Does it click once when you turn the key, or is it silent, or does it crank and try to stay?

 

What I did to my XJ today was a lot to ask, and it was up to the task.

2 Years in the making (so far). Bought the Jeep to be a long distance daily driver and a fishing camping machine. Got it with 49k on the clock, and refreshed a ton of it. Springs, 1.5 lift, 30x9.5 tires, air shocks, brake controller, electrical for camper, hitch, interior fishing rack, rebuilt front end, rebuilt the drive shafts, radios (cb and 2meter), obd2 digital dashboard, list goes on.

Bought a 2000lb popup for it to tow, and have taken it out 3 times so far. Just got back from the first real serious test. Full gear, self contained with full water and extra water containers, dual gas and batteries on the camper, and a family of 4 in the vehicle. Had to tackle some very long steep grades, both up and down.

The Jeep has performed excellent so far. Temps have been within limits, and it definitely has the horses and stability to tow the camper very comfortably (55-60mph) on flats and general hilly terrain. On the long steep grades, I had to manage power a lot, either build up speed prior, or try to keep the RPMs up via gear selection.

It won't get much worse than what I put it through this weekend. So I am pretty pleased with the performance. Some future plans will include fitting a remote trans aux cooler (don't want to compete with the already small radiator area), and a trans temp gauge to keep an eye on it specifically.

 

Yeah, that's pretty much where I'm at. (I've got a few years on you.) I had the Jeep in for an exhaust system and knew the front pads were getting thin so basically figured as long as it was in the shop just get it all done. Although I'm used to doing my own wrenching, every once in a while it's a little bit of a luxury to kick back while someone else takes care of it.

 

That is a GORGEOUS XJ, sir. I like that popup too. I've been wanting a popup trailer for a while. I'll get one, one day.

 

X2

 

Thank you. It has brought me a lot of joy so far. I have probably owned 15 cars in my life, some good some bad. This has been the only one that I get excited to drive every single day. I have friends at work that have $50k cars, and nobody even gives them a second thought. Yet, I get interrupted at the gas station at least once a week by someone that wants to know about the Jeep, or tell me about how they always wanted one. I certainly wasn't expecting that type of attention from it. Teenagers love it, and many middle aged folks are nostalgic for them it seems.

The most common question I get is whether I intend to use it during the winter (we are in heavy-salt region). Many people park their Jeeps during the winter here. But I bought it to use it, and part of that includes dealing with the tremendous amount of snow we get. So I'm driving it until the wheels fall off (while keeping it DRENCHED with anti-corrosion fluids).

 

Spraying the underside with a rust-preventative compound can help keep the tinworm at bay. I spray Fluid Film on mine in the fall. (There are certainly others available. Some people just use old engine oil.)

 

I am making the manufacturer of Fluid Film rich. The underside of my Jeep is so treated, that you can't touch any of it without it being a big sloppy mess. But the stuff seriously works. I tested it on a portion of bare metal (around the front leaf spring bracket) for a period of 1.5 years covering two full salt seasons (2 winters). And when I wiped the metal off with a paper towel, it looked EXACTLY as it did the day I sprayed it.

I don't do it a certain amount of times per year, instead I treat it every time I am under there, or any time I take anything apart for service. So basically, any time I have access, stuff gets sprayed.

 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Carraras-Hot-Oil-Rustproofing/657007631027583[/url]
This works for me. They drill doors, hatch and running boards to spray oil inside as well as the underside. The only down side is for two weeks after treatment, the jeep looks like the motor has blown. will try to remember to post photos after this years treatment.

 

So I got some of my parts back from Line-X. The plastic part of the factory running boards and the door molding. Tomorrow I will get the rear mud flaps and the roof skid strips. Wish I could get some better shots for you guys but I am pretty pleased with the outcome so far.

 

Go the rest of my stuff back from Line-X. Going to be a busy holiday weekend if the weather holds out for me.

 

Excellent progress as per usual, Ralph. Gonna be a real cherry when it's all finished up!

 

Thank you. Now just have to get it done. Cherry is an exaggeration when describing my Jeep though.

 

Last night I replaced the relays in my Putco headlight harness with Bosch-types. The originals still worked fine, but I cut one open and it was rusty-crusty, so I guess it was good timing.

This weekend I'm going to upgrade to 784 injectors and while I'm there pull the valve cover off and dowse the HLAs in MMO in attempt to un-stick them and reduce the intermittent clatter.

I also have wiring issues between the A-pillars and doors to track down and fix.

 

Last night was a new starter (just refreshing the old, which was 20 years, now retired to the shelf as a known-good). And a new ignition switch (end result of chasing a voltage drop in the interior).

This weekend I'm hoping to put a new alternator in, install my light harness and headlight conversions, and finally wire up my brush-guard mounted off road lights (they are currently un-wired poser lights). Just waiting for my fusebox/busbars to come in, because the number of random wires making their way to the battery is getting out of control.