thecodemonk

Will do! Thanks!!

Well, it's been some time and I've had no issues with starting...hot or cold. I'm confident in saying the fresh battery was everything I needed to resolve the issue. In the meantime, I'd just been daily driving it and recently went to the local club's Cabin Fever event. There was a good turnout and our usual trail had about 15 rigs on it, several were brand new to off roading and had a blast! Here's a shot of the air down spot: The trail starts off with a hill climb that leads to some beautiful views at the top! A little while later, we come to "the wall", which is a pair of rises that are fun for a lot of people (the gladiator high centered on it and ended up taking the bypass). No issues for me though! <pictures> Partway down is our favorite "flex stump". Of course, you know we had to climb it for some pictures. This stump is where I proposed to my wife, which is one of the reasons this is our favorite trail every year. We had some lunch at an old mineshaft and, at this point, we stopped remembering to take pictures and just enjoyed the trail and time together. After lunch, we went down to a creek bed that had a few small waterfalls to climb (with a nice bypass for most of the more stock rigs to enjoy while seeing what's going on in the creek). I had to use a bit of throttle on one of the waterfalls but the jeep seemed to drive fine otherwise, so I didn't think anything of it (hint: foreshadowing). After a great day on the trail, we aired up and headed out onto the road and the adventure continued! We had a pretty significant vibration in the whole truck at anything beyond 10mph. After crawling under the jeep, we noticed that the rear driveline was no longer straight. We suspect we hit it on that waterfall but we'll never know for sure. Thankfully, SYE means it's easy to pull the rear driveshaft without risking spilling fluid everywhere. ...and of course, Jeepers never go alone and we always help each other (huge thanks to Jim for helping me out). So...we pulled the rear driveshaft off and drove back home in front wheel drive. I had to stop a couple of times early on to experiment since the front auto locker was constantly engaging and making it difficult to turn. I disengaged one of the hubs, which made it easier to turn but I had to keep the steering wheel turned against the driving wheel (since it wanted to pull really hard to the opposite side of the jeep while accelerating, but returned to straight when braking). We made it the couple of hour drive home on the highway and through the city but by the time I got home, the power steering pump was leaking like a sieve. I think it was just too much constant strain for too long. I got the driveline repaired and a spare on it's way (should have done this sooner but just never got around to it...live and learn I suppose). But I suppose that gives me direction for the next upgrade. Hydro-assist steering (redhead box, PSC piston)! More to come on that in the next few weeks. In the meantime, I've had a few extra financial blessings lately and I got myself a more reliable (but still fun) daily driver so I can do some of these projects on the Jeep myself going forward without the stress of needing it running the next day to be able to drive to work and whatnot.

Yup! That’s me! Glad you’re loving it! :)

Agreed. Move the accessories back using f-body or 'vette spacing for them and there's a few options for PS pump stuff to get it out of the way and there's good room. :)

It would probably fetch more if it looked a little more done, and not like he started 20 things and only got 50% on any of them. I'd be worried he half-@$$'d a suspension bolt somewhere and end up in a wreck.

For me, it's just a tool...and like any tool, it sometimes doesn't work perfectly or needs maintenance/assistance (especially if I'm changing anything about it). Windows is my primary OS because I like to play video games in my offtime and is most compatible with most programs I use. Apple is a secondary OS for me because I also like to dabble in music production and, while most programs exist on Windows and work well enough, they work WAY better on the Macs. Linux is the OS I want to love because it appeals to my inner and outer nerd and it has real customizability. I love how efficient it can be. But very little of what I want to run...runs on linux. ChromeOS is...ok for basic functionality, but that's about it, so any of the other OS's fulfill this need and with battery life like you get in the new M1 Macbooks, ChromeOS is largely obsolete as modern laptops can do what it does and more.

Many years ago, Full Traction Suspension had something similar...the "CRC link". They no longer offer it through, I suspect because it either didn't sell well or there were some issues (such as limits on travel, like Tex06 said above).

It happened more often when the engine was hot, but it did start happening when it was colder as well lately (engine had only gotten up to 160F at the battery place). It could be...but when it does start, it starts strong...not sluggish like I normally expect when a starter is getting weak.

No picture updates today, but a minor update for posterity on an issue I've been having. Lately, I've been having "no start" issues on occasion. To the point that I am hesitant to go anywhere unless I am going to stay there for a while. The symptoms are: - Full power to all accessories - Voltage in the dash looks fine - Temperatures within range (160-195 degrees) - Starter won't turn. No click, nothing. - Occurs intermittently. - Wait 15-45 minutes and it will start up again, cranks quick, as if nothing is wrong. Well...yesterday, I was at the local "Batteries Plus" store to pickup a phone I had dropped off for a battery replacement and when I came out, the truck wouldn't start. After waiting and trying for 20 minutes, I finally called AAA. I kept trying every 5-10 minutes while I waited...what else was I going to do? Then...2 minutes before they arrived, it started up just fine. Well, they offered to test the battery anyways and we did. Sure enough...battery is bad. That's what I get for using an old used battery for the engine swap. I always assumed it was fine because voltage showed fine and the engine never struggled to start. Thankfully...I was in the right place. Got a battery right there at the store and installed it. Time will tell if that solves the issue. So...this entire time, my issues for starting may not have been with under hood temps afterall, but merely a bad battery.

LS based swap is not nearly as plug and play as people proclaim. That said, it's well supported and probably requires the least amount of fabrication compared to most other swaps.

Looks like this guy: https://www.holley.com/products/intakes/efi_manifolds/parts/300-620

So shiney!

Truly amazing!

Nah, was 900 miles for me and mileage after that.

It's $99.99/day plus tax. For three days (friday pickup, monday drop off), total cost ended up $335.11 out the door. When I only need it a 2-3 times a year, it ends up being way cheaper than owning a full size truck like that (especially considering there's no change to my insurance either).

97+ mirrors are also bigger than the 96 and earlier ones, giving added visibility.

Thanks for the correction! I'll update the post and video title. It was a blast and I can't wait to go out again!

That said, leaf spring perch welding is probably the easiest welding project there is, if you've done any welding before.

Have a friend who has serious allergies and from all the doctor visits she's gone through, we've learned that your immune system can just become overloaded over time and when it's overloaded, it can just freak out and go into overdrive. Like @JustEmptyEveryPocket said, a few days off gives your system a bit of a break to catch up, but if you return to the old habits, it will build back up and come back eventually.

Toyota engine in the MJ! I don't think I've ever heard of anyone else doing that. Awesome!

Gorgeous like the rest of your work!

Some great parts in there! Can't wait to see it all come together!

Milwaukee for me. They had the best prices and availability here when I started getting into the tools and before I had a shop, I was getting REALLY tired of pneumatic hoses or waiting for the compressor or having to get the hoses to reach, etc. I have the fuel impact (the one before they put in the bluetooth features) and its more powerful than the pneumatic impacts I had (I'm sure there's more powerful that others have, but no cord is nice). Like @Pete M said, most people will stick with the battery system they have once they pick a platform. Milwaukee has a lot of mechanics-type tools, but fewer woodworking tools than Dewalt (though the gap on both sides is closing over time). Over time, I've started looking longingly over the fence as I do more with woodworking lately, but the cost to switch is fairly high (and only goes higher over time as I continue to add more tools to the shop). I DO like being able to carry my big impact, my electric ratchet, and an electric chainsaw in the rig when on the trail. Less mess, less storage needed (no need to worry about setting up an air system) and easy to carry spare batteries.

This past weekend, I went to "Snow Bash" in Montana and had a great time. The jeep performed awesomely! I don't have my own tow rig yet, so I just rented a F250 from Enterprise. Even though the 6.2L V8 is the smallest engine option, it towed great and had no problem holding speed, even on the hills. As a note: Most trails around here, I just drive the jeep to and from the trail. Since this was a longer trip, I opted to be a bit more comfortable by putting the jeep on the trailer and tow it there and back and so this was my first time putting the jeep on the trailer in a long time...since before all of the upgrades. I found out very quickly that my jeep is WIDE. Almost too wide for the trailer (at least to fit between the rear jacks). A little spotting to make sure I squeezed on there, I strapped the jeep down and we hit the road! After an uneventful ride, we got into the hotel and passed out. The next day, we got the jeep down and over to the meetup point and hit the trail! There was plenty of snow up top, but a lot of ice at the entrance to the trail. I tried this line a few times before giving up and finding another way up. The ice was scary but seems like it was well setup to push you away from the trees. The SxS had no problem on it if they had a little speed...full size rigs were another story. Once we got a bit higher, it was all snow pack and powder with beautiful views! As we got to the top, the snow got deeper and a lot of the big tire rigs took a tougher path while I went up the main path (my wife got out and hiked to the top to film). By the top, we had lots of snow in out wheels and smiles on our faces. Groups kept stopping to chat and my wife was wanting to keep going, so we moved from group to group, often times just driving alone in between them for a bit. It was peaceful and comfortable. (this one's a bit longer and more boring, but it shows our favorite parts of the trail to drive/ride on) In the back of our heads was the rule of "never hit the trails alone", but we figured others would come along if we got stuck. And as if it were prophecy...we got stuck while trying to back down. We waited a few minutes before deciding to start hiking back down the trail to find the group behind us. Thankfully, they weren't that far behind and gave us a tug out. With a group we could follow (all of them running much bigger tires than I), we forged on. Even after airing down to 6psi (again...psi goes up as elevation goes up), we would still occasionally get stuck and when I got out to check why, it became clear. My front diff was pushing snow. You can see it a bit in this picture. The snow only got deeper going forward and I was following a jeep that was not on full size axles, so I was widening the trail as I went...occasionally sinking in and getting stuck, needing a tug forward to get me up on top of the snow again (after a couple of times, I just left the strap attached to make it easier). It wasn't long before we all got to the top and the trees and the big sky view was gorgeous! The snow at the top was extra soft. I managed not to get stuck again, but I can't say the same for the bronco scout behind me (thanks for the correction 89!). Thankfully, I was able to be a winch point for them. The rest of the trip down was uneventful...we found a whole group of others who were stuck and one of the other broncos got sucked into a hole near a pole and was so stuck, that it took two jeeps working in tandem to get him out (didn't think to grab a picture, unfortunately). After a great day on the mountain, we retired to the hotel and relaxed, planning what upgrades should be next (hint: winch and bigger tires were the top two topics). The next day after church, I noticed my trailer tires were a bit low (50 psi, instead of the full 80 psi), so I aired them up using the CO2 tank I use with the jeep. While I was doing that, my wife grabbed a few pictures of where we were parked. Montana sure is beautiful in the winter. The trip home was wonderful and uneventful. Just beautiful views and big skies.

I haven't, but my wife did. It's even on Amazon still. It was quite an experience she says (she wrote it before we got married and I read it while we were dating). It hasn't sold tons but I enjoyed reading it overall. Like grouch said, promotion is a huge factor in sales.