Hmm... I was just there, No sales here grrrr I did hit the one last week.


That 36mm socket is a spendy one:)

Yeah, I got an e-mail from my local place, they were extending the Parking Lot Sale because of the blizzard last weekend.

Ah... well you can have the blizzard :)

I beg to differ....

http://www.harborfreight.com/hand-to...Sort+Price%2Ct

Albeit, they don't have a huge selection of singles, but they do have some.

Just take the rest of the bug deflector off. And don't put your trust in that torque wrench! My experience with them is that they are good for a real short while and then the calibration goes away real quick.

Plated up and ready for fun!
 

Picked up license plates this morning! Now I've got to order some front suspension stuff. I pretty much have to rebuild the whole front suspension, but I want to minimize downtime, and spread out the costs a bit.

Front Suspension Step 1:

• Ball Joints
• Hubs
• Sway Bar Bushings

I know I have to disconnect the tie-rods to do the ball joints, so maybe I should also upgrade all the stuff connected to the tie rods. Maybe inspect the U-joints and replace those if necessary.

Plus, turn signals would be nice. It's still a bit chilly to be dropping my driver window to signal each time (though I do it anyways.)

Gotta reset 'em to zero when you're done using 'em. Helps keep that from happening.

Yeah I know...our boss got us 3 of them for the shop...all of em lasted a month or two....he got us some better ones and all good so far...I have no issues with harbor freight, but for precision type stuff it's a big avoid.

Yeah.... I mean there's a fine line with Harbor Freight stuff... and that line is "amount of use"... MOST HF stuff won't hold up to the amount of use a professional will give it. 99% of what they sell, if I was a professional mechanic, or even using it more than the average DIYer, I'd spend more money to get a better quality tool. Especially with things like precision instruments.

Nutz a Swingin' - XJ Owns the Mud Pit
 

Here's a bit of XJ mud boggin I caught back in August at the 4WD Jamboree in Columbiana, OH.
(EDIT:I have no connection to 4WD Hardware. I went to the show. I do not work there.)

I had never been to an off-road/4x4 type show. It was awesome.
Lemme find the best way to post this video.

maybe online? maybe only certain stores?
Ill have to look next time im there.

Just gotta look harder.... or ask someone ;)

I know... that second part is a hard thing to do lol.

Ball Joints and Hubs - making the smart choice.
 

Ok, I've got my Crown Automotive RT21003 Heavy Duty Ball Joints picked out:

RT21003
(Heavy Duty - I've been selecting the Heavy Duty option when available.)
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...363b27195e.jpg
https://www.crownautomotive.net/Ball...y/RT21003.html

Now I need to figure out which hubs to buy. In 1999 there were two different hub assemblies available, based on whether you had a cast rotor, or a composite one.

It's not as simple as looking at the rotor and going "oh, that's cast - I'm good." No, someone may have put a cast rotor in place of the composite one, but they had to machine it to fit - this was a common thing to do at brake shops. Wrong rotor, who cares? Machine that sucker and stick it on there!

My point is, take off the wheel, caliper and rotor, then you can measure flange on the center of the hub. The "composite rotor" hub will have a lip around 1/2" tall, where the "cast rotor" hub will have a substantially larger lip, like 3/4"-1"

Helpful Image
(Composite on the left, Cast on the right)
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...ba26a93bf8.jpg

Helpful Image 2
(Composite on the left, Cast on the right)
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...9ca018d97d.jpg

Helpful Image 3
(Composite on the left, Cast on the right)
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...915e54bc22.jpg

ROTOR IMAGES:

Cast Rotor
Crown Automotive Part 5016434AA
(Notice: Thick mounting flange, squared edge on stud holes)
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...aaefe572b2.jpg

Composite Rotor
Crown Automotive Part 52005000
(Notice: Thin, stamped mounting flange and smooth edge, tapered stud holes)
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...e1bb2b65aa.jpg

MY Rotor/Hub - for comparison
(Note: The lip sticking past the rotor is very small - maybe these are composite-rotor hubs. I'll have to disassemble and measure to know.)
(Note 2: My rotors have the tapered wheel stud holes. These may be composite rotors. I'll know when I disassemble the front end.)
(Note 3: The cotter pin and wheel studs look very new to me. Perhaps these hubs have already been replaced.)
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...52a833671e.jpg

Got info here:
https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f2/199...rotors-130568/
http://naxja.org/forum/showpost.php?...95&postcount=6

For real? I've never heard of a composite rotor!

I've gone back and added more info to my post. More images.