mjeff87

Not able to leave well enough alone, I worked on the rear end yesterday. The drums have an integrated wheel bearing (just like the front hubs) and are about $50 each new, which I wasn't about to pay. Instead I hit them with a cup brush on the angle grinder to get them back to bare metal, then shot them with Rustoleum hammered black paint. Also replaced the rear shocks with some sexy yellow Monroe gas-matics

Both the wife and I are essential. She's been WFH 3 days a week (when the software works for her to get into her system remotely, it's not 100% reliable). I had the option to WFH a few days a week but declined. I have 2 subordinates that report to me and neither of them are able to WFH due to the nature of their positions, so I didn't think it would be a good idea for me to while they couldn't/didn't.

Shaggin' Wagon, I dig it. Needs sidepipes, agreed, plus a Mystery van paint job and you're set. LOL. Keep us posted on progress

It had a little rattle coming from somewhere in the driverside front suspension I'd been noticing, ended up being that side's sway bar link. Replaced both of them yesterday after work....the OEM ones were comically tiny compared to the aftermarket replacements (even the white box specials I bought from AA). They even have grease zerks. Hecho in China, though..... Picking up some cheap Monroe gas-matics for the rear shocks today, and that should about do it for now unless something else breaks

And don't forget the frame horns, and the cover plate for the transmission tunnel for whatever transmission you are installing. Also the throttle pedal assembly (it's only a one-bolt deal) along with the cable, like 'Smash says. It's the little trivial things on this swap that are the real pain, and you don't think about. The drivetrain itself is actually pretty easy, lol.

Boy do I have a deal for you.....check the "Put the welder down and back away" thread. Found a real 'beaut CV

I alternate between an '02 KJ and an '01 Focus ZTS. Long boring story, but the Focus is my second one. Bought one and gave it to a family member who was in a rough patch (still is, kinda), then I broke my KJ. Bought a second Focus to run while I was fixing it, with the intention of selling it off after the repairs were done. That didn't happen, I ended up liking it too much. Mostly because it's a 5-speed and gets double the gas mileage as the KJ. They both serve a purpose for me.

Not a weld-job, but this qualifies. Coronavirus bug out vehicle. Yikes. https://kalispell.craigslist.org/cto/d/polebridge-2008-ford-crown-vic-p71/7119648507.html

Mopar spring perches are a recommended item. Me and a bunch of others have used them. Shop around for them, prices do vary a bit (along with shipping), but they're about $20-ish. https://www.jegs.com/i/Mopar-Performance/312/P4120074/10002/-1#

I forgot to mention, like JEEP says...all of our white goods purchases have been from a local Indy appliance store, not a big box place. Yeah, you might pay a couple but more, but it's worth it.

We installed a GE one with stainless interior a couple years ago (along with matching fridge, stove and microwave/exhaust). It was a middle-of-the-road unit pricewise, and we haven't had a single problem with it so far. Darn thing is so quiet you have to actually look at the digital display to make sure it's running. The tradeoff to the quietness, regardless of brand, is excessive run times. Even the "quickest" wash setting, which we use and pop the door open to air dry (when we remember to LOL) is like 90 minutes. Not a problem for us since there's only 2 of us, but those extended run cycles could be an issue for a household with a larger volume.

The water was a bit......dirty afterwards.

Got the headliner done, then did the seats and the rest of the interior.

Nice work Pete Yesterday, I decided to clean the headliner in the KJ. I roll with windows down versus AC about 99% of the time and noticed the liner was a bit darker than normal. I tried wiping it with a dry rag and that made it 1000X worse, so I broke out the carpet cleaner (that has a hand/wand adapter thingy on it to clean upholstery). One thing led to another, and 5 hours later I ended up shampoo-ing the entire interior, cleaned all the glass inside, and detailed the engine. LOL. That got out of control quickly.....

no names bro.....no names.

and some guys complain about how hard it is to change the ECU........pssshhh. Look, it's right there. Easy peasy

I dunno....I got this phone after my S5 died a horrible death. Bought it straight from Verizon, so it's all OEM crap running I guess. Next time I get a text I'll check the little dots and see what my options are. I did reply back to this lates text with some very colorful instructions on how they can use some various body parts to their own private advantage, but I doubt it's a monitored/live account. Made me feel better though, for at least a minute

For the love of God, if I get one more text about filling out the @*$&^#@! 2020 Census I'm gonna loose my mind. The wife filled the damn thing out online about 3 weeks ago, but I keep getting "reminder" texts every couple of days, and just now got a new text to click a link to watch some kind of video about how much the Census helps little kittens and busloads of nuns. Not clicking the link. Plus, we got a really threatening letter via snail mail on Saturday (had a bunch of legal stuff on the outside of the envelope written in BIG BOLD BLACK TEXT about how the LAW requires a response). What happens if we fill out the snail mail form and send it back in.......do my wife and I get counted twice? I work for the government, and I can absolutely see something like that happening. Next step is to actually send a census counter person to my house, which I guarantee will not end nicely. Ask the folks from Verizon FIOS about how much I like pushy unsolicited people trying to walk up onto my porch. But seriously, how can I block a number from texting my phone? I can block specific numbers from calling, but I can't figure out any way to block a text sender. Samsung S9 or something like that, if it matters.

That makes a mighty fine coaster for a beer bottle. I don't see the problem

Same same....wife and I got ours via direct deposit last Thursday. It pays for our taxes this year, almost to the penny.

Swapped out the synthetic ATF in the case this morning with the "gold standard" aka Ford honey fluid. $21 per quart, but oh my gawd was it worth it. Trans shifts like melted butter now. I was expecting a little bit of improvement, but NOTHING like how good it shifts now. If anyone here has a manual Focus or other Ford product with an MTX-75 transmission, this stuff is highly recommended and I can definitely say it works great. It was the original OEM spec' fluid for these cases but Ford switched to (cheaper) ATF sometime in the mid 2000's to save money. Dump the ATF and run this stuff if you can. It's a bit hard to find, my dealership had to special order it in for me. Motorcraft full synthetic manual transmission fluid, part #XT-M5-QS. You'll need about 2.5 quarts for a proper fill, sadly.

Yes please...more

On the dash lights.....are your brake lights working out back? The two are on the same circuit...it was some engineer's idea of a safety of sorts....because you normally can't see if your brake lights are out while driving, if your dash lights cut out it is/was a visual clue to let you know your brake lights were not working. That said, I had intermittent problems with my dash lights once, ended up being the 5A "instrument light" fuse in the block. Fuse itself was fine, but my fuseblock had some damage done to it by a leaking clutch MC at one point and the wires on the back side of the block for that fuse position were loose. Try wiggling that fuse around a bit to see if you can get them to light up. I ended up having to "shim" my fuse so it made constant contact with the connectors in the block. Good luck. Nice build and thread writeup to all the hard work you've been doing

That little cutout feeds coolant to your heater core via the hose connection on the thermostat housing/water neck. It's normal.

My OCD would never let me install that thing. Surprised at the Q/A issues....CSF is (was?) a quality manufacturer. None of that looks like shipping damage to me (I'm a Q/A Manager by trade, full disclosure).