What did you do to your WK/XK today?
18961 - 18980 of 19002 Posts
Installed Core4x4 adjustable upper & lower rear control arms and track bar. Centered the rear axle and scooted it back so the tires aren't tempted to high-five the wheel arch.
Dropping the gas tank to get to the drivers side control arm bolts was FUN.
I'm running Rubicon take-offs 255/75/17s and with the new chubbier track bar, the spare tire no longer fits underneath. Had to relocate it to the cargo area
"Oh, you want bigger tires to make your GC look better?" I wish I never knocked that domino over. It's been one thing after another since then. No regrets; just a shame that Jeep made it so difficult to improve this vehicle easily.
Dropping the gas tank to get to the drivers side control arm bolts was FUN.
I'm running Rubicon take-offs 255/75/17s and with the new chubbier track bar, the spare tire no longer fits underneath. Had to relocate it to the cargo area
"Oh, you want bigger tires to make your GC look better?" I wish I never knocked that domino over. It's been one thing after another since then. No regrets; just a shame that Jeep made it so difficult to improve this vehicle easily.
Replaced the water pump (leaking and making a nasty noise...praying that was the only issue and it was). While I was at it I replaced the thermostat, belt, fan clutch, and upper rad hose. Fan clutch had some wobble to it.....may have in my opinion accelerated the water pump going bad by vibrating the hell out of it.....who knows. Runs and sounds great now.....no more leaks. Took me the better part of a week from start to finish as was ordering parts as I figured out what all I was replacing.
New tires today. After over 12 years it was time to replace the BFG AT TA KOs - they still had fair tread but they're starting to crack and look dry.
Mid-way through the install the tire guy comes out like a doctor with a cancer diagnosis. Tells me the right rear axle is leaking gear oil. I know that, it has had a slight weep that several interventions has been unable to resolve.
I walk over to take a look, and there's a puddle.....
So, back to that issue. I'll likely be taking it to a garage because I can't do the work in my garage as the axle has to come out and I don't have the side clearance to do that.
Mickey Thompson Baja Boss ATs in 265/65R17 - no lift or spacers.
I'll get better pics later.
![Wheel Tire Car Vehicle Automotive tire]()
![Automotive parking light Automotive tail & brake light Car Vehicle Automotive lighting]()
![Tire Wheel Land vehicle Vehicle Car]()
Mid-way through the install the tire guy comes out like a doctor with a cancer diagnosis. Tells me the right rear axle is leaking gear oil. I know that, it has had a slight weep that several interventions has been unable to resolve.
I walk over to take a look, and there's a puddle.....
So, back to that issue. I'll likely be taking it to a garage because I can't do the work in my garage as the axle has to come out and I don't have the side clearance to do that.
Mickey Thompson Baja Boss ATs in 265/65R17 - no lift or spacers.
I'll get better pics later.
I replaced the fog lights in my 07 GC. it took about 30 min. for both sides. The old ones were cloudy and cracked.
Thanks to KBWE for the replacements. These things are BRIGHT after installing the LED bulbs I had in the old ones.
Should be really great in the dark.
Thanks to KBWE for the replacements. These things are BRIGHT after installing the LED bulbs I had in the old ones.
Should be really great in the dark.
Replaced driver's side upper door hinge that had been bent when the wind caught the door. Horrible design with just the two bolts on the uppers. Noteably the new OEM one I bought had three holes so they must have figured that out.
Pain in the ***.....removed the fender. Hinge bolts broke off like they were made of candycane when attempting to remove them. I know these vehicles are getting old now but why is it every freaking bolt I go to remove with no rust basically snaps off like it's made of hard candy when I put a small hand ratchet on them? I've worked on old vehicles before and have never seen this. Ahhh Chryslers.
Anyway....couldn't be bothered trying to get the broken bolts out given they are apparently made of candy so lined it up and welded the bolts/holes and put a bead across the top of the hinge. Ugly but very solid. Door seals much better now.
Pain in the ***.....removed the fender. Hinge bolts broke off like they were made of candycane when attempting to remove them. I know these vehicles are getting old now but why is it every freaking bolt I go to remove with no rust basically snaps off like it's made of hard candy when I put a small hand ratchet on them? I've worked on old vehicles before and have never seen this. Ahhh Chryslers.
Anyway....couldn't be bothered trying to get the broken bolts out given they are apparently made of candy so lined it up and welded the bolts/holes and put a bead across the top of the hinge. Ugly but very solid. Door seals much better now.
"What did I do to my WK?"
Yesterday morning at 2:10 am I was picking up the pieces...
![]()
![]()
![]()
My WK took a hit early in the morning around 2 am from some drunk, along with two other cars. His truck ended up down the street crashed and he wound up with a trip to the hospital courtesy of a police escort!
The attached video was taken by his first victim that tried to trap him in and was seconds before he backed up fleeing, turned onto our street, and then hit my Jeep.
Drunk driver trying to flee after multiple accidents
Will have to wait a couple days for a completed police report before I find out a name and if he had insurance. This just sucks!
Yesterday was a very long and depressing day.
![😔]()
Yesterday morning at 2:10 am I was picking up the pieces...
My WK took a hit early in the morning around 2 am from some drunk, along with two other cars. His truck ended up down the street crashed and he wound up with a trip to the hospital courtesy of a police escort!
The attached video was taken by his first victim that tried to trap him in and was seconds before he backed up fleeing, turned onto our street, and then hit my Jeep.
Drunk driver trying to flee after multiple accidents
Will have to wait a couple days for a completed police report before I find out a name and if he had insurance. This just sucks!
Yesterday was a very long and depressing day.
Swapped a Tom Woods front drive shaft for a Cardone remanufactured unit. The original shaft (well, the one that came with the car when I got it lol...who knows if original) failed soon into my ownership and I upgraded to the Woody. Sadly the Woody vibrated annoyingly at speeds above 45mph, even after having a local shop re-balance it. That one's still a mystery, but I gave the Cardone shaft a try (~250$ shipped from Rock Auto) and so far a few hundred miles in she's the smoothest she's ever been!
![Wood Building Gas Flooring Auto part]()
Those CV joints are replaceable via the aftermarket; I replaced the rear one a few years ago & the front one was still good but these are available as well. Surprised to hear the Tom Woods shaft vibrated no matter what. Replacing the CV is actually easier than replacing ujoints. All you need is the snap ring pliers & the tool for the clamps on the rubber boots.
I wasn't sure which side was the problem...my guess was the front (differential) side but figured I'd replace both to be sure since I couldn't feel a problem with either side in the hand. The rear kits seem common but it took me forever to find a part to redo the front side. If anybody's looking: Jeep / Ford Driveshaft CV Joint
But at that point I was up to $100 in parts, plus the unknowns of balance afterwards and if the repairs didn't solve the issue, I'd always wonder if it was because I screwed something up haha. So for not too much more I just did a whole new (well, reman) unit. Sure beats $600-ish from Mopar. That said, I'll report back if this Cardone unit ever bites me!
Yeah the Tom Woods unit is a head scratcher. Perhaps a day will come when I'm re-motivated to solve it.
With that shaft with the front & rear CVs it’s usually the rear one that fails. Now if you had the bad front diff bushings issue for a while then the front could fail too but mine was fine. The rear boot came apart & the joint started howling at 100k miles. BTW we have a 98 ZJ with all original ujoints (no cvs even in the front half shafts) ant they are still good at 181,000 miles & 25 years old. Original owner. The front shaft on the ZJ is similar to the woods with a double cardan on the rear side a slip joint and a single u joint on the front. No vibs ever. I had to grease the splines once that’s about it. No grease fitting so I just peeled back the boot and greased it up & re secured the boot.
Do you have the Dorman part #?
For the shaft I bought? Here's the Cardone unit: More Information for CARDONE 653007
Mine's a 2010 Quadra-Drive II by the way.
LouC I did have the front diff mount go bad which is why I suspect it was the diff-side CV that failed. Horrible clicking and clunking. But in hand, neither CV feels problematic. None of the boot tears that people show in repair vids etc. I'll find out if I ever open it up...I save everything haha, ya never know what somethings going to be useful...
Today I'm troubleshooting my misaligned steering wheel, a result of fun shenanigans at Walker Valley ORV park in Washington yesterday. These are the most challenging trails I've had the WK (or any IFS/unibody vehicle) on. Overall verdict: Soooo easy. Picking a line and staying away from the many obstacles threatening the body and undercarriage were challenging, but the WK climbed everything I pointed it at. For a minute, I had a high-trans-temp warning, but it quickly went away. The quadra-drive II always came on just right to get me going. There was lots of tire rub, but I had rolled the fenders a bit, so there was no fender damage. There was a lot of noise as I drove up steep hills while turning, and I feel like it wasn't all tires. Loud clunking noises only while turning, and only in 4-low. I'm assuming everything is fine. I crashed into all the things both in forward and reverse and even slid into a tree on the right side very hard, but amazingly didn't pick up any damage there. I also dragged the undercarriage pretty hard and gave one of the plastic rocker things a workout.
The only damage is the uncentered steering wheel, which I suspect is the rack sliding in the mounts or something else, as the handling on the freeway is still excellent. I can't see any marks or damage on the tie rods or anything else down there. I'll diagnose it soon.
I don't think Walker Valley is for me. I miss mud, sand, water crossings, etc., and this place is just too rock-crawley and body-denty for my novice ***.
![Tire Wheel Vehicle Car Automotive tire]()
The only damage is the uncentered steering wheel, which I suspect is the rack sliding in the mounts or something else, as the handling on the freeway is still excellent. I can't see any marks or damage on the tie rods or anything else down there. I'll diagnose it soon.
I don't think Walker Valley is for me. I miss mud, sand, water crossings, etc., and this place is just too rock-crawley and body-denty for my novice ***.
Fixed my blend door issues last night...
Sometime last year around November, I started having AC/Heat issues with my blend doors inside the dash. It started with the driver's side getting stuck in the "heat" position, which made running the AC barely tolerable. So I mostly drove around with the windows open since the weather here was great. The WK is used on a limited basis now and mostly sees time driving up to & from our hunting lease, so the fix got put on the back burner. In late December on a particularly cold/freezing weekend, I turned on the heat dial for the passenger side while warming up the WK and then heard the crack and shattering of plastic as the blend door tried to move. Coming into the beginning of this year, I had uncontrollable heat on the driver's side and uncontrollable cold on the passenger side. This wasn't going to work...
This weekend I finally spent some time to diagnose it all. The verdict?
Driver's side control motor stripped a gear internally.
Passenger side blend door actuator shaft broke flush with the housing.
Dorman HVAC Door Actuator motor 604-006 completed the driver side.
Dorman HVAC Door Actuator Shaft Repair kit 604-388 completed the passenger side.
I now have full control of heat & AC once again. Finally...
Sometime last year around November, I started having AC/Heat issues with my blend doors inside the dash. It started with the driver's side getting stuck in the "heat" position, which made running the AC barely tolerable. So I mostly drove around with the windows open since the weather here was great. The WK is used on a limited basis now and mostly sees time driving up to & from our hunting lease, so the fix got put on the back burner. In late December on a particularly cold/freezing weekend, I turned on the heat dial for the passenger side while warming up the WK and then heard the crack and shattering of plastic as the blend door tried to move. Coming into the beginning of this year, I had uncontrollable heat on the driver's side and uncontrollable cold on the passenger side. This wasn't going to work...
This weekend I finally spent some time to diagnose it all. The verdict?
Driver's side control motor stripped a gear internally.
Passenger side blend door actuator shaft broke flush with the housing.
Dorman HVAC Door Actuator motor 604-006 completed the driver side.
Dorman HVAC Door Actuator Shaft Repair kit 604-388 completed the passenger side.
I now have full control of heat & AC once again. Finally...
18961 - 18980 of 19002 Posts
