terrawombat

I voted, but let me tell you, it was difficult getting to the polling place. I tripped on my 20 second walk across the street to the church. It would have been pretty pathetic if I didn't get out and vote considering how convenient it was. Although I did have a weird encounter while voting. The coded card they gave me apparently wasn't being read in the scanner while I was casting my votes. It began to beep and flash to signify an error. The election officials took it rather seriously and initially thought I was up to no good and they asked me to step away from the booth. Turns out the card wasn't inserted all the way into the reader and that was causing the error. It looks as though my attempt to skew the election results failed...

Thanks! It was an interesting journey filled with Monster energy drinks and head-banging music to keep me awake. Did I also mention that I made the whole trip with my best friend - my 3 year old Siberian Husky? He had his head out the window the entire way there and back.

You certainly found a fine specimen! Congrats!

Nothing much to update on this guy. I removed the carpet a couple months ago, cleaned and sprayed it with a carpet dye to bring it back to its original color. It worked extremely well and took only two coats. While the carpet was out, I decided to pull the dash out and see if I could tackle the water leakage I have coming through the firewall, which is what caused my carpet to become so discolored in the first place. Thought I had it after testing with a garden hose, but Hurricane Sandy left a big puddle in the drivers side floor pan...back to the drawing board. Here are some before and after of the carpet dye treatment: Before: After: Dye: I have been driving back and forth to NJ in this rig just about every weekend to continue cleaning up my old house and shop. My old roommates all moved out and the house is likely going to be demolished by the owner since its repairs exceed the value of the home. My father has asked me to clean out my old shop because he wants to use it to store his farm equipment in the winter, which is a much better use than storing my tools, equipment and heaping pile of old Jeep parts. Since I've become so accustomed to the fuel mileage on my new VW TDI (48-50MPG), I'm a little bitter when I fill up the tank on the MJ twice each weekend to only muster 19-20MPG. To keep the theme of this build as a true all-around daily driver I have decided to yank the 4.0L I6 and drop in a 4-cylinder diesel (can you tell I have the diesel itch?). I'm still in the planning and sourcing phases of the diesel idea, but the idea is to keep my current AX-15 and make an adapter plate to mate to the diesel engine I eventually go with. My AX-15, although only a measly 2WD version, was replaced by the previous, previous owner and has somewhere around 15-20K miles on it. Hopefully within the next month I should have an update on which engine I'm going with, how much it's going to run and where to source it from. I don't think I'm going to go with a diesel engine from North America and I'm likely going to have one imported since there are just so many more options overseas, especially in the size and power range I'm looking for.

I can think of at least five Jeeps I've attempted to adjust the tie rod and drag links to correct steering issues. All five required replacement of all components. It's a nice design when it works as it makes it incredibly easy to do the alignment but it doesn't take long for water, sand, salt, mud, and dirt to get into the gap in the adjustment sleeves and in between the low profile fine threads of the TRE's.

If you're going through this much trouble then I would highly recommend going over the POR-15 with Chassis Coat. The POR-15 will look like garbage in about a year and you'll be kicking yourself for not going over it. I put PO-15 on the frame of a YJ and assumed it would be shaded from UV with the body on top. Nope - about a year of daily driving and the whole frame turned chalky. Doesn't affect the rust preventative properties, but it looked like crap.

Here is another company that makes adapter kits for the VW TDI engines: http://www.acmeadapters.com/store_engine.php They makes kits to mount up to transmission on the Suzuki Samari/Sidekick, Geo Tracker, and the 4-cylinder turbo version of the Toyota pickup.

I wouldn't mind buying their kit either...if it wasn't $2,600

The VW's that this little 1.9L diesel is in weighs about the same (or more) than most MJs. I have a 2002 VW Golf TDI with the 1.9L motor in question and it has no problem pulling my 3,250 lb vehicle around...while pulling 46-48MPG on the highway and 42-44MPG around town. This engine is on my short list of diesels I want to replace my aging 4.0L in my '92. Biggest issue is mating up a transmission. This is normally a transverse-mounted engine, but will need to be converted to longitudinal. As you can see by the article that was posted, it's going to require a hefty chunk of CNC'ed aluminum, which is going to cost some big bucks unless bought in large quantities.

Nah, what other thread are you posting in? Probably more appropriate than this one. Neat read, though. The biggest issue and expense is mating a transmission to the 1.9L VW TDI since it's normally a transversely-mounted engine. That CNC'ed piece that HPA motorsports made looks like some serious $$$.

I think your weights are a little on the low side. 2,900 may be in the ballpark for a shortbed 2WD w/2.5L, but pretty sure the 4WD's are a couple hundo more. Either way, the a 1.9L VW TDI would be a good fit, although I'd personally stay away from the '04 and newer ones as they had to make changes to the engine for new US diesel emissions which hurt the MPGs. '99-'03 1.9L TDI (ALH is the code) would be your best bet. The availability and price of the 1.9L VW TDI is going to be a lot more attractive than, say, a 3.9L Cummins 4BT and 2.8L VM Motori, but the latter two engines will be more adaptable to the MJ/XJ engine bay.

Not without serious engine, turbo, fuel, and engine management modifications. Stock is 90hp, 155ft/lbs of torque. You can get to 150hp, 275ft/lbs of torque pretty easily (and not be in over your head budget-wise) and that would be wayyyy more than enough. Don't let the low horsepower numbers scare you off. HP isn't everything and torque is way more fun!

Nothing exciting to report in MD. My parents in NJ got away relatively easy, all things considered. They found one of their greenhouses in the cow pasture a few hundred feet away from where it originally sat. Think they lost some siding on the house and some damage to the roof on the machine shed. Compared to what happened down at the Jersey Shore, they came away lucky.

The VW 1.9L would likely produce marginally better fuel mileage. I have an '02 VW TDI Golf with the 1.9L and can squeak out 46-48MPG with all highway driving. Shortbed 2WD MJs actually weigh in roughly the same as my Golf TDI. The biggest difference between the two is aerodynamics. The MJ is a brick with a lot of ground clearance whereas the VW is much lower and has some aerodynamic qualities to it. I wouldn't expect 45+MPG with a VW 1.9L in an MJ, but I don't think 38-42MPG would be hard to achieve. I'm currently in the process of weighing all diesel engine options to transplant into my aging 4.0L in my 1992 since I'm making a lot of trips between MD and NJ (300 miles round trip). The VW 1.9L ranks up in the top 3 for diesel engine choices.

Actually, I believe that's the same MJ that made it into their October newsletter: http://www.rockauto.com/Newsletter/index.html (This link will probably take you to the November newsletter after today). I don't recognize that MJ being a member's rig.

We didn't get too much other than some pretty strong wind gusts. Lost a big brand on one of my older trees and it conveniently fell directly on the cable line...right before MNF kickoff....oh well looked like a boring game, anyway.] Didn't even lose power...not even a flicker. Basement stayed relatively dry - pump had no problem keeping up. From the pictures I have seen of other areas we got away unscathed.

Let's hope. Prepare for the worst, expect the best.

When I moved from the relatively hurricane-free state of NJ to MD, my primary goal was to obtain a generator that could not only get me up and running,but could basically power my whole house. Fortunately, my father had an old military surplus generator that he hadn't used in decades and told me if I could move it, I could have it. Lugged that pig down to MD, set it up on the property,but haven't been able to get it to run quite right. It'll run the bare essentials, but I don't trust it to stay running. Pretty sure it needs a good overhaul which I have planned for this winter. My plan is to be the house in the neighborhood with all the lights on when the power's down. You have to understand that the area this storm is going to hit is not at all prepared for the potential damage this is going to cause. It may not be a big storm in the sense that you're used to, but the entire infrastructure of New England is not built to withstand the types of winds and flooding that is going to occur. Look at what happens when the southern states get even a few inches of snow. The entire state shuts down because there is just no way to deal with it. The infrastructure isn't there to manage it. I was in Virginia a few years ago when they got a "blizzard". Businesses shut down for a week because there was no way to plow the parking lots. This same amount of snow would have been another winter day for anyone in New England.

The generator situation by me is almost comical. You would almost think that the Lowe's and HD are Apple stores and the newest iGadget just came out with the people camped out waiting to get their hands on a generator. The Lowe's by me is doing it more methodical (and better, in my opinion) where they have a waiting list with phone numbers and will give you a call when their latest shipment comes in and will give you the opportunity to get a generator. The HD is a free for all - first come, first serve...apparently the cops were called this morning to keep the peace. I tried my luck at both stores this morning, but left empty-handed. I was driving up to NJ to see my folks this weekend, anyway, and they had a spare 2,000 watt portable they were willing to part with. That'll be enough to keep my sump pump and fridge running. Stocked up on flashlights and batteries and got enough canned goods to last me until next week. Stove is propane and filled up several jugs and have plenty of water to keep me going for a while. I'm on town water, but the pumping station is located right on the water and their backup generator is on the lowest spot on their plot of land...

Everyone in the mid-Atlantic prepared? I don't expect it to be too damaging, but I think it's going to leave us without power for a bit and we'll have flooding in some areas. I'm a little bummed that I won't be able to get my 20kW army surplus generator up and running and tied into the house in time. Oh well, next hurriance :D

No, it will not fit without significant modification.

He did say it was optional on the off-road package. I can buy that seeing as how I have come across a couple of MJs in the yard that had what looked to be a stock D44 underneath but they were not metric or big ton packages.

What was the optional off-road package he was speaking of? Don't think I'm familiar with that one.

This might get you started... https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BzTWL2t-sbKdNkRCQ056QUJZMVk

I could probably build my own garage with the number of Wix oil filters I have. Always buy 2 or 3 with every Rock Auto order...