The Frog Blog

[#S194]

I got one of those radios form Quadratec a few months back. Sure beats the vintage 1990 factory radio/cassette player that was in there before it!

 

[rocknxj]

I got one of those radios form Quadratec a few months back. Sure beats the vintage 1990 factory radio/cassette player that was in there before it!

The kid and I installed it last night. Thankfully, the PO installed a universal wiring kit with the JVC system I just removed and the new Sony receiver took about 10 minutes to install. Very quick and easy installation. Sounds great, too.

 

[Mike1331]

If you have not put on the new one, you might want to run with out it, seems all they do is fill up with water and mud and after time it will wreck your drive shaft.

Shock boots do the same, I always cut them off before installing.

ditto, and promotes rust and looks amateur, I hate shock boots.

 

[rocknxj]

ditto, and promotes rust and looks amateur, I hate shock boots.

Mike's a hater...

I'm going to order nice purty green ones just to spite you.

 

[knucklehead 61]

Mike's a hater...

I'm going to order nice purty green ones just to spite you.

these look like toys cracker might have in his nightstand...:moon:

 

[100K XJ]

You should get those hot pink ones

 

[FlexdXJ]

I'm Blaming this one on you Kelly!

 

[Phil]

these look like toys cracker might have in his nightstand...:moon:

Have you ever actually met Avery?

 

[knucklehead 61]

Have you ever actually met Avery?

no, i am deathly afraid of meeting him. :skull1:
he scares me! :eyes:


j/k

 

[rocknxj]

I have been regretting this painful day for many months. Today is the day I had to drive my kid to the airport and watch him set off for his new life and career with the Air Force Reserves. A father could not ask for a better son, friend, or pal than he has been to me over the past 20 years. I will cherish the memories of watching him grow into an Eagle Scout, Cherokee Jockey, and a respectful, Christian man. To say I will miss our times together is an understatement, but I know he is ready to tackle this new challenge and will exceed in every way possible. I wish him a fond and heartfelt farewell, and look forward to new memories together. Be well, Kevin, and never look back.

 

[connor0770]

GO KEVIN!!! He's a great guy Kelly, and im sure he will make all of us proud!


P.S. Do you still want to sell your front bumper? The cherokee is now my brothers and i want to start helping him fix my mistakes. Aka thrashing the front end. I remember a while ago you were looking for a winch bumper. I was just seeing if you still wanted one, cause i could take your bumper you have now off your hands.

 

[FlexdXJ]

I have been regretting this painful day for many months. Today is the day I had to drive my kid to the airport and watch him set off for his new life and career with the Air Force Reserves. A father could not ask for a better son, friend, or pal than he has been to me over the past 20 years. I will cherish the memories of watching him grow into an Eagle Scout, Cherokee Jockey, and a respectful, Christian man. To say I will miss our times together is an understatement, but I know he is ready to tackle this new challenge and will exceed in every way possible. I wish him a fond and heartfelt farewell, and look forward to new memories together. Be well, Kevin, and never look back.

Good luck to your boy in the armed forces! :cheers:

 

[fyrfytr1717]

If you have not put on the new one, you might want to run with out it, seems all they do is fill up with water and mud and after time it will wreck your drive shaft.

Shock boots do the same, I always cut them off before installing.

ditto, and promotes rust and looks amateur, I hate shock boots.

I agree with both of you guys, but the one thing that needs to be considered here is that you receive a different slip yoke depending on how you order your driveshaft from Tom Wood. When you buy it with the boot, it is just a normal slip yoke. When you buy it without the boot, it is drilled and tapped for a zerk fitting and also gets a dust cap where the slip yoke meets the spline shaft. Not sure if it would be a good idea to run an unsealed, ungreaseable slip yoke without the boot?

 

[Letterman]

I agree with both of you guys, but the one thing that needs to be considered here is that you receive a different slip yoke depending on how you order your driveshaft from Tom Wood. When you buy it with the boot, it is just a normal slip yoke. When you buy it without the boot, it is drilled and tapped for a zerk fitting and also gets a dust cap where the slip yoke meets the spline shaft. Not sure if it would be a good idea to run an unsealed, ungreaseable slip yoke without the boot?

If you run trails with any water crossings, snow or mud, it is just going to fill up with muddy water, it is not air tight, just made to keep the rain from splashing off of the shock/drive shaft. Maybe if it is a light trail only rig, just for on the street, or a show car/truck, a dust boot might have some use, but I always cut them off before I install.

Just what I have learned as a good trick from a few people, but I might be wrong.

 

[rocknxj]

It's been a couple months since I posted here, so I guess I should take a minute for a quick update. I think the last time I was on the Frog Blog a TJ won the ROTM contest. Glad that's over ha ha .

After my kid left for Basic Training, I got busy with minor repairs on the XJ. I swapped out front and rear leaf bushings, D30 axle control arm bushings (so fun), and coil spring isolators, as well as replaced the rear brakes and tightened the steering box. The coil spring isolators were the reason my passenger side coils were always cocked forward and rubbing against the bump stop tower. The old isolators were worn through the rubber causing the springs seat improperly. New isolators resolved that issue. Here are a few photos I managed to snap of the installations.

Below is a shot of the Dana 30 bushings. the rubber was pretty much destroyed on both passenger and driver's sides. The passenger side was a cinch to remove and replace, but the driver's side caused me some unwanted labor. I cut it out with a saws all and had to heat the D30 housing to get the new bushing installed. Everything feels great now.

PITA D30 bushings.

Like the driver's side D30 bushings, I had to cut the leaf bushings out with my saws all. Once a cut was made, a heavy screwdriver and punch was used to coax it out.

Below is a photo of the old and new leaf bushings. I was wondering why my rear popped so much during the Deer Valley runs!

New leaf bushings tapped in easily thanks to a liberal amount of assembly lube.

I also managed to have the common stalling issues that plague so many of us. I swapped out the air intake controller sensor, then the crankshaft position sensor and the Jeep is running great. New bushings and a few new engine parts has given my Cherokee a new life. I've also been extremely busy working on the WK, but since this is not a WK forum, I won't write about the diff oil changes, new differential sensor/wiring harness, transmission flush, and transfer case fluid change that I've done over the past few weeks.

To finish up this update, I will say my wife, little kid, and I flew to San Antonio two weeks ago and observed my oldest graduate from Basic Military Training. The ceremony was excellent in every way. We watched him run past the hundreds (thousands?) of parents that showed up to give support during the early morning Airman's Run and observed all 750+ graduating Airmen received their Airman's Coin in a touching ceremony on Thursday, then watched the formal graduation in the Parade grounds on Friday morning.

4



The rest of the weekend was dedicated to hanging out with our graduating Airmen and watching them eat an inhuman amount of food at Sea World and at the San Antonio Riverwalk (very cool place). We had a fantastic time and we are very proud of Kevin and what he has already accomplished in the Air Force.

I snapped this photo of him during the playing of the National Anthem at 5:00, while we were taking a walk through the static aircraft displays at Lackland AFB. He is now at Biloxi, Ms ready to begin his first block of training in a two-year effort to become an Integrated Avionics Technician on the C-17 Globemaster.

Here he is (far right) hanging with his new peeps at Biloxi. Give 'em all you've got, Kevin!

 

[EricsXJ]

Very cool.

I am sure you are very proud of him, as any father would be!

 

[trailmaster6536]

You will be glad to not have used the poly bushings! The winter squeaks are horrible even with marine grade grease.

Since you are now an expert at the bushing swap, I will bring over Blue to help me get some OEMs put back in!

Side note:

I did a couple of projects over at the VA Med Center next to Keesler. Congrats to your son. He looks quite happy.

 

[rocknxj]

Thanks for the kind words, guys. Basic training was the hardest thing he has done and for 8.5 weeks, he barely had time to eat or sleep. My wife and I were amused at the amount of food he ate over the three days we visited him before he left Lackland. He is in good spirits now and the AF will give him everything he needs.

Weather permitting, we'll get in some snow wheeling and maybe a trip to Prairie City when he visits over Christmas. I'm sure he misses his Jeep and looks forward to feeling human again.

I'd be happy to help out with bushing installation, Bill. We could knock those out in a jiffy.

 

[Rammin97]

Hey Kelly, you sound like and should be a proud Dad!! Did Kevin do any ROTC in highschool? I am curious since my son, a freshman, is showing an interest in the military and would like any feedback you may have.. Thanks

 

[rocknxj]

Hey Kelly, you sound like and should be a proud Dad!! Did Kevin do any ROTC in highschool? I am curious since my son, a freshman, is showing an interest in the military and would like any feedback you may have.. Thanks

Ironically, I could never get him involved in ROTC, but he did finish his scouting career with the rank of Eagle Scout. Much of the camping, communications, respect, community service, and leadership he learned there was a benefit. Achieving the rank of Eagle Scout will also give an elisted member one stripe (E-2 rank) after basic training. I think ROTC would be an oustanding choice, especially if your son is interested in becoming an officer.

Kevin attended Sierra College for over two years and has nearly completed his AA in Mechatronics, which helped him score incredibly high on his required ASVAB entrance test. His score enabled him to select ANY job the AF offers, providing he passed the physical requirements. Mechatronics is also directly related to his selected field as an Integrated Avionics technician, with its joint mechanical and electrical studies. He texted us the other day and said his school at Biloxi has much in common with what he learned at Sierra College. I suppose that's good and I'm glad he found something he is interested in.

Kevin enlisted in the Air Force Reserves, which is a great way of going if active duty is not the preferred choice. Reserves gives a new recruit two strips (E-3) but comes with an 8-year commitment. He will earn his 5-level (skill) at Travis AFB after about a year and 8 months from start of BMTS, then starts his monthly commitment. He will have a security clearance and can find a great job with a defense contractor, just like his old man. I hire guys with that sort of skill for a VERY good starting salary.

The Air Force has recently adopted an 8.5 week basic training schedule, and focuses much more on combat, weapons, and survival training. I found some very good information online but be warned. Anything you find that shows 6 weeks is old info, and is what I learned 27 years ago when I went through, and it is completely different now. This is a great link that had accurate information: http://usmilitary.about.com/cs/airforcejoin/a/afbmt1.htm

You will also be able to find tons of info on Facebook, or whatever the newest social media site is when your son heads off for training. We learned of a great Facebook page on the day of BMTS graduation that we wish we knew about earlier. I suggest finding someone who has gone through BMTS recently and pulling as much current information you can before and during his training.

OK, I admit...I'm a real softy. After spending every day with my kid for the past 20 years, and doing some incredible things together through scouting, wheeling, and family trips, I had a tough time the first 8 weeks after he left. It was like losing a best friend and I was not ready for that. However, researching as much as I could online helped and knowing that he is learning a great skill while serving his country put my mind at ease. As long as your son selects the right career for him and his heart is in it, he'll do fine and will have an enjoyable career.

Keep me posted and PM me for additional info.