watchamakalit Posted August 12, 2021 Share Posted August 12, 2021 Nothing wrong with drums when properly installed and maintained. They worked for many years. Discs are simpler and easy to work on. But it seems to me the key to braking would be contact area. My park brake (uses the rear drums only) will easily stall out my truck when clamped down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjeff87 Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 Finally got the KJ back on Saturday. They dispatched the job to a kid, who didn't know how to do drum brakes. LOL. Had to wait for another tech to take over the job for him. Holy cow, what a difference new (and adjusted) rear brakes make. Also got it aligned again. For the third time (lifetime alignment so no cost to me). And it STILL pulls to the right. Not drastic, but enough to be a PITA. I have the printout of the alignment and everything is in the green, very frustrating. They keep saying it's the crown in the road, but it's not. It pulls everywhere...dirt roads, parking lots, interstates etc. I might just pony up and take it to a different shop and pay for another alignment. I also got it inspected. I was wondering if they were going to say anything about the LBJ boots on both sides that are cracked, but they didn't. They hounded me for about 3 years straight about the UBJ boots which were cracked, but the joints themselves were fine. Finally the driver side got a bit loose and I replaced them along with the UCA's (ball joints are welded in, so you have to replace everything). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted August 16, 2021 Author Share Posted August 16, 2021 cracked boots just means you throw more grease at it more often. that's all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjeff87 Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 Yup. Until I can feel some slop in them, I'll just keep greasing them. Also did a fix on the Focus on Saturday. Been hearing a tapping sound coming from the front of the engine, getting increasingly louder, for the last couple weeks. Put a mechanic's stethoscope on (because you can't get your hands onto ANYTHING in that area and narrowed it down to the water pump. Picked up a new one, jacked it up and unbolted all the splash sheilds to get access to it, and discovered one of the 3 pulley bolts completely gone, and the 2 other ones finger tight. Yikes. Replaced the missing bolt and ran all three back in with some blue locktite, and also replaced the harmonic balancer which was missing half of the rubber isolator ring and the remaining half starting to spit out in chunks. 'Tis a very quiet engine now...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted August 25, 2021 Author Share Posted August 25, 2021 ordered some new rear bumpstops. I've given up on finding decent ones in the junkyard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjeff87 Posted August 26, 2021 Share Posted August 26, 2021 Wish I'da known you were looking for some, I could have peeped around down here for a set for you..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted August 26, 2021 Author Share Posted August 26, 2021 I appreciate the thought but it's probably better this way. I've looked under 100s of Libertys and found only one 1 set that wasn't already wasted (and now I've killed them too). being just a cheap foam material, I think they die from time too, not just abuse (due to a collapsed suspension). we shall see what a brand new set can do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted August 28, 2021 Author Share Posted August 28, 2021 finally wired in my 2nd power outlet. now I have one that is switched power, and one that is constant power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watchamakalit Posted August 29, 2021 Share Posted August 29, 2021 Sweet, I installed a usb port in place of my on dash power port in the WJ. I found with the power port the first thing I did was plug in a usb adapter. So I moved the power port to the factory knock out in the hatch. Still have the 12V option if i need it for something but the fast charge usbs are the berries..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted September 2, 2021 Author Share Posted September 2, 2021 replaced the rear bumpstops with new aftermarket. there seems to be a bit of difference between them. so of course this means they are touching again. I figure if it gets annoying I'll just sawzall them shorter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjeff87 Posted September 3, 2021 Share Posted September 3, 2021 Uptravel is soooo overrated....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted September 3, 2021 Author Share Posted September 3, 2021 gotta keep them tires outta the flares somehow. lord knows I'm not going down a tire size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjeff87 Posted September 3, 2021 Share Posted September 3, 2021 Funny, I just ran out and looked at mine (drove the KJ to work today). Mine are the same size/style as the replacement ones you got, and I have about 3-4" of clearance on the bottoms of them to the pad. Maybe it's an early model thing (the "pre-lowered" suspension people talk about......of which I still don't know if mine has or not, LOL). Unless you completely smooshed the h*ll out of your originals and they're pancaked down like that. Maybe they started out taller. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdog Posted September 3, 2021 Share Posted September 3, 2021 9 minutes ago, Pete M said: gotta keep them tires outta the flares somehow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted September 3, 2021 Author Share Posted September 3, 2021 37 minutes ago, mjeff87 said: Funny, I just ran out and looked at mine (drove the KJ to work today). Mine are the same size/style as the replacement ones you got, and I have about 3-4" of clearance on the bottoms of them to the pad. Maybe it's an early model thing (the "pre-lowered" suspension people talk about......of which I still don't know if mine has or not, LOL). Unless you completely smooshed the h*ll out of your originals and they're pancaked down like that. Maybe they started out taller. the old ones are just random ones I pulled from a yard a couple years ago. all the ones I've seen have been short. weird. 38 minutes ago, jdog said: with as much effort as it took to get a complete set of renegades and then paint them? nope, not in this lifetime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiNi Beast Posted September 5, 2021 Share Posted September 5, 2021 On 9/2/2021 at 4:44 PM, Pete M said: replaced the rear bumpstops with new aftermarket. there seems to be a bit of difference between them. so of course this means they are touching again. I figure if it gets annoying I'll just sawzall them shorter. Reminds me of those solid air bags for towing. May be just what you need to help with towing capacity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted September 5, 2021 Author Share Posted September 5, 2021 well, she made the drive up to Michigan. had my doubts in the TN mountains when overdrive decided it need a lunchbreak, but a reboot of the Jeep seems to have cleared it. bumpstops seem to be doing their job. no harsh jarring at all. I give my approval. still on the old tires though. my knee more or less made that decision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watchamakalit Posted September 5, 2021 Share Posted September 5, 2021 Good to hear you made it safe and sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdog Posted September 6, 2021 Share Posted September 6, 2021 glad to hear you made it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted September 22, 2021 Author Share Posted September 22, 2021 ah, the joys of older Jeeps that aren't actually all that old. looks like the safety dealio connected to the shifter is out of whack. keep getting a no-start condition that goes away if I slam the shifter into park (it is likely a "no-crank" situation but I bypassed that aspect so cranking is on-demand). looks like I'm about to bypass another nanny state item soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted September 26, 2021 Author Share Posted September 26, 2021 on the to-do list before I can drive it again: -replace the pass/front axle shaft and any bearings it has destoyed -swap tires with the ones I just got (would have done that already but I can't kneel down so I put it off) -replace the crankshaft sensor (popped a code and might be the ultimate reason for the no-starts) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted November 21, 2021 Author Share Posted November 21, 2021 the good news: the shaft has been replaced. the bad news: i pulled the CPS from my spare block easy enough, but the cap head bolt in my current engine stripped quite readily. access isn't easy, as the downpipe and some engine ribbing are in the way of any tools. I probably will need to cut the exhaust out. I always wanted a straight pipe, I guess now is as good as any to make it happen. sigh... whoever thought it was an ok idea to put these tiny headed bolts into an engine block can go to hell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted July 13, 2022 Author Share Posted July 13, 2022 scored some rust free doors in the correct color. and half-off too! I've seen hundreds of Libertys in junkyards over the years. I've seen exactly 4 in my color. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted July 15, 2022 Author Share Posted July 15, 2022 free unexpected back door speaker upgrade! (the fronts were already taken plus I've upgraded those already anyways) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted July 15, 2022 Author Share Posted July 15, 2022 one down. (except for the chrome trim which is going to be painted) the old doors have... issues... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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