So, recently... I was getting really bad "skipping" when going up-hill... At least, that's when I noticed it. Not sure if it happened otherwise. Anyway, I was about to drive back to school and I realized there was no way I was going to make it, then the CEL came on and it started running HORRIBLY. It was 9:10 and all of the parts stores close at 9 so I parked it and had my mom drive me to school. The next day I got a call from my dad who told me he had the CEL checked and it was throwing codes for random misfire on cylinder 4, p420 (catalytic efficiency below required levels or whatever. It's the same code that always goes off and on for me.), and bad upstream o2 sensor. He drove it down the road to his "buddy" who pulled a couple wires off of the distributor and "found rust". Now, when I was changing out the cap/rotor/wires, I didn't see ANY rust... but I did find the culprit.

Out with the old:



In with the new:



If you're paying a lot of attention you'll notice that in the out with the old picture there are only 6 wires and no rotor...



There's the 7th wire, which was going to... drumroll... cylinder 4. Advance Auto gave me the wrong rotor as well, so that'll have to wait for the morning.

I also haven't replaced the temp coolant sensor on the back of the block... about 5 weeks ago, I picked it up. I realized it was the wrong one, but NAPA was closed... and I had school in the morning, so I drove back to my dorm and didn't get around to returning it and getting the right one for about a month. Then, I went to Autozone and picked up a 13mm deep socket. Got home, realized it was the wrong one. That was a week ago. Tonight, I went to Autozone after I stopped at Advance (they don't sell individual sockets for some reason?) and picked up a 14mm deep socket. No idea why... I swear, I remember checking and my 14mm socket fit the sensor. Turns out it's a 9/16", not a 14mm. I'm a colossal dip****. I would have gone home to double check, but it was 8:50 and Autozone closes at 9. So, yeah.

Jeep seems to run fine after the plug wires/distributor cap. Still gonna swap out the rotor and stuff in the morning. I'm really hoping the CEL for the o2 doesn't come back on (I disconnected the battery to do the wires and stuff, so it reset the light..)

 

Nice! So how about some upgrades there buddy? lol what's new with this thing other than that?

I got new cap and rotor and wires all from NAPA, and they have been great.

 

I'm broke as a joke. I was gonna order some coils and brake lines with some cash I made selling stuff... But, as yo saw I got pulled over. $155 ticket. And I don't have a job. I think the only thing that might happen soon is I might get the tires I have taken off of their rims and mounted on the eccos from page one.

 

That stinks man, i definitely know how that is.

 

It's fine haha. I consciously made the decision to not have a job. But now I'm over having a bunch of spare time so I'm looking for one. I'd rather have money and no time than be broke and sitting around all day.

 

Oh man I just got pulled over too. $215. I was going a little fast trying to get to work on black friday.

But at least you're getting a bunch of mechanical maintenance done before you lift it and what not. I did mine the other way around. Keep up the good work!

 

Holy cow! I ran a stop sign at 5am on my school's campus. The cop was hiding in a parking lot and happened to see me. They set my court date for December 26th at 8am... Which sucks because I live 30 minutes away.

Threw a code last night. Bank 1 sensor 1 o2. Just gonna have to live with it for a bit. It's getting changed ASAP, though.

 

Hey man - you're build is off to a good start... I'd really like to hear more about this center console lid cupholder.

 

Really easy to do! Definitely recommend it. I picked up some cupholders (2 of them) from a boat for $3 a piece.

I spent a lot longer than I should have fiddling around with it. I borrowed a piece of soapstone from my brother (less than ideal) and drew the outline on the vinyl lid... then I took a Dremel with a cut-off wheel and started cutting. There's one layer of plastic directly beneath the vinyl and a bit of foam, then there's another layer of plastic. I ended up cutting the hole so precisely that it's just pressure-fitted for now. I'm planning on using some sort of sealant, but I didn't have time to let any cure at that moment. Also, I ended up doing only 1 of the cupholders because I'm worried that if I do both it'll end up being off-center.

I actually did the cup-holder mod on my old console lid, that has a somewhat broken hinge. I have one that's in perfect condition that I picked up from PAP. I think I'm going to try using a hole-saw next time and see if it's any easier.

 

Huh.... never would have thought of that. Might have to think about doing this.

 

I've found that boat supplies have all kinds of interesting things that us creative Jeep users could explore or experiment with. I found some hood vents that are from a boating supply company that I might check out. The best part is, they're not even 5 bucks a piece.

http://www.discountmarinesupplies.co...=104880&group=

I'm considering those, but I saw someone had an idea to get vents that you can close, and have a cable control so that you can close or open them from inside the Jeep. I really, really like that idea and have not seen it implemented.

 

Those are pretty cool.

 

So, my friend has a S10 Blazer. He "totaled" it. I say totaled, but it's really just the grille and radiator. So, it's getting scrapped. I'm thinking of grabbing the rear leafs and shocks. The leafs should give about 3.5" of lift, or less if I want. I wasn't considering a bastard pack at all, but I can get them for either nothing or really cheap.

I have a write-up coming soon about the cupholder thing. It's really dead simple and not something somebody should need a write-up for, but I was bored out of my mind today. I also have two center console lids and one of the after-market cupholders for sale.

 

Kinda got the itch to do SOMETHING to the Jeep today... so I figured I'd clean out the interior and check fluids.





While I was cleaning I found a brand new rotor still in the box!



Decided to check the air filter... Could use a new one. Brand suggestion or are they all the same?



I wanted to throw on this new lid that I picked up at the GY... it's much cleaner, as you can see. But I'm guessing it's for a 97+? I found it in the back seat of a 93... There's a spot for a sensor or something on the part that goes to the TB. Lesson learned, haha.



So, I think I may have found the source of the water in my floorboards... I need a new windshield anyway.



That's a bottle of Mr. Pibb under the front tire.... Then we ran it over with my brother's 2500 and it still wouldn't go. Crazy.



Decided to remove the rear swaybar. I wish I had more than one jack-stand... Had to keep taking off and putting the tires back on because I made it way more complicated than I needed it to. So here's my brother being forced to do my work for me.





The rear stuffs noticeably better.









Also, I told my brother to pry the links out of the axle-side mount..



He somehow managed to break my screwdriver ??? Not sure WHAT he was prying on because as soon as he broke it I got under there myself and pulled the link out with my hands...

In case anyone is wondering how I over-complicated the swaybar junk... Like I said, only 1 jack-stand, so I could only do one side at a time... at first, I didn't think I had a socket that would fit the nut/bolt that holds the link on to the axle. So, I simply pried open the piece of metal that holds the bushing in to the link open and removed it like that. I did that on both sides, then realized that I DID have the socket, so I (one side at a time) went back in and removed the links. That means I had to remove and put each tire back on twice...

Also! The stock lug wrench makes a decent breaker-bar. Just hammer the tab that usually covers the end out of the way.

 

Hey man! It's looking good! I'm surprised I haven't seen it yet. I never thought you were going to start on it... I love the two door. Keep it going!