500 MJ

Really...? Not having seen the underside of the truck...That is in about the same shape as my '88 was when I got it. Yours is a little worse as far as the bed rust goes, but mine was savable and I think this one is too. Fenders and doors are easily replaced with rust free ones and if you go the LKQ Rockford route they are not that expensive either. Then you are left with some TIG welding of patch panels on the rockers, cab corners and box and it will come out looking better than you would have dreamed. I'd say $800 and a buddies TIG welder saves that truck's body from what I've seen in these pics. I bent my rocker patch panels on a brake and my cab corners were in good enough shape to keep. If yours are shot though, get creative. If you can't find MJ corners then see what else you can hack off of another vehicle in the yard to make it work. Sheet metal work is some of my favorite stuff to do! It just depends on if you want to put the money / time into it or not...

Tell me about it. I drive one every day, my company car. It gets around good but it needs some work, I inherited it that way. Also I'm not very impressed with the interior. Paint is chipping off of the plastic on the inside door handles and the little shroud around the button for the sunroof broke off when I pushed the button one day. :ack: Not too fond of the traction control either. I can turn it off by putting the auto trans in First, but there is no way to turn off the traction control if I wanted to in Reverse. I've had issues with this already trying to park on the snow covered grass of the railroad right of ways and then get back out... :rant: All in all, the Cobalt does get me around everyday quite well, but I don't think I'll ever buy one for myself.

Thanks for everything so far guys. Ford was one of the brands I was looking into at one time, just never really followed through with it. All these little tips about VW timing belts and fuel pumps are good things to know. Keep 'em coming please!

Hey Guys, Yes its true. I'm looking at going out and getting myself a car. No need to worry though, since both of the MJs are bought and paid for, they will be staying put. ;) I've been looking into the Volkswagon Jetta TDI market since I took a ride in my buddy's TDI this summer. Very well put together car and I like the thought of having the TDI for looking farther down the line for where we all know the petroleum market will someday end up... Also looking at the Volkswagon Golf. My parents have a Subaru Forester and a Honda Accord, both are also cars that I've come to respect and enjoy driving when I am home. They both have their place and preferred type of weather to drive in, but I could also see myself in one of them someday... Then there is the...Liberty. Yah I said it, I would only opt for the TDI (edit - CRD) though if I were to cross over to the world of Jeep IFS. Also, I do believe that the Grand Cherokee was offered with a TDI (edit - CRD) at one point as well? Not really too interested in the Jeep Grand Cherokees or a Cherokee because I really wouldn't be gaining what I am out to accomplish by getting one of them, and I KNOW that I would not be able to just leave it as it is, I would modify is somehow sooner or later...I've got enough projects with the MJs so far, don't need another one. I haven't really looked into the domestic market much for cars. From what I've seen of them in the last 5-10 years, I'm not really impressed. I think that they do leave much to be desired when compared to the "foreign" counterparts. Quality of craftsmanship is what I'm after most and too many of the domestic offerings seem to have WAY too many afterthoughts for me to be satisfied with their designs... :dunno: So far this is about all I've looked into. I've never owned a car, always been a pickup or the one Cherokee that I had. Like most of you guys out there, I would like to maintain my own vehicle, so something that is easy to work with/on is desired. I really want something that is going to be good on gas too, or what I consider good on gas, somewhere at or above 30 MPG. I'm about 6'3" tall and 200 lbs, so something that can handle a good sized frame would be a must. I'll be buying this for a highway cruiser and something that I can haul a good amount of stuff in. Right now I'm not married (going to happen soon though) and have no kids to tote around. So its just me and the girlfriend and all our stuff. She has a Border Collie and I really hope to get a Beagle soon. For this reason I'm thinking a hatchback would really work out well...? I guess this is just a whole new world to me, never looked at buying a car before. Any guidance is appreciated. Thanks, - Brent

Well... I beg to differ. I've had good success with removing Tie Rod ends this way and re-using them. If you do it correctly and keep the tool off of the boot, you can even re-use the boot. I've tried it the way you guys describe and it wasn't a fun experience. You can do it your way, I'll do it mine. Regardless...these rod ends were all trash to me so I got them off of there and threw them away anyway...

Hey Drew :wavey:

Looks Good :clapping:

The Janesville one isn't the same way. It's the old All-Star Auto Parts. You call them.. they pull the stuff for you. :(

Congrats Willy! I like the color of your truck the most :yes:

We sure made our presence known didn't we! :clapping: I had so much fun at this LKQ that I am thinking about scooting down to the Janesville one, probably sometime in March...and there still are some things that I would have liked to grab but didn't have the room for at Rockford. 2101 Beloit Avenue Janesville, WI 53546

We filled up wheelbarrows with alot of junk from a yard that has alot of junk in it. ;) I got: Rubber/steel clutch line All of the headlight bezels & trims I could find Radio Dash clock Jeep emblems I also traded Pat and Rob for some stuff that I've been needing, filled up my bed for the ride home with that stuff. It was a good haul all in all, I had a good time and finally got to put some faces to some names of you guys.

...Roger has a crush on you!!!! Awwwww... :teehee:

Should have cleaned it before the trip. Good luck with selling it mang. Rob L. Whats a mang? :fool: I got home and my bed was empty, must not have tied things down good enough. J/K - I don't know where I'm going to put all of this stuff... :rotfl2:

Out the door and southeast bound, see you all in a few.

The '88 is loaded up and ready to roll, I took it for a "knock the rust off the rotors" test drive tonight and it rode rough as ever...See you guys in the mornin'!

Well, I still haven't gotten the water pump put in the '90 yet, mostly because my lazy butt never got around to doing it this week and I was always getting home from work when it was dark or close to dark out. So, it looks like I gotta get the key from the landlord to the pole barn out back so I can go fire up the '88 and take it for a drive tonight to make sure its ready for the trip tomorrow ;)

Isn't Sunday the Superbowl? :hmm: I've got plans to head over to the neighbors already for it, cooking up a batch of my broccoli and cheddar soup :yes:

Could have at least washed the old '88 before you parked it... :roll: Glad to see you've got yourself a nice one now...

So who else is going to be looking for stuff? Don't tell me I'm the only one... :eek:

Current and only (as I bought them - see my sig for updates): 1988 SWB 4.0L/BA-10/D35 [3.07] 2WD - Base Trim, Dark Blue Exterior/Dark Blue Interior 1990 SWB 4.0L/AW4/D35 [3.55] 2WD - Base Trim, White Exterior/Gray Interior edit: I forgot this one.Mmy Dad and I bought it for parts, sadly it was too far gone to bring back. It lives on though, if it weren't for this one, neither of my trucks would be where they are today and my Dad's Willy's Pickup project would still be without a front axle - we took every part off of it we could. 1990 LWB 4.0L/AX-15/NP-231/D30/D35 [3.07] 4WD - Pioneer Trim, Light Blue Exterior/Gray Interior

:doh: Yah, definitely looking for a steering box, don't need anything to do with the tie rods... Good to know that there was a Renix Manual setup there, hopefully it still is there... I also came across a bumper I have that I don't need, its Gray and comes with matching Gray end caps and some rusty bumper brackets if anyone needs it - FREE ...and I remembered that I also will be on the prowl for a V8 ZJ Sway Bar while we are there...

Its not an assembly, just the draglink piece below the adjustment sleeve...

Ok, Here is what I'm going to be looking for when I'm at the j'yard with yalls this weekend... - ZJ Steering Gear - to replace my Blue MJ's Steering Gear (Apparently these are less turns lock to lock...?) - XJ/MJ OEM Front Fenders (...and maybe Header Panel) - I'm looking for a set of these that are CLEAN, the paint 'em and go kind... - Any External Slaved AX-15 - for obvious reasons, I'm looking to grab the whole setup, as are most of you guys... - Any ?Renix? XJ/MJ WITHOUT air conditioning. I'm looking to grab all of the non-A/C parts and pieces off of it so I can get rid of the A/C on my '90, doesn't work anyway. - Any Renix Era XJ/MJ with a manual trans to rob all of the missing parts off of for my automatic to manual swap on my '90. - An OEM radio from an XJ/MJ preferably with a tape deck. - Pre-HO Bezels, trims and 10 slot chrome grilles :yes: for the header panels (Pat, I'll get my stuff from you first and then fill in the blanks of stuff I still need when we're at the yard)... - These for "steel" - viewtopic.php?f=25&t=21299 - And God help any MJ that we find in the yard... This is what I have here and can bring along if anyone wants/needs any of it: - The whole '97+ Front Clip I have for sale. I'm really looking to move this thing, you could say that I am now a "motivated seller" ...cash and/or trade TALKS! I tried to take the "Comanche" Emblems off of it last weekend and I ended up peeling up the paint underneath the one on the passenger's (I think) side. Its not that I did a bad job of prep work on it, its just that I didn't think to use my heat gun and the 3M tape I used was doing its job until the end... :wall: Body work wise its all still there, just needs lots of filler primer now or a skim coat of fiberglass. Seriously looking to move this stuff though, make me an offer and I'll probably take it. I want it gone, I'm sick of moving it around my small apartment. Trades for parts I can use (even stuff I don't need now) are encouraged. - XJ Clutch Plastic Hardline and Master Cyl. - FREE to you guys - I'll never use it...was cut off at the steel line to the slave, plastic line is good - XJ/MJ Draglink - FREE to you guys - Came off of my '90 last fall, rod end is still good - ?might be OEM? - XJ/MJ 2wd Front Discs and Semi-Metallic Brake Pads - Almost New Timken Wheel Bearings and Seals still on/in them - These came off of my '90 when I did the Slotted Front Rotors job this summer. I got sick of the Semi-Metallic dust all over my wheels all the time, old rotors were put in the new rotor boxes then stashed under my work bench, so I doubt they even have rust on them... - FREE to you guys - I'll never use them now that I have the new ones. - Driveshaft parts, pinion yokes and whatnot - D35, 8.25, ?2wd AW4 yoke?, H Yoke - Prices vary from free to $20 on these, depending on their condition...all of 'em are cleaned up good. Thats pretty much it, I do have lots of little parts like specialty bolts, studs and whatnot that you can't get at the hardware stores stashed away here. These I would want something in return for. I don't like to store dirty/rusty/greasy stuff so all of these little guys are clean enough to eat off of, organized in their bins, ready to use. :thumbsup: I reserve the right to add up things I come across, I'm sure I'll come up with some more things I want to move outta here. :thumbsup: I'm for sure planning on bringing along the 3.55 D30 gears I have so I can get those to you Pat. :wavey:

Can't wait. I've got the white '90 ripped apart right now, slowly putting a new waterpump in it and taking care of some "other things" at the same time I'm in there that deep. If things go as planned it will be back together and road worthy by Saturday. If they don't go as planned I guess I'll have to go out and resurrect the blue '88 to make the trip with... ;) I'm at work now but I'm going to compile a list of the stuff I'm going to be looking for when we are there when I get home tonight. Maybe some of you guys will have some of it laying around and want to sell something, this way you could just bring it along...?