Smokeyyank

I had thought about snagging one of these a while back. The issue was the doors can be a real pain with car seats. My brother in law has one, he loves it but hates dealing with the car seat. Once the kid gets to forward facing not an issue. My father in law did offer her their 13 rav4 for cheap but she's not too keen on it. Honestly for her it would be great but we all know how stubborn women can be....

Honestly, not a fan of subis at all. My grand parents have a forester and it's already been through two engines. Also wife want's something that sits up high.

So the wifes KJ is getting to the point of me being sick of working on it and us just needing a solid family vehicle. I've been looking around and just wanted to here some feedback. Originally we had thought about a JK but I have 0 faith in newer jeep these days. And for the cost it's just ridiculous. So here's what we are looking for -Sub 20k, (I also have a dealers license so can pick up vehicles at auction for cheaper) -Must be 4wd -2010 or newer -Prefer under 100k -4 doors -No Ford products I've been considering a -2010-2012 4runner -13-15Chevy traverse -13-15 -Chevy equionox -2013-15 GMC Terrian -2010-13 Highlander Any other suggestions?

I don't personally, but a few NAXJA guys have used it and don't have issues.

Yeah and that is what I'm thinking. I know even thought a WJ is still a little heavy it's not full psi on E load heavy.

You can check out monstaliner as well. Or if you don;t want the texture there's duraback https://www.durabakcompany.com/pages/colors I'll eventually duraback my WJ. I don't like the textured look but that's just me.

Honestly, I haven't checked. My guess is they are probably around 35psi.

Replaced all the steering this past weekend. The TRE's were in worse shape than I thought. They had 0 resistance when it came to moving them around. Also found one of the control arms was a little loose so tightened that up along with the track bar. I also corrected some issue with the steering stabilizer. I went with the MOOG trail boss and it didn't have all the correct hardware when I put it in. A lot less noise on the road but still not the smoothest. I will admit some of the roads around here are really bumpy and most of the time it's not a bad ride but fn a it's loud compared to my MJ, and that's stock for the most part with stuff that hasn't been replaced in I don't even know how many years. I'm going to air down the tires a little as I think that is another thing causing some issues. I'm running load E which is overkill (I know, but wanted 10 ply tires) and I think I need a little more cushion and not as much air. I also started to finish up some of the stereo. I bought all new speakers, nothing special just some basic Kickers. Only thin I really changed was I put 3.5" in the dash vs the stock size. Few little cuts but they fit just fine. I'm not happy with the way to deck looks though. I moved up to a double din and the fitment is garbage. I'll take a pic later but it just looks terrible. Old vs New My "helper" for the day

Diy, if you want something that is truly not going to kill the approach angle you'll need to hack out the cross memeber up front. Id just get some fab mounting brackets and build it from there. Or http://www.boostwerksengineering.com/BWE-Comp-Mount_p_14.html Paying $800+ for a Front bumper is asinine.

Nice build! Love poking through these and seeing where they start and finish!

I'm still working through morning coffee...... but IIRC the 760 is going to be the bigger ujoiunt that was on 96+. You can't move up to them unless you have swapped the shafts as well. Which now would be the time to ditch the CAD if you have it.

Pretty sure he asking about swapping the engine and tranny and leaving the body alone.

Not really. The 4.0 is obviously a great motor but the 42re tranny sucks but they are easy and cheap to rebuild and you can put a shift kit that fixes most of their issues. Biggest fault really is the 4.0 isn't the best choice for a WJ. The 4.7 on the other hand plenty of power for a WJ but not the friendliest engine to work on and they have their issues. But they have a way better tranny, 545rfe, and the quadradrive is a moot point since you can swap in a 242. You can also look for a E53 (X5 from BMW) if you want something a little bigger. if you can find one with the 3.0 those are great engines. I'd avoid the v8's, they aren't terrible and their biggest fault is the timing chain guides, DIY job but very involved. I had a 4.6is for a few years and like a typical BMW was amazing to drive. Going 100 felt like nothing and it just holds the road. Wagons are going to be tough to find. There aren't that many and are big with the roundel crowd.

It should be having "play" there. It's the adjustment to tighten up the steering. Should be a hex head adjustment. It's not bolt on, when I had it on my XJ I had to tap a bracket and modify some things. Nothing crazy though.

If you are getting too much play then your box might be failing. You can adjust it to tighten it up but might just need to replace the entire steering gear. As for the EVO that was an option on 96 zj's IIRC. If your rig is stock or close to stock I would not venture down that rabbit hole. If you want to improve the stock set up Durango box and WJ pump are a great upgrade

You probably just need to freshen up the steering in general. Have you replaced the TRE's or anything else? Your box and pump might also be giving up the ghost. No need to run a ram assist on a stock rig...ever.

I'd say anything after 07 is when it really started to become the issue of car manufactures making vehicles harder to work on for the average Joe who can turn a wrench on the weekend. Down turn in economy and the need to create and retain jobs along with cutting cost was a major issue. Manufactures have made it to where you either needs specialty tools to do the work or some much computer aided diagnostic equipment it makes it so ineffective cost wise to DIY compared to taking it to the dealer/shop. It's the reason I sought out a WJ. For me it was one of the last "Jeeps" made. When it comes to parts, honestly BMW is probably one of the better ones from my experience, (other than older jeep and GM) most everything is still made in Germany, parts aren't that expensive compared to most american ones but they are labor intensive to work on and use too much plastic. Japenese cars I think have the highest cost of parts, true you don't replace them as often but when you do it's a pain and not cheap. I'd avoid anything ford like the plauge, same with VW. GM has their ups and downs. If I need a good daily that will see snow, I'd go XJ hands down. If I was looking for a car an old E30 or E36 is an awesome choice IMHO. Not only a blast to drive but easy to work on and DIY friendly. Yes, they are going to need some love but truthfully the best car I ever worked on was my old e30. Picked it up cheap, fixed it up and loved to drive it. There's a reason the model coined the term "ultimate driving machine". Civics are just too bland for me. Yeah they work but you lose part of your soul.....

I love my daughter and glad she is in my life, granted she's 2 so doesn't really know the difference between today and tomorrow. To me though its just another hallmark holiday. Theres still 364 other days in a year to show you care, love and respect not only your family but others. If you can only find 1 day a year to do that well you probably suck. My wife has made me grown to hate mothers day because it always has to be some overboard elaborate b.s. between a "gift" and the other Shenanagins that go with it. Me, I'm fine just having some pizza, beer and a wrench in my hand. So basically a normal weekend. Anywho, hope you all have a great day!

I'd check the ground for the deck

Took the WJ on a road trip last weekend for a wedding down to Westcliffe, CO. Thing drives great, the 4.7HO has so much power it's awesome. I need to replace my steering as the TRE's are shot. I had some DW and traced down a loose bolt on the track bar, but after looking at the TRE's they are toast. Ventured out on a little dirt.

I'm not familiar with the WK. I know on the WJ you can run the 08+ intake and it helps. It was a difference in the runner design that flowed better at lower RPM. I was thinking about doing it on my WJ but I had already spent too much on my junk.

Bass blockers might be able to help Have you goofed around with the EQ settings to make sure nothing was out of whack?

That's a sexy, great looking truck!

If I was attempting a decent rattle can job, I'd sand with 220 (possibly lower depending on how well the 220 was doing) really just enough to scuff off the old junk and have a smooth surface. I'd completely skip body work if I was rattle canning because If I'm going through that much trouble I'm doing the rest of the paint correctly. Feel it would be like building a bad @$$ race car and putting some chrome cholo spokes on it. But I digress...... Lay down a good amount of primer, filling primer first 220-400, then sand, then more filling primer, sand again 400-800, base primer, block sand with 1000-2000. Once it was prepped dedicate a clean space to spray color ( you can make a DIY booth, really just need some plastic to go around and wet the floor to control dust) clean the surface with a tackcloth and tar remover, paint it light to medium coats building up to total 4-6 coats, If you have any runs you can wetsand but if you're laying down light coats you should hopefully avoid that. Let it dry, go back over with tackcloth, lay down clear in light to medium coats building as you go. Honestly, I'd do proper prep and a single stage paint if you really want it to look nice AND last. Rattle can while not terrible just isn't going to last. And spraying with a HVLP gun is a lot easier. https://www.eastwood.com/paints/automotive-finishes/colors/single-stage-urethane.html Single stage is a lot more forgiving than a standard 2 stage and will hold up better than rattle can. Just my 2 cents

Easiest and cheapest for removing any old stickers or decals is one of these https://www.amazon.com/Follex-ERW-Decal-Eraser-Wheel/dp/B00BMU9CEM Sanding is sanding, if it's just rattle can it's not going to give you a hard time. Depending on the condition of the clear will really be the tell on how difficult it will be to sand. Guessing since he sprayed over it it's probably almost non existent anyways. Make sure you're not just blasting away the old paint with 80 grit. You're going to create a bunch of swirls and then will need to use a heavy fill primer so your final paint doesn't look like sh*t. You should be building your sanding, i.e start with 220 and work up to 2k. There will be primer and bondo fills mixed in there as well. Aircraft remover is amazing at stripping paint and will take it to bare metal quick. But you need to be able to get it neutralized and sealed quick as well, if not you're going to have rust issues. A quality paint job is 90% in quality prep. Prep like crap, paint will look like crap. This is also going with a 1/2 stage. If your just going to monstaline it whole different process.