Anyone want to join me?

[Mudshack]

I am in Lee's Summit, MO and wrenching on my wife's XJ for the first time. Being that it is the only vehicle my family has right now. I have no other vehicle to use for running out to get back up parts with something like a rear top spring bolt decides to snap.

I would love to have someone around that has wrenched on these rigs before. Even to give me some "whoa, I did that once before" advice. I have air tools!

On tap for Sunday afternoon......attacking all 4 rear top shock bolts, replacing rear shocks, putting on 2" lift shackles, inserting 1.75" front coil spacers.

Future weekends....replacing oil pan gasket, rear main seal, control arm bushings, fix why the drivers door is the only one that controls windows, fix why the turn signal works when it wants to and for as long as it wants to, and figuring out why the A/C comes and goes.

Give me a shout if you are up for some fun.

 

[indyjeepnut]

A peice of advice on the shock bolts. Break them off. Then use an air hammer to pound nut zerts up and out of your way. (saftey glasses) Drop a 1/4 20 by 1.5 inches with a washer on it down from the top. You can use the access holes around the shock mounts to do this. I have found the easiest wat to do this is by taping the bolt to a peice of wire and the pulling it through.

As far as the rear shackle bolts go. Good luck. Most of those I have tried to remove won't come out. The top shackle bolt is usually seized to the metal bushing inside the rubber bushing. If you use an impact you will more than likely bust the nut zert off inside the loose. Then you must cut a hole in the frame (unibody) to repair. You would probablly be better off doing an AAL insted of the shackle.

Hope this helps.

If you were closer to Indy we would be glad to help.

Andy

 

[Mudshack]

I have been reading all day about the different ideas on fixing the top rear spring bolts. LOL... "It's a Jeep thing."

I am just going to use the impact wrench to snap them off, and then invest in an air hammer. I made the mistake of ordering 4 new bolts from Jeep prior to reading up on . So, now I am $25 poorer, and am still going to go out and buy the air hammer and new bolts/nuts.

 

[indyjeepnut]

Your $25 would have been better spent joining .

Go RED

 

[Mudshack]

Amen!

 

[XJ&CHZ4ME]

Your $25 would have been better spent joining .

Go RED

so true...

 

[XJosh95]

Your $25 would have been better spent joining .

Go RED

Best $35 I've ever spent on my Jeep.

 

[4wdParakeet]

I would love to come over and help you wrench but I'm kinda booked on the weekends right now. Good to meet someone close. I'm in Olathe but find myself on the Mo side quite a bit. Lookforward to seeing you out on some trails.


Parakeet

 

[Mudshack]

I would love to come over and help you wrench but I'm kinda booked on the weekends right now. Good to meet someone close. I'm in Olathe but find myself on the Mo side quite a bit. Lookforward to seeing you out on some trails.


Parakeet

Nice to meet you. I am actually over your way quite a bit for my kid's soccer.

 

[4wdParakeet]

You must go to the new place on 135th. If that's the case I'm about 5 mins W of there. You should think about taking your kids to the Creepy Crawl at KS Rocks next weekend. Lots of kids stuff to do and a Haunted Trail Ride. Find the info at KSRockspark.com. I won't be there but it will be a good time.


Parakeet

 

[KSXJ]

I would love to come over and help, but a little busy right now. But if you get in a bas position and need some questions answered, post here and maybe we can help you online or maybe Parakeet or myself could swing by for a couple minutes.

 

[4wdParakeet]

I can do that I have small couple hour windows on the weekends right now but post up I usually check frequently.


Parakeet

 

[vincepru]

if your still going at it when i get back into town, i can probably lend you a hand or atleast give you some advice.

 

[Mudshack]

Thanks vincepru. But aren't you located in cleaveland, OH?

 

[Mudshack]

I can do that I have small couple hour windows on the weekends right now but post up I usually check frequently.


Parakeet

Parakeet. I may call on you when I attempt the oil pan gasket and rear main seal. Everything up to this point has been a major project. Everything that I have attempted was suppose to be simple (valve cover gasket, front and rear shocks, add in front spring spacers, rear 2" lift block....ended up going with a 2" rear lift shackle instead). Nothing has been simple.

Rear shock upper bolts snapped, blocks didn't fit on axle seat, shackle bolts through frame didn't want to come out without me using all my 290lbs of stregth, didn't want to go back in for about 45 min of me trying, passenger side lift shackle rests against tail pipe because Jeep decided to put a 10-degree bend in it instead of going straight back, new shock bolt decided to take a journey into the frame and needed replaced, etc.

I expect the oil pan gasket and rear main seal to be just as much a circus as the others. When looking at those bolts holding the oil pan on it makes you wonder how in the world they got them in there. There isn't much room to get at a good many of the bolts. Seems like everything on this Jeep is in tight quarters and you need to be super flexible to get to things.

 

[4wdParakeet]

I have the same issue with mine. It took me 6 hours to replace the shackles on mine when I got it. My wife has realized that I tell her 2 hours she expects six


Parakeet

 

[Mudshack]

I just got to the point where my answer to the "how long do you think it will take" question is, "I just don't know."

Yesterday, I wanted to replace the shackles and the rear shocks (having already ensured the bolts would come out easy). It took me from 10am-4pm. STUPID stuff just makes every project expand. To the point where I am done wrenching for a while. I put an oil pan under the Jeep where I park in the garage, and I will attack the oil pan gasket and rear main seal in Jan...after hunting season and after the holidays. I am tired of wrenching every Sunday for the last 4. I have wrenched more than I have hunted....what is wrong with that??

 

[XJosh95]

Yeah, I put my pile under the wrench this weekend doing basically the same 2" or so lift with coil spacers and shackles. We invested around 30 man hours into it with the rear shocks still not on. If you didn't finish up the shackles and have run into any problems, let me know what problem you hit. I had a helluva time with my driver's side top shackle bolt.

 

[XJosh95]

A peice of advice on the shock bolts. Break them off. Then use an air hammer to pound nut zerts up and out of your way. (saftey glasses) Drop a 1/4 20 by 1.5 inches with a washer on it down from the top. You can use the access holes around the shock mounts to do this. I have found the easiest wat to do this is by taping the bolt to a peice of wire and the pulling it through.Andy

Is 1/4 20x1.5 really a big enough bolt? The picture I have in my head of the busted bolt heads I have at home seems a slight bigger than 1/4.

Edit: Also, the 1/4 20x1.5s I can get my hands on for free don't have threads all the way to the bolt head. Will I still have enough thread or can I go with a 1.25 with threads to the head and have that work?

 

[4wdParakeet]

Mud I wouldn't do the rear main just yet. With the oil leaks it's a common issue that the top end of the motor leaks and then the oil rolls down and looks like a rear main. Start at the top. Valve cover, head gasket, oil filter adaptor o-rings, etc. Besides a rear main you have to pull the tranny to get to it.


Parakeet