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i figured that, but it was worth a try. found a great deal on some nice tires and rims. having to have them taken of the rims, then mine removed, then install the new ones on my rims, majorly increases the price. it's not a bad deal then, but i'd rather spend the little extra to get the tires i want and have them brand new. oh well. ;)

pick up 1 or 2 of the magnetic warmers. put it on the block for a while, and on the gas tank. if your block heater isn't working, it's not gonna help. from what you are describing, i would guess it is froze over and gelled up. the magnetic warmers are $20 on up depending on the size. if the boss won't pay, consider buying them for yourself for future use, they're great to have around. it would also get you home faster. if it were me, i'd be ticked at the boss. he needs to provide dependable transportation for you if it's a part of your job and he needs to realize he needs to spend the money to fix a bad situation. he sounds like a jerk. he needs to care about his employees more. :fs1:

well, i always want more tools. every type of tool is needed in my opinion. a welder will be a good addition to your tool collection. i haven't had the best luck with harbor freight electrical tools (we have one here in town). if you get one there, get the service program. you may also want to consider getting a nicer 115 instead of the lower 230. i only say that because it sounds like you'll only be using it for minor jobs or for thinner metal, a big one isn't needed. a smaller one will be more versatile and easier to have around. you don't need anything special to run it at a friends house, or in the driveway. you can use a 115 anywhere. i would either save the bucks and just get the entry level 115, or spend the extra to get the next up in the 115 line. another place to consider for a cheaper welder is northern tool and supply (we have one here). they have some pretty nice welders cheap. i'm not sure who make them for northern, but they look alot like a linclon. i have talked to several people here that have been quite happy with their's. i am even thinking of picking one up for the dog club shed to work on the tractor and other things. then i don't have to haul everything home. look them up, they look pretty good. if you don't want to spend much, think of it as a starter. you can always sell this one used and get a better one. then sell that one and get a better one, and so on. that's how i ended up with my current welder. go for the welder and have fun improving your skills! :clapping:

and does anyone know if the wheels off a '94 s10 blazer will fit? i'm sure you can guess why. :D

oh big deal! doesn't my stock 2.5 put out closer to 400 hp? :rotfl2: seriously though, a couple years back i bought something off ebay that was a joke (i buy off ebay alot, but this was a joke). i had a 73 jeep commando, as well as 4 other jeeps. i saw the ebay add for the "original '73 commando parts list". i had to have it! i ordered it and paid my $11 including $2 for shipping. a week later i received a large manila envelope in the male with 3 stamps on it. i opened it up and found a parts list. the only thing was this was not an original. the guy just made copies on a copier. he didn't even take the time to make sure the copy was straight. man it was bad. i called and complained and left him bad feedback. i filed a complaint with ebay. 2 weeks later, he had the same thing posted. wow, he has that many originals. :headpop: i only say this because it shows how these items can be bought with good intentions, but you get jipped in the end. this guy wasn't to bright to post the entire thing so anyone can just copy it. i would of left half of it out. chances are the guy is just gona send you a copy of it, charge you a couple bucks shipping and through a couple stamps on an envelope.

warmer is right! i haven't moved snow at the club for a few days since it's so cold (-31 this morning). it's supposed to warm up starting this weekend so i'll spend alot of time out there on the tractor. otherwise i've been sticking the suburban in 4 and plowing through the snow and drifts. i break a trail so others can get in. i figure if i get stuck, i will pull it out with the tractor. i want warm weather!! :(

to make my decision i would need to know what kind of welder you're looking at for such a low price. what brand? arc or wirefeed? do you have welding experience? do you know anyone that welds? that all makes a big difference.

:agree: jeeps should be jeeps. trail rated and built to handle anything. they are not subarus, or dodge nitros. they should be a truck, not a car, and the should have ground clearance, 2 or 4 wheel drive. if it's gonna have the jeep logo, then it should be a jeep! ;)

yes, that should do the trick. just make sure the edges of the old metal are totally clean. use the seam sealer between the 2 pieces of metal and around the edge of the old and new on both sides. por15 in, let it dry hard, then use bedliner on both sides. make sure you get the beadliner over all the metal thick. also bedliner for around 2-3" around the repair to prevent rusting on the outskirts of the repair. as far as a sandblaster, you can get one very cheap (sometimes less than $20). all you need is an air compressor and it sounds like you've got one. you buy the head that comes with a suction tube. buy the sandblasting material (or just use silca sand). put the sandblasting material in a bucket with the end of the suction hose in it. connect the head to your air hose. blast away. you can also by a "speed blaster" at most tool shops, auto stores, etc., for about 15-20 bucks. these are very easy to use and small. you put the blasting material in it, hook it to your air hose and blast away. the reason i recommend blasting is because you can get all the paint and rust off. using a grinder, sander, or wire brush can still leave some rust in pits. it is also much quicker and easier than trying to clean it up any other way. if you spend a few bucks and get a blaster, you'll enjoy it in the future. it is really money well spent. cutting as much metal out as you can is a great idea. i would leave as much of a base as you can to rivet the new metal to. i wouldn't go less than 2" if it can be helped. if you go 4", that's going to give you more support and the rivets won't have much pressure on them. the smaller the base, the more pressure on the rivets. you have a great idea of where to go with the repair, it should turn out nice.

i don't know if i'll change the gearing or even the speedo gear. i'm used to a speedo being off. i just time it and figure it out when i make the change so i know for sure how fast i'm going. speedo's can be wrong (and often are). i'm not making a huge jump, only 2 sizes. i'm not going to big tires or anything. i am going from 215 to 235. i have the calculation already of how far off things should be. i've also asked on here and everyone seams to think the jump to 235's aren't a problem. if i decide to go with 30" or up i'll add a lift and change the gearing, but right now it's not an offroad vehicle, just off highway a bit. ;)

i know about working in the cold and it sucks! it is now warming up to -5 here. the low thursday is supposed to be -31. i'm putting off working on anything until it warms up above 0. anyway, when it's cold, i always start with the easiest possability so i don't have to work in the cold very long. in this case, i'd check the battery cables. are they tight? are they clean? feel for any possible cracks. you can get power enough to work the lights and stuff but not turn it over. i'd start there, it's cheap and easy. it certainly can be the switch, but that takes longer. ;)

what specifically are you thinking on the exhaust. i was going to make a custom one this spring with a magnaflow muffler.

the rust spots in the xj and mj's is due to a very poor drainage set up. instead of draining off or being absorbed and dried, it sits in the bottom and rusts. the carpet is not enough to absorb it and they really use poor or no padding and protection there. some car companies use a protective layer under the paint in the foot wells, some even use a thin material on the metal to absorb the moisture, they even paint it! but jeep used nothing on these so they rust. from the pic's i can see some holes, those must be fixed. i would start by sandblasting both sides of the metal. that will tell you what metal is thick enough to hold a patch job. once it's sandblasted, treat it with a product like por15. if you don't know how to weld, you can use short rivets to put the new metal in place. you should cut out around the holes before you treat with the por15. i recommend making your patch large enough to cover everything and i'd go much thicker with the sheet metal. treat everything with por15(or similar). use seam sealer in the underside of the new sheet metal before you put it on the old stuff and that will prevent moisture from getting between the 2 pieces. on the underside of the vehicle, use a bed coating and put it on thick. if you put it on thick enough it will even cover up the rivets poking through so know one will ever know you didn't weld it. you can even use the bead liner on the inside to prevent future rust and cover up any sign of the repair. it's a good looking, cheap, and easy job. :D

not to argue but i agree with you as far as steel wool on straight stainless, but it doesn't scratch chrome. i stand by my suggestion of the steel wool and buffing it out after. such fine steel wool can even be used on paint and the scratches buffed out. steel wool is also the best way to clean windows (with the exception of interior windows with film tint), just be careful on rear defrosters. as far as getting the scratches out, a good chrome polish with some elbow grease will help you out there. deep scratches cannot be completely removed, but with a good polish they do lighten up. there are several brands you can use, starting with a more aggressive one and finishing with a fine/light one is the best. you can use polishing and rubbing compounds on stainless steel and chrome as well. most auto waxes can be used on the chrome as well. when you wax your vehicle, go over the chrome and stainless as well. if you do use aircraft stripper, you do need to do finish it with some sort of finish. it will eat everything off. it's great if your going to refinish, but not if your looking to just remove one layer of paint and leave the finish as intact as possible. if you do chose to use it, keep water handy. you can neutralize it by watering it down, be carefull putting any other chemicals on it until you have thoroughly rinsed it. once rinsed off, was it with dawn dish soap. useing a light coat and quickly rinsing it can keep from re-moving every layer. use gloves when dealing with it and only do it off the vehicles as it will harm paint. hornbrod is correct that you can use a clear coat to protect it in the future. if you want to know the full process to polish stainless steel, let me know. chrome as well. :smart: i own a specialty auto detailing company and have been in the detailing business for 24 years. i am more than willing to help out by giving you product names and processes. i have a few years of oopses to support me. even bad experience is good experience! :clapping: again, i'm not trying to start an arguement at all and hope i don't offend anyone. i just want to share my years of experience and let you know you can ask me questions about detailing, finish, and cleaning of vehicles. i hope this doesn't bother anyone, just trying to help. p.s.; you can use the steel wool and buffing technique indoors on removed parts if your wife will let you. ;)

listen to BLHTAZ, he's right. :agree: it is a little harder to find it at a reasonable price. i don't know that i'd trust a used one from the jy. if the jy has a rig that hasn't been sitting too long with the hood open, and the part looks to be in good shape, i'd ask the jy for a limited guarantee that it's a good part. the ones around here will let you take it home and give it a try, if it doesn't work, you can try another or take store credit. anytime you're going to a jy for an electrical part that they can't test, it's best to ask for this. if not, see if they'll let you plug it in in the parking lot to make sure. buying electrical parts at a jy is a crap shoot. unfortunately, it may be your only option for the part at a reasonable price.

wow!! great info. thanks

the column works fine, the tilt works fine. the steering wheel can be moved up and down some even when locked in place. it doesn't move alot, but it does move some. is this a normal for these? is it an easy fix or do i have to replace the whole column? it seams fine, but is it dangerous the way it is? :dunno:

so what kind of gas mileage is everyone getting? i'm curious because the gas mileage of my mj really matters to me. with what i use it for, i really watch the mileage. i have the 2.5 in my '87. the trips i have taken so far i have gotten an average of 21.53 mpg. that's at 75 mph, windows up, and no air on. i thought that was great, but now i'm putting bigger tires on it and i'm hoping a few upgrades to the ignition will keep me around there still. i don't know for sure around town, the couple times i've checked it it's been around 17.5 mpg. i run 89 octane with ethanol usually. the trips down the road i've taken have both been mildly loaded and unloaded. i haven't figured it out with a large load yet.

i want a snow plow!!!! :thumbsup: there's a guy with a comanche that does the neighbor's place and i've wanted 1 for years. it would come in hand for moving the snow at the dog club grounds. it would probably be faster that the tractor and blade. man i'm jealous!!!! :bowdown:

just wondering what brand everyone uses for wires, coils, and other ignition parts. what do you use?

what has everyone used to upgrade the ignition on their mj. more specifically on a 2.5, but i'm interested in all the experiences. i would like to get a little more power and , maybe, mileage. i'm curious if those who have upgraded have noticed much of a difference on the 2.5 and if it was worth the money for the performance parts. also what you felt was the best as far as specifics for wire size coil output, etc.. in my experience, it's almost always cheaper bumping up to the performance parts over the stock anyway. i usually am partial to accel parts. i was thinking of a super stock coil at around 45 k output. wires i've used all different sizes. i was thinking of accel 8.0 wires. is this set up too hot? should i bump up to 8.8 wires? am i better sticking with a 7 or 7.5 wire (stock i believe is 6.6)? i have been using bosch platinum plugs since they came out. is this going to be a good choice or should i go with a 2 or 4 spark type plug? how hot can i safely go? i've used msd alot as well as some flame thrower stuff as well. to me, it just didn't seam like a difference worth the price. the accel has always served me well on all the vehicles i've used them on. the vehicle will be used on the highway alot and as a dd so it has to be very reliable. i don't want to change things if it's going to cause problems in the future. a little extra power and mileage would be great. just so you know, my k&n is already ordered and on the way. so, what do you all think? :popcorn:

well it really depends on what's under the paint. is it chrome, stainless steel, chrome plated stainless steel, or polished stainless steel. if it is chrome or chrome plated stainless, you can use steel wool as well as a chemical like paint thinner. if it's just stainless, you'll have more work as the paint sticks better than to chrome. you'll need to try chemicals like thinner, but you can also try a chemical called "lift off". that removes almost anything from anywhere. it also depends on the kind of paint, thickness of the paint, and how old it is. if it's a pretty light coat of spray paint, it'll come off pretty easy with steel wool and thinner. if it's a thick coat of a more durable paint, it's gona take some elbow grease. either way, you'll have to do some polishing when you get everything off. if it is stainless, the steel wool may make some marks in it, but you can polish it out. chrome can be cleaned with steel wool anyway so no worries there. steel wool will usually do the trick. the mix of rubbing it with steel wool with thinner on it should easily take care of it. let us know if it's not working, i have some other methods i've used.

remember the guy rule: the garage must be as large as the house. ;) you only get 1 chance to satisfy your garage size needs, do it up right. :thumbsup: seriously, that's great! i have a nice, pretty large garage. my problem is it's full. i have 2 projects in it, lot's of tools, and parts. i can work in 1 stall when i can move a vehicle around, but most times that's not possible. that means i spend most of my time on typical repairs in the driveway, like now. i can't work on the mj today because it's blowing and snowing so bad. it is a storm in my book, but we have a blizzard warning. to be out there, i'd be sitting in -20 40 miles an hour winds and snow. nope, i'll stay inside. :grrrr:

i don't see the aluminum bracket at all. anyone know if there is one?

thanks, it's a 2.5 on an 87. it does have a/c. neither of the ones you picture are the same as mine.