mjeff87

I've got a little magnetic Craftsman parts tray there...fits perfectly :D

It's bad, but not that bad. To access the two top bolts, pull the crossmember and let the whole driveline hang by the motor mounts (watch the fan blades so they don't contact the radiator). The back end will sag down far enough for you to cobble together about a mile worth of extensions to reach them. Alternately, you may be able to get to them via the cutout in the floorpan where the shifter comes thru...remove the large plastic/rubber dust boot and you should be able to get to them with a few less extensions :D Jeff

I kinda saw it fromt the opposite perspective......why wouldn't a manufacturer warranty a product for 100K miles, heck, even 75K miles at least?? Nowadays, that's not an unreasonable amount of mileage (at least for the type of driving my wife and I do). Hell, that car has only been on the road for 4 years (and almost paid off, too :D ) and it already has 90K on it..... I'm as patriotic as the next guy, but the domestic auto market fell out of my favor long ago. Lemme tell ya a story about the last car she owned, a Dodge. Nevermind, I don't have enough space to write about how lousy it was, what with it's 3/36 warranty and all..... :shake: That's why I drive a Jeep, and a 12 year old Ford :D Jeff

...and if you have a 2.5L, the starter bolts (factory) are E12 also. They were the first things I swapped out for hex heads :D

Yeah, just plain studs. They greatly help to align the tranny when reinstalling, too. Once it's on, just run a couple nuts onto the studs to secure the top of the bell, along with the other bolts/nuts. Or you could use regular hex head bolts, but you loose the alignment assist. Either way, don't reuse the torx head bolts.... Jeff

Well, none of the big 3 domestic manufacturers even came close to Kia's warranty, even if we paid extra to extend..... I have to say, for the price-point, it's one of the best cars we've ever owned. The only unscheduled maintenece in almost 100K miles was the driverside power window motor...and that was covered under the extended warranty (happened around 70K miles). I did just put a battery in it a couple weeks ago, but only as a safety measure. I noticed it was beginning to crank a bit slowly, and we're doing some driving up north during the holidays, so I wanted a good battery. Outside of the dealership knuckleheads, and getting bent over paying for the scheduled maintenece, we've been pleased. It'll be traded in within the next year or so, not sure what she'll want next. I secretly wish for a Rubicon, but that'll never happen :D Jeff

Hate to tell you, but it's gonna get worse rather quickly. When mine went, I noticed it just starting to drip from the bell, and 2 days later as I was pulling it into the garage it went all the way. I'd say change it asap before it strands you somewhere.

Hey....is that the VARMINT I see in your avatar??? :cheers: Jeff

We have an extended warranty on my wife's car ('02 Kia Spectra), so I don't touch it lest I void said warranty. It kills me, but she gets ALL her service work, including scheduled maintenece (has to be followed exactly as is written) done at one of two different dealerships. At the last service (75K) they recommended she replace the air filter...for $35 :eek: so I bought a filter and did it. Open the hood and notice they broke off one of the corners of the airbox :headpop: OK, I sack up and fix that, no real big deal. Yesterday, she comes back in the house and says the car threw a CEL, and she was gonna take it down to get it looked at (typical diagnostic fee is $75). I tell her to take it to Autobone and get it checked for free, which she did. Threw a code for multiple misfire, and #3 misfire, so I got a set of plugs and set about changing them last night after work. Pop the hood to take off the big stoopid plastic engine cover, and notice one of the corners isn't secured.....got it off and found the corner bracket unconnected, and the two bolts that hold it laying on the valve cover :wall: from previous service work. Proceed to pull the coil packs off and get the plugs out, and discover the ORIGINAL PLUGS installed :mad:....at 90K miles. I'm sure that at least one of those service intervals included a plug change....at least the 60K one that cost $400 to do! I've got the originals, and am gonna be paying a visit to the dealership later this week, as soon as I go over all the receipts to find out which of the two dealerships I need to talk at. Oh, and did I mention they cracked the freakin' oil pan on one of the oil changes they did???? They did fix that one, but didn't admit it when they did it. 10K miles more to go, then the warranty expires, and I can start wrenching on it..... Jeff

and THAT'S why I drive a manual..... :D Jeff (nice work, tho)

In a word....yes ;) . Are the drums included, and are they serviceable? If not, they can be a bit pricey to replace. Or you could do a disc conversion on it out of the junkyard. Carrier break is low (< 3.54 IIRC) so you might need a new carrier if regearing higher. Jeff edit: the couple MJ D44's I've seen, including the one I have waiting to go under mine, have all seemed to be 3.07's :cry: XJ D44's more likely have 3.55's (just my observation, YMMV)

No, seller states it's an '86 :cry: Thought it might have even been a 2.8L, but the emissions sticker doesn't have nearly enough vaccuum line routing on it LOL.....

Holy crap....my wife has kin right there in Lancaster. I'll keep my eye on it, and if it goes for cheap I'll bid on it. We've been meaning to visit them anyhow.....I can stash it at their place :D And yeah, it was a 2.5 at one time...you can tell by the radiator. Jeff

You know, the only thing that makes that funnier is if you sing it in your head pretending Larry the Cable Guy is singing it..... :rotf: Good stuff beaterjeep! Jeff

Don't have a pic, but it's the molding piece above the doors, at the edge of the roofline. Jeff

My MOPAR-nut neighbor is running an 8 3/4 under his Duster. The whole vehicle is literally in pieces at the moment....he is sending out the whole rolling chassis/body for soda blasting. I can get pics/measurements/sources if you want (?) The only problem he's having with it is the third member won't completely seal to the housing, and it weeps gear oil out the bottom :cry: Jeff edit.... and he did a junkyard homebrew disc conversion on it for relatively short money.... edit X2: http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Flat ... ndex3.html Just about anything you want to know about an 8 3/4...

The cable is held in one spot at the driverside UCA bracket with a little clippy-thingy. Follow it out of the firewall and down to the UCA and check that it's not kinked there, also. HTH, Jeff

Sweet find Pat. But WTF is up with those front hooks?!?!?!?!? Did the PO think it was a YJ? :D Jeff

My left 'nad is still laying in my backyard somewhere from carrying it to the driveway..... Jeff

I had some A-hole pass me coming out of my subdivision this morning on my way to work. It's a 2-lane entranceway, speed limit is 30 mph, and he decided to go around me (in heavy fog, no less) on the shoulder on the passenger side. I gave him the horn, he gave me the finger. I followed him down to the local Wawa and stepped out to have a few words with him, and a county PD cruiser rolled over to see what the problem was :D Funny how quiet some people get when the po-po is around.... Jeff

You have to pop the cable end out of the pedal arm (little barrel-end fits in a groove), and it ain't easy. If you're replacing it, I'd just cut it and save yourself the hassle. It's not in a very convenient spot to work on :headpop: Getting the new cable end inserted is no picnic, either. You can buy replacement cables at any of the usual parts houses. Just specify it's the FRONT cable, and either SB or LB (they're different sizes). I got mine from Advance Auto for something like $15. Jeff edit: also, when you run the new cable in, make sure you run it through that little hole cutout there in that brace....I forgot to, then fought with getting the cable end in the holder for so long I refused to pop it back out so I could rerun the cable. Mine now runs along the rocker/doorsill area :oops:

Make two sets, and I'll buy one of them from ya. Seriously..... Jeff

yeah....but they gave you 9 extra gallons of gas, though :cheers: :nuts: Jeff

I'm gonna hang on to them until I get these new ones in, just in case I need to play around with matching front/rear heights. I've actually got 2 sets of them, along with 2 V8 ZJ tierods (one of them is going on my MJ, too :D ) Are you looking for a pair? Jeff

How true that is. About 3 years ago, my brother's-girlfriend's-brother's neighbor (LOL) was throwing away a generator. Apparently it stopped running and he tried to fix it and gave up, so he was tossing it out. He took the shroud and starter off and cut a bunch of wires off the oil switch and magneto, and never bothered to put it back together. The packrat that I am took it and stashed it in my bro's garage. Last year, I hauled it down here to VA, and stashed it under my deck. Last weekend, instead of working on the MJ :oops: I decided to tear it apart. Half a day later, $25 in parts and a quart of oil, and she started on the 4th pull This weekend I tore it all down again and cleaned it, changed the oil, and painted the frame. The only thing I need yet is the rubber isolator under the back of the generator frame (the original one is ripped in half). Here's a couple pics. It's a 5000W Devilbiss with a 10hp Briggs engine (but it has an 8hp shroud on it :D ): when I first got it three years ago: Image Not Found Image Not Found got it running, notice the ratchet-strap “sling” to hold the end up, and the bootyfab ignition switch I rigged up: Image Not Found Image Not Found all cleaned up and painted: Image Not Found Image Not Found Image Not Found Image Not Found