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What did you do to your WJ today?

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5M views 53K replies 3K participants last post by  X-Hibition 
#1 ·
Tell us what you did!

Show pics!

I washed mine and Im still waiting for my lift to show up!

I put my new WHEELS and tires on with the jack :)

And replaced driver side axle shaft and changed all diff fluids.
 
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#24,881 ·
Changed the plugs on my 2004 4.7 I bought just a couple months ago. Don't know if they've ever been changed w/75K miles and the center electrode was burnt clear down to the ceramic insulator. Has to help some on gas mileage in changing the plugs out. Kind of spoiled by having plenty of room to work on the 4.0's I've had for years and the 2 rear plugs on the passenger side were kind of tricky.

Don't know if there's supposed to be a small gap around the module connector on the passenger side fender near the firewall but used electrical tape to close it off. Don't need any water/salt in there corroding contacts. I'm also going to have to get some new hood struts since mine aren't strong enough to hold the hood up.
 
#24,885 ·
Uniblurb said:
Changed the plugs on my 2004 4.7 I bought just a couple months ago. Don't know if they've ever been changed w/75K miles and the center electrode was burnt clear down to the ceramic insulator. Has to help some on gas mileage in changing the plugs out. Kind of spoiled by having plenty of room to work on the 4.0's I've had for years and the 2 rear plugs on the passenger side were kind of tricky. Don't know if there's supposed to be a small gap around the module connector on the passenger side fender near the firewall but used electrical tape to close it off. Don't need any water/salt in there corroding contacts. I'm also going to have to get some new hood struts since mine aren't strong enough to hold the hood up.
what was your milage before I changed them and what is it now. I'm bringing my car in for a tune up on Tuesday. I have 100k on mine and I don't think the spark plugs have been changed ever. Soo hopefully I can feel a difference and see some improvements in gas milage.
 
#24,886 ·
Well after some reading the BCM is supposed to be plug and play, so I tore my dash apart this morning to get to mine so I can get the part number and start my search for the right one. Its pretty dirty so ill probably clean everything up after I install before putting all the dash back together. Until then itll sit in my back seat. Now I just need to find a donor jeep to get a BCM from


 
#24,887 ·
what was your milage before I changed them and what is it now. I'm bringing my car in for a tune up on Tuesday. I have 100k on mine and I don't think the spark plugs have been changed ever. Soo hopefully I can feel a difference and see some improvements in gas milage.
I'm not sure if your first sentence is a question or not? I bought my WJ used from the dealer. It was kind of strange the service manager said they had some maintenance records on it, they never could produce them, along with saying it's a privacy thing on releasing the previous owner's records on what they had done.

Typical used car salesmen bull and don't think they had any work completed at that dealer except maybe recall work and hopefully some fluid changes elsewhere. So I'm starting at square one and going to change all the fluids except they just changed the oil.

What makes me believe the plugs haven't been changed before is they were super hard to get out of the block and partially rusted in. Plus think they used Champion copper plugs (RC12MCC4) from the factory in the 4.7L and that's exactly the same I installed.

It does run smoother with new plugs in it but have yet to take it for a drive. The gas mileage has to improve with having a center electrode on all the new plugs (gap .040") compared to the electrodes burnt off. (below photo)

You may want to ask them to save an old plug so you can see what it looks like. So what does a tune-up include/involve except changing out the plugs?
 

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#24,889 ·
Uniblurb said:
I'm not sure if your first sentence is a question or not? I bought my WJ used from the dealer. It was kind of strange the service manager said they had some maintenance records on it, they never could produce them, along with saying it's a privacy thing on releasing the previous owner's records on what they had done. Typical used car salesmen bull and don't think they had any work completed at that dealer except maybe recall work and hopefully some fluid changes elsewhere. So I'm starting at square one and going to change all the fluids except they just changed the oil. What makes me believe the plugs haven't been changed before is they were super hard to get out of the block and partially rusted in. Plus think they used Champion copper plugs (RC12MCC4) from the factory in the 4.7L and that's exactly the same I installed. It does run smoother with new plugs in it but have yet to take it for a drive. The gas mileage has to improve with having a center electrode on all the new plugs (gap .040") compared to the electrodes burnt off. (below photo) So what does a tune-up involve except changing plugs?
sorry I'm on my phone and auto correct changed what I typed. It was supposed to say what was ur gas milage before u changed the spark plugs haha. And I called Mavis and they told me they do spark plugs air filter and some type of value I forgot what it was called tho. That's all included in a tune up
 
#24,890 ·
sorry I'm on my phone and auto correct changed what I typed. It was supposed to say what was ur gas milage before u changed the spark plugs haha. And I called Mavis and they told me they do spark plugs air filter and some type of value I forgot what it was called tho. That's all included in a tune up
To tell you the truth I haven't figured the exact mileage out yet and have only filled it up about 3 times. It was down for a little while I installed all new brake pads/ebrake shoes, rebuilt calipers, rotors, front hub bearing assemblies, left side front ball joints, had new tires installed, etc..

I've just been taking the gas receipts, writing the mileage on them, and throwing them in my console. I'll figure out the before and after new plugs while letting you know. I do know with those burnt up plugs it uses a whole lot more gas than the 4.0 I6's in my other Jeeps! Lol.
 
#24,891 ·
Uniblurb said:
To tell you the truth I haven't figured the exact mileage out yet and have only filled it up about 3 times. It was down for a little while I installed all new brake pads/ebrake shoes, rebuilt calipers, rotors, front hub bearing assemblies, left side front ball joints, had new tires installed, etc.. I've just been taking the gas receipts, writing the mileage on them, and throwing them in my console. I'll figure out the before and after new plugs while letting you know. I do know with those burnt up plugs it uses a whole lot more gas than the 4.0 I6's in my other Jeeps! Lol.
lmfao. I have a question have u ever used Lucas oil with your oil changes ?
 
#24,893 ·
I have a question have u ever used Lucas oil with your oil changes ?
No, haven't ever felt the need to and change my oil every 3,000 miles. But I do add Lucas Fuel Treatment every 1-2 months to my Jeeps. You having some type of lifter/engine noise problems or something?

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Had mentioned earlier I needed a couple hood struts/shocks since mine are weak and won't hold the hold up. Just ordered a pair of the Strongarm brand ones through Amazon and this brand seems to work well on liftgates.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007T7TPE4/ref=pe_385040_30332200_pe_309540_26725410_item
 
#24,894 ·
the issue is you may be setting yourself up for a new axle period, the seal goes bad the bearing goes bad and than wears a groove in the axle. At that point you HAVE to change the axle. Money may be tight, but I would rather come up with less than $50 now vs a few hundred later.

Ask me how I know !!! (not literately)
So... How do you know? :D

Seriously though... I take your point, but I think I wasn't clear... I can afford the repair, but not a failed axle. The repair itself has been put off because I don't trust any of the shops around here... the joy of living in a small town.

As for the problem at hand, it's only losing an ounce or two of fluid a month, it's been consistent and I've been on top of it.

Now that I've been getting my hands dirty myself, I'm slowly building the confidence that I'll need to do this on my own. Watching several videos and reading a few write-ups, I know I can do this.. just a matter of finding someone with a press. I don't think I'll use any of the alternative methods I've read about.

Question... what other vehicles would I find compatible D44 axle shafts? It might be easier for me to get a set from a junkyard or donor, put new seals and bearings on them, then do the swapout... then I could re-do mine as spares for whenever I get around to some (more) serious wheeling.

Question 2... I'm still learning some of the vocab... but if I'm going to tear into the axle, I'm thinking I should just do it all the way. Does this rebuild kit look like it has everything? Does the seller have a decent rep?
---

Yesterday's work involved diagnosing a blown 400W amp and a blown rear speaker. Disconnected the rears, bridged 3+4 on the main amp to a single 10" sub to get some decent sound running again, though I'm not sure I like not having part of the sound stage behind me... to be sure, I won't hear any grinding from my axle should the bearing run dry :)
 
#24,895 ·
Replaced drivers side ball joints (did the passenger side last year). It went pretty smoothly. Turns out that wasn't the clunk either. They needed to be replaced anyway. Next up will be tie rods.

Heating the arms and freezing the new ball joints was SUCH a good idea. Very helpful.
 
#24,896 ·
Replaced drivers side ball joints (did the passenger side last year). It went pretty smoothly. Turns out that wasn't the clunk either. They needed to be replaced anyway. Next up will be tie rods.

Heating the arms and freezing the new ball joints was SUCH a good idea. Very helpful.
Guess I didn't hear that freezing the ball joints and heating the arms trick. A month ago I replaced the driver's side ball joints on my 2004 and will probably be doing the passenger side ones in the future. I borrowed a pretty good ball joint/bearing kit from one of the local parts stores and was able to get them out/in but sure took a lot of torque. I did use heat to get them out but not in. Not very impressed with the quality of the new Moog ball joints.

Did you have any trouble getting the 3 bolts out of each hub bearing assembly? You're lucky you don't live in the salt/rust belt because those bolts were so seized on mine I had to use a brazing tip on my torch set to heat the area where the threads go through the outside part of the assembly. May have damaged the rubber on the inside of the bearings from the heat and had to install new Timken hub assemblies at $150 for 2. Believe only the box was made in the USA, stamped right on the assemblies "Made in Slovania", and guess that's better than Slobovia! Lol.
 
#24,897 ·
Uniblurb said:
No, haven't ever felt the need to and change my oil every 3,000 miles. But I do add Lucas Fuel Treatment every 1-2 months to my Jeeps. You having some type of lifter/engine noise problems or something? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Had mentioned earlier I needed a couple hood struts/shocks since mine are weak and won't hold the hold up. Just ordered a pair of the Strongarm brand ones through Amazon and this brand seems to work well on liftgates. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007T7TPE4/ref=pe_385040_30332200_pe_309540_26725410_item
not really. But I heard that it helps with cold engine start ups and is good in general. Figured I would have them put it in with my new oil on Tuesday.
 
#24,898 ·
No, haven't ever felt the need to and change my oil every 3,000 miles. But I do add Lucas Fuel Treatment every 1-2 months to my Jeeps. You having some type of lifter/engine noise problems or something?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Had mentioned earlier I needed a couple hood struts/shocks since mine are weak and won't hold the hold up. Just ordered a pair of the Strongarm brand ones through Amazon and this brand seems to work well on liftgates.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007T7TPE4/ref=pe_385040_30332200_pe_309540_26725410_item
Don't EVER put LUCAS oil treatment in your oil, its a waste of time since it contains NOTHING beneficial to an engine. The only purpose for it, is to increase viscosity for higher oil pressure and if that's the case you need a different motor oil.

I use LUCAS fuel treatment sometimes, BUT I use MMO ALL the time and I always average 3MPG better when using it.
 
#24,899 ·
not really. But I heard that it helps with cold engine start ups and is good in general. Figured I would have them put it in with my new oil on Tuesday.
If its LUCAS oil stabilizer your referring to.....
You have been told some very bad info, it will almost ENSURE that you have "dry" starts in the winter and is not "good in general" for ANY engine.
 
#24,900 ·
Guess I didn't hear that freezing the ball joints and heating the arms trick. A month ago I replaced the driver's side ball joints on my 2004 and will probably be doing the passenger side ones in the future. I borrowed a pretty good ball joint/bearing kit from one of the local parts stores and was able to get them out/in but sure took a lot of torque. I did use heat to get them out but not in. Not very impressed with the quality of the new Moog ball joints.

Did you have any trouble getting the 3 bolts out of each hub bearing assembly? You're lucky you don't live in the salt/rust belt because those bolts were so seized on mine I had to use a brazing tip on my torch set to heat the area where the threads go through the outside part of the assembly. May have damaged the rubber on the inside of the bearings from the heat and had to install new Timken hub assemblies at $150 for 2. Believe only the box was made in the USA, stamped right on the assemblies "Made in Slovania", and guess that's better than Slobovia! Lol.
Yeah...freezing them of course contracts the ball joint while heat expands the hub bracket holes...

The first time I did ball joints it took a VERY long cheater bar and a lot of swearing. This time using heat I didn't have to use anything bigger than a breaker bar. I did have air(borrowed a compressor) but only used it a couple of times just to speed things up.

I used Raybestos ball joints. No opinion other than they're inexpensive and a brand I recognize.

I'm in KS, so not far out of the rust zone...originally from MN. The Jeep was bought in Nebraska originally. I didn't have to useany heat on those. Just a breaker bar and a grunt. I put a bit of anti-seize on them for install.
 
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