86 2.8 auto - 4.0 5speed project.

Picked my 86 up two years ago for free and it's held up well but needed more power. A few months ago an 87 came up on craiglist with a 4.0l/5speed combo for 300 bucks, so I went for it. Hopefully by the end I'll have one running truck and all of my fingers intact.

the 86 last winter (early last winter.....both cars are still out)

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87 teardown:

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86 teardown:

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and my guard dogs :roll:

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I'm about a week in now. I'm doing the project all in spurts as time is really short working two days a week, going to school full time, and playing junior hockey. But it'll get done hopefully by december.

I own a 86 mj and just swaped in a 4 speed behind the 2.8 but just a helpfull hint for the clutch master their is 5 little dents next to the brake booster drill the center hole out with a 1.50 inch hole saw or 38 mm the other holes are for just the bolts and good luck

I own a 86 mj and just swaped in a 4 speed behind the 2.8 but just a helpfull hint for the clutch master their is 5 little dents next to the brake booster drill the center hole out with a 1.50 inch hole saw or 38 mm the other holes are for just the bolts and good luck

thanks for the heads up on that one.

did some odds and ends during the week, picked up the reman longblock and got everything together tonight. I'm planning to drop it in tomorow.

hit the engine with some Cat yellow....why not, its an i6 right?

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ohh pretty...

:D :cheers:

ty.

here's what I got done today:

finished dressing the engine:

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pulled the old harness

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got everything in:

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the freakish exhaust matchup:

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the muffler and up is off the 87, the tailpipe never left the 86. They mate perfectly (the muffler goes foward just enough when I bolt up the intermediate pipe.

thats about it for a few days......let me know what you guys think.

Matt

My god man... Why didn't you paint the engine compartment when it was empty??????

All that new paint and everything,, but when you open the hood its going to be :hmm:

I needed to get the big stuff in today because my father needs the garage back tomorow so it needed to be ready to roll out and I'll do odds and ends outside. I'll just wrap the engine up and paint the bay; it's a little more work but what can you do.

update:

underneath all buttoned up (axle-lock cable hangin out there)

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engine bay painted

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rad mounts

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pics from tonite:

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last big step

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heartless

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I'm helpin my sister move tomorow and I'm goin to albany on sunday so thats it for the weekend. I have next weekend off though so hopefully I can knock out a big chunk of what's left then.

Matt

100% better !! I was thinking,,,, dam^ all that work.. and then blah.... Looks good!!

that yellow is cool haha

and the motor swap is like goin from boy to man hahaha

nice swap, diggin the yellow, and the magic-markered JEEP logo

thanks for the comments guys. I can't wait for next weekend to do more work on her, especially with snow in the forcast

and the magic-markered JEEP logo

ha, that's painted the same as the bottom of the body. The magic marker's just chillin there.

Sounds like a lot of work! I have an 86 Comanche 4x4 with the 2.8 V6 and Chrysler automatic transmission. I went with re manufacturing my 2.8. I had it done by a local machine shop that builds racing engines (winners). This guy uses the same craftsmanship for every engine racing or not.

I have been a mechanic most of my life,and I could not believe it! I watched him put mine together and he is meticulous!

Bored the block .020, turned the crank .010, threw out all other internal parts including valves, seats, guides, and springs. Everything was replaced with name brand new parts.

I replaced the torque converter and rebuilt the transmission. New brakes all around, new bushings in the front end and new shocks. The only thing left to do mechanically is the rear axle and my MJ should last a few years without major work to be done.

I would not have considered all of this work except this truck has absolutely NO rust anywhere, the upholstery is original and not a rip or tear anywhere, and the rear springs still have factory paint on them.

There are a few minor dents where objects were thrown at it by hurricane Katrina. Other than that paint is in good shape too.

Oh yes, I found a new (not rebuilt) carburetor on ebay for $200.00 and I painted my fan! HaHa!

Sounds like a lot of work! I have an 86 Comanche 4x4 with the 2.8 V6 and Chrysler automatic transmission. I went with re manufacturing my 2.8. I had it done by a local machine shop that builds racing engines (winners). This guy uses the same craftsmanship for every engine racing or not.

I have been a mechanic most of my life,and I could not believe it! I watched him put mine together and he is meticulous!

Bored the block .020, turned the crank .010, threw out all other internal parts including valves, seats, guides, and springs. Everything was replaced with name brand new parts.

I replaced the torque converter and rebuilt the transmission. New brakes all around, new bushings in the front end and new shocks. The only thing left to do mechanically is the rear axle and my MJ should last a few years without major work to be done.

I would not have considered all of this work except this truck has absolutely NO rust anywhere, the upholstery is original and not a rip or tear anywhere, and the rear springs still have factory paint on them.

There are a few minor dents where objects were thrown at it by hurricane Katrina. Other than that paint is in good shape too.

Oh yes, I found a new (not rebuilt) carburetor on ebay for $200.00 and I painted my fan! HaHa!

cool. Your truck looks identical to mine when I first got, had the same driveline too. What color interior do you have?

This swap is a good bit of work, but so much of it is bolt up that I really don't mind; I've only used the welder a few times. However if I didn't find the donor truck I would have certainly stuck with a 3.4 swap. But the FI and 5 speed were hard to turn down.

Matt

My interior is red. I was really lucky to find a 20 year old truck that looks as good.

I would post more pics, but can't remember how. Ha!

If I had it to do over again I would buy a 3.4L crate engine although the 2.8 bored .020 is quite peppy. I have owned several s-10's with the 2.8 and they were all lazy.

The reason I had the 2.8 rebuilt is I wanted to keep all of the original numbers intact. I may want to restore this truck

after driving it for a few weeks I gave her a new coat of paint this past weekend:

sanding and what not (donor 4.0 hood was loaded with dings)

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welded loops in so I can use my brothers rear ladder rack if need be:

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had to do the jambs the next day because of poor timing on sunday. But whatever...I'm not goin to barret jackson with it.

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jambs painted and black door panels in.

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I'm gonna give her a light wash tomorow then I'll take some outdoor pictures for you all. Hopefully next weekend I can knock out the rest of the interior. I have all of the stuff, it's just a matter of taking it out of a cruddy donor truck without breaking anything.

Anywho, I'm really happy with the color combo, let me know what you all think.

Matt

I still haven't washed it but here's some outdoor pictures. (There's alot of dust on it so she should get a little more shine after a wash or two).

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Hey that looks great man. What brand rims and size tires are those?

the wheels are cragar soft 8's (from summitracing.com).

the tires are Dayton Timberlines, which are supposadly discontinued now. Size is 235/75/15.

Matt

I still haven't washed it but here's some outdoor pictures. (There's alot of dust on it so she should get a little more shine after a wash or two).

I love those bumpers Matt! Where did you get them? What brand are they? Would you mind sharing what they cost?

I've got a daily driver and haven't found any aftermarket bumpers that I really like.

Scott

Looks great. What did you use for paint, single stage or base clear?

Wow, sorry I took so long to respond to you guys, I didn't realize there were new responses in the thread.

I love those bumpers Matt! Where did you get them? What brand are they? Would you mind sharing what they cost?

 

I've got a daily driver and haven't found any aftermarket bumpers that I really like.

 

Scott

Thanks, I made them from scratch actually. Here's my build thread for it http://www.comancheclub.com/forums/view ... highlight=

Looks great. What did you use for paint, single stage or base clear?

I used single stage, Centari acrylic enamel. The black on the bottom is laquer that I got for free. I don't remember what brand though.

Thanks

sorry to hijack, but I'm in the planning stages of swapping my 2.5 out for a 4.0...

Car Ramrod, I notice that your 86 doesn't/didn't have a C101 connector in the wiring harness. How did you swap the 4.0 harness into yours and get it working?

I can swap all the hard parts no problem, but the only thing holding me up from going forward on this is the harness. I'm not sure I have the skill to get it all hooked up :oops:

Thanks,

Jeff

thats a cool looking green :D