So I start my vacation. Which means "Project Jeep Week" has begun. Put the Jeep in the air to powerwash underneath tomorrow. Did maintenance on my air compressor. Oh almost forgot. With the new camera hopefully no more crappy pictures.

 

Lookin' good, Ralph

 

Loaded it up with rc cars and found a spot to play.

 

Replaced the motor mount bushings

 

Thanks. Was able to drive the Jeep right up on the ramps. Put it in 4WD Low and was hoping it would creep up on its own but did not. The ramps did not slip out from the tires as I was driving up on them so that was a good thing. Had my buddy spot me. Safety first. Figure this would only work with 2 sets of identical ramps. So that all 4 tires would end up in the indent at the top at the same time.

 

So tools and music, don't work on the Jeep without my music, for today. Going to powerwash underneath, blow off it off, and try something different. Going to use that CRC stuff. If I like it I will add it to my "Rust Retardation Program". Also after that dries I will apply Fluid Film in my uni-body, the supports for the running boards, and place that squeak. Leaf springs and whatnot.

 

If you want to be sure, you could get the four ramps you need. Drill two small holes near the bottom of reach ramp, and attach a 12-18" piece of fabric or rubber (ie- carpet strips, floor mats) of the same length to each ramp.

You can set them directly in front of all four tires and then drive forward. The ramps won't be pushed because the weight of the Jeep would be on the strips you attached

 

It was nice out yesturday so windows down and music playing but I heard this awful sound overtop the music. like a scraping/rattling/scratchy sound but only here and there so i thought it was an exhaust rattle or a something stupid. I leave my buddies place late and the noise is happening quite often. Like here and there for a few seconds. I get out of town and over 40mph and its loud and almost constant. Front left wheel bearing going out. No biggy I'll drive to town in the morning and get a new one when the parts store opens.

I get home jack it up and find NO play. No noise turning the wheel by hand. nothing at all. So I get a wheel bearing this morning figure thats the first thing to do since I had planned to do them anyway this spring. Pull the bearing and find no play everything looks great. I think maybe the CV joint. So I turn it by hand and guess what... this little bastard was spinning...



I could see it was all shiny where it was rubbing as it spun I was able to inch the axle shaft out just enough to cut it off without loosing oil lol

So I still replaced the hub bearing why not. Good reason to use my monster torque wrench for the first time

 

Took my a couple seconds to get it but that is a good idea.

 

That's a better solution than Rhino: "duhuhuhuhuh let's put a thin patch of rubbah on the bottum that won't stop anythin"

 

Not going to lie. Was little nervous about doing this. One getting them up on the ramps all at once. Figured it that did not work out drive up on the fronts and use my 3 ton HF jack to get the back wheels in the air. But it worked out nice. Plus, and this confuses me, each ramp is rated at 1 ton. Yet they are rated at 6500 lbs on the box. Also wondering if they would hold. I did not think it would be problem but that is why I put the Jeep on the ramps last night. Figured if something was going to happen I would find out in the morning. Envy you guys with lifts when I am doing this kinda stuff. So much more room to maneuver under there like this now.

 

Ralph, I can sit upright, cross-legged on the ground and comfortably work under my Wrangler. Between the suspension and the tires, I have nearly a foot of overall lift!

But I tell ya, it really isn't fun when you have to pull the transfer case and transmission from that height without a proper jack!

There are always compromises

 

So sorry for the constant posts but I am old and I need lots of breaks.

So I just got done wiping down the underside of the Jeep. Fluid Film never really goes away. No matter how well you try to powerwash it off it still lingers in the nooks and crannies.

So some of you might remember that I hung skid plates last year. All three were in pretty good shape. Cleaner metal. I POR 15'ed them. Wired wheeled them good, used more Metal Prep and did it for a longer period of time that the instructions recommend, and did 2 coats. They held up nice. Now I also did front tow hooks, and the running boards last year. Same procedure on the brackets and the supports for the running boards. They seem to be holding up nicely too. While I had all sorts of stuff apart POR 15'ed underneath the Jeep. Again underside is mostly cleaner metal. Some places it did not hold up so well. But that is because proper prep is harder. All the other pieces I did when off the Jeep.

So I am going with that POR 15 is awesome when dealing with rustier metal. Proper prep is not as important. Without thorough prep on cleaner metal not so much.

 

So not overly thrilled with the CRC stuff. They tell you to apply to neutralize salt, leave for a bit, rinse, and reapply for the the inhibitor part. Not realizing I just had a traditional garden hose nozzle and the set up is straight. They use the firehose type nozzle in the videos. So with the garden hose nozzle to spray the cup would be sideways. Bad enough it is tough enough to keep it straight up and down when under the Jeep with the firehose one. On top of that the cup does not empty, indicating you need to put more stuff, but just dilutes from a dark blue to a light blue. So I dumped the cup a couple times and refilled with fresh chemical. I am forgoing the last step. Figure just neutralize and rinse.

Putting away tools and done for the day. Tomorrow is supposed to crappy and cold. Funny how today is sunny and 70. Probably won't get anything done tomorrow.

 

Got the A/C compressor bolted down... not terribly glamorous. I'm glad I had more than a few spare bolts as some wouldn't even hand-start.

Harvested the good cat.

Pulled the steering wheel from the parts XJ. It's about ready to go up on the local classifieds for the last time.