It's been a hard few months!

[Georgia Mike]

First I discovered that the XJ I'd bought had more uni-rail damage out back than I'd anticipated. So much so that one fairly mild wheeling trip has started making the driver's rear quarter panel to bend and buckle in a few spots. The driver's rear door is very hard to open and the gap is all out of whack now. I have a good line on a replacement body from a family friend for cheap. I just have to be patient and hope the girl doesn't wreck it (again!)

I've been going round and round with the contractor that built our retaining wall. It is leaning on the ends and has a bow in the middle. The subcontractor that actually built it came out and made a few half-assed attempts at making it look better, but I'm still not happy with the shoddy workmanship and at this point I can't get them to do much more about it since it's now been nearly 3 years since they built it (even though it's been a year since we first started discussing the issues.) I can no longer worry about it due to health reasons and I can't make them do anything unless it fails and kills someone, so now we're stuck with a $7,000 wall that looks like crap if you ask me.

So then a few weeks ago we got a letter in the mail stating that the insurance coverage for a "female procedure" my wife had received last summer was now being declined by the company. Their excuse? It's an "experimental procedure" and not covered; never mind the fact that both my wife AND the doctor's office had called and got the preapproval and it was accepted. Now we have a $4,000 bill looming over our heads, but she has a benefits group working on our behalf so hopefully that will get resolved ASAP. I'm sure it will get resolved, but it's the frustration factor that gets to us.

Ex step mother passed away and attended the funeral last Wednesday. We had kind of drifted apart over the years, but she was a good lady and she treated my sister and I better than either of our biological parents did when we were younger.

Last Thursday I had a kidney stone attack while picking up Sara (my daughter) from daycare. Barely made it home before collapsing onto the floor in pain. Daughter sends a text from my phone to Wendy (wife) with little response until Sara sends a couple more texts. She was scared to death because she'd never seen me in so much pain before, and Wendy thought it was me just playing around.

Had another mild kidney stone at work this past Monday.

Last night I finally tracked down a new noise in Wendy's ZJ to be the beginnings of a lower end engine knock. I would just do a crank kit, but it also has cam/lifter issues plus it's already got 228,000 miles on it so I'd rather not throw that kind of money at it. We just need to get another 2-3 years out of the car so I'm gonna start looking for a replacement engine for it. We should be in a much better financial position after that point and we can get her something newer and a lot nicer. I put a wanted ad in the SE Chapter For Sale/Wanted forum to get the feelers out for an engine.

Trying to stay upbeat because I know things could be MUCH worse than they are! I'm still breathing and my family is healthy. Plus it's almost spring so that definitely gives me something to look forward to!

 

[PacificEd]

Keep chugging along Mike. You have a good attitude and that will help deal with the trials, troubles and stress of this world in a much better way.

 

[shortxjdoug]

That which does not kill us.....

 

[Georgia Mike]

Keep chugging along Mike. You have a good attitude and that will help deal with the trials, troubles and stress of this world in a much better way.

Thanks guys. I really do wish the "good attitude" statement were true for me, but the truth is that I do let it get to me and my negativity spills out now and then. I went back and read some of my past posts on Facebook and it made me realize just how negative I'd become lol. I resolved then to at least TRY to stop and think about what I was saying/typing before letting it fly, and I think it's helping. A long journey starts with a single step, and yes Doug, that which does not kill us makes us stronger for sure!

 

[xjtrailrider]

My life has sucked since August with marital problems. Then to add insult to injury she left in November 3 weeks before our 24th wedding anniversary. I have decided to move on and now she want to come back. Not playing that game. The kids are torn up, its a mess. I wish she would leave peacefully but you know how these things go.

I am keeping my chin up and powering through. Looking for being on my own to be honest. This is my second wife and I have been married since I was 18. Need a break from that drama for a while.

 

[PacificEd]

Thanks guys. I really do wish the "good attitude" statement were true for me, but the truth is that I do let it get to me and my negativity spills out now and then. I went back and read some of my past posts on Facebook and it made me realize just how negative I'd become lol. I resolved then to at least TRY to stop and think about what I was saying/typing before letting it fly, and I think it's helping. A long journey starts with a single step, and yes Doug, that which does not kill us makes us stronger for sure!

Hey, we all get negative and I'm as guilty as anyone. But you do seem to be looking at things in a better light now, so it looks like you have already started that journey.

Stay positive, change the things you can and move on from what you can't.

 

[Georgia Mike]

My life has sucked since August with marital problems. Then to add insult to injury she left in November 3 weeks before our 24th wedding anniversary. I have decided to move on and now she want to come back. Not playing that game. The kids are torn up, its a mess. I wish she would leave peacefully but you know how these things go.

I am keeping my chin up and powering through. Looking for being on my own to be honest. This is my second wife and I have been married since I was 18. Need a break from that drama for a while.

That's tough to hear. I know divorce is hard. I've nearly been there myself in the past, and in all honesty in was all my own fault. I hope the road smooths out for you soon!

 

[xjtrailrider]

That's tough to hear. I know divorce is hard. I've nearly been there myself in the past, and in all honesty in was all my own fault. I hope the road smooths out for you soon!

I can honestly say, this wasn't my fault. We grew apart but she stepped over the line(denies that too). Its been pure hell. Now that I finally get myself off the ground and get my confidence back, she kicks me back down again. I don't understand why people can't live and let other people live.

 

[Georgia Mike]

That's true. I've been with women in the past and when we were apart I was like "ah, that's better!" only to have her try and get her foot back in the door and turn my recovery upside down.

My dad told me once that the best revenge against a rotten ex is to live a good, honest and happy life. Don't concern yourself with what she does or says and you'll recover much sooner and be much stronger on the other side. I know that will be a hard thing to do if you have to see her on a constant basis due to the kids but you can do it! And no matter how you really feel about her, never ever verbally run her down when talking to your kids. My parents did that when I was young and all it did was make me resent both of them "for what they did to one another." It's just not worth it for their sake. If that's how she wants to handle things that's fine, just don't stoop to that level.

 

[xjtrailrider]

That's true. I've been with women in the past and when we were apart I was like "ah, that's better!" only to have her try and get her foot back in the door and turn my recovery upside down.

My dad told me once that the best revenge against a rotten ex is to live a good, honest and happy life. Don't concern yourself with what she does or says and you'll recover much sooner and be much stronger on the other side. I know that will be a hard thing to do if you have to see her on a constant basis due to the kids but you can do it! And no matter how you really feel about her, never ever verbally run her down when talking to your kids. My parents did that when I was young and all it did was make me resent both of them "for what they did to one another." It's just not worth it for their sake. If that's how she wants to handle things that's fine, just don't stoop to that level.

Great advice!

 

[Ghost]

You got this my friend! Known you a long time and am glad you are back around here. You got a lot of knowledge to share and are a good friend to those that will let you be one! What kind of GC engine?

 

[Georgia Mike]

Thanks for all the positive feedback, guys!

We drug this little gem home this afternoon.




It's a '95 model with the 5.2 V8. When I first saw it on Craigslist my original intent was to buy it, snatch the engine to swap into ours then part out and scrap the rest but all that's wrong with it is the transmission slips and the t-case viscous coupler is locked up.

Now the problem is that this one is in better condition in some areas than ours and has less miles. Plus it's pretty clean inside and out. Wendy and I both like the red color better than the "chargold" on hers, but I like her 97's interior layout better. This '95 also has the full skid plate kit from the factory. What really sucks is that we rebuilt her 97's transmission in the summer of '12, and from everything I've read I can't swap it into the '95

I have a buddy that owns a shop and he's a transmission guy. As a matter of fact he's the one I took our transmission to for the rebuild. So in reality I could get the '95 transmission rebuilt for a good price and do a 249 hybrid t-case with a 242 I have at our shop and she's be all set.

I told Wendy that we'd do whatever she wanted to do. I'm indifferent. I just want her to be happy with it since she'll be the one driving it.

Whatever we have left over I'll either sell as a running vehicle or part it out, but at least now we have a backup plan!! We just have to decide what that plan is :laugh:

 

[highspeed]

Whats trans is in the 95? and 97? is it the difference of a 42re vs a AW4? or do the v8s have something different?

 

[Georgia Mike]

From what I've read, the '95 is a 44RH, '97 is a 44RE. The 95 is OBD-1, 97 is OBD-2. The "RH" is hydraulically controlled, the "RE" is electronically controlled. I dunno if I could swap the valve bodies or not to make it work.

 

[highspeed]

Gotcha. That sucks!

 

[Georgia Mike]

I got to reading up a little more on the differences and they're numerous enough that if we decided to go the route of fixing the red one, I'd be way ahead of the game if I just took it out and let my buddy rebuild it.

Other than the hydraulic/electronic difference, the other most notable difference between the two is that the 44RH is approximately 5-1/2" longer than the 44RE. This has something to do with something in the tailshaft area of the RH that wasn't needed in the RE. That would mean I'd need to relocate the transmission mount and t-case skid, plus swap all the driveshafts out, then worry about the control aspect of the transmission itself. For what my buddy charges me to rebuild them, I can see now that it would be silly to try and swap the RE to the 95. Plus if I decided to part her '97 out I could sell the transmission out of it for what we paid for the '95. We still have the option of just swapping the engine so I think we may be in ok shape either way we decide to go.

 

[Ghost]

Bummer but cool! I see you got it. Well, I haven't talked to my friend yet but I still have a GC motor in my shop. If you needed it we could work something out. I need to get up with you on the column.