CheapCherokee's all purpose MJ Build

[cheapcherokee93]

what i'm working with:

Base 1988 Comanche
SWB
207,xxx miles
4.0
aw4 column shift
np231
dana 44 :greensmok
dana 30 disco

looks purdy, until.....

:scared:

can you tell its from Pennsylvania? lol
oh well, doesnt look too bad. the drivers side floor is also rusted out, so add that to the repair list.

the motor is also not in the greatest shape; running only on 5 cylinders. pulled the plugs, did a compression check and found that cylinders 3 and 6 were suspect, with 3 being way low. did a wet compression test and found no improvement so its probably just the head. i've also got to get this thing ready to pass CA smog, which its not going to in its current state:

my plan of attack is to just get the head rebuilt getting it running right and getting all the required emissions stuff on so it'll pass smog. hopefully it doesnt need a CAT, but we'll see.
unfortunately, before i even start working on the thing i need it registered, since it still has Pennsylvania plates and i want to avoid fees, so thats what im working on currently. im going through a company that specializes in registering cars because i really dont want to wait 3 hours in line just to deal with the morons at the DMV :soapbox:


so the plans for this MJ arent really definite, but i know what i want to build it to do. i need it to be "All Purpose" because the group i wheel with goes on many different types of trips to all sorts of terrain. We usually do one major Expo trip a year, so i need this thing to be able to take me to very remote places and back without leaving me stranded, so reliability is a must as is the ability to hold all my gear, and on top of that get me through obstacles we may encounter.

We also do somewhat frequent trail runs with difficult trails, so i want it to be capable of doing SoCal's toughest trails and maybe then some.

and then i also would like to be able to do maybe some mild go-fast stuff? nothing major, its just sometimes on occasion its fun to go fast on a trail or area or whatever i got hooked on this during a trip where i rode in a friends 08 tacoma w/ total chaos 2.5" over arms, kings all around, and stock leafs with bags. i know i'll never be able to get my XJ to that (within my budget at least) but just something i can go a little fast if i have/want to

as far as mods go, im not really worried about them yet as i just want to make it DD able. but i do have some 2" coils and shocks lying around so maybe i'll throw those on along with a lift shackle or something. then i'll do 31-33s with a non-CAD 4.10/detroit locker D30 (already have, just need to install the gears) for the front, and a 4.10 8.8 or regear the d44. then run that for a while until i save up for the next round of mods which will be whatever i figure them to be. to go fast i know i'll be wanting bilstein 7100s at some point, maybe i'll even go with deavers all around too :dunno:


anyways, if you keep track of this build, its going to go slow, so just a heads up. i just got out of high school (i graduate on thursday) so money isnt exactly abundant lol. and being young i know i'll probably change my mind 6513520351 times on what im gonna do lol. and feel free to criticize, im open to ideas

 

[tbburg]

Welcome to the MJ club. I've seen a couple photos somewhere of a Comanche that had the rockers replaced with square tube. 'Don't remember where, maybe someone will chime in. 'Gives you an option other then the factory sheet metal, and makes the bottom a little tougher.

I've also got to get this thing ready to pass CA smog, which its not going to in its current state:

Find an '87-89 Cherokee in a JY. You're going to need the stock air box to pass emissions. Also grab all the hoses attached to it. The PCV plumbing looks like it's been hacked out. That little breather in the valve cover is going to have to disappear. It might be a good idea to just change the cat to begin with. A new monolithic style cat may be efficient enough to cover up a lot of sins, whereas the old one may work good enough to pass the test if everything else is perfect.
Also while you're rooting around, grab the mechanical fan shroud.

unfortunately, before i even start working on the thing i need it registered, since it still has Pennsylvania plates and i want to avoid fees, so thats what im working on currently. im going through a company that specializes in registering cars because i really dont want to wait 3 hours in line just to deal with the morons at the DMV :soapbox:

And people ask me what I have against California: It's such a PITA to get tags that there are companies that specialize in doing it? God, you poor bast***s, I feel for you,...

 

[cheapcherokee93]

thanks! yeah i'm thinking about going square tubing rockers, but i'd like to see some pics of some first so i can get an idea. i also need to find out the extent of the rust first.

yep, im aware of all the intake and PCV plumbing i'll need to put back in. I drive an 87 XJ with all the correct stuff still in it so i have something to compare to.

and yeah, the CA DMV is so bad that there are companies that specialize in registration, and many at that. i've talked to 3 already, and thats just some in my area. i dont mind paying a little extra to avoid a massive headache and wasted time. one of the many reasons i wish out of this dreaded state....

 

[Root Moose]

You are in California. That is a parts truck. Go get something decent for a few hundred bucks instead of wasting time on the body of that thing.

2¢

 

[XJLI]

thats the prettiest MJ i've seen come out of the east coast in a while... how long was it in PA? 6-7 months? lol

 

[cheapcherokee93]

You are in California. That is a parts truck. Go get something decent for a few hundred bucks instead of wasting time on the body of that thing.

2¢

thanks for the input....unfortunately theres no such thing as a few hundred dollar MJ around here. i've been searching for months and this is what i could get for cheap. i wanted a project and i got it. all the good deals on CL are either too far away or the dumb owner wont reply to my emails and leaves no phone number. i also figure im doing MJ enthusiasts a favor by keeping this thing on the road.

thats the prettiest MJ i've seen come out of the east coast in a while... how long was it in PA? 6-7 months? lol

haha i think its been there most its life... im really surprised to be finding all this rust being that the paint looks so good. but its weird because its only rusted in certain areas, and not the whole thing.

 

[drcomanche]

:laugh: I have been dealing with the same nonsense on CL as well. I'm even willing to go out of the way about 500 miles to get one.

Btw, I saw a guy on photobucket who did the solid bars to his xj. I can't imagine it would be terribly different for an mj and this site even explains a bit about doing it to an mj. http://www.madxj.com/MADXJ/technical/technicalfiles/ARrockerPanels/RockerPanels.htm

 

[cheapcherokee93]

yeah i've seen that link and read it a few times. im not sure if i would take it all the way from wheel to wheel or if i'd just do the cab part. doesnt the bed flex separate from the cab? so i wouldnt be able to weld one piece to the cab and bed together. i also may just replace the rockers and then make separate sliders. :dunno: i dunno.

i should be starting the rust replacement in a couple weeks. im getting it registered this week so i have to get it to pass smog, which is gonna be a project in itself haha.

 

[drcomanche]

I saw another build thread somewhere, but I can't find it anymore. The guy basically cut out the rockers to maybe an inch below the sill and just welded in some square tubing with a flat stock bracket on it. He welded it to the pinch seem with rosette welds and it looked pretty good.

As for the bed flex, I feel like it shouldn't flex very much if any. It's bolted pretty heavily to the frame and, well, the cab is built onto the frame. The flex between the bed and cab sections shouldn't be extreme enough to merit separate bars. With the fix I described above, it doesn't weld directly to the bed or cab, so that should be ok.

And even then, and I'm speaking without much experience here :dunno: , it doesn't seem to be too difficult to fab up a set of your own.

Good luck with it.

 

[cheapcherokee93]

yay got stuff done today. arty:

pulled the head with help from a friend...got it done in about 3 hours

and sure enough further inspection of the head finds this:

so im taking it to the head shop tomorrow. hoping the head salvageable and not cracked. valves should be cheap for the 4.0 right?
so now im left with this:

haha

oh and just for kicks; nothing says "classy" like a painted master cylinder cover :doh:

:laugh:


oh and i almost forgot, the registration guy came to me yesterday to verify my VIN#..should be getting my temp. registration in the mail soon, so i can legally drive it but ultimately i need it smogged. yesterday i also fixed the drivers side front fender. apparently the PO somehow managed to hit a column in a parking structure which pushed in the fender limiting the door from opening very far. i was able to pull it out enough for full movement and even cleaned it up a bit. doesn't look too bad! and for some reason i cant find the before pic i though i had.... oh well.

 

[cheapcherokee93]

welp, took the head in to the machine shop today. got a quote of around $130 for a stock rebuild with one new valve. sounds pretty good to me, is this a decent price?

 

[87manche]

that's a decent price. Good price if it includes magnaflux, better price if it includes magnaflux and decking the head to make sure it's flat.

 

[cheapcherokee93]

Been real busy this week, haven't had time to update this haha.

Well turns out the head was cracked, so I'm buying a stock rebuilt unit from Russ Potenger on here.

Last weekend I found a column shift MJ In the junkyard so I snagged the column since mine's tilt is real loose. Also found a decent airbox and a good vacuum line cluster. Should be everything I need for CA smog. Today I found an XJ with drop brackets in the junkyard only $20! Looks like this thing will be on at least 4" of lift eventually haha. I'm thinking SOA for the rear with the stock mj leafs or I'm toying with the idea of doing chevy 63s instead. We'll see. For now I'm gonna fix the rusted frame rail today and next week I'm planning on doing weld in rockers. I'm waiting on my head so I gotta do something productive haha. Pics of everything to come.

 

[87manche]

the tilt is a commong problem. Find the monte carlo or GM whatever board for the loose column fix. You take it apart and tighten 4 screws (well, 3, cause you can't get the 4th) and then it's all fixed.

I think this is it:
http://www.elcaminocentral.com/showthread.php?t=27192

 

[offroader461]

its easy..i pulled each of the 4 screws out 1 at a time...put some red loctite on them and no more problems....6 years ago too

 

[praetorian]

got any update?

 

[cracker]

thanks for the input....unfortunately theres no such thing as a few hundred dollar MJ around here. i've been searching for months and this is what i could get for cheap. i wanted a project and i got it. all the good deals on CL are either too far away or the dumb owner wont reply to my emails and leaves no phone number. i also figure im doing MJ enthusiasts a favor by keeping this thing on the road.

They can be found cheap. Find one with a 4 cylinder that doesn't run and start swapping.

 

[cheapcherokee93]

yep...been slacking on this thread...again

can't seem to find the camera when i want to take pics, so no new pics

i've since swapped the steering column (no more wobbly one)
buttoned up the engine, hooked everything up. it fired up first try! apparently my RMS is leaking bad now.... i put 10w-30 in it since thats what it says to put in, but upon looking through the POs receipts it looks like he's been running 10w-40. could the thicker oil have something to do with the leak? because it didn't leak before.

swapped in a full gauge cluster....had to cut a hole in the tach to accommodate the shift indicator. didn't turn out like i wanted it too, so its not too pretty but it works.

more recenty, i discovered that right after the CAT the pipe is rusted all the way around, so its not going through the muffler right now. I'm thinking do a temp. fix and see if it passes smog, if not get a new cat and go from there. since i'm gonna be cutting out the exhaust anyway I'm going to fix the frame rail while i have the space. under there. i still can't believe i didn't see the rust until i brought it home. stupid me for looking at it in a dim garage :anon:

current plans are as follows:

fix frame rail
get it DD-able (finish registration and SMOG)
replace rusted rockers with 2x6 square tube
fix floor board in auto body at Cerritos college
fix any quirks found from driving it


after that I'm not really sure, probably just keep accumulating parts like i've been doing. I'm excited to be taking auto body this semester at my first year at Cerritos College. hoping to get some stuff done while I'm in there

 

[xj dreamin]

The rms could just be because the engine has alot of miles and it's old hence why the p/o used a thicker oil. how's cerritos treating you? i took their auto 100 class in order to get in the other classes. I'm going back this spring so maybe i'll see you around.

 

[cheapcherokee93]

The rms could just be because the engine has alot of miles and it's old hence why the p/o used a thicker oil. how's cerritos treating you? i took their auto 100 class in order to get in the other classes. I'm going back this spring so maybe i'll see you around.

this is my first year at Cerritos, so we'll see how i like it. So far i guess they've been okay. although i hate their dreaded website and other little stuff, i like their campus and automotive department so far. I actually participated in a high school automotive competition at the campus last year so thats kinda how i got introduced to it. I'm taking auto body 56, some electric vehicle class, and wood 101 this semester just to get in as well. couldn't get any academic classes being I'm a first time freshman and have absolutely no priority lol. I'm thinking about going the online college route just so i can get general ed done too.