Can't even get the oil filter adapter T60 wrench onto the bolt.

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Since most everyone has spent so much time on bimmerjeeper to date, spend another couple of minutes and google (with Google) "bimmerjeeper".

Some people seem to worry a LOT about trolls but interestingly enough, Mr. bimmerjeeper doesn't appear to be a troll, at least as I understand the term. With a search you will get a couple of pictures, age, the fact that he is "in a relationship", etc. but no hints about a remunerative occupation, questions about which he has carefully avoided on NAXJA also. (Translate: Lawyer, insurance agent or independently wealthy....) He double posts (eg. tools for working on XJs) on other Jeep forums, which I assume others also do. I'm too lazy to do this and assume, in any event, that I would just get information overload and confuse my already overtaxed brain.

Our busy subject has owned and/or shown interest in Saabs and Volvos and apparently owns a BMW, WJ and XJ while living in Washington and now New York.

Enough already?

Now bimmerjeeper can thank me for diverting suspicion from him as some nefarious undercover agent out to destroy NAXJA from within and letting him get back to learning about Jeep DIY ?!?!

I apologize for any misinformation which depends to some extent on my questionable memory and jeepforum.com and jeepcherokeeforum.com among others.
 
I'm not sure that was necessary, but thanks. Anyone who thinks I am a troll is brain damaged. Plain and simple. I have spent several hours here trying to figure out how to replace the OFA. I have communicated detailed accounts of the issues I have had, and then shared additional postmortem reflections after completing the job. I even posted photos of my tools and completed work. Yea, I must be making this all up.

Troll? Utterly brilliant or delusion ally paranoid, or just illiterate. NAJXA is an interesting forum compared to the others. Lots of sage experience & advice, but mixed in with lots of high school assholery. Unfortunate. Signal to noise ratio. As I said, there is only one troll / genuine A-hole on this thread, and it ain't me.

Lastly, does a troll go through the trouble of posting this? Spare me.
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1092485
 
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Troll, not a troll. I don't care. This thread has been entertaining and even though several of us have given you some grief you have kept a pretty level head. Not many would be that tolerant.
 
Yea, I understand that getting hazed is part of the deal.
I'm here to learn how to diagnose the XJ, and learn how to do smaller repairs.
Once I learn enough, I will contribute back.

This is only my 2nd month owning an XJ
Next up: Clockspring, Shocks, upstream O2, VC gasket, liftgate struts, tune up.
 
tuneup and o2 sensor should be tops on your list.

you'll get the most return on your investment that way.

Shocks are the next most critical bit.

the valve cover gasket is a simple job as are the liftgate struts.

clockspring is a PITA. not terrible, just a PITA. an extra pair of hands is useful, and renting the tool fro the parts store is pretty much mandatory.
 
I will have a friend available when I do the clockspring. Thanks for the tip.

The XJ actually runs and idles perfectly, so the VC gasket and clockspring are next.
I will do tune up/O2 eventually, as I think the O2 is stock from 1998 and the tune-up might be 30k old.

Still trying to decide if shocks are beyond my skill level, but they are stock from 1998.
If I can't do it, I can limp to the mechanic and have him complete the job, right?
 
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I would leave the O2 sensor alone unless it gives you issues or your fuel economy drops below 15mpg without you driving it like you stole it.

O2 sensors in these things can be a real bastard, especially in the northeast, they like to rust in place. Last time I did one I ended up replacing the downpipe, the studs in the exhaust manifold, and welding, since it tore all the threads out of the bung it threads into. It was pretty annoying because the studs in the manifold were so badly rusted I had to cut them instead of unscrewing the nuts, which resulted in me having to drive them out with a punch and tack weld in some small bolts to replace them.

Basically what I'm saying is... if that sensor doesn't come out easy (and it probably won't, unless it has already been replaced and doesn't need to be done) you want no part of screwing with it unless you're comfortable using 4 pound hammers in tight spaces to drive studs out of exhaust manifolds and/or welding new bungs into exhaust systems. Since the connector is larger than the hex-shaped faces on the sensor, you can't even get a fullsize socket on that will handle full torque, so you'll end up either cutting the connector off to get a real socket on (and thereby committing yourself to getting it done before driving it) or use an o2 sensor socket, a lot of heat, and/or an open end wrench, and possibly rounding it off.

People in rust free areas of the country have it easy.
 
kastein said:
I would leave the O2 sensor alone unless it gives you issues or your fuel economy drops below 15mpg without you driving it like you stole it.


People in rust free areas of the country have it easy.
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you're doing it wrong. I've never had one tear out the bung. You got to get the exhaust good and hot, then hit the bung with a torch. Keep the bung hot and feed it wax at the threads. It will pop right out, trust me. I've never used anything more than a box wrench to take out o2 sensors. Burning myself is the greatest risk.

that said, if it gets decent mileage and runs well, don't touch it. Toss some cheap copper plugs in it and go. Take the money saved on the o2 sensor and use it towards fluids or something if you want to spend money on a Jeep.
 
The two or three I've had seize up on me... I did right after driving and had a propane torch on it. And it put purple marks on the palms of my apparently blue collar freakishly strong hands at the other end of a two foot box wrench chain. It got to the point that I was afraid it was going to tear the bung out of the exhaust pipe because the metal was flexing right around the welds.

It'd been in my white MJ for 207 thousand miles in the northeast though from the look of it. I don't believe anyone else had ever replaced anything on that exhaust system.
 
87manche said:
Keep the bung hot and feed it wax at the threads. It will pop right out, trust me. I've never used anything more than a box wrench to take out o2 sensors. Burning myself is the greatest risk.
Click to expand...


^Basically this. I used PBB when it was still hot, but yeah, my sensors came out with a box end wrench and a little effort.
 
Damn, thanks for the heads up. O2 seems like another example of a simple 15 min. repair on most cars that is near impossible on a Jeep. I already ordered the O2 sensor, so I will at least give it a quick try. But yea, if it's not going anywhere, I will not force it, and end up tearing my exhaust in two. I will give it to my mechanic when he does some other stuff to it. I had no intention of trying this without a O2 socket.
 
It IS a 15 minute project... if it's not rusted in place.

I did one on my friend's '98 in under 5 minutes back in '06 or so. He was complaining about the quote he got at a local shop, so I told him to buy the damn sensor and a 7/8 box wrench and that I'd do it for $40 in his driveway that evening... he didn't believe me till I walked in holding the old sensor having just replaced it without even jacking the jeep up.

If it rusts in, good luck. If it doesn't, it'll pop right out with a little planning and elbow grease.
 
Maybe a matter of who used what wrenches in the factory that day, but on the same Jeep that gave me fits on the OF adapter, the O2 sensor came right off after 262 thousand miles and 17 years without a fight.

Rear shocks can be a pain because the top bolts shear. You can drill and retap, some people punch out the captive nuts and fish in new nuts through the space above the plate, others drill down from above. But the quickest way I found to do them is to punch out the old nuts, take a 6 inch piece of 1/2 inch wide and about 1/8 inch thick strapping, and tap a coarse 5/16 inch hole near one end. The threads are enough, the strapping bends as required, and you can fish it in and use standard SAE bolts.
 
Purchase the O2 (and all sensors) from the dealership. I have not had good luck with any aftermarket sensor on my Jeeps except the crank position sensor.

and as Dr Moab stated, this thread has been entertaining and thanks for keeping a level head.
 
bimmerjeeper said:
Smoke test. One needs to know when to hand off to a professional. If you spend 25 hours tracking down a leak, and you earn $100/hr, you just gave up $2500 in wages trying to save $100. Penny wise, pound foolish. The only reason to wrench on cars is to learn new things and feel a sense of accomplishments. If you want to save money, you're better off working for minimum wage and hiring out the work (when you factor in the thousands of hours spent learning the craft, over a lifetime, and all the hours spend on forums).



2 others already have. First, I used a vice grip to clamp onto the rubber hoses while trying to detach them. Also, the bizarre "clamp" notches needed tools to detach. I also used a screwdriver to pry up the clips on the box lid. There ya go: Multiple tools. If it required 3 brain cells, you really think Jiffy Lube could charge $450/hr to replace air filters? (pro rata, $15 markup at 2 mins. per installation)? That's more than a surgeon charges per hour. Trust me, there's a reason why high IQ doctors, lawyers, bankers, or engineers who are busy with careers do not know how to do this. I will leave it as an exercise for the reader to figure out why.



LOL, you missed the entire point. The point was that WHEN there's no single way to do the job, the job inherently more complex. If I said there were 45 ways to do a particular job, don't you think it's more complex b/c of the added step in comparing all 45 approaches? Now, compare that to a job that has only one correct way (like swapping out a spark plug) Get it?

I said oil on your hands while trying to screw in a oily bolt makes the job harder. You don't read too well. Again, you missed the point: Having to screw in an oily bolt while oil is still being spilled onto your hands means it's an intermediate level job, b/c "easy" jobs don't have this issue.

As far as knowing "men" vs. "little bitches", you sound like you live an insulated life. White collar people don't learn how to skin deer and fix cars, but that doesn't make them "little bitches". In fact, they own you. Wake up.



You must be from another generation. Today, about 60% of cars are leased. You know what that means? People don't own the cars they drive. So, many of these people don't even change the oil. EVER. This is why people can't open the hood anymore. They damn well don't learn to fix anything. The idea of learning to fix your car out of necessity is from another bygone quaint era.

Also, we live in a credit culture. Don't have money? Borrow it. Put the repair on a credit card. I have never heard of anyone trying to fix a car in the name of not having money in over 25 years.
Click to expand...
so what you're saying is you and your friends are part of the problem.
 
bimmerjeeper said:
The only reason to wrench on cars is to learn new things and feel a sense of accomplishments. If you want to save money, you're better off working for minimum wage and hiring out the work (when you factor in the thousands of hours spent learning the craft, over a lifetime, and all the hours spend on forums).
Click to expand...
No, some people actually save money by working on cars themselves. And usually do a better job because its their vehicle.

Trust me, there's a reason why high IQ doctors, lawyers, bankers, or engineers who are busy with careers do not know how to do this. I will leave it as an exercise for the reader to figure out why.
Click to expand...
1) Just because one has an MD or ESQ at the end of their name does not mean they have a high IQ. I've know some from both fields that were pretty damn dumb. 2) So, you are saying that those of use who work on our own vehicle are too stupid to be an MD, ESQ, etc?
White collar people don't learn how to skin deer and fix cars, but that doesn't make them "little bitches". In fact, they own you. Wake up.
Click to expand...
I know quite a few white collar people who work on their own cars.
 
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