2000 TJ Ol Yeller
- Thread starter penk
- Start date
OP
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2016
- Messages
- 157
This week was shutdown week for my job, which means we get a ort of 'forced' week off from work. I decided to take this time to do a bunch of things on Ol Yeller that had been backlogged. A week or two ago I cleaned out the carport and rearranged the workbench, so I had Real Live space to work. Leading up t this week I ordered parts and got th tools I needed to do.
First project was replacing the horn. The jeep came with a really sketchy airhorn arrangement that I tried to get working a few times, but I decided to bail on. I pulled the old little compressor and the dual horns out, used the Angle Grinder of Death to remove the old rusty mount bolts, and had plenty of open space to simply bolt i a new electric horn.
This is what the aspace looked like after I had pulled out all the extraneous hardware.
The next job was a simple spark plug replacement to try and fix a 'missing' sputtering problem. That was straightforward, and after installing a set of APP 985 plugs and putting the coil pack back on, Yeller ran like a dream. Hurray.
Next project was replacing the wiper motor. I think it got stuck during the winter sometime and burnt out. This was a larger project than I was expecting, but all in all pretty easy. The first step was taking off the section of hte hood just behid the hinges for the main hood. That was a series of pan screws. There's a couple tutorials that say you have to pull the weather stripping out between the hood and this piece, but I didn't need to - just sort of folded it back slightly to expose the two screws.
Once that was off, the motor is easy to unplug, and there's a single big bolt in the middle that holds the motor and assmebly to the chassis. Undo that, and you have the whole thing in your hand. Unmounting the motor was easy, and I just bolted the new one to the assembly.
One last note here. I recomend getting replacement panel clips. The old ones that were holding the roof piece in place were rusted all to hell. Found some replacements at Lowes, and they're installed now.
Last but not least, my headlight switch / dimmer switch had been acting really screwy. It would 'work' in that when you pulled it the lights... might come on? But they were fiddly. YOu had to wiggle the switch around to get them to stay on. Not safe at all. I got a replacement switch off ebay and put it in . Of course, It was only after I had half disassembled the lower part of the dashboard before I realized removing the old switch was just a matter of unscrewing the little barrel connector around the pull switch. Oops
I'm slightly concerned about the damaged look of this connector block. The new one connected in fine, so I'm going to run with it, but this looks like it overheated at some point :-/
All in all, i'm really happy that everything I set out to do has completed successfully. There's more to do, but right now the Jeep is back to roadworthy and safe, without broken light switches or defective horns or no windshield wipers. Yay!
First project was replacing the horn. The jeep came with a really sketchy airhorn arrangement that I tried to get working a few times, but I decided to bail on. I pulled the old little compressor and the dual horns out, used the Angle Grinder of Death to remove the old rusty mount bolts, and had plenty of open space to simply bolt i a new electric horn.
This is what the aspace looked like after I had pulled out all the extraneous hardware.
The next job was a simple spark plug replacement to try and fix a 'missing' sputtering problem. That was straightforward, and after installing a set of APP 985 plugs and putting the coil pack back on, Yeller ran like a dream. Hurray.
Next project was replacing the wiper motor. I think it got stuck during the winter sometime and burnt out. This was a larger project than I was expecting, but all in all pretty easy. The first step was taking off the section of hte hood just behid the hinges for the main hood. That was a series of pan screws. There's a couple tutorials that say you have to pull the weather stripping out between the hood and this piece, but I didn't need to - just sort of folded it back slightly to expose the two screws.
Once that was off, the motor is easy to unplug, and there's a single big bolt in the middle that holds the motor and assmebly to the chassis. Undo that, and you have the whole thing in your hand. Unmounting the motor was easy, and I just bolted the new one to the assembly.
One last note here. I recomend getting replacement panel clips. The old ones that were holding the roof piece in place were rusted all to hell. Found some replacements at Lowes, and they're installed now.
Last but not least, my headlight switch / dimmer switch had been acting really screwy. It would 'work' in that when you pulled it the lights... might come on? But they were fiddly. YOu had to wiggle the switch around to get them to stay on. Not safe at all. I got a replacement switch off ebay and put it in . Of course, It was only after I had half disassembled the lower part of the dashboard before I realized removing the old switch was just a matter of unscrewing the little barrel connector around the pull switch. Oops
I'm slightly concerned about the damaged look of this connector block. The new one connected in fine, so I'm going to run with it, but this looks like it overheated at some point :-/
All in all, i'm really happy that everything I set out to do has completed successfully. There's more to do, but right now the Jeep is back to roadworthy and safe, without broken light switches or defective horns or no windshield wipers. Yay!
OP
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2016
- Messages
- 157
Well folks, all great stories must come to an end. This past week I finally took the plunge and sold Ol Yeller. The fellow who bought it is young, enthusiastic, and I'm sure it'll have a great new home.
In the 4 years I owned it, I had some great rides, some great adventures, and met some awesome people, but keeping a 20year old vehicle that couldn't handle 4 passengers and wasn't exactly comfort on the road was just getting to be too much.
I know some will be offended, but I am replacing Yeller with a 4 door JK Unlimited that I can go camping in. Maybe I'll see some of ya'll in other forums. It's been a great adventure. Everyone take care, ya'll are awesome.
In the 4 years I owned it, I had some great rides, some great adventures, and met some awesome people, but keeping a 20year old vehicle that couldn't handle 4 passengers and wasn't exactly comfort on the road was just getting to be too much.
I know some will be offended, but I am replacing Yeller with a 4 door JK Unlimited that I can go camping in. Maybe I'll see some of ya'll in other forums. It's been a great adventure. Everyone take care, ya'll are awesome.