Bringing a new project home today

Fellas!

I'm finally able to post within the confines of the MJ forum as I'm going to pic one up this afternoon.

I got this thing dirt cheap. Had it not been dirt cheap I wouldn't have bought it since it's not my ideal factory build.

The truck...

1988 Comanche (I have no clue on the trim) Base?
I4 (This was the part that wasn't ideal)
2wd (This wasn't ideal either but it's fixable)
Manual transmission
SWB

The body is fairly straight, all things considered. It runs, that's a plus. It moves under it's own power, that's also a plus. But that's about all I know at this point.


The truck obviously has a few issues.

Things that I know need attention:

Clutch - The guy says the clutch needs work. He says that it won't disengage (no pedal) which tells me that the slave cylinder is either bad or leaking or empty.

Drivers door - Apparently the PO fubared the door hinges and the striker bolt. How he managed to do that I'm not sure but from pictures I can tell that I'll need to graft new door hinges into the body as well as a new striker.

Floorboard - The door has been in a state of dissrepair for 2 years. Therefore, the drivers floor has rusted nicely. I've yet to see it but I'm sure it'll need to be replaced.

Paint - obviously

None of these are really big deals to me, I really just want to fix the truck up kinda nice for now. Get it running well and look decent. I think I can accomplish that with a bit of your help.

Once I get to that point I'm sure things will get out of hand and it'll be on 60s, 38s, and a LS2.

First line of business is the clutch. I need to learn how the clutch system works on these things. I have no clue right now. I've been told that on the I4 Comanches the slave cylinder was external... I hope this is true. I really don't want to have to drop the transmission quite yet.

I've searched for the past 2 hours and have yet to find a definite answer which transmission I should have. If I'm reading correctly, I have the AX-5? Which transmissions came behind the I4 in 1988?

What are some things I need to look for on this thing? I know there are a lot of rare builds, and this one is probably as normal as they come but is there anything special I should look for?

I'm quite interested in what trim model this one is. You may be able to tell me from the pictures that will soon follow. Can I run the VIN on a model this old and get a build sheet? If so, where can I go to do that?

Things I know I'll need:

Tailgate! It doesn't need to be mint, just lite on the rust! I can't believe no one makes a aftermarket tailgate for these things.

Door hinges. I should be able to fix what I have but if push comes to shove I'll cut up a lucky Cherokee.

Welp, here's a picture of the beater.



Dirt cheap! Like less than one of my cell phone bills.

Nice find. Your trans is an AX4 if its a 4 speed or an AX5 if its a 5 speed. It will be internal slave in 1988... sorry. Im a chrysler tech and can run the VIN for you if you PM it to me with the vehicle milage. Problem is in 1988 Chrysler still hadnt gotten a lot of the AMC info transferred over, so its hit and miss with what info I can get for you in that model year. The 2.5 engine is as reliable as the 4.0 is. My MJ is at 349,000 miles, with over 200,000 on its current 2.5 and running great. If you have a 4 speed trans your rear gear is most likely to be 3:55, and if you have a 5 speed is is most likely to be 4:10. Keep us up on the build and good luck.

Thank you sir.

I'm fairly sure it's a 5 speed. That would make it an AX-5. I'm glad to hear it's reliable motor.

Not so glad to hear that the slave cylinder is internal. On the bright side, there's not transfer case to deal with...

what a pile of crap!

FOFF!

you got ripped off!

And you may have 4.10 gears which will be for mileage.

You can swap to an external slave easily. Just find a 94 up 2.5L bell-housing then you can either use the late model slave and master that comes together or use an older 84 slave with your 88 master IIRC. If you need any info on the clutch system shoot me a text or give me a call. My first xj was an 84 with the 2.5L.

Welp, I got the truck.

The good:

It runs good. Idle fluctuates up and down and it seems to have a small skip at the lower idle but it seems strong.

It's only leaking "clutch" fluid, not oil.

It has 4 matching BFG tires in good shape...

The only rust is in the drivers side floor about the size of a paper plate. NO WHERE else that I've seen so far.

Tail lights are good.

The hood opens!

I have an MJ!


The bad:

The bed isn't as straight in person as it appeared in pictures.

The doors aren't straight either.

Neither are the fenders or hood. lol

Basically, to look "nice", it needs 2 fenders, a hood, 2 doors and a bed...
I'll worry about all this stuff later. Getting it running smooth, get the clutch fixed and the door hung straight.

Glenn, I just might. I'm pretty sure the slave is shot. the bottom center of the bell housing is dripping in DOT fluid...

'Doesn't really look like it has factory striping.
Is that the remains of 4 stripes right above the lower style line? Could be what's left of eliminator stripes.

The stripe just below the upper style line looks like somebody tried to copy the "sport truck" stripe, but it's the wrong shape and in the wrong place for a factory stripe.

Could be. I'm not 100% sure. I'll find out soon tho.

Got a VIN to work with now.

Hit a small gold mine.

Found a truck almost identical to mine in a junk yard right by the house.

He refused to sell me the whole truck but agreed to cutting the body in half right behind the cab and selling me the back half of it. That makes absolutely no sense.

He said he'd sell me the entire back half for 400 bucks.

I'll take the PERFECTLY straight bed off of it and put on my new truck and take the old bed off mine and put on the half frame and make a trailer...

Lowrange2 said:

Hit a small gold mine.

Found a truck almost identical to mine in a junk yard right by the house.

He refused to sell me the whole truck but agreed to cutting the body in half right behind the cab and selling me the back half of it. That makes absolutely no sense.

He said he'd sell me the entire back half for 400 bucks.

I'll take the PERFECTLY straight bed off of it and put on my new truck and take the old bed off mine and put on the half frame and make a trailer...

Click to expand...

The tail lights are perfect, the tailgate has a small bend in the bottom lip. I think the bumper was good. Not really sure on that.

All in all... another good buy.

Now I just need fenders, doors and a hood.

Omg, I would love to have an mj trailer.

I KNOW! I'm scouring the interweb for Wildernest campers and truck bed tents now. lol

I'm going to pay for it when I get off work and I'll pick it up some time next week.

I'm not really sure how I'm going to tow half of a truck...

Shame to see such a nice MJ having been junked.

But it's always good to hear another MJ will benefit from it's parts. :thumbup:

Yes, I agree. I was short of smacking the guy for not selling me the whole thing. Had this one had an engine in it and I could have saw it run I would have traded with him. Or at least offered.

I offered the man 800 bucks for the whole truck... with no engine.


I'll get half of that truck back on the road, either way.

Andy, I dig that windshield cover thing.

Also, our local pick n pull doesn't sell vehicles either because they don't have a dealer license. Too bad, I found a Westy in mint shape in ours one day.

Sounds like you have an excuse for a 97+ front clip and doors :shhh: