jpdocdave

yes, the ho was a huge improvement no doubt over the renix. Rob, I would not complain about crown vics, they aren't that bad. Non greasable suspensions suck, and the ball joints fall off without warning, and the tie rods get bound up so the car swerves all over the road. But they aren't bad. But as a whole, Ford vehicles are going to be most commonly considered the most annoying to work on when polling people who do it for a living, and I say that because I've talked about it with every tech I've come across at one point or another. the v8 and v10 trucks blow spark plugs out of the holes because they only have 3 threads on the plugs. And those same engines have spark plugs seize daily. The Ford tech's require the truck to stay overnight for a tune up, they have to soak the spark plugs with penetrant to remove them, and so have I. Removing the body to remove heads for commonly failing head gaskets? And just connectors that are put on exactly the only way that makes them hard to remove. All most common in Ford. And the twin I beam suspension, what a joke, ball joints every couple years. Truth is over the years I can list a laundry list of common problems with every vehicle make, no vehicle is perfect. Jeeps are easy and inexpensive to repair, and they are the least common vehicle to see coming in on a tow truck. That means reliable. I've owned one ford f150 before I started working on cars, I loved it. My old boss has an excursion that has treated him flawlessly for 8 years, (it did blow one spark plug though, 30k after being installed with a torque wrench) and I've maintained it without complaining. But as a whole, Ford seems to come up with the most annoying things to fix. edit: oh yeah, truth of the matter is the Ford Explorer was the most turned in car for cash 4 clunkers, along with our beloved xj's. That just means that many were still on the road chugging away. I'd say Ford is a reliable vehicle, I just hate working on them.

My opinion and comments comes from my experience in this area. The only reason I don't like Ford is the way they design things. I prefer working on European cars over Ford. Ford is love hate, many people love them, others hate them. I know many people that have had great luck, and I know just as many people that have long stories about Ford. The joke in the business is don't buy one that was built on a Monday or a Friday. I've owned three renix jeeps, and they served me perfectly, 100 percent reliable, and nothing more than standard maintenance, and for many years and miles. I'd say you can't blame jeep, or renix because someone bought a severely neglected vehicle, a Ford with the same neglect would offer the same number of headaches. I would probably buy a Ford if I didn't have to work on it. And how many mechanics do you know that own Fords, few and far between. I currently can't think of any that I know.

A large part of my enjoyment in these vehicles is their reliability. I'm on my 3rd xj, and I drive my 1990 mj daily. No jeep has ever let me down in over 10 years of owning jeeps. Never not started, never broke down on the road, never left me stranded. Jeeps are one of the most reliable vehicles on the road. I wouldn't own them if they weren't reliable. And enjoy fixing the ford.

I'm a big cj fan. That scrambler is heavily modified, and will cost money the entire time you own it most likely. If you're board or lost interest in the camaro then go for it. I like them both, that body style is making a come back, everyone neglected them and they got outcast when they came out. Now a nice one is hard to find, and I like the way they look. I'd say just don't expect to pick that one up and not have to throw money at it.

parallel or perpendicular?

that's a big 10-4 good buddy.

A completely dry engine will take a little more oil than you're used to adding during an oil change also. If you put 6 quarts in the initial fill, and checked it half hour after driving, I'd just top it up, and check it again after next drive.

Very cool man, the Pioneer graphic really sets it off.

howdy Paul, if you've been around xj's and yj's then you know what to run from. Not much different than an xj, and actually the same from the doors forward.

insurance companies do not care about repair work you've done. I tried the receipt thing the one time I got hit, they said it's supposed to run, and you have to do repairs. I had about $500 in parts receipts in an old truck I fixed up to drive years ago, they wanted to give me $300 at first. They do not care about upgrades either.

You'll probably be lucky to get $1500, sorry to hear about it. These things never go well, you gotta fight the company for a while before you get anything decent.

nice work my man, you're gonna have a nice result. I'm predicting Comanche of the Month June 2014 :clapping:

D39Lm_HRfOs Sorry, had to. I like the changes, good stuff though, keep it up.

Give it up. This is getting old. :shake: Rob L. it was old 10 years ago, or is it timeless?

D39Lm_HRfOs

what

wow, what was everyone else's first thoughts when you see a guy starting an unrestrained hovering lawnmower next to his toes?

Glad you're happy, but I would advise against 0w20 or 5w20. Also remember that most oil gauges aren't all that accurate in the dash. Before you go any further, I'd back up your dash gauge with a mechanical test gauge to verify what your oil pressure really is.

bypass it

the main downside to the 4.7 is internal oiling, they have oiling issues. I've seen them apart, and they have small screens filtering very small oil passages, and these screens get clogged easily with neglected oil changes. Clogged oil passage ends in internal lubricated part failure quickly. I've seen more common timing chain and cam issues. I had a Jasper engine rep that even brought by some visual aids of these screens and passages on these engines, its like having a screen door screen on a passage about an 1/8" in diameter. iirc the jasper rep says they even redesign this on their rebuilds to avoid this problem.

an alternative to buying an a/c compressor if it is seized is an a/c bypass pulley. They sell them for just about every car now, its an idler pulley that will bolt on in place of the compressor.

it's...................colorful. :banana:

so how'd ya sleep?

sleep well tonight :wavey: :papers: :wrench:

Since you say my description sounds like yours, my advise is get your head straight. Mellow out. Even if you are high strung all day, and I still am, you gotta wind it down at night, and leave it all wherever it is. Its not easy, but when you feel your mind racing, take a deep breath, calm it down, I even used to count backwards from 100 slowly. It will take time, but once you get your crap together, things will level out, and you will sleep better.