Novak Conversions Jeep Wrangler TJ engine mounts

What did you do to your TJ today?

Replaced steering stabilizer with unmotivated, corroded tie rod pin penetrant, wiggle, heat hammer repeat after multiple mental breaks) .
Mounted spacer and new spare.
Cleaned out cargo hold.
Created tomorrows fixes from todays fixes... (Two steps forward and one step back still equals progress) 👍

So, three things missing from your post.
1 pics
2 pics
And, you guessed it, pics.😉
 
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Anything bean, bean-like or bean related are in the no-go zone.
Spicy tomato sauce soup.. not a bean. Good to go


Serious? You never heard of Nathan's? Featured in the Godfather, Bronx Tale and gazillion other movies.


Thank you. Nathan's Famous. Started in Coney Island in Brooklyn. No hot dog is better. You can buy them in the grocery store in the fridge section. They have to be grilled to be original.

I know I said SkyLine in OH was good, but if you're not going to do Nathan's then nothing will beat a Dirty Water Dog from a street vendor on a corner in NYC. Almost always a Sabrett Part of the fun is not knowing exactly what you are eating...


Gotta add Sabrett to that list. I used to have a Sabrett cart just for fun. It was a blast for family parties.


What's wrong with that? You get to use 4 Lo every day!!


Did you tow him behind the Jeep?

4 wheeler , sometimes tractor
 
Checking roads before school bus route tomorrow
 

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Hey all, been MIA but want your opinions.

Looking at an LJ for my dad. Has 240k miles, minimal tub rust, frame looks clean on the outside but may have chipping on the inside.

The previous owner doesn’t technically own it yet as he owes money, the title is still in possession of the dealer he “bought” it from. I spoke with the dealer and they said they’d be able to sign the title directly over to me since he never got the title in his name with an official lien tied to it. This imo makes it simpler as no lien release documentation is necessary.

He mentioned it failed inspection because mileage discrepancy, which was due to the cluster being replaced and not reprogrammed. The guy has been fully transparent and honest. This is an easy fix.

In my opinion to my dad, assuming worst case and the frame needs patching / the engine/ transmission gets replaced, for $6500 that is a good deal.

It would be a lot of time spent to fix these things if needed, but then you know what you have.

What do you guys think, good deal? Run away? Let me know!!
 
LJ running like shit, or not running at all, once it warmed up. Did a couple things like cleaning out the IAC and checking voltage going to the TPS sensor. Everything seemed correct. I don't have a lot of time to work on the rig, so I said 'fuck it' and ordered a couple of O2 sensors to see if that would fix it. The current ones came out no problem, new ones went in no problem, and the rig warmed up with no issues. Yay. I won't fully believe it until it gets a few more warm up cycles on it. The fix just seemed too easy...jeep repair PTSD.
 
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Now a fire has started smack dab in the middle of the Hollywood Hills. This is definitely arson ALL now, I am convinced

Last year I responded to 5 arsons within a few miles of my house. Thankfully we had air support and knocked them out.

Guys were so mad that we started patrolling to dispense a little vigilante justice.

I don't think they ever caught the bastard.
 
Please tell me those are "highway" miles. Else I'm really doing something wrong.

I get roughly 110 miles per tank now with these 33s all higheay😅 I also drive it like a race car so I can't really complain !
 
LJ running like shit, or not running at all, once it warmed up. Did a couple things like cleaning out the IAC and checking voltage going to the TPS sensor. Everything seemed correct. I don't have a lot of time to work on the rig, so I said 'fuck it' and ordered a couple of O2 sensors to see if that would fix it. The current ones came out no problem, new ones went in no problem, and the rig warmed up with no issues. Yay. I won't fully believe it until it gets a few more warm up cycles on it. The fix just seemed too easy...jeep repair PTSD.

Check the elbow on your map sensor! That and get a new map sensor! My Lj was giving me funky AFR numbers when tuning,Ran like shit as well when I got on it but idling it would do just fine !
So I put in a new MAP sensor from NTK(like ngk,"Same" company) and she ran great😁
 
Hey all, been MIA but want your opinions.

Looking at an LJ for my dad. Has 240k miles, minimal tub rust, frame looks clean on the outside but may have chipping on the inside.

The previous owner doesn’t technically own it yet as he owes money, the title is still in possession of the dealer he “bought” it from. I spoke with the dealer and they said they’d be able to sign the title directly over to me since he never got the title in his name with an official lien tied to it. This imo makes it simpler as no lien release documentation is necessary.

He mentioned it failed inspection because mileage discrepancy, which was due to the cluster being replaced and not reprogrammed. The guy has been fully transparent and honest. This is an easy fix.

In my opinion to my dad, assuming worst case and the frame needs patching / the engine/ transmission gets replaced, for $6500 that is a good deal.

It would be a lot of time spent to fix these things if needed, but then you know what you have.

What do you guys think, good deal? Run away? Let me know!!

RUNN.....hehe 🤣 No but yeah RUN and go buy that thing! That's a hell if a deal dude...6500? Hell yeah
I'm not a fan of rust but if it's something I can take care over the weekend then yeah that's awesome. Either way from what I'm hearing that sounds like a good deal !
 
Hey all, been MIA but want your opinions.

Looking at an LJ for my dad. Has 240k miles, minimal tub rust, frame looks clean on the outside but may have chipping on the inside.

The previous owner doesn’t technically own it yet as he owes money, the title is still in possession of the dealer he “bought” it from. I spoke with the dealer and they said they’d be able to sign the title directly over to me since he never got the title in his name with an official lien tied to it. This imo makes it simpler as no lien release documentation is necessary.

He mentioned it failed inspection because mileage discrepancy, which was due to the cluster being replaced and not reprogrammed. The guy has been fully transparent and honest. This is an easy fix.

In my opinion to my dad, assuming worst case and the frame needs patching / the engine/ transmission gets replaced, for $6500 that is a good deal.

It would be a lot of time spent to fix these things if needed, but then you know what you have.

What do you guys think, good deal? Run away? Let me know!!

How much are you willing to spend for the frame and tub repair? I’m in the middle of this and for the $ spent I would go south and buy rust free if’n I could do it again. There is nothing like a rust free Jeep in NY.
 
Please tell me those are "highway" miles. Else I'm really doing something wrong.

Its sorta 50/50 since I take the highway to the office, then surface roads home.

So its like 65-80 mph for half and 35/50 mph for the other half.

Edit - I am also on 3.07 gearing with 235/75R15 Michelin LTX's sooooo that might also be part of it.
 
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How much are you willing to spend for the frame and tub repair? I’m in the middle of this and for the $ spent I would go south and buy rust free if’n I could do it again. There is nothing like a rust free Jeep in NY.

I always lean on the side of being okay with doing more work. When you do it that way you 100% know what you have. The tub itself looks like it has no rust at all and since I can do everything besides welding, I think you could achieve damn near “rust free” while still only spending several thousand more and doing almost all the work myself.
 
Swapped out the T-case last week with a known low mileage (50k) t-case from another 06’ LJ. Only difference was the part number was different by 1 digit on the paper tag. Jumped in it yesterday to take the wife for a ride and I had the worst vibration I have ever felt. As I was completely confused I spent today running over the rig. Pulled all the tires, checked for weights that fell off, checked joints and found 1 bad ball joint. Tossed in a new set of ball joints while I pondered the vibration issue.
Figured maybe it was the pinion angle that changed with the case. Everything measured the same but fuck it. Let start from the top. Worked my way through the pinion angles 4/-4 and for the life of me I couldn’t get the vibration to go away. Next I pulled the rear shaft, locked the hubs and did a test drive in front wheel drive. Smooth as ever, no vibration.
Finally tossed in the towel. Plugged in the old t-case and set the pinion to zero. Bam! No more vibration. Guess I’ll toss this T-case in the rebuild pile and I’ll compare it to the one installed now at a later date. It’s beyond me why one caused the vibration and the other works great, but sure enough one caused vibration.
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Check the depth of your SYE case. I did the same thing and kept replacing ujoints until it was pointed out that my driveshaft was now a scosh too long.
 
I always lean on the side of being okay with doing more work. When you do it that way you 100% know what you have. The tub itself looks like it has no rust at all and since I can do everything besides welding, I think you could achieve damn near “rust free” while still only spending several thousand more and doing almost all the work myself.
Spend some time under the LJ poking for rust. My '04 was from Wisconsin and the frame is OK with just internal flaking.
It went right to the shop to replace suspension, brakes, steering, and drive train seals. Flushed fluids on brakes, power steering, cooling, transmission, transfer case, and axles. Then to a mechanic for a tuneup. Finally to a Jeep shop for new fenders and some body repairs.
It seems my daily driver went 250,000 miles with very little maintenance, and just repairs needed to keep it running.
If your Dad's at all mechanical, it can be a great hobby to restore it and make his mods.
With the support of this forum, it can be a great experience.

IMG_6307.jpg
 
Spend some time under the LJ poking for rust. My '04 was from Wisconsin and the frame is OK with just internal flaking.
It went right to the shop to replace suspension, brakes, steering, and drive train seals. Flushed fluids on brakes, power steering, cooling, transmission, transfer case, and axles. Then to a mechanic for a tuneup. Finally to a Jeep shop for new fenders and some body repairs.
It seems my daily driver went 250,000 miles with very little maintenance, and just repairs needed to keep it running.
If your Dad's at all mechanical, it can be a great hobby to restore it and make his mods.
With the support of this forum, it can be a great experience.

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I appreciate the input! I was able to talk the guy down to $5500, I personally think this is good buy, even with all the repairs that might come along. My dad is mechanically inclined, but not to the extent I am. I did my first engine rebuild on a whim with my 2.4, have replaced clutches, and done my own custom wiring to add hardtop defrost/wiper so I know I have the ability to do majority of any major fixes. Welding is about the only tool I’m missing in my tool belt.

(Beautiful LJ btw!)
 
I appreciate the input! I was able to talk the guy down to $5500, I personally think this is good buy, even with all the repairs that might come along. My dad is mechanically inclined, but not to the extent I am. I did my first engine rebuild on a whim with my 2.4, have replaced clutches, and done my own custom wiring to add hardtop defrost/wiper so I know I have the ability to do majority of any major fixes. Welding is about the only tool I’m missing in my tool belt.

(Beautiful LJ btw!)

If you have a friend that has a welder see if he'll let you make a few practice passes. It's not that difficult to learn and a great skill to have. Just ask @JMT. His welds have improved markedly from when he ran his first bead. And that LJ sounds like a good buy. Good luck.
 
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If you have a friend that has a welder see if he'll let you make a few practice passes. It's not that difficult to learn and a great skill to have. Just ask @JMT. His welds have improved markedly from when he ran his first bead. And that LJ sounds like a good buy. Good luck.

Thanks brother. I still feel like a hobby welder and probably always will. At least you can return to your skill level pretty quickly after a several month stretch of not welding. Definitely worth it. All my metal on the Jeep is still sticking together.

Do it @Duner
 
Novak Conversions Jeep Wrangler TJ engine mounts