1987 Jeep Comanche Pick-up Truck... The sensible backup car

Btw; 21.40 MPG (UK)... That's really not too bad!

Beats a series 3 Land Rover petrol !
(When its working...)
Not bad at all

I love my Jeep! Even if it's broken again...

Took it to work yesterday - one of the front wheel bearings failed. It's making noises - BAD noises. Like - really bad. Luckily I found a Jeep parts supplier who stocks 2WD front wheels bearings. They are different to the 4WD ones. And everything sold over here was 4WD I think.

Cheers,
Jan

So, finally got delivery of some of americas proudest:



So quickly pulled the front hub. I took many test-drives, but in the end I was about sure it was the front left bearing that was at fault.



All pretty crusty down there... Luckily you don't have to remove the caliper carrier bracket, since I don't have correct Torx socket for the job... It's surprising, that Jeep used so many Torx bolts, I only knew them on cars from the mid- to late 90s on.

Anyway, knocked out the old bearing races with a drift, knocked the new ones in - quick job. I like replacing bearings on non-driven wheels



Packed with Castrol LMX, ready to go back in.



A quick test drive confirmed that my diagnosis was right.

Not that I needed the test-drive to confirm my diagnosis........





That's the worst I have ever come across....... Wow. Just - wow. No wonder the car made noises like a fully loaded freight train

Cheers,
Jan

So, new weekend, new work. This was yesterday.



Jacked up the rear end and pulled the diff cover, to confirm I actually have what I bought parts for. A non-C-clip DANA 35 axle.

Non-C-Clip & open diff confirmed:



Unbolted the retainers, bolted on the sliding hammer... And out came the axle shafts:




Those axles are a bit of on odd design, all that holds the shaft from sliding out is this retainer-plate. Which actually pushes on the oil seal... Crazy.

I tried to knock the bearing spacers/retainers from the shaft, but they are on TIGHT. So, change of plan; threw the shafts in the Taxi and drove to work. 140km round trip, but who cares. I have access to a press & I can do it myself. Diesel is cheap anyway.

So I cut off the old retainers & bearings and pressed on the new ones. Took a good amount of pressure to get them on. I lucked out; the tool we made for removing W124 rear hubs & bearings was an almost perfect fit for the Jeep shafts





In the above pictures you can see the steel plates that basically hold the wheels to the axle... Personally, I think that's a pretty stupid design. On the other hand, on those axles the bearing rollers don't run directly on the shafts, but have a proper inner race. Beauty & beast.

Anyway, the bearings had only very, very minimal wear. I replaced them anyway. My bearing noise got a lot quieter, but it's still present. Next step: pull & inspect the other front bearing, check diff input shaft bearing again.

I like working with solid axles, all pretty easy...

In the afternon, I shoved the axles back in, adjusted the rear brakes - and drove of to drink a bit too much...

Cheers,
Jan

Fantastic looking truck. Never knew they existed. The only thing I would change is the colour (I REALLY dislike red cars). Full of win, full of want. Bookmarked obvs!

Nice surprise.

I took the Jeep to work last saturday. Had a bit of time left untill an appointment with a BBQ - so I did just that^.

I wish I had not... The outer bearing was a bit worn and had a slight yellow coloration. The nut had been tightened way too much. Bearings needs replacing, but nothing too bad. So I put the bearing back in. Took it back out - and decided to remove the brake caliper and pull the hub.

And - shock horror - we have our issue. *Crunchy-crunchy* - and instead of grease, there was only black tar left that was just about to transform into powder... Totally dried out & burned. I greased it as good as possible (without destroying the rear seal), added a dab of oil to the mix and put it back on. I've ordered some stuff in the US, which will hopefully soon be shipped. With it come new front wheel bearings, since they'r a fraction of the price I payed over here...

Did not feel good driving it home, knowing just how badly shot that bearing is. On the other hand - the driver's side bearing was probably a lot worse And I can't believe that the noise that bearing made sometimes completely disappeared. What fooled me was that the bearing noise didn't disappear when cornering. I've never had a rear (big) bearing fail, only ever the little outer bearings (on Mercs anyway). But every day is a learning day.

Anyway, I made it back safe & sound and the Jeep is grounded until my bearings have arrived this side of the pond.

Didn't take pictures, only got this potato print:

Straight 6 Mini? You not being ambitious enough.

This guy got a V8 in one. Transverse. In the front.
www.spagweb.com/v8mini/

Nick