I took a total of 2 test drives, during the first I discovered a few things and I verified them on a ride in the morning. About 5 minutes for the first and 10 for the second.
To recap a little bit and to put pictures into words, my Jeep is currently sitting on approximately the equivalent of no lift. The front is riding on the 2" air bumps and the rear has about 1" to the air bumps. It needs to go up by about 3-5" for an equivalent lift height of 4" when compared to a typical lift. My steering box also needs a couple of changes. I knew all of this going into the test drive so I wasn't expecting much.
Here's my observations:
1) The Jeep rides surprising comfortable over my bumpy driveway. If it's already feeling this good I can't imagine how well the ride quality will be once I get the coilovers dialed in. I was not expecting that at all.
2) The brakes are beyond through the floor bad. I need to bleed them again and break in the pads/rotors. The road I drove on is covered in ice so I didn't have a chance to bed the pads.
3) After my drive I noticed that I have a few leaks on my steering lines. Gotta tighten them and replace one fitting.
4) There's a lot of smells. Between sitting the last few years, new parts burning in, and the exhaust coming in I can't do much diagnosis on the smells. However there wasn't much smell when I had started the engine in the garage.
5) There's a lot of smoke or steam when the Jeep stops after the engine gets up to temp. It's mostly sentless so I think it's steam coming from the radiator. The engine had burped and spilled coolant all over so I think that might be the cause combined with being cold outside. When I bring the engine up to temp in the garage I don't see any of this. I previously had a slight radiator weep when it'd change temperatures outside but the coolant would never run low that I remember. I'm going to be keeping an eye on it.
6) Aside from the steering fluid, there's no drips or leaks on the garage floor after the test drive. Including the radiator.
7) The Jeep is surprisingly quiet for not having a muffler. After a muffler or two is added I think the sound system is going to be really enjoyable.
8) Maybe it's my familiarity with this Jeep or my excitement, but it handles amazingly and really gets up and goes.
9) There is a bad squealing noise when I start to get on the throttle. It sounds like a clutch squeal (I have an automatic). I diagnosed this during my second drive to be coming from the supercharger. I suspect charged air is escaping between the SC and the manifold as soon as it goes into boost but I need to take a closer look.
So, a few more items are added to my to do list but overall the drive was successful!
To recap a little bit and to put pictures into words, my Jeep is currently sitting on approximately the equivalent of no lift. The front is riding on the 2" air bumps and the rear has about 1" to the air bumps. It needs to go up by about 3-5" for an equivalent lift height of 4" when compared to a typical lift. My steering box also needs a couple of changes. I knew all of this going into the test drive so I wasn't expecting much.
Here's my observations:
1) The Jeep rides surprising comfortable over my bumpy driveway. If it's already feeling this good I can't imagine how well the ride quality will be once I get the coilovers dialed in. I was not expecting that at all.
2) The brakes are beyond through the floor bad. I need to bleed them again and break in the pads/rotors. The road I drove on is covered in ice so I didn't have a chance to bed the pads.
3) After my drive I noticed that I have a few leaks on my steering lines. Gotta tighten them and replace one fitting.
4) There's a lot of smells. Between sitting the last few years, new parts burning in, and the exhaust coming in I can't do much diagnosis on the smells. However there wasn't much smell when I had started the engine in the garage.
5) There's a lot of smoke or steam when the Jeep stops after the engine gets up to temp. It's mostly sentless so I think it's steam coming from the radiator. The engine had burped and spilled coolant all over so I think that might be the cause combined with being cold outside. When I bring the engine up to temp in the garage I don't see any of this. I previously had a slight radiator weep when it'd change temperatures outside but the coolant would never run low that I remember. I'm going to be keeping an eye on it.
6) Aside from the steering fluid, there's no drips or leaks on the garage floor after the test drive. Including the radiator.
7) The Jeep is surprisingly quiet for not having a muffler. After a muffler or two is added I think the sound system is going to be really enjoyable.
8) Maybe it's my familiarity with this Jeep or my excitement, but it handles amazingly and really gets up and goes.
9) There is a bad squealing noise when I start to get on the throttle. It sounds like a clutch squeal (I have an automatic). I diagnosed this during my second drive to be coming from the supercharger. I suspect charged air is escaping between the SC and the manifold as soon as it goes into boost but I need to take a closer look.
So, a few more items are added to my to do list but overall the drive was successful!