2005 kinda / sorta build

I was a little worried about the thickness of the bumper center section where the winch mounts so we made a winch reinforcing plate using some dimple dies. My 8yo wants to get in there and do/learn it all, just glad I can teach him more than I was taught.


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Friday night i went to get something out of the jeep, pulled the handle and THWACK internals came loose, it happens i know, its a common issue...... but my passenger door doesn't open from the outside either lol. so i crawled through the back and have been leaving the driver window down when not driving. New door handles (for both doors) showed up last night and its not over 100 today so i plan on doing at least the driver side tonight.
 
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changed out the driver side handle, opens way way way way easier than before. ended up pulling the door off and laying it across 2 sawhorses, made it easier to get my hand in there.

this morning i go out and the battery is dead, jump it and headed into town i get a huge rock chip in the windshield. wonderful way to start off the day.
 
having already done the driver side door handle the passenger side was a breeze, took me about 15 minutes from the time i pulled the door till i was putting it back on.
 
I am guessing the passenger door has not been locked in a long time since it wouldnt open with the outside door handle, and I didnt think about it when I had the door apart. Yesterday I stop at the grocery store and reach over and lock the passenger door and immediately regretted it. Now I cant get the door to unlock, the rod is hooked up but im guessing the latch is gummed up because there is resistance when trying to unlock it from inside or outside.
 
weeeelllll its more than gummed up, its broke. so I ordered a new latch and a new striker because im going to have to cut the striker to get the door open to change the latch. I got the door panel off and was moving things around on the latch and it will not unlock no matter what I do. Tried soaking it with carb cleaner then soaking it in PB blaster, nothing.
 
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Your ‘05 is definitely being a challenge, but it sounds like you have the tools and talent to get it right.
“endeavor to persevere “.
 
finally got the passenger door fixed, what a comedy of errors that was. So the door striker i got shipped from 4WP was wrong so i had to send it back. With the new latch in my hand i was able to figure out where to jam a screwdriver into the old latch to pop the door open. Then i realized the new latch from Morris Jeep was bent in shipping and i was not going to wait another week so i straightened it as best i could. got it changed and the door open and closed several times, locked and unlocked, put the door panel back on and shut it and of course it wouldn't unlock/open again.

crawl back in and remove the door panel so i could pop the door back open. then i realized there was another piece bent on the latch, straightened it out and tried the door several more times before putting the panel back on. this was all on Sunday and the door seems to be functioning properly since then. 😐
 
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The kid and i went to the toytirestrailpass last weekend in Hood River, after that the jeep started getting a tin sounding *clink* every once in a while, then it got more repetitive through the week.

ya that u-joint was shot
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this is where the bearings went
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and my new sticker
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well it has been a fun couple of days, the door latch i installed in the passenger side has been nothing but problems, waiting for a replacement from the manufacturer. So of course since i cant open the passenger door, the heater core decides to go out, so its bypassed right now. glad its not a hard winter right now.
 
I just didn't have time to do the heater core so I took it to a local shop in town, kind of glad I did because the first heater core they put in wouldn't get hot and they had to pull the whole thing out again. I would have been sooooo pissed off if i had it all back together and it didn't work. I will go pick it up tonight.
 
We all know the headlights on these things suck, I finally got fed up with it and ordered some Philips Crystal Visions from Rock Auto for $11.91 a piece. have not driven it at night yet but cant argue with a comparison shot of old and new.

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I ordered an all aluminum 3 core radiator for the TJ. one issue with running aluminum radiators is galvanic corrosion which is an electrochemical process in which one metal corrodes preferentially when it is in electrical contact with another, in the presence of an electrolyte. A common example of galvanic corrosion occurs in galvanized iron, a sheet of iron or steel covered with a zinc coating. Even when the protective zinc coating is broken, the underlying steel is not attacked. Instead, the zinc is corroded because it is less "noble".

which brings me to the sacrificial zinc rod drain plug from Flex-a-lite PN 32060.

Also i will be using Fleetguard ES coolant which has aluminum and solder protection; compatible with gaskets, elastomers, and other non metallic components in the engine; scale inhibitors; and its compatible with all other antifreeze/coolants.

I also ordered a vented hood louver panel.
 
Friday on my way home I look down and the jeep is running pretty warm on the freeway, glad my new radiator and sacrificial zinc rod is showing up... until I open the package for the zinc rod and there is a bushing in the package. so instead of completely draining the cooling system 2 weeks in a row I decided to just change the thermostat this weekend.

Then the alternator goes out in my Cummins, wasn't bad to change, just expensive.

But I picked up a used Rampage frame-less soft top with windshield header, OEM Chrysler door surrounds, new back window and passenger side for $150. the driver side window has some stitching coming loose and will need replaced at some point but even doing that I am money ahead.

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hoping to show some progress this weekend. I got a new driver window for the soft top and installed it before it rained yesterday. Last weekend I tried to break my foot, so i have been in a walking boot with my foot elevated and iced.
 
the original speakers in this thing were junk so I put some new 5.25 speakers in the overhead, I also ordered some 5.25's for the front because that is what crutchfield said would fit but they forgot to say you need adapter plates to run those, so they are not installed yet. I also added a Rockville SS8P 400w 8" self powered sub in a slim box that fits under the driver seat.
 
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