MountaineerTom's 2006 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited

[MountaineerTom]

Glad recovery is going well! Keep it up. Jeepers are built strong!

You got me — what's up with the search for snakes?

I just like them. They’ve always been interesting to me. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want one as a pet or anything, but I like watching them. Found a small Canebrake Rattlesnake out here last fall. I’ve found several Rough Green snakes out on these roads during the hot summer months. They will let you walk right up to them and pick them up.

I was expecting to see some Cottonmouths around that swampy area.

 

[FarFire70]

I just like them. They’ve always been interesting to me. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want one as a pet or anything, but I like watching them. Found a small Canebrake Rattlesnake out here last fall. I’ve found several Rough Green snakes out on there roads during the hot summer months. They will let you walk right up to them and pick them up.

I was expecting to see some Cottonmouths around that swampy area.

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Not my interest/thing but you do you.

My first through was you were hunting to eat. Didn't even consider pets...

Hope the spring season brings you some to hang with to keep your spirits up during your recovery!

 

[MountaineerTom]

In back surgery recovery news, my surgeon told me today I don’t need to wear the back brace or use the cane any more. He said everything was looking great and released me to go back to work on 7 May. I can’t wait.

 

[NashvilleTJ]

In back surgery recovery news, my surgeon told me today I don’t need to wear the back brace or use the cane any more. He said everything was looking great and released me to go back to work on 7 May. I can’t wait.

Great news, Tom.

 

[Danarch]

In back surgery recovery news, my surgeon told me today I don’t need to wear the back brace or use the cane any more. He said everything was looking great and released me to go back to work on 7 May. I can’t wait.

That is awesome! Good to hear.

 

[BlueC]

In back surgery recovery news, my surgeon told me today I don’t need to wear the back brace or use the cane any more. He said everything was looking great and released me to go back to work on 7 May. I can’t wait.

Good to hear things are going well. Are you able to drive and do normal daily life activities?

Don't go getting too excited. I've known a few guys who got to feeling better after a surgery, just to go and over do it and wind up in a worse situation. Don't do that.

 

[MountaineerTom]

Good to hear things are going well. Are you able to drive and do normal daily life activities?

Don't go getting too excited. I've known a few guys who got to feeling better after a surgery, just to go and over do it and wind up in a worse situation. Don't do that.

Yes, driving, mowing grass on my rider and other normal day-to-day stuff, within reason. I had a 20 lb lifting limit up until yesterday. It’s up to 50 lbs now. I misunderstood what the doc initially told me about driving. I had surgery on 11 February and was able to drive 2 weeks later. Somehow I got confused and thought I needed to wait longer. On my 19 March check-up I asked if I could drive now. That’s when I found out I could have a couple weeks earlier.

I’ve already changed the way I do some things around the house and identified some things I need to do differently when I go back to work. The biggest thing is I just need to remember I can’t just jump and do something without much thought like I could when I was in my 20’s.

 

[Irun]

Good news indeed!

 

[Longwhitejeep]

Great news!

 

[BlueC]

I’ve already changed the way I do some things around the house and identified some things I need to do differently when I go back to work. The biggest thing is I just need to remember I can’t just jump and do something without much thought like I could when I was in my 20’s.

So when are you going to be ready to bounce around on some trails?

 

[MountaineerTom]

So when are you going to be ready to bounce around on some trails?

I’m not sure yet.

 

[MountaineerTom]

I guess I need to get some upper shock bushings. No noticeable sounds or anything, just noticed it when I was checking air pressure. This is the drivers side, passengers side looks normal.

 

[JMT]

I guess I need to get some upper shock bushings. No noticeable sounds or anything, just noticed it when I was checking air pressure. This is the drivers side, passengers side looks normal.

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Where did it go?!

 

[Longwhitejeep]

Where did it go?!

It is getting cold out….

 

[JMT]

 

[MountaineerTom]

Now it’s completely gone. Won’t be home in it until tomorrow. I have some extras, I guess I need to throw a couple inside the Jeep.

 

[MountaineerTom]

The passengers side didn’t look that great after taking them off to look at them. These are the bushing that came with my Skyjacker BlackMax shocks. I replaced both side with some bushings from some Rancho shocks I tried a while back. The Ranchos were a little bigger too.

Drivers side.

Passengers side.

 

[OldBuzzard]

It's strange that your Black Max bushings broke down like that. I've never seen those shock bushings come apart like that, even on decades-old shocks.

Mine have been on for 3 years, and they're still almost like new. Maybe Skyjacker was using a cheap crappy rubber when you bought yours.

 

[MountaineerTom]

It's strange that your Black Max bushings broke down like that. I've never seen those shock bushings come apart like that, even on decades-old shocks.

Mine have been on for 3 years, and they're still almost like new. Maybe Skyjacker was using a cheap crappy rubber when you bought yours.

Yeah, I don’t know, I’ve never seen that either. I don’t think I had them too tight. I always tighten them until I see them squish a little. I put a lock nut on this time, and the bushings were thicker, so I had to go a little beyond squish until I seen a thread on the stem.

 

[MountaineerTom]

I ordered some bushings from Skyjacker that were listed as replacements for my shocks. I accidentally ordered the red version instead of black, but that’s my fault. I don’t think these things are rubber, they hard as a rock. Polyurethane I guess, the website didn’t say. I found an old picture on my laptop of the black ones that came with the shocks and they have the same glossy look as these red ones. I guess I didn’t pay much attention to the originals during the installation. I’m leaving the old rubber ones from the Rancho’s on there.