Any Jeepers out there?

derekmac · **Reply #90 on:** February 15, 2013, 12:29:31 PM

Quote from: tattoosteve99 on February 15, 2013, 03:47:04 AM

Well had a little issue fixing the manifold leak. The studs broke . Out came the tools and off with the head lol. Got all the studs out easy . Now time to put everything back together and see if it passes the emission test

Ahh, that drives me! Don't ya just hate it when you're trying to take them off, and you're turning them slowly thinking please don't snap, please don't snap, then off comes the head!

Quote from: Grant Lamontagne on February 14, 2013, 07:40:24 PM

As for them being poor quality, I kind of disagree. I don't think its poor quality so much as its loose engineering. Americans are famous for that- look at Harley Davidson for example. By European standards they are awful bikes as well, yet they are the undisputed king of bikes here.

Yeah, at least they're not as bad as most other Chrysler products. I honestly would never buy anything from them except for a truck or Jeep.

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #91 on:** February 15, 2013, 03:18:54 PM

Matt, I wouldn't compare Jeeps and the big Toyota's. While I can't speak for all of them, I did drive an FJ Cruiser and despite having the stiffer off road shocks there was far too much body roll. So much in fact that Kim started to get seasick on the test drive. The salesman said I could fit stiffer shocks to it, but for $10k more than my almost fully loaded Jeep it was either going to be perfect out the door or stay on the lot.

For the record, here a four door Jeep starts around $24,000 while the base model FJ is $36,000. The price of the version I drove was just over $40k and most of that was the "off road" package and no creature comforts. For around what the base FJ cost I got an almost fully loaded Jeep. The only thing I didn't get was leather.

Given those numbers, as far as I'm concerned the Toyota isn't even an option. The XTerras price tag was very similar to the FJ but was a much worse truck.

Those are the only three solid front axle non pickup 4x4's available here.

Def

Sent from my Motorola Atrix digital multitool.

tattoosteve99 · **Reply #92 on:** February 17, 2013, 02:46:04 AM

Got it fixed, and man what a difference. I also opted to tune it up while I was at it. Man this thing has tons of power now. For a 4 banger its pretty stout. I inspected the head while it was out, and the head looks to be in great shape, ie, no cracks, no rust, no leaks, and weirdest of all, no carbon. I guess the guy who had it before me took really good care of it. Minus the small rust hole, but hey, what do you expect for something that old

Thisjk38 · **Reply #93 on:** February 17, 2013, 11:30:09 AM

Funny thing happened today. I was parked on the street and was loading something in the rear cargo area. I shut my window by pushing it closed and as I did it my entire jeep shook. I thought to my self "huh, maybe I didn't put the parking break on because I didn't push it that hard". Then I noticed the van parked in front of me pulling out and it had two dents on its rear bumper. It quickly dawned on me he just reversed into me. Well he didn't stop and just took off. I walked to the front to check it out and my bumper was just fine. I have a steel bumper so I wasn't worried. The two dents the guy had were from my tow hooks. I laughed it off, but still kind of irked the guy just took off. Oh well.

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #94 on:** February 17, 2013, 05:36:03 PM

Typical jack ass.

Well I have to say I enjoyed mine while it lasted. My inlaws are supposed to be coming over this afternoon for coffee so my wife decided to go out and get some donuts as well. She thought it would be need to take the Jeep. She liked it so much she went to the donut shop on the other side of town. When she got home with the donuts she call her parents to let them know that she was coming to pick them up in it rather than let them come over by themselves in their own car.

I may not get it back.

Def

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derekmac · **Reply #95 on:** February 17, 2013, 06:47:05 PM

You broke the first rule of Jeep club. Don't let the wife drive it!!

Hope you like driving your VW!!

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #96 on:** February 17, 2013, 07:19:31 PM

Actually I do like my VW. Its a really nice little car.

Fortunately my wife rarely drives (I have no idea why we are spending so much money on a car for her) so even if she does decide to drive the Jeep from now on I doubt much will change.

Def

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tattoosteve99 · **Reply #97 on:** February 18, 2013, 02:17:14 AM

I'm going to upgrade. Already got a cold air intake, going to get a electric fan and a throttle body off a 4.0l

Thisjk38 · **Reply #98 on:** February 19, 2013, 11:04:41 AM

This thread inspired me to finally upload an avatar.

nuphoria · **Reply #99 on:** February 19, 2013, 11:46:31 AM

Quote from: Thisjk38 on February 19, 2013, 11:04:41 AM

This thread inspired me to finally upload an avatar.

Nice.. looks like a Roman viaduct.

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #100 on:** February 19, 2013, 12:16:23 PM

It does kind of look like that, doesn't it?

I wonder if Jeeps will last as long as Roman architecture?

Def

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tattoosteve99 · **Reply #101 on:** February 24, 2013, 07:18:24 AM

Got new tires today and all wobbles and weaving is gone

. Although it set me back $600 +

. But considering my kids will ride in it, no amount of money is too much <3

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #102 on:** February 24, 2013, 12:39:59 PM

That's pretty cheap for tires- I take it they weren't new? My TJ was going to cost me close to $1500 for five new tires.

BTW, I suggest that you check (and replace) the spare if it hasn't been done already. When I got my TJ it was about ten years old and still had the factory spare on it. That spare was useless as it was cracked, which means if I ever tried to use it I'd get all of two miles further down the road before getting stuck with another flat- and given that this one would have blown the sidewall, it would have been a bad and possibly dangerous blowout.

Make sure to rotate the spare in with the rest of your tires when you rotate them and don't use any tire that is more than five years old or has cracks on the sidewall. The rubber breaks down faster when kept outside the vehicle.

Def

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #103 on:** February 24, 2013, 12:49:00 PM

In case anyone is interested, Quadratec is giving away a 4 door Brute conversion:

http://www.quadratec.com/brutegiveaway/

That is pretty sweet!

Def

Sazabi · **Reply #104 on:** February 24, 2013, 09:10:19 PM

I don't know why, but I really like the looks of the Brute conversion.

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #105 on:** February 24, 2013, 09:20:13 PM

Probably because of the amount of awesome-ness in it. Just a guess though.

Def

bmot · **Reply #106 on:** February 26, 2013, 10:55:47 AM

Just thought I'd drop this here... New Jeep Cherokee

http://www.topgear.com/uk/photos/2014-Jeep-Cherokee-unveiled-2013-02-25

jzmtl · **Reply #107 on:** February 27, 2013, 06:45:19 AM

Quote from: bmot on February 26, 2013, 10:55:47 AM

Just thought I'd drop this here... New Jeep Cherokee

http://www.topgear.com/uk/photos/2014-Jeep-Cherokee-unveiled-2013-02-25

w. t. f...

Thisjk38 · **Reply #108 on:** February 27, 2013, 08:46:34 AM

That brute just screams badassness. I'm not too fond of the snorkel though. But damn that brute is rugged. Oh and by the way I also recommend the 5 tire rotation. You pay for that 5th tire than you might as well use it. Just in case you don't know how it goes.

Spare -> passenger rear
PR-> PF
PF-> DR
DR-> DF
DF-> Spare.

dks · **Reply #109 on:** February 27, 2013, 10:33:39 AM

Bear in mind that most tyres used nowadays are Radial tyres, which should only be rotated with tyres on the same side (front to back and back to front, not left side to right side).

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #110 on:** February 27, 2013, 12:24:23 PM

Yeah, directional tires can be a pain like that, and boy do they make some noise when you put the buggers on backwards!

Def

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Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #111 on:** March 17, 2013, 03:19:58 AM

I finally got around to installing a few extras today. I put on the headlight guards which I know are just showy with no real, actual function, but I like them.

I also got an extra set of grab handles yesterday and put them under the headrests to make it easier to get in and out of the back seats. I have another set of handles to hang on the roll bar in the back seats as well but I haven't put those in yet. I did however put grab handles on the roll bar in the front seats- special ones I'd bought for my yellow Jeep when I got it. They actually say HOLY S*%"! on them.

I also have brackets for external wing mirrors when I take the doors off to install. I'll do that when I do the rain visors over the windows when the weather gets nicer. And I have a set of brackets to mount lights on the windshield too, but those are out getting powdercoated and I won't have them until next week, which is no big deal as I don't yet have lights to put on them yet.

Anyways, here's a shot of the headlight guards and some of the other stuff I picked up.

Def

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derekmac · **Reply #112 on:** May 02, 2013, 02:55:38 PM

I picked up some almost new tires for my Jeep yesterday. They should have a little more grip than my bald all seasons I have on it now!

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #113 on:** May 02, 2013, 05:02:59 PM

Those look excellent!

I'm on the lookout for some decent 16" rims for mine so I can start hunting for some nice 33" tires. I'll probably end up going with Mickey Thompson tires for it.

Def

derekmac · **Reply #114 on:** May 02, 2013, 05:29:22 PM

33's will be a great size for your Jeep, and the Mickey Thompson tires are really good! I managed to get a time today to get these mounted, so I'll post before and after pics later.

Are you going to put a lift on yours? I still plan on getting one for mine, but I'm only going to go with a 2" lift. That way the stock components will still work, and it will still ride close to stock.

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #115 on:** May 02, 2013, 05:46:50 PM

After seeing what Jeff has been going through with his rig I doubt very much I'll lift mine. IF I do, it would probably only be a 2-3" lift at most since I still need this as a daily driver/work truck. Jeff has a 4" lift and his is basically a toy- both he and his wife have other vehicles, so Jeep problems don't hinder him as much, plus if he needs to travel longer distances he has more options than I do.

Chances are I'll leave it at the stock height, armor the heck out of the underside and get a decent winch to pull me off of whatever I may get suck on.

Def

derekmac · **Reply #116 on:** May 02, 2013, 11:03:28 PM

Yeah, doesn't sound like he's been having great luck with his lift! 2" Spacers is how I'm going to go. Cheap and shouldn't affect driving.

Got my tires on today, and there's not much room left in the wheel wells. It might rub a little on the front at full lock or when flexed, but nothing a little trimming won't fix!

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Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #117 on:** May 02, 2013, 11:44:15 PM

Those look great!

How do they feel when driving?

Def

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derekmac · **Reply #118 on:** May 02, 2013, 11:58:35 PM

They feel a lot better than I thought they would! They ride pretty smooth, and are not too noisy either.

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Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #119 on:** May 03, 2013, 01:17:15 AM

They look like monsters- I really like the armored sidewall on them. I usually park on the street at home and usually end up chewing up my sidewalls on the curb.

Def

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