What did you do to your TJ today?

Yesterday I replaced my 05's OEM OPDA (it had an '04 date code inside its housing) with a new Crown unit. I have not had the barrel of monkeys noise that I could recall, so this was preventative maintenance.

I followed the usual steps found in all the tutorials and write-ups, used the original cam sensor, got everything back together, and (holding my breath) the Jeep started up and ran until normal operating temperature with no codes. I didn't have a chance to test drive it last night. I should be able to do this today. I will say, I don't think I have any valve/lifter tick now. It was always minimal anyway, but my ears couldn't hear any.

As with other projects where I encounter minimal hiccups, I'm skeptical I did everything right. I read horror stories and I didn't (so far) have that type of experience. (The worst of the project was cutting a slot into one of the old OPDA's cover screws because the T25 rounded out due to the angle of getting a tool in there.) I can't be the only one who doubts themselves after doing this stuff, can I?

I found the similar type of wear on my old OPDA everyone else reports; but the cam did not look similarly worn.

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Dino76033 said:
I’m wanting that top. My only concern is I heard the top will get to flapping going down the highway. Have you noticed this?
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I’ve had the same top for 2 years and I couldn’t be happier with it. The first thing I noticed when I took it for a drive was how much quieter it was than my OE top. Now...the OE top was pretty dry rotted but it obviously fit perfectly but it was flappy IMO compared to the Trektop NX.
 
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Dunkut88TJ said:
M

Makes sense, I’ve always been torn on which is better if you only had one. I pick up my half doors this week and then maybe I can decide. I have to paint them, but plan on keeping both.
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Id keep both if I had the place to store it. Half doors is basically a commitment to a summer only Jeep. Which is fine because I only drive it when there’s no chance of rain and the temperature is greater than 65.
 
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Midtenn said:
Id keep both if I had the place to store it. Half doors is basically a commitment to a summer only Jeep. Which is fine because I only drive it when there’s no chance of rain and the temperature is greater than 65.
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Makes sense. I still ride in the winter when there is no salt down. My garage is filling fast, thankfully it’s a deep garage for my work area, workouts, and storage.
 
Got the other two black brackets out from the engine bay - wire wheeled and chipped rust off, am now priming. This is a good time to do this as its supposed to start raining this afternoon, and continue more or less non-stop for 3 days. This lets me get all 3 brackets painted, and dried well before reinstallation.

Funny thing: I grabbed a fresh rattle can of black hi-gloss. Turns out it isn't black, its "dark Walnut" - super dark brown almost black. Screw it - the brackets don't care what color they are, close enough!
 
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Zorba said:
Got the other two black brackets out from the engine bay - wire wheeled and chipped rust off, am now priming. This is a good time to do this as its supposed to start raining this afternoon, and continue more or less non-stop for 3 days. This lets me get all 3 brackets painted, and dried well before reinstallation.

Funny thing: I grabbed a fresh rattle can of black hi-gloss. Turns out it isn't black, its "dark Walnut" - super dark brown almost black. Screw it - the brackets don't care what color they are, close enough!
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Do you have cruise control? I have been planning to do the same thing with brackets under the hood but I was unable to figure out how to get the cruise module off of the bracket. Cant remember exactly what happened but I was probably thinking I could get it apart but not know how to get it back together.
 
Viking Jeeper said:
Do you have cruise control? I have been planning to do the same thing with brackets under the hood but I was unable to figure out how to get the cruise module off of the bracket. Cant remember exactly what happened but I was probably thinking I could get it apart but not know how to get it back together.
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I do have cruise control - BUT - its an aftermarket Rostra unit.
 
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I installed my rokmen 1 inch body lift and M.O.R.E 1 inch motor mount lift, now i have no vibes with my 2.5 inch suspension lift.. everything went well and smooth. Just had to extend my fuel in the back and then with the motor mount i had to grind off a LITTLE bit of the frame because it was touching the engine bracket on the passenger side.
 
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Zorba said:
How much of a PITA was it to install?
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The tight quarters was the worst part for sure even with the transfer skid dropped out. I don’t know if the old linkage being rusted was a help or hindrance in my case but it came out easy enough that I didn’t have to walk away from it. In terms of fine tuning to get it working right - I didn’t have to do too much of that.
 
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RFAASRMA said:
The tight quarters was the worst part for sure even with the transfer skid dropped out. I don’t know if the old linkage being rusted was a help or hindrance in my case but it came out easy enough that I didn’t have to walk away from it. In terms of fine tuning to get it working right - I didn’t have to do too much of that.
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This mod is coming up to the top of my list fairly quickly now...
 
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