I could have added this to one of the existing threads but as I thought about what I wanted to write I thought about starting a new one.
First of all, I aligned my ’97 today and can’t believe the difference. You couldn’t notice an issue on back roads but when I drove the highway I was constantly making minor adjustments to the steering wheel. Since I saw the alignment write up from Jerry Bransford I’ve planned on tackling it. I took the tie rod off the TJ, wire brushed and used anti seize on the threads so future alignments will be easier. I'm now a believer in Kroil. I’d never heard of it before joining the Forum but picked some up. I sprayed the nuts and bolts down last weekend and everything came apart easily today. I also sprayed down my shocks before cleaning up because they’re going to be next. The whole project went smoothly and my test run up the highway was great. I can’t wait to get the top off this spring.
Now, to expand on my opening sentence. I was really enjoying the classic rock music that I had playing during the project and drive. As I was cleaning up, The Allman Brothers “Old Before My Time” came on and started me reflecting on things. It’s clear that back in the day I sure did these things faster and never suffered from a sore back after getting up and down from the creeper and turning the wrenches. But I realized how lucky I am to be able to do this and get such enjoyment out of a few hours of work and the satisfaction of accomplishing this project. We all have Jeep upgrades, vacation or lifestyle plans that we’re dreaming about and I’m no different. But sometimes the simple things like spending a day working on a project that you want to complete provides a pretty descent reward.
First of all, I aligned my ’97 today and can’t believe the difference. You couldn’t notice an issue on back roads but when I drove the highway I was constantly making minor adjustments to the steering wheel. Since I saw the alignment write up from Jerry Bransford I’ve planned on tackling it. I took the tie rod off the TJ, wire brushed and used anti seize on the threads so future alignments will be easier. I'm now a believer in Kroil. I’d never heard of it before joining the Forum but picked some up. I sprayed the nuts and bolts down last weekend and everything came apart easily today. I also sprayed down my shocks before cleaning up because they’re going to be next. The whole project went smoothly and my test run up the highway was great. I can’t wait to get the top off this spring.
Now, to expand on my opening sentence. I was really enjoying the classic rock music that I had playing during the project and drive. As I was cleaning up, The Allman Brothers “Old Before My Time” came on and started me reflecting on things. It’s clear that back in the day I sure did these things faster and never suffered from a sore back after getting up and down from the creeper and turning the wrenches. But I realized how lucky I am to be able to do this and get such enjoyment out of a few hours of work and the satisfaction of accomplishing this project. We all have Jeep upgrades, vacation or lifestyle plans that we’re dreaming about and I’m no different. But sometimes the simple things like spending a day working on a project that you want to complete provides a pretty descent reward.
