What did you do to your TJ today?

Removed the storage drawer the previous owner had installed and put in an exceptionally nice junk yard back seat, as my kids have decided they now want to come with me on some easier trails (still waiting on replacement seatbelts to be delivered, though).
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I also installed a Walker Quietflow exhaust to tame the excess noise (and awful drone) the previous aftermarket exhaust emitted.
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A few days ago (Friday), I put new 31x10.5r15 Falkin wildpeaks… perfect!
Now the problem is that my wife loves the little jeep. Gonna be tuff getting it away from her.

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When I brought our TJ home 7+ years ago as a toy/weekend fun rig to replace our quads, all my wife could talk about was how basic it was w/o power doors and windows, how loud it was w/the soft top and how unstable it was being so short. Now, guess what vehicle she wants to drive most of the time...
 
I would have ported the head at that point since its out for awhile.

I did buy an M18 die grinder for such an occasion lol I need to find some decent carbide burrs and do some research on the thickness of the casting on these old iron heads. I have three heads total so worst case I fuck one up and learn my lesson lol
 
We got about 7” of snow yesterday so I spent the day chauffeuring people around. These old jeeps are hard to beat in the snow especially in a manual transmission equipped one. I love the fact that there’s no ABS or traction control. Driving the wife’s 2020 renegade is nice but it kinda sucks in the snow. Maybe the next set of tires I put on it will be a little more aggressive.

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I did buy an M18 die grinder for such an occasion lol I need to find some decent carbide burrs and do some research on the thickness of the casting on these old iron heads. I have three heads total so worst case I fuck one up and learn my lesson lol

Sworker 10 Pcs 1/4 Carbide Burr Set 1/4 Shank Die Grinder Bits Drill Bits Grinding Bits for Metal Rotary Tool Attachment Accessories Rasp Weld Wood Stone Deburring Compatible with Milwaukee Dewalt https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09NSYTW26?tag=wranglerorg-20
 
Replaced my tired looking original fender flares with the Rough Country flares that are about the width of Rubicon flares. Installation was pretty straightforward, the hardest part was getting the rear inner fenders out of the way.

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The RC flares aren't as thick as the OEM, but the holes lined up well. They were missing 1 hole on each of the fronts, but it was easy enough to match them up with the opposite flare and drill the hole.

after one year what do you think about RC fender flares? i'm thinking to buy it because i don't like to paint the OEM.
 
Well…made an attempt to bust open the fill port on t-case, just a no go for a quick try with a 3/8 ratchet. Again the skid plate and now ARB air tank hinders access. So I went to the Archery range, it is a a good pull up hill at speed about 60 noticeable difference in performance and less noise with diff fix. But the faint rattle accelerating from dead stop is more evident now after it has warmed up and run at speed. Got to range, locked front hubs 4H, rattle sound less evident Running low on t-case fluid? I may have my tranny guy take out for a spin alone, tomorrow, I’ve seen him drive. I thought I was nuts. All good, one thing at a time.
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Gee wheeze to be polite. T-Case Fill plug still stuck, tried again with some kroil and half inch drive, I have two options, drop and relocate air tank or drop skid plate. On the trail check and fill would be impossible with tank where it is, sure not dropping skid on the trail. removing air tank will require driver seat removal which is an issue as well. I pretty sure I will be dropping t-case, so back to removing skid and relocate air tank. I tried a new grease gun was going smoothly until a zerk busted off, arrrgg….
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I forgot to grease new u joint, got that done, rear driver long arm, stopped when upper zerk snapped and nicely stuck in nice new adapter. Found e-brake cable are one of the rattles, picked up some Adel clamps I will attach to u-bolt with 1/2-20 nut on top of lock nut, Per fab-tech manual they should be under c-lock-nut on u-bolt and bolt cut this op was not done. I don’t think I can repair zerk with long arm in place. My new priority is to finish an e-bike build to use when Jeep is down.
Looks like I will be down again for while.
 
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Gee wheeze to be polite. T-Case Fill plug still stuck, tried again with some kroil and half inch drive, I have two options, drop and relocate air tank or drop skid plate. On the trail check and fill would be impossible with tank where it is, sure not dropping skid on the trail. removing air tank will require driver seat removal which is an issue as well. I pretty sure I will be dropping t-case, so back to removing skid and relocate air tank. I tried a new grease gun was going smoothly until a zerk busted off, arrrgg….
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I forgot to grease new u joint, got that done, rear driver long arm, stopped when upper zerk snapped and nicely stuck in nice new adapter. Found e-brake cable are one of the rattles, picked up some Adel clamps I will attach to u-bolt with 1/2-20 nut on top of lock nut, Per fab-tech manual they should be under c-lock-nut on u-bolt and bolt cut this op was not done. I don’t think I can repair zerk with long arm in place. My new priority is to finish an e-bike build to use when Jeep is down.
Looks like I will be down again for while.
Check this video out


This video describes my suspected t-case issue pretty well. So in my 02 wrangler, in 2h with np231j the front shaft is spinning? The way he describes how it works, it is. If i am not mistaken, That explains a lot to me. I am going to start my pricing options, I think I would like to get rid of the Teralow set-up As well.
 
Check this video out


This video describes my suspected t-case issue pretty well. So in my 02 wrangler, in 2h with np231j the front shaft is spinning? The way he describes how it works, it is. If i am not mistaken, That explains a lot to me. I am going to start my pricing options, I think I would like to get rid of the Teralow set-up As well.

What you doin with that teralow 👀
 
What you doin with that teralow 👀

I don’t know yet, I am throwing ideas out there. More will be revealed when I tear it apart. I heard the Tera Low can be real finicky. Need to educate myself some more, I don’t want the vibrations to f-up a new bearing Dana 35. Hopefully rear bearing is the issue, not sure Tera-Low is unique case or modified stock.
 
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I don’t know yet, I am throwing ideas out there. More will be revealed when I tear it apart. I heard the Tera Low can be real finicky. Need to educate myself some more, I don’t want the vibrations to f-up a new bearing Dana 35. Hopefully rear bearing is the issue, not sure Tera-Low is unique case or modified stock.

Well good luck! There is another NP231 in the for sale section sold by a member that is relatively close if you just don't want to mess with it...
 
When I brought our TJ home 7+ years ago as a toy/weekend fun rig to replace our quads, all my wife could talk about was how basic it was w/o power doors and windows, how loud it was w/the soft top and how unstable it was being so short. Now, guess what vehicle she wants to drive most of the time...

My wife has been in my Jeep yet, terrified, but when I had it in street today, she said “there’s my Jeep”
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Got my chill spot back, can angle Jeep in more, ready to start tearing into t-case this weekend. Hopefully Woodrow still has his t-case when I get some cash soon. New fire up Lake Castiac area, one of my favorite local fishing spots Homes and businesses being evacuated now 5 freeway shutdown

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