Novak Conversions Jeep Wrangler TJ engine mounts

Sometimes working on your own vehicle isn't worth it

Not a fan of working on Fords. The last one was a rusty ass Excursion. Everything was frozen together. The funnest part was drilling out all the broken exhaust manifold bolts in the head. It was a v10.
 
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I'll pay for tire work because there wouldn't be a good ROI for me to get a tire mounting machine or a balancer.
If I had the garage space, I'd have a set-up for doing tires. Somehow, my wife and daughter have found a way to flatten some perfectly good tires with impressive regularity. :rolleyes:
 
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If I had the garage space, I'd have a set-up for doing tires. Somehow, my wife and daughter have found a way flatten some perfectly good tires with impressive regularity. :rolleyes:
yeah my daughter is systematically replacing all 4 tires on my2014 explorer with 20" rims..Miraculously she has taken out the right front tire 3 times, blowing out the side wall on a curb...although every time she says she did not hit anything :unsure:
 
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Not a fan of working on Fords. The last one was a rusty ass Excursion. Everything was frozen together. The funnest part was drilling out all the broken exhaust manifold bolts in the head. It was a v10.
I don't mind pre 2005 Fords. You're right, though. There are some common issues with the F250-350 platform and the 6.8. I would really like to get this Excursion dialed in as my family mountain vehicle.

I won't ever work on another Audi.
 
I will at least consider doing certain installs on my LJ. Most of it is minor maintenance items, but recently swapped in a Ford 8.8 that was built and re-geared for my Jeep. I think the most important thing is having the right tools for the job, otherwise you'll waste time trying to get around it.
 
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I pick and choose what I work on..jeep yj or tj? No problem...head gasket on a Kia? He'll no not even going to pop the hood and look. Its not worth the headache of a repair looming over my head all day
 
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Slightly off-topic, but are you at all familiar with Ford's 7.3 diesel? I ask, as I'm toying with the idea of picking up a box truck/van, and find a lot of them running that engine.
Yes. The holy grail of International diesels. An Excursion with the 7.3 and 300k goes for over 20k. Not my cup of tea. I was searching for the right 7.3 Excursion for a long, long time. Then I realized that I'm not a diesel mechanic. (I'm barely a mechanic at all) Parts for the 7.3 are very expensive. I got my 03 Limited with the 6.8 V10 for not much more than it would cost to fix a leaking 7.3 oil pan gasket.

It's a great engine. Can last a million miles if taken care of. But when things go wrong it's complex and expensive to repair. Not as complex or as expensive as modern day diesels, though. If I had to pick a diesel to tow with, the 7.3 would be it.
 
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Yes. The holy grail of International diesels. An Excursion with the 7.3 and 300k goes for over 20k. Not my cup of tea. I was searching for the right 7.3 Excursion for a long, long time. Then I realized that I'm not a diesel mechanic. (I'm barely a mechanic at all) Parts for the 7.3 are very expensive. I got my 03 Limited with the 6.8 V10 for not much more than it would cost to fix a leaking 7.3 oil pan gasket.

It's a great engine. Can last a million miles if taken care of. But when things go wrong it's complex and expensive to repair. Not as complex or as expensive as modern day diesels, though. If I had to pick a diesel to tow with, the 7.3 would be it.
That Triton V10...how do you feel about that? I was always surprised by the difference in size (displacement) between Ford's v10, and Chrysler's. I drove a U-haul once with the Ford V10, Seemed to do fine, even over the passes. Never driven the Chrysler V10, so can't compare the two...
 
That Triton V10...how do you feel about that? I was always surprised by the difference in size (displacement) between Ford's v10, and Chrysler's. I drove a U-haul once with the Ford V10, Seemed to do fine, even over the passes. Never driven the Chrysler V10, so can't compare the two...
Early Triton v10's had a nasty habit of spitting out spark plugs. Ford got that fixed after a few years of production. I've got one in my 2017 motorhome. I have no complaints. It hauls a 20.5K# motorhome pulling my jeep up the Grapevine at 55mph as long as nobody gets in my way and slows me down.
The difference in price between a gas motor and a diesel will buy a lot of fuel.
 
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That Triton V10...how do you feel about that? I was always surprised by the difference in size (displacement) between Ford's v10, and Chrysler's. I drove a U-haul once with the Ford V10, Seemed to do fine, even over the passes. Never driven the Chrysler V10, so can't compare the two...
I towed my Jeep behind a 36' Jayco with that same engine all over West of the Mississippi. I've never experienced any spark plug blowouts and everyone I know that has one has got a lot of miles out of theirs. Having said that....my Excursion gets between 7 and 8 miles per gallon. 44 gallon tank is needed just to go get groceries. Lol
 
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I like it...even in the winter. Except when I need to wrench.
Off topic- Went back to see my old man in Nov...everything was good till I stepped into that damn WIND! Holy crap I don't miss the freakin wind.

On Topic-I alternate between thanking my dad for teaching me to wrench and cursing him for it.
I will let the local shop do some things and even have a relationship with them where they'll tell me, "You probably want to do that yourself, you ain't gonna like my price."
 
Off topic- Went back to see my old man in Nov...everything was good till I stepped into that damn WIND! Holy crap I don't miss the freakin wind.

On Topic-I alternate between thanking my dad for teaching me to wrench and cursing him for it.
I will let the local shop do some things and even have a relationship with them where they'll tell me, "You probably want to do that yourself, you ain't gonna like my price."
Where I'm at we don't get very much wind comparatively.
 
No thanks !
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Novak Conversions Jeep Wrangler TJ engine mounts