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What did you do to your WK/XK today?

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2M views 19K replies 1K participants last post by  99sajeep 
#1 · (Edited)
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#17,036 ·
2008.5 CRD Laredo North Edition with 177,000 km is replacing 2005 Pontiac Vibe with 420,000 km

Just completed the safety inspection for ownership transfer and it only needs new tires and a pinion seal. Cost of vehicle was $9500 CDN and I think the tires/seal is going to be about $800 taxes in. I picked this one over more extravagant models due to its lack of rust in comparison to more expensive options. I think I can get about 5 years out of it but time will tell.

Will be taking delivery on Wednesday if all goes to plan. :D I think the transmission in my car will fail on Monday by the way it is behaving. :( Maybe I cut things a little too close on this one...I just need another 1000 km out of the old girl.
 

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#17,040 ·
This is/was the best car I will ever own, Toyota used very good materials for the fasteners, exhaust, suspension, rocker guard, seam sealer, etc. I believe they are building the Teslas in the old Vibe/Matrix factory now.

Not only is it an Ontario car, it is a Sudbury car which should normally be avoided at all costs :surprise:. It does have some rust but it is hidden behind the plastic rocker covers and the windshield is getting ready to fall out due to the top window frame being rotted out. You can't see it well in the photos but there is no clear coat on either bumper or the hood and the windshield is caulked in...it is a total rat mobile. The front bumper has so much paint damage from road grit that it has worn down to a white inner layer on the drivers side. Oh yeah, I have to drive with the windows down because of the exhaust leaks... I should have parked it at 400,000 km but that' still quite good.
 
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#17,039 ·
Changed oil & filters at 225,000 miles.
Something's going on with the front left suspension. Investigating today.
 
#17,041 ·
Getting ready for 10-yr lifetime limited powertrain warranty inspection this Friday (with 166K miles). At the last inspection (5-yr), I got a free rear drive shaft assembly and transfer case rear seal. Must be the rewards points. :woot:

Changed NV245 Transfer Case fluid (~48.5K miles). Old stuff was clear golden yellow and probably was good for another 50K miles. After changing transfer case fluid, the WK HEMI has significantly better acceleration, better stopping, smoother idle, and cornering. Hoping for a large increase in gas mileage also. :justkidding:

Inspected and cleaned PCV valve body. Looks like the newer ones have a slightly smaller inlet diameter than the '08 vintage factory ones. Re-installed and emptied BT oil catch can.

Bought a new EGR valve (with outlet flange paper gasket & discharge tube seal ring) and Raybestos Advanced Technology front brake pads for delivery this coming week. EGR valve is starting to fail after 120K miles (DTC 0405 occasionally). My front brake pads are the original factory ones with over 166K miles.
Will install next weekend. Think I'll do them both now before the weather gets too nasty here in mid-Michigan.:idea:

BTW: The MOPAR EGR valve is made in the U.S. I was pleased to see that.
 
#17,042 ·
Traded my 2006 Commander for a 2WD 2016 Ram 1500 Regular Cab with a 5.7L Hemi. It's been a nice ride with the XK. The overheating issue last July in 105 degree weather ended up taking its toll. I am losing coolant to the oil system. So long and happy trails.
 
#17,043 ·
Started replacing fuel tank skid plate and undercoated...

My gas tank skid plate was about to fail completely on my '05 WK Limited, so I started replacing it today. Fortunately the rest of the underbody is in much better shape than the skid plate. I've been painting and undercoating as I go.

Since I also have to pull out a frozen fill plug on the transfer case, having the tank out of the way has turned out to be a benefit.

It took an 18" offset box wrench to get to the bolt that is above the driveshaft. Otherwise, standard 18" six point sockets, a floor jack, a 3/8" fuel line disconnect, and a small screwdriver / pick to release the other fuel lines were all that were needed. Before starting all this I ran the fuel tank down to the point where the low fuel light came on.

Next up, after the transfer case repair... replacement brake lines at all four corners and a full bleed, as long as it is on jack stands.

Mat
 

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#17,045 ·
Since I've not decided on a CAI yet, I simply cleaned the stock air box, and replaced the filter with this "high flow" stock-fitting version: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XYKVL2G/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1. I noticed an immediate increase in acceleration. The old filter (Mopar) wasn't terrible looking, but overdue for replacement.

WARNING: Long read. Might be worth it for those who haven't changed plugs on a Hemi before...

The next day I attempted the dreaded Hemi spark-plug change using Champion RE14MCC4 570. It was my first time doing this on a Hemi and so I did my research, watched the videos, bought the wobble extensions. Though I didn't bleed, I managed to bellow a few unique colorful metaphors before all was said and almost done. Previous owner either avoided anti-seize goo, or over-torqued a few plugs, or both. I did this on my WK that had sat overnight so the engine was cold. The passenger side wasn't terribly over-challenging, accept for locating the dropped coil-pack bolt. Spied it fairly quickly though and reached for it with my magnet and just as I had started lifting it out, it touched a hose on the way up and fell quietly to the engine's depths under the alternator, somewhere good and hidden. Note to self and whomever reads this... buy a MUCH stronger and extendable magnet. I should have taken it as an omen because, other than the radiator's overflow tank bolt, it was the very first bolt I removed. But things would get worse.

Rather than looking for the elusive bolt, I decided to start working on the driver's side, front to back. Seemed like this engine was specifically designed to come with obstructions to the spark plugs. The next group of hours of effort would be mostly fruitful but with yet more frustrating delays. Note to self or others... before ever doing this insanity again, buy a brand new highly reputable brand of 5/8" spark plug socket, with a rubber plug-tip grommet that WON'T COME OUT OF THE SOCKET. I had an old Stanley socket that would later find its way to my recycling bin. The grommet would come out of the socket, and stay on the plug after insertion. I would eventually remember where I put my Gorilla glue but not until I went thru the extraction and insertion process way more often than I should have. After 4 more plugs were done, I decided to look again for the missing bolt. Crawled under Jeep for the 3rd time, and just started contorting my hand and fingers, reaching into every crevice, cranny, goo and grime, and got really lucky! Scored a major victory with that find!

Feeling re-energized, I started tackling the last 6 plugs closest to the firewall. I really wish I could have moved the fuse-box, and the power steering reservoir as doing so would have allowed much straighter leverage on those plug chambers. While removing the 2nd last coil pack, my now rather fatigued hands managed to drop the old-school Craftsman ratchet... prayed I would hear it hit the garage's concrete floor... but of course not. Why would anything be easy? I'm nearly 8 hours into this project that should have taken less than 2. At least I could see the bugger. I went to the basement looking for some very strong magnets that came out of an old hard disk drive - I figured I'd tape one to a stick, but like I said, why would they be easy to find? Why would they be where I last left them? Because I have two curious young boys of course. So much for my MacGyver trick. I knew my other magnet would not be strong enough to lift it out, however, it proved to be just strong enough to rotate it closer to the radiator area. I crawled under from the front of the Jeep, and found a place to reach part of the ratchet with my fingers and maneuver it out. Whew! Another victory as it was my only 3/8" drive ratchet.

Finally to plug #16, closest to the driver/firewall. Stuck as a constipated dino in a tar-pit. I tried numerous combinations of wobbles, u-joints, and regular extensions, trying to get straighter leverage, used a pipe on the ratchet for more leverage, but could only rotate the plug a single click at a time, and the threads on these Champs are ridiculously long. Several times I could hear what sounded like the ratchet gear failing - CLICK CLICK CLICK - while under too much force. It might have been the wobble connections sliding instead of gripping though. I had two big burly neighbors try to rotate it as well and same thing. They thought if they tried any harder, something awful would happen. I relieved them and wouldn't ya know, 9 1/2 hours into this and DAMN, down goes the freaking ratchet AGAIN... but the curses changed to hallelujahs when we heard it hit the floor. Tried one more time after I sprayed some PB Blaster in the chamber and of course, now the spark plug socket keeps getting stuck on the plug. Found my dad's old fish hook extractor (looks like narrow alligator teeth) and managed to squeeze hard enough to extract the socket.

Enough was enough. I left the old plug in and buttoned everything up. Test drive did not throw any engine codes. More hallelujahs. Not one drop of blood, but not one part of my body didn't ache and beg for a strong whiskey sour! The neighbors had their firepit lit up, so that's where I finished my night... until the looming downpour put the flames out.

Gas mileage calculations from Jeep computer: I used to average around 17 mpg highway, straight and level. After the 2" lift, that didn't change much. I went from 245/65/17's to 265/70/17's and gas mileage dropped over 2 miles per gallon. After the air filter and spark plug change, I'm now getting 19 mpg, highway straight and level. THAT surprised me - pleasantly so of course.
 
#17,046 ·
Let me recommend some items to ease your pain and reduce the project to <2hrs: :thumbsup:
  • Craftsman DigiTork 3/8" drive torque wrench, number 44596. Allows you to accurately set 10-15 ft-lbf.
  • K&D Spark Plug Service Kit (3 piece), number 41740. Choice of 3 gets you to almost every plug. The sockets are captive on the wobble extensions. Think they are 3", 6", and 9".
  • a 3/8" universal joint. Use to get around minor obstacles
  • a 3/8" breaker bar. Use to break the corrosion thread lock on recalcitrant spark plugs.

Be sure to check and set the gap of each plug to 0.043" before installation.
Add a small dab of dielectric grease inside each spark plug boot before re-installation.
Torque each plug to 10-15 ft-lbf. No need to add anti-seize to Champion 570 plug threads on the 1st installation as they come with that applied already. Add a small dab if you remove and re-install the same spark plug. :2thumbsup:

If you really want to be good, tag each old plug ( with a Sharpie & painter's tape) with the position it came from (i.e., 1F, 3R, 5F, etc.). That way you can "read" the removed spark plugs later over a can of adult refreshment to check their gap and see the tip condition.

With respect to removing that old plug: Happened to me the first time also; I put a 3/8" breaker bar on the extension and used a dead blow hammer judiciously to break the corrosion lock. Don't get crazy; got to be somewhat gentle because of the steel threads and the aluminum head material.

One last item: Verify that each new Champion 570 copper core spark plug has a dark top center electrode. Do not attempt to "upgrade" your spark plugs; just change them every 30K miles.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
My Jeep isn't getting older; it's getting newer part-by-part. :rofl:
 
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#17,048 ·
Walt... I'm really liking this tag line: "My Jeep isn't getting older; it's getting newer part-by-part." I just put in a brand new Interstate battery yesterday... cost $160... replacing an AC Delco Professional that was close to the end of its life, and with a good ol' fashioned Cheeseconsin Winter right around the corner, I just know it would fail me soon. As for the plug change, I noticed the old plugs' wear gap was at least 1/3 greater than it should have been. Most of the plug's threads were rusty, and the electrodes appeared to have been burning relatively clean, but i have no idea as to how long those plugs were in the Hemi before i bought it. I should have photographed them to get some opinions. I will prob use some more PB Blaster on that stuck plug this week and attempt another removal over the weekend.

PolkaPower, I may get the NGK's next time if they're not over-the-top expensive.
 
#17,051 ·
Oh, and just this past weekend, I replaced the L & R Outer Tie Rod Ends with ease. :smile2: When I went for the alignment, I was told that I needed struts. I'm -.08 camber.

This Jeep is my 17yo son's and he expressed an interest in a minor lift so that he could buy his own terrain aggressive tires. He has the stock tire/wheels on right now. So I am in the market to purchase struts all 'round. I'm going for Bilstein's...maybe 4600.

Cruzi
 
#17,054 ·
Oil and flusH
 

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#17,056 ·
Got a call my buddy broke down with it. He has had it a few months due to his car getting wrecked. Cranks with no start, has spark and fuel with no compression. Thinking the timing chain skipped/broke and bent valves. Has 198k miles. Gotta row it home tomorrow and start figuring out what's wrong. Maybe heads and a cam if I'm lucky.
 
#17,058 ·
Looks like the change of spark plugs on a Hemi is much easier than on a 2009 WK with 4.7 V8. The lower spark plugs are almost impossible to reach. On driver side need to remove the fuse boxes and battery with support bottom plate.
Also need a special small diameter spark plug. It took me almost 2 days to finish the job. Glad I did it. Saved lots of $$ by not having to take it to the D(st)ealer.
 
#17,062 ·
Or just adjusting the lower control arm, apparently a lot of shops don't know about the adjustment cams on a WK. I can't think of how the struts would cause camber problems but that may just be my own lack of knowledge rather than an actual improbability.
 
#17,064 · (Edited)
GPS finally failed on my REC. Changed out the DVD reader. Works like new!
 

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#17,065 ·
picked up some new shoes! now I just need my lift to finish getting here

 
#17,070 ·
Lift tires, wheels, and exhaust (yesterday)
car wash (today)



 
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#17,071 ·
Replaced gas tank skid plate, added front skid plate, undercoated, more

2005 WK Limited, with the Hemi. I finally finished replacing the gas tank skid plate today, replaced a stuck transfer case plug, and replaced the missing front skid plate. I also undercoated the Jeep front to back.
 

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#17,072 ·
2005 WK Limited, with the Hemi. I finally finished replacing the gas tank skid plate today, replaced a stuck transfer case plug, and replaced the missing front skid plate. I also undercoated the Jeep front to back.
Holy rust hole, Batman!
 
#17,073 ·
Thanks to Chirpz's writeup, I completed a few injector seals on my CRD. All three passenger side were horrible. Covered in black death. The center driver was leaking but it hadn't been very long, 2 weeks I think from when I noticed it.

I did have a fuel return line snap ring break, right at the end of everything, too. I was pretty angry, especially considering everything I read said no way to fix it, $130 for a new one, blah, blah, blah. If I could get just the snap ring, I could oetiker clamp it like the OEM ones are. I found a fix, for now at least. Zip ties to the rescue!
 
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