Weekend is over...what did you get done?

[Cottontail]

Nice job!

I found this for sale at the Carvana store in Nashville. Complete with a Mr. Fusion.

 

[gray_penguin]

I need to check out the one on Statesville road. Their site does not list an inventory though which kind of sucks.

The LKQ is nice, all concrete and they have photos of the cars on the lot so you know a Cherokee is actually an XJ and not a Grand Cherokee. Unlike PAP that has pissed me off so may times for doing so!

If not, check out Auto Parts U Pull on Statesville road over by North Lake. Their prices are a little higher than PAP, but they've generally had a better selection the past few times i've been up there:

9820 Statesville Rd, Charlotte, NC 28269

There's also LKQ, although I haven't been here yet to see how good it is. They're on the other end of the street I work on and i've been meaning to stop by one afternoon for a while now:

3900 Chesapeake Dr, Charlotte, NC 28216

 

[Georgia Mike]

Worked on Big Hooptie this weekend. The brakes were sketchy when I bought it due to the previous owner's failed attempt at doing a brake job. Over the last couple of years he had replaced everything except the driver's front brake hose (which looked rotten with dry cracking and rusty fittings). Don't know why he didn't replace that, but then again I don't understand why people will replace only one critical part under their vehicle when there's usually another one on the other side that's just as old and worn.

But anyway, there was plenty of air in the system and a good bleeding did the trick at first to get her on the road safely. After driving it for a while and doing a test tow with my trailer I realized the passenger side front rotor had been glazed from trying to do most of the braking for the whole truck. So today I went ahead and replaced both front brake hoses and sanded the glazing off the rotors and pads. Took it for a test drive and she stops as well as I would expect now.

Then I got some new tars for the rear! Fronts are still in great shape so four news ones went on the back. I got a little taller tire than the originals to get a little more highway speed. 4.10's with 215/85r16's pretty much limited me to 60 MPH if I didn't want to make the engine scream.


Then I test fit our Jeep tent on the truck. It was a promotional dealership item that came with XJ's back around 2000 or so. Bummer that it was too big to fit on the truck bed so we pulled out our slightly smaller backup tent, and it fit perfectly! Go RVing the redneck way! This should beat sleeping on the ground, especially if it rains.

 

[Ghost]

Mike what you going to do when you have to go to town? Drive the xj?

 

[akendal4]

Went with a buddy of mine to URE. We just finished up a new 3 link on his rig so this was a shake down run. We camped on the trail Friday night and wheeled all day Saturday.

 

[Lowrange2]

Mike what you going to do when you have to go to town? Drive the xj?

Drive the Jeep. Same as me with the RV.

 

[Georgia Mike]

Yeah we could drive the XJ. It's tagged and insured, but Wendy is following me up in her Subaru so we will have that too.

 

[Ghost]

Drove the jeep into town to fill it up. Pump stopped and I heard liquid hitting the ground. Took a look and saw it coming out at the sending unit. Thought it was the sending unit seal at first but ended up being the wire bulkhead fitting.

 

[SC Rednek]

My neighbor's dirt track racecar has had no luck this year, yet to finish a race. 6 weeks or so ago, they blew up an engine. Just got it back on the track this week, and 7 laps in suddenly a bunch of steam, he swerved into the infield and bailed out of the cab. Turns out the upper radiator hose had blown, and boiling water spewed into the cab out of the air scoop, he's got 2nd deg burns on his right leg, mild scalding down both legs. I had to go steer it while it was getting pushed off the infield afterwards, but I hate driving that thing, can barely reach the pedals, very difficult

I really need to get busy and finish my Camaro, still trying to get some 2nd hand parts, picked up a bellhousing tonight for $40

 

[Ghost]

Went to Deanna's Friday night. Saturday morning we worked in her yard. Went to lunch then headed to a weeding for one of my cousins. Sunday we went to Columbia for lunch and grocery shopping at Publix. At lunch we decided to go to Legal Remedy Brewing in Rock Hill about an hour north for a growler fill up. Tried to get Tim to meet us there but he already had plans. Ate some amazing Nacho's with beef brisket and pickled jalapenos and caramelized onions with pesto on a bed of wing chips instead of corn chips. Had two flights of some amazing beers. Spent a couple hours there chatting with people at the bar and the manager. Was a good weekend. New hydro assist tabs showed up from Ironman4x4fab Saturday new ram should be here today or tomorrow.

 

[Cottontail]

Dropped off the XJ at the local shop for a transfusion of R134 and coolant. I'm almost embarrassed to admit that I've had the Jeep 8 years and never changed the coolant...then I remember that I've had the ZJ 18 years and only changed it twice.

I'm trying to decide what to do with the ZJ. It's always been my intention to put it away when I am "done" with it and pull it back out in 20 years to restore as a project. I figure with all the disposable cars being built now, the collector car market might be pretty weak in 2036, and a ZJ would be a novelty.

Anyway, the pick up trucks that I'm looking at to replace it are really pretty expensive, so I am thinking of putting some money into the ZJ to get it refreshed now, and drive it another 15 years, them grab a cheap ($3000) pick up for use around town and the occasional tow to the trail.

-Paint and body work (new or refurbished bumpers and side trim)
-All new suspension and bushings, and mounts
-New carpet
-New headliner
-Pull the engine and tranny and have them rebuilt
-Rewire as necessary
-Replace worn hoses
-Pull A/C system and overhaul it (stop the damn leak into the cabin)

Not sure what to expect for price to do all that. The truck still pulls 18 MPG on the highway, and with an overhaul I think I could get back to 18 in the city and 20s on the highway. She's tired, no doubt, with 251,000 on the ticker.

 

[Lowrange2]

There is ABSOLUTELY no way I'd spend that kind of money on a ZJ. Or an XJ for that matter.

 

[Cottontail]

I'm sure that people said the same thing in 1976 about the 1957 Chevy.


The pick up trucks in the $10,000 range are all sitting at over 200,000 miles anyway, and I'm not terribly interested in spending $30,000 on a lower mileage one. I figure if I spend $10,000 combined to get a cheap beater truck and keep my ZJ on the road, it's a win. I guess I'd rather pay $7 or 8,000 to rebuild a Jeep I've owned almost 20 years and know every inch of than pay $10,000 for a truck that has only marginally less miles that I don't know at all.

 

[Caner.]

i went to the junkyard in order to get some practice before attempting to replace my cracked exhaust manifold. as many people experience, the back stud broke so I think that's really the worst case scenario. all the bolts seemed a lot more rusty than the ones on my XJ and they all came loose with a normal wrench or ratchet, so I think I'll be fine for that.

any tips from people who've done it? i'm ok for doing brakes and general maintenance stuff, but as soon as I start a job that might compromise my ability to drive once monday arrives (it's my daily driver), I usually push it back out of fear of messing something up.

 

[Ghost]

i went to the junkyard in order to get some practice before attempting to replace my cracked exhaust manifold. as many people experience, the back stud broke so I think that's really the worst case scenario. all the bolts seemed a lot more rusty than the ones on my XJ and they all came loose with a normal wrench or ratchet, so I think I'll be fine for that.

any tips from people who've done it? i'm ok for doing brakes and general maintenance stuff, but as soon as I start a job that might compromise my ability to drive once monday arrives (it's my daily driver), I usually push it back out of fear of messing something up.

Spray PB Blaster or your favorite rust penetrate on each bolt/nut every day prior to removal.

 

[UNCC_99XJ]

i went to the junkyard in order to get some practice before attempting to replace my cracked exhaust manifold. as many people experience, the back stud broke so I think that's really the worst case scenario. all the bolts seemed a lot more rusty than the ones on my XJ and they all came loose with a normal wrench or ratchet, so I think I'll be fine for that.

any tips from people who've done it? i'm ok for doing brakes and general maintenance stuff, but as soon as I start a job that might compromise my ability to drive once monday arrives (it's my daily driver), I usually push it back out of fear of messing something up.

I generally get a new hardware kit from the store and replace all the original hardware whenever I do a Jeep exhaust manifold.

 

[Caner.]

Spray PB Blaster or your favorite rust penetrate on each bolt/nut every day prior to removal.

i put some on the other day when figuring out where all the bolts are (especially the bottom ones) and as I expected all the pb blaster evaporated from the heat generated. is the pb blaster still effective in that case?

either way I'll still drench them as much as I can

I generally get a new hardware kit from the store and replace all the original hardware whenever I do a Jeep exhaust manifold.

i've seen people debate grade 5 and grade 8, most recommending grade 5. is this correct?

thanks to both of you!

 

[UNCC_99XJ]

i put some on the other day when figuring out where all the bolts are (especially the bottom ones) and as I expected all the pb blaster evaporated from the heat generated. is the pb blaster still effective in that case?

either way I'll still drench them as much as I can



i've seen people debate grade 5 and grade 8, most recommending grade 5. is this correct?

thanks to both of you!

The only reason I can see this debate would be for the heat properties. That being said, I used the kit off the shelf at Advance (grade China, maybe Taiwan), and haven't had any issues.

 

[Ghost]

i put some on the other day when figuring out where all the bolts are (especially the bottom ones) and as I expected all the pb blaster evaporated from the heat generated. is the pb blaster still effective in that case?

either way I'll still drench them as much as I can



i've seen people debate grade 5 and grade 8, most recommending grade 5. is this correct?

thanks to both of you!

I would do it after the end of each day. I would think that it would help some. If you got a hot bolt and you spray it on I would think it generally helps it seep in and break the bond. No proof just what I think.

 

[Caner.]

thanks again to both of you. i'll start spraying them and looking for a hardware kit, the rest should be pretty straight forward. i ordered the apn header last week from ineedparts.com and it still hasn't changed status or shipped (says "Sent to vendor"), so i'll be waiting for that