Any Jeepers in here?

[Caleb]

I decided on brand....

This one...

...or this one?

 

[Hookeye]

But everybody has a v8

I have both, one GC with the I6 and the other with a V8
My two XJ's had I6, and my 3 CJ's did as well.
Sorry man, I'm kinda tired of that engine. been behind one for a looooong while.

I'd rather have a gas sipping 4 cyl for DD and a V8 for the play toy.

 

[Caleb]

I see...quick question for you hookeye, I been looking at replacing u-joints, ball joints, and tie rod(most confusing to me at the moment) but trying to figure out what part numbers I need for them and cheapest place to get quality product...

what is recommended brand for durability?

 

[Hookeye]

Being old school, I always went with Spicer U joints.
Wheel bearings, Timken.
Tie rods, OEM or Omix ADA ordered through 4 Wheeldrive Hardware or Quadratec (yeah maybe get them cheaper elsewhere but I ordered other stuff and both places NEVER screwed up my orders, or d*cked me on timing).
I can't remember what brand of ball joints I used. Got them at NAPA.

I don't mind breaking stuff, or wearing out factory components/parts. But what grinds my gears is when i do a fix, and soon after I have to do it again, because the cheap POS part was not up to spec.

Nowadays even better parts places stock cheap foreign manufactured crap.

But we gave it a lifetime warranty..............my arse. It was wonderful to have the vehicle die way out in the sticks, or in sleeting weather at 1 am..............and me taking time off work to fix the turd...............wow, giving me another $70 part free is such a bargain.

BTDT...........too many times.

I think when a part fails because it sucks we should send a labor bill to the manufacturer.

Alas, many parts fail due to incorrect installation and or maintenance. So the idiots screw us again.

Jeepin' is fun, when you have the time and $ to work on them when you want to.

I've done the late night big teardowns, and finished when the sun was coming up.
Too old and cranky for that crap these days.

You youngin's can "have at it".

 

[Caleb]

any positive experience with rock auto?

 

[tradertator]

Got some HID conversion lights for my TJ Wrangler. HUGE improvement over the old ones.

 

[lovemachine]

Got some HID conversion lights for my TJ Wrangler. HUGE improvement over the old ones.

What brand?

I've been tempted to try these out:
KC HiLites Performance 7" Round Headlamp Kit for 45-06 Jeep® CJ, Wrangler TJ & Unlimited - Quadratec

 

[Dick]

any positive experience with rock auto?

Yes! Used them several times, but keep in mind that they dont make the parts, just sell em. You still have to choose a decent brand.

As stated, I try to stick with spicer for ujoints as well as for my ball joints. As for tie rod ends, I normally just grab whats at the local parts stores, never had any prematurely wear out. I do run Rugged Ridge crossover steering now though, and unfortunately those arent available just anywhere. I would advise against that setup anyway. For wheel bearings, Ive ordered sets off ebay before because they were the cheapest i could find at the time, and back then i was on a VERY tight budget. Never had a problem with em, and also know several others who ordered the same ones with no issue. Now Ive managed to build up a large enough stock of spare front shafts with unit bearings attached that when I do have one wear out, Ill already have a replacement. No matter what brand unit bearing you buy, if you put on larger tires and wheel (especially in mud/water), they are gonna wear out faster than usual.

 

[tradertator]

What brand?

I've been tempted to try these out:
KC HiLites Performance 7" Round Headlamp Kit for 45-06 Jeep® CJ, Wrangler TJ & Unlimited - Quadratec

Rampage conversion with Sylvania ZXE bulbs. Did a little research, and turns out they're Xenon, and not HID. Still super bright though, with a nice crisp white light.

 

[Caleb]

Yes! Used them several times, but keep in mind that they dont make the parts, just sell em. You still have to choose a decent brand.

As stated, I try to stick with spicer for ujoints as well as for my ball joints. As for tie rod ends, I normally just grab whats at the local parts stores, never had any prematurely wear out. I do run Rugged Ridge crossover steering now though, and unfortunately those arent available just anywhere. I would advise against that setup anyway. For wheel bearings, Ive ordered sets off ebay before because they were the cheapest i could find at the time, and back then i was on a VERY tight budget. Never had a problem with em, and also know several others who ordered the same ones with no issue. Now Ive managed to build up a large enough stock of spare front shafts with unit bearings attached that when I do have one wear out, Ill already have a replacement. No matter what brand unit bearing you buy, if you put on larger tires and wheel (especially in mud/water), they are gonna wear out faster than usual.

Reason why I mention u-joints, balljoints, and tie rod ends is I have a clunk when I move steering left to right and back left again. When I drive slow with the steering wheel locked to the left, I get a rubbing/binding feel but only with steering locked to left.

I'm trying to figure out what's going on, would like to replace everything but I don't know if that possible at this point.

 

[kludge]

Whose bumpers/winch mounts are those? I need to check them out.

I decided on brand....

This one...

...or this one?

 

[lovemachine]

If I had a Cherokee, I'd get this...

 

[Caleb]

Whose bumpers/winch mounts are those? I need to check them out.

Off Road Specialties - ORS

$360.08 shipped to my door...hand welded by the one guy in the shop for quality work...I got the High Clearance Integrated Solinoid Bumper, I can add wings to it to protect my front corners but I'm gonna wait a bit to get those.

 

[lovemachine]

I kinda like this too..

 

[Caleb]

I'm not crazy about wheels/tires hanging off the back myself, but If I went that route, it's would be something like that as oppose to hanging on the door/hatch.

 

[Jordan]

I have an XJ. Love it. It needs work though and I am not a gear head. Its a 2001 60th Anniversary model. Silver. I love it. I would like to lift it about 3 to 4 inches and put it on 31s. There not a whole lot else I would want to do with it because I don't intend to rock crawl or anything. Trail running and typical outdoor recreation. But I like lifts. More importantly though I need to fix some mechanical issues with it before sprucing it up. It has a break issue, a transmission issue, and an engine issue! I don't want to get rid of it but boy it seems to be one thing after another...

 

[Caleb]

I have an XJ. Love it. It needs work though and I am not a gear head. Its a 2001 60th Anniversary model. Silver. I love it. I would like to lift it about 3 to 4 inches and put it on 31s. There not a whole lot else I would want to do with it because I don't intend to rock crawl or anything. Trail running and typical outdoor recreation. But I like lifts. More importantly though I need to fix some mechanical issues with it before sprucing it up. It has a break issue, a transmission issue, and an engine issue! I don't want to get rid of it but boy it seems to be one thing after another...

Hang in there buddy, you'll kick yourself if you sell it.

 

[Hookeye]

I only ordered a couple of radiators through Rockauto. No probs though.

 

[Hookeye]

BTW, when it comes to Jeeps..............better to kill it than sell it.

 

[Caleb]

Call another jeeper in Columbus, he said from what I told him that u-joint is bad...so...got to looking at spicer ujoints and saw there are many different sizes. What PN or size am I looking for in my cherokee?