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What was done to YOUR rig(XJ/MJ) today MECHANICALY????

Welded some headlight hoops on the bumper of my blue jeep. Guess I'll work with Flickr for some photos. About ready to start the axle/stroker swap on my red jeep. Wanna have it ready to wheel for next season. Been busy with new home projects and work in general, that's a good thing!
 
After almost 8 years or so, I decided it was time to change my Renix coolant bottle. That went well.

Completed installing the last of the valve cover bolts, ran it, drove it, gave a full heat up sealing test and operating temp test, and she seems to be good to go. The new bottle was doing quite well, no signs of shape change or swelling. Not sure my infra-red gauge was working perfectly, I think the battery is on its last legs, but it looked like with the AC maxed out, heat load wise, at idle after running it at 2500 rpm in park for 4-5 mins, to try and over heat it, then letting it set at idle for minutes the T-stat housing temp was about 210 yesterday around 3 pm (It was hot and humid as hell, not sure what the ambient temp was) and the radiator return was reading 175 to 192 F depending on the spot I tested. The very top was the hottest, between the Transmission connector and the Temp-fan switch was cooler. I will recheck with a new battery, but I am planning to start making local trips as a DD in her now. Before I turned on the AC the T-Stat housing temp stayed at 180 F (I use a 180 F t-stat on her) and radiator return was 160 F :)
After getting ip up to 210, I let it idle for 10 mins and the T-Stat temp dropped to about 200 F.

Still need to weld or replace the one BAD knuckle with the brake pad rail GROVE, and she needs a paint job bad!!! I coated the entire roof this week with a rust conversion coating (Loctite brand) to buy me some time, but the brand I used did not work on my 85 Jeep hood like it should have, as it is now toast, with rust rot and holes in just 6-12 months :( . I have two spare hoods, wrong color, but that can be fixed.

I think NOT having the battery disconnected for 12-18 months (had not found the short that was killing the battery in 2-3 days) on it accelerated the rust. For some reason having the battery connected to vehicles seems to keep them from rusting???

Ordered a rear leaf spring for the rear of the white 87 4x4 I bought 4 years ago and have yet to use, :( , but it is running, with good brakes and engine and AW4 working fine.

The passenger side has a sheered main spring right at the axle. Not sure how in the hell that could even happen, with out any other signs of damage? Bad shock??? We will see. Not looking forward to fighting with the rusted bolts on it.

It is going to get an entirely new heater hose and coolant bottle set up shortly (got one hose leaking at the bottle and the hoses are old). Got everything but the heater core hoses. I am seeing $48 prices for them online :eek: for a 6" long heater core hose???? WTF??? But I suspect they are two different IDs on each side, like 3/4 X 5/8" maybe? Thus they are made of Unubtanium.

But I do not recall using special hose there 10 years ago on my Wagoneer???

I bought several hoses including those, from a Jeep online vendor ($4 each, nor $48 each) that is a Naxja sponsor but they were rock hard from China, might as well have been PVC pipe they were so hard, I returned them and the vendor sent their entire inventory back to China :eek: when they saw what I showed them. A clamp would have busted before being able to clamp and seal them....Most of the suppliers do not have any of the Renix heater hoses at all.

My 87 Wagoneer now has 292,000 miles and counting, and with the new indexed dizzy using Cruizer54s indexing procedure (cutting the ears off the Dizzy and adjusting the rotor location about 10 degrees) solved the engine shake and backfire problems that had me thinking I needed to replace the engine :clap:. Runs better than it ever has since I bought it 12 years ago.

I am super worried about the roof :( Time to get a pro-paint job and part with $$$$s I fear, to save her.
 
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Check out my post, nightmare on Jeep street, LOL, or how to remove an oil filter with a 3/4" drive and 3 foot breaker bar, when nothing else works, LOL. Photos included. I have never, ever in 45 years had to do anything this wild to remove an oil filter. This is what wore me out and took an hour to get done Saturday on my Wagoneer XJ

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?p=246516553#post246516553
 
Darn, I should of used STP, LMAO!!!!

That's why you oil the seal before you tighten it on ;) Just kidding I've had some hard to come off one's too.

I have hard ones, that I had to shove a 12" HD screw driver through, but that would have been like piss-in on a barn fire with this one. Even with that 3 foot long breaker bar it took every ounce of strength applied for 3 minutes to get two full turns on it, before it started to turned normally tight for another turn, then was free, they had compressed that seal that much. Insane morons loose with tools. :shiver:
 
Got my new leaf spring in recently, been using PB Blaster presoak for a week now on the rusted bolts on the old one. May tackle the swap this weekend, weather permitting. Did I mention it is bloody hot and humid here?
:flame:

Sunday we are going to weld repair the gouges in my drivers side steering knuckle, in the brake pad ride area.

Today I moved the aftermarket head light switch bypass harness from the totaled 89 jeep, :( , to the white 87, 4x4 I am restoring still (it is getting the new leaf spring). Next up is replacing the entire heater hose, valve and Renix turtle bottle system on the same jeep. Already have the parts now. Then I need to see about window tint on my DD-Saturn before I get crispy crittered in this heat, and fixing the AC on the same jeep is after that (probably replace everything but the evaporator all at once).

Got some work done (made good progress) on the 85 Diesel wiring issue. It may need a new brake PB and MC. Sat up too long while I was ill, and MC has an issue now. I have learned to replace both. It needs the hood replaced too. Spent too long with no battery connected and the hood rusted up so bad it has holes now.:smsoap:
 
I rebuilt my alternator, something I've always wanted to try. Installed it, started the Jeep to see if it worked and the pulley and shaft came out of the power steering pump and put a hole in the radiator...(tis my spare XJ and I knew the bearings were bad in the power steering pump, but still...lol) I still don't know if my rebuild job was good and I am down a radiator and power steering pump. Just Emptying Every Pocket
 
Autozone and others load and run test alternators for free, running on bench device. Might have been cheaper.

How did you miss a PSP that was that bad with the belt off? I had a pulley on my Saturn grenade last year. It had already eaten 2 belt tensioners, I think, or they damaged the plastic PS pulley, no way to be sure now. The core was cracked at the hub and slowly got worse till it came clean off the steel shaft.
 
Used the 4 year old welder for the first time :)
:party:

Welded up the gouges in the brake pad rail on one steering knuckle, finally. High hopes on the results :)
 
Mine needs a new evaporator

Should have it back next week
 
So far it works, the pulsing brake pedal is fixed.:sunshine:

But it is still a mushy pedal. Works well enough to drive, but I need to try and bleed the front calipers again, now the gouge is gone. I wonder if it may have trapped some air in that sides caliper.

Used the 4 year old welder for the first time :)
:party:

Welded up the gouges in the brake pad rail on one steering knuckle, finally. High hopes on the results :)
 
Got all my 37s mounted up, time to start the axle swap!
XXaPH2


Xmd9zm
 
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Get mine back today right in time for the rain
 
Discovered my 87 Waggy was missing the HVAC vac line check valve. Must have scrapped it fixing a cracked line, and forgot to buy a new one, or reinstall it earlier this year. Got one at NAPA around the corner,
part #V14189 , 2-1015,
bar code 7 07390 75798 8

$10 part there :shiver:

But it works :)

No more pushing the gas and letting off and felling the AC front vents blower velocity crash, and come and go due to vacuum swings.
 
Way too damn quite in here folks. I survived the flood, 7" in my house, 18" in my shop. Both look and smell like disaster zones, :shiver: but I survived, and my rigs did too. Hope everyone is OK?

I just swapped out the steering gear box on my 87 Wagoneer. Still stalled out on the rear leaf spring swap on the white 4x4-89 rig, was working on cutting out the bushing, and rust seized bolts when the flood hit. Been too busy with clean ups since then. Got a real live sink hole at work, LOL. My first.....

Am I the only survivor here?
 
Did a driveway alignment. Still not thrilled at the handling on 35s. Probably should drop back down to a 33. Or upgrade steering and get a sway bar back on.

Finally cleaned the interior from ROM. So much dust.

Ready for jeep meets the next 2 weeks
 
Jeep Meets? :)
 
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