steering binding?

Feel like a spool?

Feel like a locker?

Jeep is just slowing down by itself?

Steering wheel is turning by itself?

Just trying to help you diagnose the issue.

Big "little bit jealous" Hank

 

[Big Hank]

Also if its only while turning make sure it's not just the rear. That thing has a mean limited slip in it if i remember correctly.

 

[jeepmike887]

binding is in a straight line and it gets a little more noticeable when turning, Ive never driven anything with a limited slip or locker so its all new to me, definetly not a slight bind though, its pretty major.

the rear driveshaft isn't a cv shaft, just a single u joint up top, but the angle isn't that much at all, but maybe thats it?

its not the brakes, could be something wrong with the rear axle, maybe ring and pinion on that? I never had the cover off on that, just made sure it had fluid in it.

test drive was great, it was dark so I had my brother holding a spotlight out the passenger window to see, think I pissed off the neighbors too, they came running outside like wtf is goin on??? lol

I'll mess with it tomorrow afternoon,

 

[5spd_xj]

looks awesome...hope your binding issue is something minor, i want to see pictures of that bad boy wheeling asap!

 

[Lowrange2]

Somone has been watching too much MythBusters.

 

[Big Hank]

Somone has been watching too much MythBusters.

Thats exactly what I was thinking the entire time I was cutting.

 

[Big Hank]

the rear driveshaft isn't a cv shaft, just a single u joint up top, but the angle isn't that much at all, but maybe thats it?

its not the brakes, could be something wrong with the rear axle, maybe ring and pinion on that? I never had the cover off on that, just made sure it had fluid in it.

Mike

That Tcase does not have a slip yoke if I remember correctly. Are you using a telescoping shaft, or square shaft? I can't remember Driveshaft 101 but if you homebuilt or rebuilt the driveshaft, did you orient the u-joints properly. I can't remember if that causes bind, or vibes. But it does mess something up.

Rear axle should be flawless.

Straight line bind is confusing me, espesially if it gets tighter turning. That makes me still say diffs before anything else. One guy could move that thing around before.

Try this for me. Get up to whatever speed you are comfortable with. Shift it to nuetral and let me know the results. Does the binding stop?

Nuetral in the shop with the truck off, does it roll?

That limited slip is new enough that it would probably drag a tire on gravel or dirt, much like a locker can sometimes do. The fact it has not been driven on will make it that much more likely to be tight. And it will be doing nothing when moving in a straight line.

Big Hank

 

[jeepmike887]

fixed yoke on the t case, I bought the driveshafts, rear has a small slip joint in it, don't need much, 1410 joints.

It rolls around the shop alright, although it is pretty tough to push, takes two guys, doesn't roll real easy.

I'll try the neutral thing tomorrow.

what do you mean by oriente the u joints ?

 

[Big Hank]

fixed yoke on the t case, I bought the driveshafts, rear has a small slip joint in it, don't need much, 1410 joints.

It rolls around the shop alright, although it is pretty tough to push, takes two guys, doesn't roll real easy.

I'll try the neutral thing tomorrow.

what do you mean by oriente the u joints ?

Pretty confident you line up the caps properly. It is more vibration related so one cap is doing the opposite from the other, then they cancel each other out and help for less vibes. Pretty much no way I could look at this as the problem at this point.

Thanks for giving the other stuff a try. keep me posted

Gene

 

[jeepmike887]

think I got it, not the brakes, not the r&p, gotta be the axle bearings that are down inside the tubes, pulled the tires, brake calipers, and axles shafts, the gears spin fine when I turn the driveshaft, and the rotors turn fine with the axleshafts out,

their are grooves on the axle shafts where the bearings are, looks like the bearings are seized from sitting for so long. probably not something I can fix, so Im pulling the axle out and taking it to my local offroad shop.

never dealt with this, what kind of bearings are these, like what would I ask for at napa, axle bearings? is their a quick fix? maybe shooting some pb down in their?

 

[Big Hank]

think I got it, not the brakes, not the r&p, gotta be the axle bearings that are down inside the tubes, pulled the tires, brake calipers, and axles shafts, the gears spin fine when I turn the driveshaft, and the rotors turn fine with the axleshafts out,

their are grooves on the axle shafts where the bearings are, looks like the bearings are seized from sitting for so long. probably not something I can fix, so Im pulling the axle out and taking it to my local offroad shop.

never dealt with this, what kind of bearings are these, like what would I ask for at napa, axle bearings? is their a quick fix? maybe shooting some pb down in their?

Mike

Use photoshop or Microsoft paint and give me an arrow or something as to where the marks are on the AXLE SHAFT not the tube. Or measure how many inches in from the flange. This is the axle as it was having brakes put on.

Only place on a full float D60 that I can think of that the axle shaft touches anything is the Flange with the bolts, and the splines inside carrier(ring and pinion.) So markings or grooves don't sound correct.

Things had come apart enough that I am not sure where I was. But I would guess that if I did not properly tighten the locking nuts on those outer bearings(that entire unit that rotor is attached to.) Just maybe they have tightened themselves up. Most likely the passenger side would tighten itself adn the drive would try to loosen because of the direction the wheels are turning.

Did you ever have the axle down to the point I show in the pics, maybe when you would have been fixing the lugnut issue that it had? Any friends helping with that part? If they are tight,but semi smooth you can just loosting them up and relock them down. Just make sure they are not loose, that is basically the idea.

We'll get it....
Gene