What did you do to your TJ today?

Finished installing the waterpump, cleaned up the hot mess I created in the garage, and then took her for a nice long spin! I sure didn’t know how much of a process adding in coolant was!

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Dear Diary,

Did a sick job running the wiring for my third brake light through the tailgate. Also, learned how to solder and tried making a bunch of different joints and connections. I need to make a three-way joint to wire my license plate light into the running lights. Pretty proud of the results, I think I got the hang of it right away. Ran out to Autozone before they closed and grabbed some bullet connectors, gonna finish wiring up the brake light and license plate light tomorrow.

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I used this soldering iron Santa bought me for Christmas. It's a TS-100 and it only costs about $70. It's the size of a pen and it goes from 0° to 400° in about 5 seconds.
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In hindsight, I wish I had drilled a hole through the centerplate of the tire carrier so I could have ran the wiring hidden through the inside of the plate mount shaft and into the center of the carrier. In fact, I think I'll do that tomorrow. It bugs me that I sheathed the line in some black mesh sheathing but the 12" from the connector to the brake light itself is just gray tubing. Will give me a good excuse to use my new soldering iron.
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Happy New Year, everyone!

My new years resolution is to not be afraid of trying new things. Fulfillment only comes from personal advancement.
 
She is a trailer queen/non daily driver and resides in Kali. Would it be best to run output to radiator cooler then external cooler and back to trans? Long Island is a few degrees colder.
More than "a few" this time of year. 😉
Yeah, pressure side ( out) to radiator then cooler then back to trans. Make sure you use quality rubber hose and barbed fittings.
 
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Put these on this afternoon. No more wobble and noise from the passenger seat every time I hit a bump. Simple but worth every penny. That noise was driving me crazy...couldn't hear the rest of the rattles and noises from the Jeep over the seat rattling around!

Amazon.com: 615 South Front Seat Slider Support Bushings Compatible with Jeep Wrangler TJ LJ Unlimited 1998-2006 - Fixes Wobbly Loose Seats: Automotive

I can feel your pain and satisfaction! I had to find a nylon spacer at Lowe's and cut it down to get the bushing on the Torx bit slider portion on my passenger seat to stop rattling. Agreed.... it'll drive you nuts!

Glad to see capitalism alive and well. When a problem presents itself, someone will find a solution, build it and sell it. When I need to do mine again, that'll be a $20 well spent! Thanks for the link!
 
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Removed and thoroughly cleaned my brake light lenses. Then I cut pieces of HVAC aluminum duct tape and put in the housings, for better light reflectivity of the brake lights and reverse lights. Poor man's method of brightening my lights. Cheaper than LED bulbs and flasher replacement.
I did this today as I already had the aluminum tape. Bottom inside of the lenses were full of dirt, had to use a nylon brush to scrub 'em out.
 
Well, I haven't started the front drivers side yet but I drove it around today and I must say it is a lot quieter inside.
So I'm guessing that it will be even better when I finish the driver's side and put a boom mat headliner in (or something similar)

It gets hot as hell here in Southwest Arizona. So that headliner should help a little bit.
But when it's 120°+ nothing is safe from that kinda heat.
I did my entire tub in second skin sound deadener and heat sheild. Made a huge difference. I can hear my stereo now.
 
Finally finished wiring up the license plate light/3rd brake light. Wired the brake lights into the taillight harness I made so I didn't have to touch the factory wiring. Used a Deutsch connector so I can disconnect the plate light from the taillight in case I need to remove either.

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brakes on, 3rd brake light working (this was before I wired up the license plate light)

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Running lights on, License plate light working. It's not as bright as it looks in this photo.

One step closer to being legal, lol.
 
Finally finished wiring up the license plate light/3rd brake light. Wired the brake lights into the taillight harness I made so I didn't have to touch the factory wiring. Used a Deutsch connector so I can disconnect the plate light from the taillight in case I need to remove either.

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brakes on, 3rd brake light working (this was before I wired up the license plate light)

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Running lights on, License plate light working. It's not as bright as it looks in this photo.

One step closer to being legal, lol.
Those were my second favorite LED taillights! Looks awesome
 
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