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What I did to my TJ today

4M views 43K replies 4K participants last post by  JBryan314 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Please feel free to add your own vehicle wrenching / adventure stories to this Thread.
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#35,182 ·
Holton, autozone and other places like that often rent ball joint presses to people like you and me. Did you see if they were available?
Oh, I already own the excellent OTC kit with all the Jeep-specific adapters. It works great, but the axle is not on the vehicle, so there was no way to get leverage to get the damned things to explode out of their holes. The last set we removed my wife was hurt when the thing finally unloaded, sending her and the four foot pipe we had over the breaker bar flying ten feet into a pile of steel parts. She got all cut up.

Serious leverage needed, loose axle on the ground - no darn way I am even trying that. My wife, of course, forbade it, but I wasn't going to argue the point as I fully agreed with her.

Pressing in a new set would *probably* have been possible with it on the ground, but I don't see how. So we paid The Man.
 
#35,183 ·
Oh, I already own the excellent OTC kit with all the Jeep-specific adapters. It works great, but the axle is not on the vehicle, so there was no way to get leverage to get the damned things to explode out of their holes. The last set we removed my wife was hurt when the thing finally unloaded, sending her and the four foot pipe we had over the breaker bar flying ten feet into a pile of steel parts. She got all cut up.

Serious leverage needed, loose axle on the ground - no darn way I am even trying that. My wife, of course, forbade it, but I wasn't going to argue the point as I fully agreed with her.

Pressing in a new set would *probably* have been possible with it on the ground, but I don't see how. So we paid The Man.
I thought you were getting one of those Harbor Freight shop presses. Would have been less than $150 and paid itself off after one use.
 
#35,184 ·
I've had a leaky/sloppy/shot steering box for about two years now. It's not my DD anymore, so I've just lived with it and kept adding fluid, reluctant to spend the money on a good rebuilt one. Scouring Craigslist the other day, I came across a guy parting out a low-mileage TJ that was a wreck he bought for the engine. Scored the steering box for $75!

Managed to swap them out this afternoon (not as difficult as I thought it would be to do alone), and wow what a difference. Way less scary to drive above 45 now, haha. Took it on a topless test drive in 50 degree drizzle and didn't want to stop. I didn't realize just how bad mine had gotten. Now that I don't have to spend $500+ on a Red Head or Mopar rebuild, maybe I'll finally get a new top so it can leave my garage in the winter once in awhile!

:awesome:
Redhead is $260 after core refund.

Glad you got it running safely though.
 
#35,185 ·
Thank you.

EDIT:

Probably a stupid question to anyone who wants to answer, but are all of them the same on the front end? And should I just go ahead and replace all of them?
Yes. Yes.

Go to Energy Suspension website. They'll have all of the ones you need.
 
#35,187 ·
Oh, I already own the excellent OTC kit with all the Jeep-specific adapters. It works great, but the axle is not on the vehicle, so there was no way to get leverage to get the damned things to explode out of their holes. The last set we removed my wife was hurt when the thing finally unloaded, sending her and the four foot pipe we had over the breaker bar flying ten feet into a pile of steel parts. She got all cut up.

Serious leverage needed, loose axle on the ground - no darn way I am even trying that. My wife, of course, forbade it, but I wasn't going to argue the point as I fully agreed with her.

Pressing in a new set would *probably* have been possible with it on the ground, but I don't see how. So we paid The Man.
I once did a ball joint swap on a loose axle that I was painting for my xj. I did the swap before I painted it of course and I just ran the jeep tire on it to hold the axle down. I wasn't directly on it but enough that it would not move. That sort of did the trick and I could wrench those bj's out.

This was when I was living in an apartment and had no garage to wrench in. :)
 
#35,188 ·
Bought my TJ unlimited washes today at a local car wash. All the salt that was on it was not good. At least now I can go whenever I want/need to and run it through. The salt up here in upstate NY is like no other!!! But I did expect it since I am only about 30 minutes from Canada.
 
#35,189 ·
Huh, I could've sworn it was more than that last time I checked, but it's been awhile. Good to know though.

So can you turn in two cores for extra credit?
One would think. At least half credit.
 
#35,193 ·
Got the winch plate sanded and cleaned up with mineral spirits. Three coats of primer. Wait an hour and a final coat. Then it will sit out and cure for a few days.

Then a top coat.

I used Rust-Oleum spray-on bed liner on the bumper, so probably that.

Or maybe some black Hammered, since I have a bunch of that, too.

Ideas? Suggestions? Shameless mockery?
 

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#35,194 ·
Got the winch plate sanded and cleaned up with mineral spirits. Three coats of primer. Wait an hour and a final coat. Then it will sit out and cure for a few days. Then a top coat. I used Rust-Oleum spray-on bed liner on the bumper, so probably that. Or maybe some black Hammered, since I have a bunch of that, too. Ideas? Suggestions? Shameless mockery?
I wish I had that kind of patience to let primer dry like that. Lol
 
#35,195 ·
Got the winch plate sanded and cleaned up with mineral spirits. Three coats of primer. Wait an hour and a final coat. Then it will sit out and cure for a few days.

Then a top coat.

I used Rust-Oleum spray-on bed liner on the bumper, so probably that.

Or maybe some black Hammered, since I have a bunch of that, too.

Ideas? Suggestions? Shameless mockery?
Flat Dark Earth
 
#35,197 ·
I just dropped more money than I wanted on new tires. Everything's paid for so all I gotta do is drop her off on Monday.

That stung, I'm not going to lie.
What brand/size? I'm about to drop $1000, prob $1200 after install and warranty
 
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