xL8 APEKSx
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Garden Grove, CA
After 9 days of cussing, wrenching, bleeding and brooding...I finally got a chance to finish up the Jeep and take him for a test drive!
arty:
I contracted my girlfriend to help me today...she trimmed the fenders while I chased down other issues (replaced front calipers, bled brakes, installed H4 lights, etc), and stopped on occasion to help my buddy who was disassembling a VR6 engine in my garage (gratuitous Corrado pic below).
I took Big Red around the block for a quick shakedown run, and I didn't hear anything that sounded too bad. I get a little squeak and clunk here and there (compared to stock...I'm sure half of you guys wouldn't even consider them noises they were so quiet, but I'm paranoid!). Xfer case seemed to shift just fine. No issues from the new drievshafts.
I've heard people say the RE lift rides just like stock. I'd have to disagree, unless you had pogo sticks for control arms from the factory. lol! It's most certainly stiffer, but not that bad. Basically, it rides more like a "truck", whereas in stock form it's more like a "station wagon" in the suspension department.
My steering wheel is WAY off center...it faces 90 degrees to the right when driving straight. So I'll have to figure out what's up with that. Track bar? I didn't touch the steering linkage or the pittman arm at all, so what else could that be?
The AutoPal lights are worth their weight in gold! I had wagner "Brite Lites" sealed beams in there before. I can wait a while to add my auxiliary lighting because these AutoPals are so much brighter. At 50 bucks shipped, these get more light per dollar than any of the off road light offerings. Can't go wrong with these!
It's also markedly sluggish off the line to get those 33's going. It's not horrible, but it's definitely lost some of it's "nip" off the line. No worries, I don't stoplight race too much in the Jeep; that's what my Volvo is for. Gears are high on my list for the next round of toys.
I still have a few things to button up...fix the steering, change the diff oil, touch up the chipped paint from hammering the fender wells, rpelace the front skid plate, and maybe remove the front sway bar.
But for the time being...Big Red's officially off the jackstands!
And now, some pictars for your viewing pleasure:
A big, fat :smootch: :cheers::worship: to:
Robert, Johnny, Mike, Max and John for all your help! I will be seeing you on the trails shortly! :wave:
arty:I contracted my girlfriend to help me today...she trimmed the fenders while I chased down other issues (replaced front calipers, bled brakes, installed H4 lights, etc), and stopped on occasion to help my buddy who was disassembling a VR6 engine in my garage (gratuitous Corrado pic below).
I took Big Red around the block for a quick shakedown run, and I didn't hear anything that sounded too bad. I get a little squeak and clunk here and there (compared to stock...I'm sure half of you guys wouldn't even consider them noises they were so quiet, but I'm paranoid!). Xfer case seemed to shift just fine. No issues from the new drievshafts.
I've heard people say the RE lift rides just like stock. I'd have to disagree, unless you had pogo sticks for control arms from the factory. lol! It's most certainly stiffer, but not that bad. Basically, it rides more like a "truck", whereas in stock form it's more like a "station wagon" in the suspension department.
My steering wheel is WAY off center...it faces 90 degrees to the right when driving straight. So I'll have to figure out what's up with that. Track bar? I didn't touch the steering linkage or the pittman arm at all, so what else could that be?
The AutoPal lights are worth their weight in gold! I had wagner "Brite Lites" sealed beams in there before. I can wait a while to add my auxiliary lighting because these AutoPals are so much brighter. At 50 bucks shipped, these get more light per dollar than any of the off road light offerings. Can't go wrong with these!
It's also markedly sluggish off the line to get those 33's going. It's not horrible, but it's definitely lost some of it's "nip" off the line. No worries, I don't stoplight race too much in the Jeep; that's what my Volvo is for.
Gears are high on my list for the next round of toys.I still have a few things to button up...fix the steering, change the diff oil, touch up the chipped paint from hammering the fender wells, rpelace the front skid plate, and maybe remove the front sway bar.
But for the time being...Big Red's officially off the jackstands!
And now, some pictars for your viewing pleasure:
A big, fat :smootch: :cheers::worship: to:
Robert, Johnny, Mike, Max and John for all your help! I will be seeing you on the trails shortly! :wave:
