mjeff87

Good info Sam, thanks. Yeah, the 02 bezel has 2 12v outlets. The cigarette lighter is keyed, but the other one is constant hot.

PMI is now for the life of the loan, no more 80% rule.

It's funny, when I pulled those KJ hooks off in the 'yard the other day I had my impact with me. The fasteners had some surface rust on them, but they spun right off with my 1/2" ratchet and socket. I almost killed myself because I loaded up the first fastener in the socket and braced myself to yank my guts out and just about @$$-planted myself backwards when the nut just started spinning off Ya gotta love the South, for some things......

All cleaned/painted up, ready for install on Saturday. We're supposed to get another snowstorm here (8-10 inches)....I might be putting them to use, lol.

Some 2.5's did have AW4's behind them, but they require a different bellhousing and torque convertor than the 4.0 version. But, I've always read (and seen) those to be limited to the 87-89/90 model years, although anything theoretically was possible to order way back then

I could use one in dark gray/charcoal if you come across it Emptied out my change holder aka door handle today too. Bumper crop, had $12.34.....mostly quarters. Lol

^^^true that I did also grab a bunch of "pocket stuff" that they don't bother charging for, but are OEM specific stuff. Small clamps, brake master cap, plastic push rivets, tiny little light bulbs for the overhead console, flipper pad, and a little push connector/holder thingy for the rad fan connector that theboneheads that replaced my radiator broke off and "fixed" with a ziptie. It's all good though, because when I do pull a decent hard part I don't have any issues with paying their prices (which are still waaayyyy below retail). Pete, does your KJ have a grab bar above the glove compartment (like TJ's have)? I saw 3 different ones today that had them, never knew that was an option. None of them had the same (charcoal) interior color as mine tho, so I didn't bother pulling one. That might just be on my shopping list now.

Yup. I didn't know what they would charge for them, but I was sure it was a helluva lot less than retail, so I just yanked them. Looking at them, I would say they could probably be easily adapted to the rear frame rails of an MJ too. Kinda like the factory rear XJ hook(s). Wouldn't take much to make them work on either.

Thanks for the update Abby, we're all pulling for you all Hopefully dad didn't watch the Clemson game....that couldn't have helped any (kidding, of course ) Keep us posted when you can. Jeff

Called off work today, just....because. Took a trip up to a local-ish junkyard that I haven't been to for a long time. They had 8 KJ's in there, I was looking for an OEM light bar. No luck on that, but one of them had a set of stock front tow hooks I actually had these on my birthday wish list, my wife was gonna get them for me to the tune of $125 online. I almost felt too guilty when they rang them up.....$8.85. I cleaned them all up with a wire wheel on my bench grinder and shot them with 4 coats of rustoleum hammered black paint (I love that stuff). I'll put them on this weekend, as I found out you just have to about pull the entire front end to access the fasteners edit:. I also grabbed a rear glass flipper pad, now installed. I pulled one off a KJ a couple months ago but twisted it all up trying to pry it off with a screwdriver and it didn't lay flat on the glass. Pissed me off to no end. This one I removed with a stiff blade putty knife, and used 3M clear double sided tape to install. Yay.

I've got a couple (but no squallet). EDC is a leather bifold (trifolds get too thick). If I'm traveling or on vacation, I have a nylon "sport" wallet I picked up in Punta Cana. Just big enough to hold cash, a credit card, drivers license and my medical insurance card. I have an absolutely beautiful handmade leather wallet from Argentina....it was a gift from a member on here that I shipped some parts to many years ago. Kinda like yours jeepapa. It's literally too nice to use. It sits on my dresser in the bedroom as a piece of art. Lol.

Good on ya Pete I was waiting to see the exciting conclusion to this before commenting. I run the 18V version of that and I'm more than pleased with it. I don't walk into the junkyard without it, and it was a lifesaver for me when I put new UCA's/ball joints on the KJ. It just laughed at the pinch bolts on the ball joints. I can't imagine the power that the 20V version has. Probably on par with pneumatic impacts, but with portability

I've got nothing but my gut and intuition telling me this, but I think the housing market is heading for another crash. I would purchase now if the financing and numbers look good to both of you. Interest rates, and lending in general, are going to tank just like they did back in 08-09. Like MJTim says, mortgage debt (if reasonable) is "good" debt. My wife and I were like you guys back in the early 2000's. We patiently watched the market for a few years, and I saw where everything was heading. Right before the bottom fell out is when we made our offer, and the bank and builder (we built new) practically GAVE us about $50K worth of options, both tangible in the build and on financing. We did a 30 year FHA, which kinda sucked but we didn't have a huge downpayment. Rode that for 3 years, built a crap-ton of equity, dropped the PMI when we got past the 80/20 LTV mark, then refinanced through my credit union to a 15 year conventional. Best move we ever made. I'm keeping the house and property in "sale ready" condition now, for 2 reasons. One, if someone out of the blue offers us a great price on buying it, we can be out in a hot minute. We're not looking to sell, though (but money talks.......). More importantly, when we do decide to sell, probably in about 5 years give or take, the housing market will (hopefully) be rebounding from what I think it's about to go into, and we won't have to put a bunch of $$$$ into it to get it ready for sale.

Don't forget to disconnect/remove the shifter from inside the cab BEFORE pulling the BH bolts and trying to drop the tranny. It's an easily overlooked step, because your mind is on everything underneath.

Where and what are you removing the trans from......junkyard or a vehicle in the driveway/garage/other? If junkyard, just find a spare tire somewhere and place it in the general landing area of where the unit will fall once you back it off the engine (or not, you can just let it fall to the ground like most of the other meatheads that pull parts off with no regard for damage). Either way, once you unbolt/remove the transfer case (if 4WD) or pull the slip yoke out of the back of the trans 2WD), you're gonna lose ALOT of lube out of the trans tailpiece, so be prepared for that either way. Best bet is to pull the drain plug on the trans beforehand and drain the fluid into a pan. Pretty straightforward after that....get the trans on the ground, then unbolt the BH.

ZJ 44's have an aluminum housing. I'd not waste the effort.

Happy New Years Chief. Thinking about ya. Hope all is going ok. Jeff

I was going to suggest a bad O2 sensor before even reading the whole thread....glad you got that squared up On the low idle speed, go old school first. Pull and inspect/clean the IAC first to see if it makes an improvement. With as much hackery going on to your rig as you say, it very well could be all bunked up. Start simple, then work your way up from there.

Scroll down to the last post that Pete just put in this thread, toward the bottom of the pics he posted. There's one of the NSS connector with pin locations:

Sorry, I no longer have the pic of the NSS connector. But jumper the pins with the black and black/white tracer wire.

You are gravely mistaken The AX15 uses all bits and pieces specific to only the AX15. Crossmember, transfer case shift linkage/bracket (both the one on the tranny tunnel and the one attached to the trans), transfer case shift rod.....heck, even the cover panel for the floor inside the cab is specific to the AX15. Most others (AX4/5, AW4, BA10/5) share at least some parts but no.......the AX15 is like that weird little kid that sat all by himself at the lunch table in 3rd grade.

X2 on the Dakota line, that's what I used.

Radiator #3 installed yesterday. Shop said that the lower mount bushings were trashed, causing flex and that's why the last one crapped out. Okay, yeah, whatever. They put new bushings and a new radiator, I supplied the G05 coolant, again. Total charge was $0.00. Bonus was that the tech actually got the system and heater core bled correctly so I don't have to mess with anything

Thanks for the update Abby. Good to hear dad is doing better

D35 + 5.7..... Digging the build so far, just don't wait on that 8.8 swap.