Well, my wife has already deemed the new jeep "The Mistress" Due to the amount of time and yes you guessed it MONEY that I have been spending on her, lol. But hey, the Jeep doesn't talk back....much.
What did you do to your TJ today?
- Thread starter LJRubiconGuy
- Start date
I had a very productive day with the "mistress" yesterday...
Replaced the track bar, drag link with its end, tie rod with its ends, sway bar links and the sway bar bushings. Also replaced the steering stabilizer (rough country N3: not happy, too tight!).
Then...
Replaced the rotors and the pads. The calipers were very rusty so I cleaned them up and painted them with caliper paint. Flushed the brake lines with new brake fluid.
Finally, I took it for a test drive to the local mountains. most of the loose and broken part sounds were gone but not all...
Today...
I will be replacing the ball joints and the axle u-joints. Already took one side apart and I have to say, that wheel bearing hub was rusted on pretty good. It took me over an hour to get it off.
Cheers
Replaced the track bar, drag link with its end, tie rod with its ends, sway bar links and the sway bar bushings. Also replaced the steering stabilizer (rough country N3: not happy, too tight!).
Then...
Replaced the rotors and the pads. The calipers were very rusty so I cleaned them up and painted them with caliper paint. Flushed the brake lines with new brake fluid.
Finally, I took it for a test drive to the local mountains. most of the loose and broken part sounds were gone but not all...
Today...
I will be replacing the ball joints and the axle u-joints. Already took one side apart and I have to say, that wheel bearing hub was rusted on pretty good. It took me over an hour to get it off.
Cheers
Great update. Congrats on all the progress in a day. The calipers look great.
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Over the labor day weekend, I made a trip up to around Pine River, MN and played around in the Spider Lake Trails. They're not really rough trails and the most dangerous thing about them is the idiots zipping around corners on their ATVs without looking, but it was still a good chance to splash around after a bit of rain.
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CMTJ
TJ Enthusiast
Mxpro125
New Member
Pulled my carpet after 1.5" of rain fell at the office. Probably had 2" of water on floor and the carpet is starting to stink. I think tomorrow I'm going to try and wash it and let it dry in the sun.
My wife is as interested in working on our Jeep as I am. We are celebrating our 25th anniversary soon, the Jeep was our present.
I’m thinking this is one of the greatest purchases we have made in the 25 years. Really enjoy, tinkering and upgrading it. Almost as much as driving it!!
Ditch
Member
Picked up my first Jeep August 16th, a 1998 4.0 , just changed the oil and filter today, what a noticeable difference it made , smoother and no more loud ticking after shutdown, my next project is to change the tranny fluid and diff oil, then the rear brake pads, probably needs a new radiator cap, fluid leaks out of the cap after shutdown, I’m guessing bad cap can’t hold pressure or bad thermostat, though the temp holds just unde 210 when driving
Replaced the axle u-joints and the ball joints. That was not as easy as I thought. I spent 90% of the time pressing, banging and soaking with pb blaster the rusted parts.
Today I will replace the rear sway bar bushing and the damn steering stabilizer again. I have the rough country N3, bluh bluh and it sucks!!! DO NOT install that one. It is much much stiffer than the original stabilizer, making turning and steering very unpleasant. I am going to stop by O'Reiley and pick up a stock spec Monroe for 30 bucks and install that instead. I will also be replacing the drive shaft u-joints.
Can't wait for the control arms kit to arrive Monday. That will be the last of the mechanical fixes/refreshes on the entire car. After that, it is only cosmetic
Today I will replace the rear sway bar bushing and the damn steering stabilizer again. I have the rough country N3, bluh bluh and it sucks!!! DO NOT install that one. It is much much stiffer than the original stabilizer, making turning and steering very unpleasant. I am going to stop by O'Reiley and pick up a stock spec Monroe for 30 bucks and install that instead. I will also be replacing the drive shaft u-joints.
Can't wait for the control arms kit to arrive Monday. That will be the last of the mechanical fixes/refreshes on the entire car. After that, it is only cosmetic
Nicholas
TJ Enthusiast
Replaced the axle u-joints and the ball joints. That was not as easy as I thought. I spent 90% of the time pressing, banging and soaking with pb blaster the rusted parts.
Today I will replace the rear sway bar bushing and the damn steering stabilizer again. I have the rough country N3, bluh bluh and it sucks!!! DO NOT install that one. It is much much stiffer than the original stabilizer, making turning and steering very unpleasant. I am going to stop by O'Reiley and pick up a stock spec Monroe for 30 bucks and install that instead. I will also be replacing the drive shaft u-joints.
Can't wait for the control arms kit to arrive Monday. That will be the last of the mechanical fixes/refreshes on the entire car. After that, it is only cosmetic
The rs5000x stabilizer is a good one, it’s almost identical to stock but has a slight better handling feel to it but only if it’s worth it to you
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Thank you Nicholas for that recommendation . I was going to ask the forum for a good stock feel stabilizer and you came through.
I will consider that one, if I can gather enough patience and not replace the one I have tonight, lol! Don't do it Tiger, don't!! wait, you are tired... you want to watch a movie or something
. I was going to ask the forum for a good stock feel stabilizer and you came through.I will consider that one, if I can gather enough patience and not replace the one I have tonight, lol! Don't do it Tiger, don't!! wait, you are tired... you want to watch a movie or something
Nicholas
TJ Enthusiast
Thank you Nicholas for that recommendation
I will consider that one, if I can gather enough patience and not replace the one I have tonight, lol! Don't do it Tiger, don't!! wait, you are tired... you want to watch a movie or something
Your welcome, and yeah it’s actually really true haha
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derekmac
TJ Addict
Not today, but yesterday. I installed a set of LED headlights. I think they'll be bright enough that I might be able to remove my light bar, and clean up the front end some.
Don't forget to adjust the new lights. I see a lot of happy drivers with new LEDs that point into the clouds where usually my head is
I had one of those on my motorcycle a while back, good one, a JBL?
derekmac
TJ Addict
I did go out last night to aim them. They did need to be aimed down quite a bit.Don't forget to adjust the new lights. I see a lot of happy drivers with new LEDs that point into the clouds where usually my head is
I had one of those on my motorcycle a while back, good one, a JBL?
Nope, just cheap Amazon Sunpie ones. Got them in the warehouse deals section for $50CAD.
I've also been debating removing my light bar after installing the LED headlights. It's simply not needed anymore.
Pros: it will show more of the crome grill
Cons: it will show more of the crome grill
What kind of quality is the chrome plating on those grills? Easy to keep from rusting, or a constant struggle? It looks sharp on your rig. And with or without the light bar, your TJ does look nice. If asked, however, I'd opt to remove the light bar. Just my opinion, of course.