mjeff87

LOL, they actually are a "gift"......no charge for them but he is going to reimburse me for the shipping. That's why I'm trying to keep the cost down. I did check DHL and the online quote I got was $47. That's a bit more inline with what I was thinking ($50-ish).

I'm trying to get a set of drum brake backing plates to a new club member over in Sweden. I've got them properly packed in a 12"x12"x8" cardboard box. weighing 10.1 lbs, wrapped and padded to withstand a nuclear holocaust, or UPS, whichever is worse. (We use UPS here at work, and I've toured a UPS main distribution facility....I know how they handle parcels and package accordingly). Anyway, I did the online calculator for UPS and ended up with $174 as my cheapest option. WTF. I'm going to go to an actual UPS store and have them estimate it in person, maybe I put something wrong in the online form. If that's the actual price, I'll be shopping around some. What about (gulp) USPS? I would imagine FedEx/DHL are going to be pretty much the same as UPS, no? Anyone going to Sweden anytime soon and want to carry along a package for Hakan?

Those numbers are a bit low, but still acceptable. The big thing is the limited variation between them, which is good. Did you pull all the plugs, wedge the throttle plate WFO and disable the fuel pump and ignition? That's the only real way to do a proper test. On the leak down test, make sure each cylinder is at BDC and no valves are partially open. Losing 10 psi might be due to the crank rotating. If the pressure falls but holds, you're good. Id try a wet compression test next to see if the numbers got better. Leak down test wet as well.

No, this was just trying to get the old ones pressed out. The hubs press out in one direction (the easy part), then you have to flip the knuckle over, remove the giant snap ring, ad press the bearing out in the other direction. There was a glorious explosion of parts,sockets, bearings and knuckle pieces when it all finally went crazy. I was wearing safety goggles in anticipation of just such an occurrence happening, lol. And it did. I wasn't pressing straight on the bearing and things got all bound up.

Whelp, the pressing of the new bearings didn't go so well I got both hubs pressed out with no problem, but ended up snapping the knuckle while trying to press the first bearing out. The problem is the unusual shape of the knuckle and trying to set it up in the press both square and level. Damn near impossible. I'd bet the dealership has a jig they use, which I don't have. I threw in the towel after snapping the ear off the first knuckle, but I did eventually get it out after I did the damage just to know I could do it. Ended up putting a nice bend in the press crossbar too in the process, lol. Those darn bearings are really tight. Now that I know what I'm doing, I'll try the other side later on and maybe grab another knuckle/hub out of the junkyard for $20 to replace the one I broke. The old saying goes, you can't make an omelet without breaking some eggs.

It's all good man, just happy to see them put to good use and keep another MJ on the road Next time I'm in Sweden you can buy me a beer, lol.

Hakan, I found them. They've been sitting for a number of years and still had some brake hardware attached to them and everything was rusted to hell. I stripped them down to the backing plates and did a quick wire brush treatment then shot them with a rust converter. You'll probably want to clean them up some more when you get them, though. I'll email you for the shipping details. Jeff

Actually, the snap rings can be reused...that's not the issue. The new axle nuts I was counting on though, as they really shouldn't be reused (although I've been doing that with all the knuckle swaps so far). They get torqued to 233 lb/ft, and can only do that so many times. I think the FSM says 3x is the max and they have to be replaced after that, and I'm on 2x right now. They cost about $15 each. That's why I bought from this vendor, the picture of the kits shows that new nuts are included in the price (along with the retainer clips). Obviously, that's not the case, lol.

So yeah....I ordered a new set of hubs and bearings on the cheap from a vendor on Walmart.com. Trying to keep this on a cheap budget. The stuff shows up last week as promised and I check out the shipment. All is great, except the new axle nuts and snap rings that hold the bearings in the knuckles are missing. I report that via the feedback thingy on the website, they respond by saying sorry, we will ship you a full replacement set and don't need/want the first sets back. Cool. Overnight shipment arrives today, I open it up and the same pieces are still missing. So I just sent them the following email....clearly they are a "virtual" warehouse and have no idea what their Chicom suppliers are doing. I guess it's a sign of the times, but a small part of me just died today. Hi Cortney, I did receive the replacement shipment today, thank you very much for your prompt service. However, the same parts are still missing. At this point, I will source the missing parts locally as I need to get the parts installed as soon as possible. I'd suggest you look at the illustration photo your company has listed on the web to make sure it is accurate (I don't think it is). The picture of this parts kit clearly shows that axle nuts and bearing retainer clips are parts of the package, and it's evident that they are really not. You may want to check with your supplier and update the illustration accordingly. Thank you again for your prompt response and reshipment, it shows a real concern for customer service. Verifying things with your supplier and changing things will further that effort. Regards, Jeff

By blowby, do you mean you're getting alot of oil in the airbox? If yes, you can swap a later model stamped steel valve cover on to help. It doesn't really fix the blowby problem but it does fix the oil-getting-into-the-airbox issue. It all but completely cured mine. The internal baffling on the newer covers is at the top of the inside cover, while the older ones have "towers" inside that pull CCV from right on top of the valvetrain (and also the oil there).

Figured it was work related. Glad you're ok. Ok being a relative term and all.

And just where in the blue blazes have you been, lol?

^^^nice work there If you don't mind me asking, how much $$$ was that battery tray?

The 2.5 TC has a different snout, and a 4.0L one will NOT work. It will not fit into the opening in the 4.0 flex plate (it is both too long and too large a diameter). I can't speak to the differences to the TPS between the 2 though....I can't see there being much, if any, difference. Yes, you have a rare bird.

^^^^i will, but unfortunately it probably won't be until this weekend. I'm tied all this week at work. I'll be in touch

Are you in Michigan or down in Georgia right now?

I *think* I still have a set of D44 backing plates down in the shed. If you still need them let me know and I'll go hunt for them. I'll give them to you for the cost of shipping them, if I find them

And I also cleaned up the other knuckle/hub that was soaking in vinegar all week. Now that both are done, I'll press new bearings and hubs into them, paint them and swap them back in.

Thanks mang....I'm cheap by my nature. Glad you find it interesting. I took advantage of a crappy/rainy day to show the Ferd some love. I pulled the seats out and shampooed the whole interior. The worst part was the headliner, lol. The water mix that came out of the machine was downright disgusting.

Thanks dude. I'm into this thing $1100 for purchase, and I've probably put another $300 or so in new or junkyard parts into it so far. I don't really have a budget per se, but don't want to blow a wad of cash on it either. Just need to get it running as a reliable vehicle so I can either give my brother my jeep and drive it, or I might just end up giving it to him altogether and keep my KJ. I have to admit though, this little thing is a blast to blow around in, and it gets damn near 2x the mpg as my jeep. Not sure I really want to give it up just yet

Dang Bill...I'm just gonna start PM'ing you on all my Focus problems On a side note, this little thing is downright zippy, and pretty fun to drive (compared to a slush box KJ anyway). I just put my second full tank of gas in it today, and it's pulling a solid 30 mpg. Not too shabby for a 16 year old engine with 213K+ miles on it. And I'm still fixing little things!

Patience, grasshopper

^^^sad, but true. All I want is a strong military to protect our domestic and foreign interests. The rest of the federal government can just step right the hell out of my way (except for the VA, where my wife works to take care of our Veterans) and let me do my thing. If I fail, it's all on me. But if I succeed that's all on me too. That's the way the Founding Fathers designed it, and it works. //political soapbox off....sorry for the rant.

All I keep seeing is the car from the SNL cartoon "The ambiguously ghey duo". Tell me there's no resemblance, LOL. But, if I had that kind of money, I wouldn't care what anyone thought. Come to think about it......I'm broke, and still don't care what people think.