Comanche County

Well I got back to the MJ today. With the help of my brother I removed the NP 231 and the Ax-15. After pushing and pulling I realized I forgot the two little flex plate bolts, then the transmission fell right out. Pretty greasy! It's nice to not have to jack the truck up to do this stuff. I can sit up under it and do this - :waving: A close up shot of the greasy AX-15 and the flywheel. Tomorrow I'll have the flywheel reground for the new Rhino clutch that's going it. I'd really like to have an externally slaved bell housing but that may have to wait. I'll start to look but if I don't find one in a few days then I'll stick with the internal version, --- as much as I despise it. Here's a pic of the old 231 (on the right) that came out of it and the NV 241J (on the left) that will replace it. The 241 is much beefier. Ah, my long arms are still sitting there too... :drool: Be patient my MJ... :( Its a 4:1 version of the 241J. I'm not sure if this is the Rubicon case or not. But it'll work for me. :yes: Its got an electronic speed sensor, perhaps its for a VIC? Not that the Manche has one, plus I know what gear I'm in anyway. Ok, so once I get the flywheel reground, and external bell housing (maybe), and get the transmission and transfer case put back it, it will be on to the long arms - hopefully.

Ouch! That left a mark! :eek: I hope the PO did the proper thing and chain-sawed that tree into toothpicks for causing that damage. Certainly fixable.

Ah, Death WOBBLE, Word of advice, start with the simple stuff before you start replacing parts. First thing....if its connected to the front axle and has a bolt, put a wrench on it and make sure its properly tightened. I mean both ends of the track bar, the control arms, steering stabilizer, ball joints, shocks, drag link and tie rod, check everything. :smart: Drive it, see if it still has the shakes. Put a jack under the axle and jack the tire off the ground while watching for movement in the ball joints. You might be able to check this with a little bit of leverage from a crow bar, but if you see any movement at all at the ball joint when the weight of the vehicle comes off the tire then they are probably bad. Then do the tape measure alignment, you can do everything an alignment shop can do. Of course, they'll give you a snazzy print out with the camber, caster and toe measurements, but then again after I paid $69 bucks once I never went back to a shop again. Its fairly easy, follow the link: http://gojeep.willyshotrod.com/HowtoAlignment.htm There's a ton of posts here on DW, just use the search dude, a lot of guys including me have been down the DW road. :fs1: It could be something simple like a loose track bar, or something that may take a while to figure out.

Well I did it again...another Jeep is taking away from my MJ. :doh: I bought another 5.9 Limited Grand Cherokee, this time in Deep Slate. I couldn't resist, its got 150K and the interior is showroom fresh - it even still smells new! Plus its got the three skid plate (front, t-case, gas tank) option that my white 5.9 doesn't have. :banana: I got a great deal on it because the PO wrecked the front. It'll need a fender, hood, front cross member, and headlight buckets. So this will be my new DD and I'm selling the white 5.9 and the 96 XJ ASAP! I'll get these on the classified section soon for a cc.com special! So I start drilling out spotwelds to see how bad the damage is and I look over to the MJ all sitting lonely. I'm sure it's feeling a little envious and I swore I could see a tear coming down from the headlight,,,(could have been the light rain), but I knew I hurt its feelings, so I went over to smooth things over. I promised the MJ I'd get back to it tomorrow! ;) We are kinda close after all.... :D Then I looked up and got a sign! A sign from above that I should get back to work on the MJ and stop messing with these other dumb jeeps. A pot o' MJ at the end of the rainbow!

Thanks dude... :cheers:

Great build you've got going, can't wait for the finished product... :popcorn:

So here's the worst, most ill placed CC intro ever, but that made my day! (grumble, stupid addicting Lost, grumble) Welcome Brother!

:popcorn: It is a special edition texas air locker. aka full hot air Yep, exactly 101F worth of hot air, so I'm sitting inside watching episodes of Lost with the AC on full blast. :brows:

Got the new ARB for the front in last week....and finally dropped off the front D44 at Fort Worth Gear and Axle to get the gears set up. Here's everything it came with: Next is to remove the front D30 and get the long arms set up,,,,that'll probably take me a while...Thanks for staying tuned! :thumbsup:

yeah, I couldn't afford one of those anyway....just dreaming. ;)

Sometimes us Jeepers are our own worst enemy. Why do we have to be so serious??? :fs1: I used to be a Jeep Snob, then I found religion... :no: And so tonight I pray to the Jeep Gods to grant me more understanding and acceptance of lesser Jeeps than my MJ, I'm also going to pray that other Jeepers see the light and recognize the error of their ways and sell all of their non-jeep vehicles and of course buy MJs as replacements - and until they do, I promise not to judge them for it. In addition, I will ask the Jeep Gods to align the planets and grant me my wish to drive my MJ to Moab for next years Easter Jeep Safari. I'm also going to pray that I win the lottery, not because I want the money, but because I wish to start a Jeep school to teach poorer inner city youth about the legacy of the Jeep brand (what else do they need?), With the money I'd also buy a fleet of specially designed winter Jeeps, that way if there's another Typhoid epidemic in Nome, Alaska in the dead of winter some poor sap doesn't have to ride a freakin dog sled for 1,000 miles to save people - he'll have a nice warm Jeep to ride in. In closing, I'm also going to pray to the Jeep gods to rid the ocean of its salt content, because it causes really bad corrosion and fish don't need salt anyway. :thumbsup:

The Dodge Power Wagon is the obvious first choice! Possibly the Ford Raptor if you don't need the hauling and tow capacity,,,,the only two full size trucks I'd consider. At least we agree on MJs though, :cheers:

Check out the review of the 2011 Grand in the Aug issue of Four Wheeler. Its a good article that sheds some light on the new Grands. I despise the IFS but then again its meant to compete with other luxury 4x4s. Then there's the Quadra Drive II system which is the cats meow from what I've read. Much better that the old Quadra Trac. The new grand also has airbags so you can lift the vehicle on demand...not that it turns into a super buggy but it would be a nice thing to have on a Jeep that nice. Also the front air damn is made to be easily removed by hand for offroading. I thought the commercial was awesome btw.

A good cigar is never pissing away money! :chillin: I'm slowly working through a box of Onyx beauties at the moment....

Another option just for fyi are the rear sway bar links for a 95' F350, they are almost two inches longer, a little beefier, and have the correct bend. I used them on a 4" lifted XJ.

There was a post/poll on rear bumpers recently. viewtopic.php?f=3&t=23633&start=30 I've seen two types that I thought were stock rear bumpers; the type with plastic end caps and a version without the end caps that extended all the way to both sides of the tail lights.

Since I didn't pay anything for it I'd probably give it away to someone who had a genuine need for parts or a collector. No scrapers though!

Thanks, I try to do the best with what I have. I just got a used mig welder, once I'm better at welding then I hope to make some great improvements. The guys on this forum have really done some awesome work and I'll be plagiarizing a lot of their ideas. I might consider addressing the paint and body after the drive train is squared away. If I do, I'd like to get a straight bed and tailgate though. I bashed my tailgate when I got caught on a steep hill collecting firewood and the bed rails are all dented up.

Thanks CW, you paved the way for me. :cheers:

I have no idea how it got there. This isn't anywhere close to a 'paved' road. It was by an old abandoned house that is at least as old back in the flood plain on Corps of Engineer land. Could have been my grandfathers old place, he was actually born somewhere in the vicinity.

I meet a guy recently while he was driving his Model T rat rod,,,I'll try to get the pic off my camera later. Anyway it got me thinking about one out in the woods that I remember from 17 years ago in one of our old hunting haunts. Sure enough I went out there to see if it was still there and of course it was. It was so buried in the dirt and overgrowth I'd say it may have been sitting there 30, 40 years or more. I conned my brother into pulling it out this morning. We got it out of the dirt by pulling it upward with a Come-Along, then we heaved it in the back of Dad's old F250. It was upside down and had roots growing threw the door windows, or where they used to be.... Here's some pics of it where it laid, as we cleaned the brush out, and finally at the house. It was too dang hot to do this though, I'm a little smoked. Once we got it out, I realized there's really not a lot of it left to do anything with, but who knows...I feel like I rescued a little piece of Americana so I'm happy. Plus, I'm thinking of a rat crawler some day...this on a CJ5 frame (just kinda thinking out loud). Not sure what I'm going to do with it. I know nothing about these. I think its early 20s or late teens. Check out the Master Cylinder: I even got one of the fenders:

You mean Ali land...

Yep, the original Gone is 60 Seconds, Bullitt of course, and one I forgot the name of: its Deniro in Amsterdam I think, The Heist maybe...

Got the new JKS Shackles in, so it was time to swap out the rear axle: The old ones contain most of the rust that was on this truck...its a Colorado truck so its practically rust free, although when I was under it today I noticed a line of rust behind the cab at the bottom in between the bed and the cab. :fs1: I also had to cut 3 of the 6 leaf/shackle bolts with an angle grinder. They were seized to the inner metal bushing. You can see on in the pic.... It was frrreeeaakkin' hot! Some shade was in order: Here's a shot of me with the back end up, had to get it up pretty high, just for reference, I'm 6'2"....dang I'm getting a wee bit hefty... New steel brake line for the rear: Got the 8.8 out finally. I have to admit, I've had help from my brother and my neighbors on this. I am just really not able to physically do this anymore. I can, but I am moving really slow, not to mention the temperature is touching 95F. I could have swapped the entire drivetrain and both axles in an afternoon before my injury but now I am barely getting around. Without help I knew it would be almost impossible. Its why I went with the tires and springs already on the axle, that way I could just roll it under. A year ago I would have just muscled a 300 lb axle in place,,,,,now, not so much. :shake: By the end of the day yesterday I got the new D44, springs and 35's sitting under the MJ. Today, I finished tightening the spring bolts, swapped out the 8.8 driveshaft flange, hooked up the brakes and bled em, and got the shocks installed. Ah ha! This MJ D44 is back where it belongs - under another MJ - Mine!!!!,,,,,(mad laughter) :banana: I've kept the brake proportioning valve. I guess I may remove it one day but I figure if it works then I'll leave it. I'm sort of - of that mindset anyway. I won't cut the bed or the rear flares, I scoured the JY last year searching for all the correct vacuum hoses....I just want to keep things either stock or easily removed and placed back to stock without screwing something up. I opted for Motion's SOA kit vs welding on new perches. It fit like a glove and gives me the option of using the D44 sprung under, or in another future MJ. When I got everything hooked up out back I just couldn't resist taking out the MJ. So I did a little 2WD trip up to Proctor lake, (right up the road) and snapped a couple of shots with the MJ on a side of a hill. The front is still 3.73s and the new 44 in back has 4.56s, so there was no 4x4 wheeling. I'm pretty happy the flex of the new 5 leaf pack: Man, I really need to fix that dang dent in the passenger door :shake: This was the last shot, then I called it a night...I love this truck. :yes: Next I'm going to remove the Transfer case and transmission, get the flywheel reground for the new Rhino clutch and swap in the NP 241J. After that, it'll be the Rock Krawler long arms:

I remember the octane mixing question from high school science. According to my teacher you could mix it exactly like you describe - equal amounts of a low and high result in a mixture right the middle. I think I'll just keep pumping the good stuff. I already get 17.5-18 on a long trip and I average 16.8 with city and country driving. Of course, I'm easy on the skinny peddle (most of the time). :thumbsup: Thanks for the replies!