What did you do to your TJ today?

chudlet said:
OH I totally get it. I do IT for manufacturing. Unless you do it, almost no one gets "first run/prototyping/development" costs and issues. Everyone just sees the production runs after they swipe the card. I hobby fab in my garage when I need to but nothing on your scale or skill.
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Yep, yep, and YES! Bringing a product into production is a huuuuge headache compared to a development cycle or a one-off build-up. Getting the parts and raw materials reliably is one headache, fine tuning your product production is yet another. Parts/materials suppliers come and go, the part you found that's just perfect isn't made anymore or isn't available from your supplier, materials suddenly become scarce or pricing goes through the roof, etc, etc. I learned this when I started making my Sistrums in quantities of 5 at a time. The first 2 were easy, after that I'm always having to change things to accommodate new supply realities, both in how I make them and where/how I get the materials needed. And that's just about as chickenshit of a product that you could imagine, yet the headaches are there nonetheless. My years in the Manufacturing Engineering dept. of an industrial computer company taught me well!

A friend designed a HELL of a nice rifle rest. He was going to start making and selling them, everyone of his acquaintance wanted one, including me. He tried valiantly, but was unable to make the jump from a one-off to production. Its too bad, as I was able to try his design at a shooting event several years ago and it was wonderful. I can only imagine the headaches @mrblaine goes through for his products!
 
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Rock Hard Sliders went on today. Looks like the "Unlimited" sticker has been replaced as some point...

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Zorba said:
Yep, yep, and YES! Bringing a product into production is a huuuuge headache compared to a development cycle or a one-off build-up. Getting the parts and raw materials reliably is one headache, fine tuning your product production is yet another. Parts/materials suppliers come and go, the part you found that's just perfect isn't made anymore or isn't available from your supplier, materials suddenly become scarce or pricing goes through the roof, etc, etc. I learned this when I started making my Sistrums in quantities of 5 at a time. The first 2 were easy, after that I'm always having to change things to accommodate new supply realities, both in how I make them and where/how I get the materials needed. And that's just about as chickenshit of a product that you could imagine, yet the headaches are there nonetheless. My years in the Manufacturing Engineering dept. of an industrial computer company taught me well!

A friend designed a HELL of a nice rifle rest. He was going to start making and selling them, everyone of his acquaintance wanted one, including me. He tried valiantly, but was unable to make the jump from a one-off to production. Its too bad, as I was able to try his design at a shooting event several years ago and it was wonderful. I can only imagine the headaches @mrblaine goes through for his products!
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Product development is an enlightening experience that will test your patience beyond anything you thought was possible. And I don't care how good you are and how good your products are, unless you sit there and babysit every single aspect of the production, tolerance stacking will drive you insane. I set up the first production pair of knuckles to be near zero. I line the edge of the brake pad just slightly inboard of the chamfer on a to-spec verified rotor and an OEM saddle. Invariably within a few months, someone will send me a pic of the brake pad hanging slightly over the edge. While that is harmless, it offends me greatly when I have put so much effort into making it not be that way and it still happens. Drives me mad.
 
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I've been chasing a rattling/vibrating sound in the back of my TJ for a couple of months. It's like a resonating vibration at certain RPMs. At one point (literally just for one day) it seemed to happen all throughout the RPMS instead of just a couple points or when under load/bogged down. I thought I fixed it last month when I took the rear wiper motor cover off and secured some wiring and shoved some foam behind a bracket. All seemed quiet for a few days, then it was back.

I dug back into the rear wiper motor cover today and wrapped some wires/loom in tessa tape. Once that was done, I decided to keep poking around and realized I heard a buzzing sound when I'd hit the tailgate with my fist. Opened it up and the actuator rod for the lock cylinder was attached, but fit very loosely. I feel certain this was the source of the irritating sound all along. I took it apart and wrapped tessa tape around the metal pieces so that the plastic retainers would have less range of motion, but also, shouldn't make noise anymore even if they do still vibrate.

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Those purple and blue retainers will definitely need replaced soon. Does anyone know the actual name for those or where I can find them?
 
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WVJeep304 said:
Those purple and blue retainers will definitely need replaced soon. Does anyone know the actual name for those or where I can find them?
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Dorman makes them, and they are called Door Lock Rod Clips. O’Reilly usually carries them on the same “Lazy Susan” type rack that screws, bolts, trim clips, and the like are on.
 
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WVJeep304 said:
I've been chasing a rattling/vibrating sound in the back of my TJ for a couple of months. It's like a resonating vibration at certain RPMs. At one point (literally just for one day) it seemed to happen all throughout the RPMS instead of just a couple points or when under load/bogged down. I thought I fixed it last month when I took the rear wiper motor cover off and secured some wiring and shoved some foam behind a bracket. All seemed quiet for a few days, then it was back.

I dug back into the rear wiper motor cover today and wrapped some wires/loom in tessa tape. Once that was done, I decided to keep poking around and realized I heard a buzzing sound when I'd hit the tailgate with my fist. Opened it up and the actuator rod for the lock cylinder was attached, but fit very loosely. I feel certain this was the source of the irritating sound all along. I took it apart and wrapped tessa tape around the metal pieces so that the plastic retainers would have less range of motion, but also, shouldn't make noise anymore even if they do still vibrate.

View attachment 496394

View attachment 496395


Those purple and blue retainers will definitely need replaced soon. Does anyone know the actual name for those or where I can find them?
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I replaced some in my half doors when I rebuilt them. I got a couple packs of assorted sizes at Advance Auto Parts and they had what I needed.

As far as the name, I can’t remember what the official name is. I call them door rod clips.
 
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Picked up my baby from the Diff Dr this morning at O-Dark-30 and finished the drive to work on new 4.88 gears :-D Super weird, going to have to retrain what my brain knows my RPM is to my speed and gear selection. Also ordered up a 12 Oclock speedo fixer as now my Speedometer is way off in the other direction. Ok 493 miles to go to finish break in. 52 miles / day round trip to work should take care of that in short order. Air lines and engine skid are on the schedule for this weekend!
 
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chudlet said:
Fosters is the Aussie signature beer, what is it in Kiwi Land? Cause that really needs to be added to the fish n chips meal plan..... just saying.
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There are few made in NZ one called Speights ( brewed in the South Island) or Lion Red….Steinlarger is pretty popular too.
Seeing more and more craft beer places pop up just to add to the mix
 
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chudlet said:
Fosters is the Aussie signature beer, what is it in Kiwi Land? Cause that really needs to be added to the fish n chips meal plan..... just saying.
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For 30 some years I heard and believed that Fosters was the Aussie signature beer but at some point I heard that it was a way to pitch beer to Americans kinda like Taco Bell being a true Mexican establishment. Not sure if any of that is true though.
 
JEEPCJTJ said:
For 30 some years I heard and believed that Fosters was the Aussie signature beer but at some point I heard that it was a way to pitch beer to Americans kinda like Taco Bell being a true Mexican establishment. Not sure if any of that is true though.
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Can confirm this. Oldest boy did a semester abroad at Macquarie University outside Sydney a couple years ago and said the locals were a bit salty about Foster's. Lots of good craft beers in Sydney, but he settled on VB (Victoria Bitter, I think?).
 
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