[pdcomm]

Crap there goes another 70+ bucks . The water pump in my XJ decided to take a pee all over everything under the hood . It couldn't just start leaking a little . It had to pretty much blow up . Of course , that took out the serpentine belt and almost empty the cooling system . Fortunately , it happened only a mile from home and the motor was kind enough to not get too hot before bringing me back into the driveway .
I have to admit that changing this pump was probably the easiest I've ever done in 50+ years of wrenching .
At the same time , I have to say that adjusting the serpentine belt was the most difficult belt that I've ever had to adjust .
The fact that the parts guy gave me a K7 instead of a K6 made the ordeal that much more aggravating and costly in time , gas and skin .

But , that was then and can now be entered into the annals of times ...

 

[pdcomm]

I always thought they were pretty simple, just one bolt under the power steering... although i have not owned a 96+. Is the tensioning system different in the newer xjs? Just curious.

Sent from my Flux capacitor using JeepForum

You never had to loosen the 5 bolts that hold the steering pump in place ?

Other than a half dozen bolts to adjust a single belt , I'd say it was a pretty simple job , too .

The easiest was on a Dodge Dakota . No bolts . 'Simply' spring the tensioner .

 

[pdcomm]

Newer Subarus are easy as hell. You simply loosen/tighten a top bolt on the alternator. For whatever reason they got rid of the tensioner on the 2013s though.

A flat piece of steel with a slot in it is a lot less expensive than any tensioner .

 

[pdcomm]

Thing is, you can still put the old tensioners on them. The new belts come with some weird half circle plate things and now the belt costs more than the tensioner does.

So , the truth comes ...

Always follow the money .

 

[pdcomm]

Fortunately when loosening it I counted the how many rotations I made to the adjustment bolt and then tightened it back the same amount when putting things back together. Since I re-used the same serpentine belt I took off, it should be pretty close.

Amazing how presence of mind always seems to help .

 

[pdcomm]

i basically have no where to do it

So ...

That's no excuse . I switched out my water pump in the driveway . Out in the elements , in low light no less .

 

[pdcomm]

I guess you don't read or have access any kind of news paper ?

Lot cheaper than a couple decks of cards . Of course , now no one will notice the cards are marked ...

I always wondered what folks did with a 51 deck .

 

[pdcomm]

I think your carpet shrunk ...

Nice powder coating job .

 

[pdcomm]

Thanks.

Actually, this piece of trim fits over the jam, pin and carpet.

---> OK
here it is put back together, with the plastic trim, polished stainless bolts and ring, and even my Powder-coated hitch-pin behind it (on carpet)
Better?

Yeah . That looks a lot better .

Nice how they left enough off the seal for 'drainage' .

My hitch pin is only Cadmium plated .

 

[pdcomm]

Installed.

Now you won't be able to tell which side is up ... or is that normal for you ? LOL

Looks like you did a nice job of installation .

 

[pdcomm]

02 Honda cbr 600 needs a little work, do you know of any bikes with a decent price tag on on it? Guy canceled on me tonight I'm meeting him this weekend to see it

You might check Craigslist for your area . There should be a lot of bikes for sale at fairly reasonable prices . It's 'that' time of year .

I generally use http://www.searchtempest.com/ and get pretty good results .

 

[pdcomm]

By reasonable I want to get up to 80-85 pretty good and have enough balls to get me to school and work fast, I dont need a ton of speed. I want good on gas good on insurance and good on speed but It doesnt have to be insane!

Gee , you don't ask for much , do you ?

Buy an enduro . I built my '89 Yamaha XT350 . Absolutely love it . I ride about 60% road and 40% off . It'll do 80 all day and it can get you there quick enough for a ticket , not to mention it can get you through stuff you wouldn't want to try otherwise . It's a riot off road and gravel roads are like a freeway . I get about 60 MPG . Insurance is cheap .

It takes about a minute to remove the trunk , but I usually leave it on .

I think some of the later model 250s are very interesting . Like has been said , they really are all you need , unless you're doing a lot of touring .

 

[pdcomm]

Almost forgot ... My wife shampooed the XJ carpet and seats today .

 

[pdcomm]

Washed it. Decided I will probably need to repair passenger side floor pan before winter. Now you can see carpet from under it. Started as a paint bubble this spring....

Michigan uses that fast rusting salt mixture ...

I have the best solution to that problem : Travel South for the Winter .

We're on our way to Alabama for a 6 month hosting commitment at a Forest Service park . The only hazards you have to watch out for there are the idiots that have no clue as how to drive on anything other than dry slab .

 

[pdcomm]

We're taking our XJ to the promised land .

That sounds AWESOME! Do they pay you for that setup too?

We wouldn't even think of asking for pay for as sweet a set up as we have there . But yes , we do get compensation , in a way : we get a free full hookup private site ( 1/2 mile from the campground ) , along with as much propane as it takes to keep us toasty .
The shop is equipped with almost every basic tool you can think of and a few most of us wouldn't know how to use . That doesn't include my personal selection of 'specialty tools' . It has a commercial washer and dryer along with a nice deep freezer and a bathroom with water heater . They give us a Ford F150 and a golf cart for 'chores' .
They want us to put in 20 hours a week and a good share of that is just being there . We don't have a boss or overseer and are left to do as we see fit .

About the only things we have to pay for is most of our food ( the hunters give us a pretty fair amount of venison and turkey and the lake is full of 9+" gills and crappy ) and the fuel we use in the Jeep and my bikes . Of course , anything else we might want to buy is on us , too .

One of the best 'features' of the place is it sits on over 44,000 acres of Federal forest that has a system of fire roads strewn throughout like spaghetti on a plate . Talk about an off road paradise ... Hardly a place any XJ would feel comfortable in .

But , there is a draw back : the closest town with groceries and fuel is 18 miles away .

Here's a shot I took from just down the shore from our site :

You may not be able to tell that we like it there . :rofl:

 

[pdcomm]

This has been over a year long rebuild. Considered 4 months for my machine work to be done and pulling 2 blown motors from it. (Long story) and money is tight... Even for me and I build EVERYTHING. Only stuff I buy is replacement parts shocks,wheelbearings,etc not sure yet but this jeep is an attention whore.

You're telling us that you're gonna let a Jeep get the better of you ?

That can't happen . For your own good , that can't happen .

 

[pdcomm]

Sounds like my idea of retirement!

Exactly what we think .

And , Motorcharge , if you think one of the worlds natural wonders is ghey , well , you've spent way too much time trapped under that Jeep of yours .

I'm hoping you get a handle on that grease in your eyes .

 

[pdcomm]

This sounds amazing.

In a way it is amazing . Amazing that we have been blessed with such good fortune .

Do you need more help?!!!! I'll head that way tomorrow!!! Lol

I don't mean to cut you out , but we don't really have enough to do to keep ourselves busy . I even brought my '57 Simplex along as a build project , so I'd have something to do this Winter .

 

[pdcomm]

:laugh: Nah.. I usually end up with enough reason everytime i want to sell it not too. Like this time my reasoning is a buddy that has a set of 44s front and rear with mismatched gears but for the low price of 150 i can handle that.. So if i do decide to ante up and buy them i will be doing what i just complained about more rebuilding...But seriously this stroker just took the life out of me. Worst machine shop experience ever didnt help at all though 4 months of waiting for it and absolutely no comunication and i ended up with a little different motor than i asked for but the price was very reasonable.

Today all i did on it was cut out the front carpet to reveal a passenger floor pan that had seen better days. Will be cutting it out and welding new in either tomorrow or monday.

Sounds like good therapy . I just wish our hobbies didn't cost so dang much .

 

[pdcomm]

rerouted the winch wires to the battery, after class I'm heading to America's tire to get my km2's rebalanced since all of the stick on wheel weights fell off:shhh:

Instead , you might think about tossing a big handful of these in the wheel(s) :

I run them in my motorcycle tires and have run them in tires on a Dodge Dakota I use to have . Work great . Never out of balance .

Here's a comparison shot . The BBs on the left are NEW and the silver BBs on the right are what the NEW BBs look like after 20,000 miles in the tire .