Novak Conversions Jeep Wrangler TJ radiator

Transmission Skidplate Crossmember Bolt Loose

Do the 6 belly skid nutserts fit in the stock hole or does the hole have to be enlarged to 17.5 mm?

You have to enlarge per the instructions on the site. I have no experience with the nursert kit they sell, I’ve only purchased their control arm bolts and cam bolt delete no issues so far.
 
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You have to enlarge per the instructions on the site. I have no experience with the nursert kit they sell, I’ve only purchased their control arm bolts and cam bolt delete no issues so far.

Thank you, I've been messing with nutserts a very long time and I've never been able to find a light duty nutsert that fits in the .625 (roughly 16mm) frame holes for the belly skid. The sad part is once you drill out those holes, you can't go back to the heavy duty OEM nutserts. The good news is you can use the bearings for a tongue jack since the setting force is much lower. Those are out there for about 1.50 each in volume. Ours are almost 7 bucks each if we buy 350 at a time. Oddly, they were 4.50 each when we bought a 100. Then we bought 200 and they went up. Then we bought 300 and they went up some more. Still scratching my head on that one.
 
Well on your way to doing voice-overs for the Budweiser frogs.

You know it’s funny you mentioned that-

We Fish for largemouth bass on Guntersville Lake with plastic frogs… this one Cove we go into and you can hear a frog every time I’m in there going …faaake, faaake, faaake…

I’m like you little green piece of crap….
 
Ok, I'll be a dickhead here. Im amazed how many own jeeps, beat on them, and have no idea what the holds them together or how to fix them.

I have owned various 4wd vehicles in my 60-plus years. Most were American made pickups (GMC, Ford). My last two were a Russian UAZ model 69 (Loved that damned machine!) and then a Toyota Prado diesel, around 2000 model (It's been years.)

I did most of my own work on all of those and learned much as I went along. Same here. The Chrysler Jeep is a different animal.

It's kind of like when I got my first mule after owning over two dozen horses throughout my life. I know horses, but mules, while similar in some ways, are very different in others and I had to re-learn or just learn anew a lot of things. Same applies here. In this instance, I never encountered "nutserts" on any other vehicle I have ever owned. Had no idea what was going on.

Thankfully there are people here who are willing to share their knowledge and "help a brother out" without being "dickheads." I am most grateful for that. It is making my transition from 4wd horses to this 4wd mule much more pleasant and much easier.

I am very grateful to all of you "non-dickhead" pals!
 
Just know, if you want top quality parts. Buy from BMB and Blaine.

Region offroad may be ok, but I can't say because haven't met anyone that has bought from them.

I have already contacted mrblain and will be working it out soon. I have a friend coming down in February so will likely have him bring the parts down.
 
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I have owned various 4wd vehicles in my 60-plus years. Most were American made pickups (GMC, Ford). My last two were a Russian UAZ model 69 (Loved that damned machine!) and then a Toyota Prado diesel, around 2000 model (It's been years.)

I did most of my own work on all of those and learned much as I went along. Same here. The Chrysler Jeep is a different animal.

It's kind of like when I got my first mule after owning over two dozen horses throughout my life. I know horses, but mules, while similar in some ways, are very different in others and I had to re-learn or just learn anew a lot of things. Same applies here. In this instance, I never encountered "nutserts" on any other vehicle I have ever owned. Had no idea what was going on.

Thankfully there are people here who are willing to share their knowledge and "help a brother out" without being "dickheads." I am most grateful for that. It is making my transition from 4wd horses to this 4wd mule much more pleasant and much easier.

I am very grateful to all of you "non-dickhead" pals!
We're all still dickheads, we just decided to be nice to you. Doesn't happen often, enjoy it.
 
This forum is like a tough Jeep trail. There's a gatekeeper obstacle that will test your skills and your will, but if you pass that test, you'll be rewarded with a very fulfilling experience. Congrats - you've passed that test!
 
I have owned various 4wd vehicles in my 60-plus years. Most were American made pickups (GMC, Ford). My last two were a Russian UAZ model 69 (Loved that damned machine!) and then a Toyota Prado diesel, around 2000 model (It's been years.)

I did most of my own work on all of those and learned much as I went along. Same here. The Chrysler Jeep is a different animal.

It's kind of like when I got my first mule after owning over two dozen horses throughout my life. I know horses, but mules, while similar in some ways, are very different in others and I had to re-learn or just learn anew a lot of things. Same applies here. In this instance, I never encountered "nutserts" on any other vehicle I have ever owned. Had no idea what was going on.

Thankfully there are people here who are willing to share their knowledge and "help a brother out" without being "dickheads." I am most grateful for that. It is making my transition from 4wd horses to this 4wd mule much more pleasant and much easier.

I am very grateful to all of you "non-dickhead" pals!

That said, I have run into a few of what Gilaguy23 mentioned. A few weeks ago I was on a very narrow mountain road. Got to a stretch that had no room for going around and there was a 3/4 ton Ford 4wd pickup with about a six inch lift sitting right in the middle of the road idling. I could not get around, so I got out to see what was up. It had an automatic transmission and the linkage between the column shift and the gear selector on the tranny had broken. He was stuck in park and could not move, had no tools, had absolutely no idea what the problem was or why he couldn't shift. He was stuck there in the late afternoon with his wife, a big rain storm coming on, and blocking the road with no way to even get the damned truck out of the way. This was a road that saw only a very few travelers on a busy day.

I got out my wrenches, took off my shirt, told him in no uncertain terms to apply the emergency brake and hold his foot on the brake pedal as I am "rather partial to my legs." I crawled under the truck, applied my wrench to the gear selector lever nut and manually shifted that rig into drive. Had him put it in 4wd and gave him clear instructions on where the road opened up so he could turn around without having to shift into reverse and how to get home without having to shift his transmission out of drive.

Yeah, there are some folks who should never drive off of the pavement.
 
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Mr. Mexico, all apologies for my comment. Yes, indeedy asking questions makes for knowledge. Recon I got lost in what seems to be 90% of the jeepers where I now live taking a hacksaw or can opener to the body where the flares were, adding enough florescent lights in the wheel wells to scare off a UFO chaser and bolting 3 highlifts to the hood. Oh yeah, and adding a CAI to their "V6" engine. :p
 
Mr. Mexico, all apologies for my comment. Yes, indeedy asking questions makes for knowledge. Recon I got lost in what seems to be 90% of the jeepers where I now live taking a hacksaw or can opener to the body where the flares were, adding enough florescent lights in the wheel wells to scare off a UFO chaser and bolting 3 highlifts to the hood. Oh yeah, and adding a CAI to their "V6" engine. :p

No worries. As I illustrated in my little story about the pickup with the broken linkage, I understand. The simple thought of traveling anywhere - especially off-road - without a decent compliment of tools scares me. And I can't imagine what it'd be like to drive without at least a basic understanding of how an Internal combustion engine, basic system configuration, and a hydraulic brake system work.

But there are people who seem to think that it all runs on fairy dust and crossed fingers and the more pretty things you attach the better it runs. Scary! I remember seeing a photo of some woman's steering wheel that was all "bedazzled" with crap that would have turned her airbag into a shrapnel grenade had it ever deployed. I guess sometimes it's best to just let natural selection take its course.
 
Would have loved to get my hands on the Russian UAZ or one of their big army trucks. Weirdest this I almost bought was a DKW Munga. Unfortunately is had been modded to much and really ruined the originality of the freak.
 
Would have loved to get my hands on the Russian UAZ or one of their big army trucks. Weirdest this I almost bought was a DKW Munga. Unfortunately is had been modded to much and really ruined the originality of the freak.

The UAZ was a dream. Quality control was not the best, but it was made to be repaired in the field. I think it took less than 20 minutes to swap out a water pump. Had a hand crank to start it up if the battery went dead or the starter more crapped out. My buddy and I always traveled in pair and we hauled an alternator, a starter, bearings, etc. with a box of tools.

Got my first one when the ruble was bottomed out, around 1999, I think it was less than $4,000.

About the time I left Central Asia, used Japanese Toyota and Nissan 4wds were coming in and everybody was shifting over to them, but I loved my UAZ.

Actually, they are selling them now in Mexico. The dealer is in Monterrey. I looked into them, but they were like $40,000usd. :oops:

Here ya go. If you are like me, you may drool a little.

https://www.uaz-mexico.com/vehiculos/suv/hunter

A friend had a 6x6 Russian truck - I think it was a Ural - that he used for hauling logs. That thing was a friggin' beast! I once watched it cross a partially frozen river with a disassembled log house on back and it was amazing.
 
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Novak Conversions Jeep Wrangler TJ radiator