cjomanche
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Orange County
Hi everyone,
I just registered over at ComancheClub and was told that I might want to join here, as well. I was under the impression that this is solely an XJ club, but apparently MJ's are allowed too
I went to the Death Valley area last month with my (somewhat) built 1st gen Xterra and saw that my friend had recently purchased a Jeep Comanche. I had never seen one before (or I haven't been paying attention up until then) and it got me interested. I like my Xterra, overall. It's done well on some challenging trails I've taken it on, but I get the feeling like I will eventually reach its limit. The torsion bar suspension is simply not that good, and to get rid of it, I would need to do a straight axle swap, and at that point I'm looking at some serious money (7-10k is about average, based on what I've seen). The 3" suspension lift that I did is already giving me CV joint problems. I'm having to replace one now, and from what I'm reading, this will become a common problem. Plus, part of me would really like to have a truck again. There's been at least 2 instances this past year where a truck was needed, but all I had was a truck-based SUV.
Anyway, I'm hoping to score a 1991-1992 Comanche, short wheel base, with 4wd. I'm told that it's not too hard to convert a 2wd to 4wd, so that might be an option, as well. I still haven't decided between an auto and a manual. I'm a big fan of manual transmissions, but I do plan on towing a small cargo trailer at some point in the future, and I can remember a few trails I've been on where a manual transmission would have been extremely challenging to deal with, on an already hard trail. Those are the only two things I could think of that would make me want an auto.
Any advice on my search? I'm hoping someone here either knows someone who is selling, or can keep an eye out for me.
Seems like a really great organization you guys have here. I know one of the board of directors, personally. He and my Dad were coworkers for years. He's the master of wheeling in the place we like to go to.
Thanks in advance for your help
I just registered over at ComancheClub and was told that I might want to join here, as well. I was under the impression that this is solely an XJ club, but apparently MJ's are allowed too

I went to the Death Valley area last month with my (somewhat) built 1st gen Xterra and saw that my friend had recently purchased a Jeep Comanche. I had never seen one before (or I haven't been paying attention up until then) and it got me interested. I like my Xterra, overall. It's done well on some challenging trails I've taken it on, but I get the feeling like I will eventually reach its limit. The torsion bar suspension is simply not that good, and to get rid of it, I would need to do a straight axle swap, and at that point I'm looking at some serious money (7-10k is about average, based on what I've seen). The 3" suspension lift that I did is already giving me CV joint problems. I'm having to replace one now, and from what I'm reading, this will become a common problem. Plus, part of me would really like to have a truck again. There's been at least 2 instances this past year where a truck was needed, but all I had was a truck-based SUV.
Anyway, I'm hoping to score a 1991-1992 Comanche, short wheel base, with 4wd. I'm told that it's not too hard to convert a 2wd to 4wd, so that might be an option, as well. I still haven't decided between an auto and a manual. I'm a big fan of manual transmissions, but I do plan on towing a small cargo trailer at some point in the future, and I can remember a few trails I've been on where a manual transmission would have been extremely challenging to deal with, on an already hard trail. Those are the only two things I could think of that would make me want an auto.
Any advice on my search? I'm hoping someone here either knows someone who is selling, or can keep an eye out for me.
Seems like a really great organization you guys have here. I know one of the board of directors, personally. He and my Dad were coworkers for years. He's the master of wheeling in the place we like to go to.
Thanks in advance for your help