Novak Conversions Jeep Wrangler TJ engine mounts

New guy from Oklahoma

interceptor1972

interceptor1972

Member
Original poster
Supporting Member
Joined
Apr 2, 2025
Messages
34
Location
Lawton, OK
Hey everyone. Having owned a couple of Jeeps in the years past, I'm looking at getting a new to me 2006 TJ 4.0L Auto with about 119k on the odometer, soon. Thought I'd do some research before I buy it as it already has a CEL - P0016 code, a leaky valve cover and will probably need the full gamut of normal maintenance - plugs, coolant flush, oil change, filter, differential service, etc.

IMG_7194.jpeg


Hope to see some (or many) of you guys and gals on the road and trails soon.

Manoj
 
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Welcome to the forum! I'd tell you you're in the right place but you already know it ;)
 
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Welcome. I'm NE of the OKC metro. Aka the barren wasteland that's 2+ hours from every wheeling spot in the state.
 
freedom_in_4low said:
Welcome. I'm NE of the OKC metro. Aka the barren wasteland that's 2+ hours from every wheeling spot in the state.
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Thank you. Most of Oklahoma can be considered as such, unless you're towards the eastern/southeastern part, right? 😁 Jokes aside, I always thought getting to the nice wheeling spots was part of the fun. We used to drive our JK to Colorado every year for vacation and wheel around all the trails.
 
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interceptor1972 said:
Thank you. Most of Oklahoma can be considered as such, unless you're towards the eastern/southeastern part, right? 😁
Click to expand...

There's Crossbar in Davis, which is pretty south-central, but yeah, the farther west you go, the worse it gets. The east side has stuff scattered all the way north in Disney down to south in Clayton and is closer to the stuff in Arkansas. You and I are about the same distance from Crossbar so we're in much the same boat.

I work remotely for a company in NE OK and my wife and I have been casually discussing the idea of looking for something up there for me to use during the week when I go into the office instead of staying in a hotel, and we'd use it extensively in the summer being close to several lakes and halfway between Disney and Gruber. If we do it, I might just keep the LJ up there.

interceptor1972 said:
Jokes aside, I always thought getting to the nice wheeling spots was part of the fun. We used to drive our JK to Colorado every year for vacation and wheel around all the trails.
Click to expand...

I got spoiled living in Colorado Springs for 5 years and had hundreds of free Forest Service trail and mining/logging road miles accessible within minutes...when my 10 year old was 2-3 we were out literally almost every Saturday. It handles and keeps up with traffic just fine, I didn't care about tire or wind noise because the rig only saw the interstate a couple times per year to reach farther out. I know it's a Jeep but it's hard for me to get excited about spending hours listening to wind noise and mud tires at 75mph and I'm less inclined to try more technical stuff and break something 150 miles from home than I was when home was 3 miles from dirt.

I still go up to Colorado every year and wheel with some of my buddies up there, so I put my big boy panties on, pop in the earplugs and do it for 13 hours each way for that. I've pretty much decided my next set of tires I'm gonna go back to AT's or at least RTs and I'm probably gonna pull the full doors out of the attic for the Colorado trip this year.
 
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freedom_in_4low said:
There's Crossbar in Davis, which is pretty south-central, but yeah, the farther west you go, the worse it gets. The east side has stuff scattered all the way north in Disney down to south in Clayton and is closer to the stuff in Arkansas. You and I are about the same distance from Crossbar so we're in much the same boat.

I work remotely for a company in NE OK and my wife and I have been casually discussing the idea of looking for something up there for me to use during the week when I go into the office instead of staying in a hotel, and we'd use it extensively in the summer being close to several lakes and halfway between Disney and Gruber. If we do it, I might just keep the LJ up there.



I got spoiled living in Colorado Springs for 5 years and had hundreds of free Forest Service trail and mining/logging road miles accessible within minutes...when my 10 year old was 2-3 we were out literally almost every Saturday. It handles and keeps up with traffic just fine, I didn't care about tire or wind noise because the rig only saw the interstate a couple times per year to reach farther out. I know it's a Jeep but it's hard for me to get excited about spending hours listening to wind noise and mud tires at 75mph and I'm less inclined to try more technical stuff and break something 150 miles from home than I was when home was 3 miles from dirt.

I still go up to Colorado every year and wheel with some of my buddies up there, so I put my big boy panties on, pop in the earplugs and do it for 13 hours each way for that. I've pretty much decided my next set of tires I'm gonna go back to AT's or at least RTs and I'm probably gonna pull the full doors out of the attic for the Colorado trip this year.
Click to expand...

I'd heard of Crossbar before. But never been there either. I know years ago, there used to be a place in/around Sayre/Elk City area - can't remember the name right off hand. And there used to be a place south of Altus called Coppermines ORV Park that was fairly decent though small. But a lot of sedimentary rocks that tended to crumble with sharp edges.

I've loved wheeling in Colorado more so than I did in Moab. And driving the Jeep out there, about 10-13 hours out rather than trailering, also meant I was more careful about the difficulty levels of the trails I wheeled, when you remember that you still need to be able to drive it back home. 😂

But I've always enjoyed more of a Expedition/Overland type of adventure more so than just technical wheeling.
 
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interceptor1972 said:
But I've always enjoyed more of a Expedition/Overland type of adventure more so than just technical wheeling.
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I didn't really know what I liked until I built a rig that would outwheel me and now all my favorite trails are too easy. :ROFLMAO:

I avoid the term overlanding because of the stigma it's gotten with all the "influencers" rolling around in $100k rigs with $50k in gear, but if the definition is wheeling for multiple days and camping in between then that's what I like to do. I'm more of a minimalist, so last year I just brought a bag and a pad and crashed in the other guys' giant expedition tent. The food I brought for 3 days of wheeling and camping fit into a Walmart cooler designed for an 18 pack. Basically carnivore diet to get the protein to keep me satiated. Felt a little guilty putting a $40 Wagyu ribeye on a Coleman but the feeling didn't stay for long. :ROFLMAO:

Our usual destination has been the Ouray/Lake City/Silverton/Telluride region, but this year we're gonna be a little northeast of there in Crested Butte, Buena Vista, Taylor Reservoir area.
 
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freedom_in_4low said:
I didn't really know what I liked until I built a rig that would outwheel me and now all my favorite trails are too easy. :ROFLMAO:

I avoid the term overlanding because of the stigma it's gotten with all the "influencers" rolling around in $100k rigs with $50k in gear, but if the definition is wheeling for multiple days and camping in between then that's what I like to do. I'm more of a minimalist, so last year I just brought a bag and a pad and crashed in the other guys' giant expedition tent. The food I brought for 3 days of wheeling and camping fit into a Walmart cooler designed for an 18 pack. Basically carnivore diet to get the protein to keep me satiated. Felt a little guilty putting a $40 Wagyu ribeye on a Coleman but the feeling didn't stay for long. :ROFLMAO:

Our usual destination has been the Ouray/Lake City/Silverton/Telluride region, but this year we're gonna be a little northeast of there in Crested Butte, Buena Vista, Taylor Reservoir area.
Click to expand...

I know what you mean. Between the "influencers" and the "duck" Jeep owners, it's gone downhill in a hurry. Nothing against either - just not my cup of tea.

Yes. My idea of overlanding is a capable rig on a budget, driving trails from one place to another and camping along the way. With an occasional "glamping" at a KOA. Most of those 100K+ rigs just look too clean for my liking; but to each their own.

My daily ride is my first love - motorcycles. A BMW R1250 GS Adventure. But the last time I took it on Ophir Pass, I realized just how much more I need to learn about riding motorcycles on babyheads 🤦🏽‍♂️. After dropping it 5-6 times, I said I was done with riding a 650+ lb motorcycle on trails. Trying to pick up that beast at 11-12,000' altitude gets old. Hence my return to Jeeps 😁

Edit: PS. I noticed that a bunch of members "Like/React" to posts. But I don't see any way of doing that. Is that through an app like Tapatalk or am I missing the obvious on the site? 🤔
 
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interceptor1972 said:
I know what you mean. Between the "influencers" and the "duck" Jeep owners, it's gone downhill in a hurry. Nothing against either - just not my cup of tea.

Yes. My idea of overlanding is a capable rig on a budget, driving trails from one place to another and camping along the way. With an occasional "glamping" at a KOA. Most of those 100K+ rigs just look too clean for my liking; but to each their own.

My daily ride is my first love - motorcycles. A BMW R1250 GS Adventure. But the last time I took it on Ophir Pass, I realized just how much more I need to learn about riding motorcycles on babyheads 🤦🏽‍♂️. After dropping it 5-6 times, I said I was done with riding a 650+ lb motorcycle on trails. Trying to pick up that beast at 11-12,000' altitude gets old. Hence my return to Jeeps 😁

Edit: PS. I noticed that a bunch of members "Like/React" to posts. But I don't see any way of doing that. Is that through an app like Tapatalk or am I missing the obvious on the site? 🤔
Click to expand...

Minimum posts required for reacts idk the #
 

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