bigredjeep1's Renix MJ

I'm in the process of doing some serious work to Troy's (bigredjeep1) comanche.

 

skinny front tires so it could fit on the trailer to get here.

 

it's an 89 IIRC

swb

4.0

ax15

np231

HP60 front (89 ford)

14 bolt rear

4.56 or 5.13 gears...troy will have to chime in

xj buckets/center console

 

he streets it on 36's, wheels it on 40's.

 

I'm converting it to automatic for him.

 

rear end

 

The front axle setup is completely untraditional, and while lacking in precise engineering, it is functional enough. I relate it to simply being the 3rd link of a triangulated 3 link, less lower bushings, and support links that would make a trackbar unnecessary. crude, but he says it works nice and it's pretty damn strong. the central pivot is some crazy implement pivot that basically is a 2 and 5/16 ball with a cup and retainer that are greasable.

 

 

Always organize parts by side so everything gets put back together properly.

 

Because of the nature of the suspension setup, I had to remove the front axle not only for the swap itself, but even to gain access to drain the transmission or transfercase. I had to put jack stands on the front bumper and drag the axle out the side with a pallet jack.

 

Once done with that, I proceeded to gut the manual harness, ecu, pedal assembly, and floor plate. In this picture, the ECU is hanging on the new auto harness...so that I could test fire it and make sure everything would work prior to continuing. The harness is out of a 90, the truck is an 89. couple of connectors are different.

here is where I had to temp up the wires to get it to fire. back to the junk yard to get the other side of this connector, with a foot of extra wire, so that I can solder it all together and heat shrink it. won't ever be able to tell it was worked on by the time I'm done.

 

Once I had it running, it was time to pull out the driveshafts and all of the 5 speed parts. The clutch was just toast, the slave cylinder junk, the flywheel so blued that it's just plain useless. won't have that problem ever again.

 

engine held by oil pan

 

big jacks under the frame just in case the ones up front want to fall out.

 

trans out.

 

old flywheel

 

all the cleanout/grip lines are worn off the clutch

 

gotta love when slaves fail that won't happen again, either.

 

 

I'll update with pics as I go. I also replaced all of the wheel studs on the front axle, since half of them were broke off, and will be doing the rear main, oil pan, and valve cover gasket along with an oil change.

 

The interior is completely buttoned up now, but I forgot to take pics today. wiring will be completely done tomorrow, along with any cleanup necessary, and the rear main, valve cover, and oil pan. I also have to fabricate new driveshafts to get this thing driveable...the old ones are homebrew hodgepodge setups.

And special thanks to $500mj for getting a renix flexplate shipped out to me so quick! I ordered a brand new one, but the parts store told me 3 days later that it was on backorder and they couldn't get it. must be discontinued.

You are an amazing mechanic and good friend Pat!

 

It's coming along nicely! Good pics!

 

It has 5.38 gears and a lock rite in the 89' F350 HP60 and lincoln locked ff 14 bolt.

 

Thanks again! :cheers:

 

Troy

thanks for piping in the details! I'll update again with pics today. that is not all that is done, just all I have pictures of.

Oil pan gasket and rear main.

seal done, cap cleaned, reinstalled, torqued. all other caps checked for proper torque.

new gasket

pan installed

interior back together

pedal assembly swapped.

clutch master holes plugged. not pretty but effective.

wiring to firewall complete (ecu harness)

everything soldered and heat shrunk. keep in mind, I have an 89 mj here and used a 90 auto harness. of everything, this was the only connector that was different. once I wash out the engine bay, you won't know it's not stock.

valve cover is done, oil filter adapter cleaned, polished, clear coated. had to do the o-ring for it so figured why not polish this turd.

I bead blasted the valve cover inside and out, with the PCV valves removed, cleaned the baffles, put them back on and sealed them up. should help alot with blowby now. once it was painted, I sanded the high points on the cover as best as I could, then clear coated it.

installed, with bolts blasted then repainted black.

 

oil filter adapter. the O ring was leaking, so I pulled it off then blasted it, cleaned out the sand, wire wheeled it with a brass wheel for that polished effect, then clear coated it.

the front setup looks like a death trap :eek: but atleast he has traction tires in the rear...

Are your lights on ur tj fenders work

the lights on his flares don't work...one is actually missing.

 

 

I don't like the front suspension either. that center joint is off of a new holland 4wd tractor. not designed for over 25mph...

 

 

needs a redesign, for sure. but if all he does is wheel it, or little trips in town, it will be fine i guess.

MJ is my backup daily driver behind my 98' 5.9L ZJ with 6" Clayton's long arm lift and 33" BFG ATs.

 

I drove this beast from Grand Rapids, MI back to my home in Roscoe, IL about 250 miles and have a 17 mile each way with about 8 miles of highway so I do drive it up to 70 mph but it gets scary to drive if I have weight in the bed and teater/totters the cab! :ack:

 

I agree a tradition long arm is in the future.

trans is in, torque converter bolts tight.

 

 

goodbye body side 4x4 shifter bracket. hello custom one.

 

 

now I can install the transfercase, cooling lines, crossmember, exhaust, and move on to driveshafts.

trans completely done, x-member done, 4x4 linkage done. put the proper speedo gear in as well. on to driveshafts.

 

Awesome work Pat! :cheers:

 

The Comanche runs great even on the highway but could greatly benefit from a sway bar like you said. :thumbsup:

 

Troy

lol. glad you made it home safe!

 

 

now for an open cooling system...stupid coolant bottle.

Are u going to wire the lights on the tj fenders

No. one is missing

Are u going to wire the lights on the tj fenders

 

Down the road maybe but rock lights, better bumpers, hooking up winch, and painting MJ bright red are more important to me.