lol.... yeah, you're probably right. I always have liked the black n white two tone on it. Just urks me that the new fenders and stuff aren't the same color white. Thanks alot, Chryco.

Noice!

Wow! I think you're right lol

Wow, you've been busy! Glad to hear you finally makin' some decent progress on it.

I think the suggestion was more so that you use it... There's a bare wire on your picture. I recommend heat shrink tubing myself, but that's just me.




Back on topic.... I finally got a new head unit to replace mine. Couldn't even turn the volume up or down on it anymore. Only thing it would do is change source and eject/play a CD.

New one is great though! Sony MEX-N5100BT




Changed it to Tron colors hehe

 

Plugs, wires, cap and rotor. Wish I'd done this months ago. Smoooooooth

 

I didn't do it, but friend welded up the AJ's DIY slider tubes to my 2x6s. Ohhhh Yeahhh!

 

I finally got my inside rocker panel welded into place on the drivers side. It's only been torn apart for about 3 months. It's definitely a learning experience. I never did this before. I still have to do the outer rocker panel and the entire floor on the drivers side. The passenger side needs done too, but I'll do that side after the rust season. I'm about ready to move south of the rust belt so I don't have these issues.

 

Amazing what a difference it makes just bringing the Jeep back to factory specs, eh? Like resetting to zero.

Well where's the pics man?

 

They're coming, hold your seahorses. I know the mobile upload makes the pictures funky looking and my computer is at work.

 

NEEIIIIIGHHHH!!

 

Wow. That's three or four projects right there. I was going to do that before the frame rails fell apart. I don't think people in the south know what "inner rocker" even means haha

 

Good news. After trying all day to cut through the upper control arm mounts at the body and failing. I grabbed the acetylene torch and cut those ******* out. Got both new uppers in but only got the passenger fully bolted in. Driver is halfway through the axle mount but the bolt won't line up with the hole on the other side.

 

Today on Tractor Jeep:

Got it mostly back together, axles topped up, wheels back on, and took it off of stands. Wife started it while I checked for problems. (The 4.0L runs remarkably well on 4-year old gas, by the way.) Had her hit the brakes since vac boost now works and the front right line exploded.

Already had right side YJ hose on the shelf. Went to parts store and got a 40" and 30" piece of copper-nickel "CUPRO" with a union. Got back and found coolant all over the floor - looks like I need me some 5/8" heater hose and a barbed fitting for the water pump.

I've gotta say, this "CUPRO" stuff is fantastic. For a half-assed replacement, 70" fits very well, I even snapped it into most of the plastic clips. The union ended up near the transmission dipstick which is kind of annoying - but hey - no leaks! For a proper factory-like replacement you'd need over 6' of total length in a bunch of little sections in order to get around and under all of the various obstacles. Bled the front again and tested - no more exploding lines. Rear ones will probably give out in a couple days...

So, had the missus put it in gear... amazingly, it actually moves. Took it on a quick ride around the outside of the garage and the aux fan came on... probably due to lack of pressure with the leaking heater hose tube, but man, I had no idea how fast these 3-cat things warmed up.

So that's cool. Technically, I have a running, moving, non-falling-apart XJ again

 

I'll take that over a VW.

 

idk, i miss driving my jeep(and am dying to drive it with the 5.3) and all but im diggin my tdi a lot too, i drive 600 or so mile a week and i only have to fill up once for 25$

 

Don't get me wrong, I love that part.

You will probably have a different opinion of working on it since you don't live in Rust Country and can actually get parts nearby or cheap. I'm really getting sick of the complexity and amount of crap that needs to be done at the same time.

I'll give you an example: I had a little rumble in the driver's side. Worse when I turn. I'm used to U joints so I figured "ah must be a bad CV joint". I ignored it for a little while as money was tight and the joint kits and axles are expensive. Well it got a little worse and I ordered the parts. By the time the shaft, seals, and nuts showed up, a gear oil leak had developed at the transaxle, and the output flange (like a stub shaft) is wobbly. Obviously I didn't appreciate how a bad CV joint can wreak havoc on bearings. I should've dealt with that earlier, but it is really hard to do that on an XJ.

The problem is that the bearing that's ****ed isn't just an axle output bearing, it's also one for the diff carrier. To change those you have to literally disassemble the entire transmission. And if you don't want the thing to fall apart, there are new parts involved in that (mostly expensive and inane Torque To Yield bolts). It's easier and cheaper for me to just swap the entire transaxle assembly with the one in the parts car...

I guess I've been spoiled by XJs in the sense that they'll take a beating and work after you're done replacing whatever broke. These things need to be rushed to the Operating Room as soon as they get a ****ing scratch on the knee lol

 

My Audi A4 was the same way. Put off the CVs, mistake. Put off the squeaky Tensioner, mistake. Selling it?

Not a mistake.

 

Okay so I'm not the only one with these problems. LOL

Speaking of the tensioner, I got a real nice surprise... I thought bad bearing whine was the alternator. NOPE! stupid little pulley! Last timing belt must not have had that. Swapped from the spare engine, nice and quiet, doesn't sound like a supercharged whirlygig anymore.

Did you seize the belt?