Still here. Still puttering along.

 Evidently it's been a while since I've fired up an update. 

Life and winter, but mostly winter, really cut into my garage time. I wasn't in the mood to work on damp days in the garage.

Being said, I'm back at it now that the weather is improving. So here's a quick update on where things sit. 

The TJ blew it's last hardline, and I had to deal with that. So it's now has a full set of all hardlines all around. I don't particularly like doing brake lines, but I'm oddly pretty good at it. Being said, my ancient flare tool has seen its last flare, and I was forced (buying tools, forced, HA!) to buy a new flaring tool. It's spectacular. SO much nicer than my old one.

Fortunately I also have a bleeder tool, and that just makes swapping the lines out easy enough. 

 

 

I also finally got an oil change in. Having not done one since before the pandemic, the lack of driving has resulted in a 4 year lull where I've only managed a hair under 5000kms/3100mi in that time. Still under what the Royal Purple is rated for, but time is no friend to sitting oil. 

 

 

I've also been making may way through the four corners on the m38 to convert it to disc brakes. Repacking berrings as I go, and taking note of what needs replacement. I am hoping to have an order in for the remainder of the parts this month, and have brakes on in July.

The TJ is due for a new tailpipe and some body work. Probably more than I should be trusted with, but I am a jack of all trades and a master of none. 

In any case, there's where it stands, and welcome back to anyone who pops on to read along. 

Gas Tank Skid Plate (aka Hopes and Prayers) Replacement.

Rust Never Sleeps, right? 

In the on-going saga of dealing with rust on a 24 year old Jeep, this project was dealing with a gas tank skid plate that had rust, no, rotted out completely. I have dubbed the skid plate "Hopes and Prayers", mostly because all that was holding my gas tank in the Jeep was hopes and prayers.
If you're reading this, you may be well aware that Jeep TJ gas tanks are all held in place by the very skid plate designed to protect them. Meaning that if the skid plate fails, the  tank falls out. I had noticed a crack in my plate last year, but it was minor and not something I was too concerned about at the time. Fast forward to a couple weeks ago. I was sitting on the lawn waiting for my sons bus to arrive, and I see this under the Jeep. A quick Amazon search and I had a "Amazon Warehouse Deal" (aka - small scratch on it) skid plate and strap kit on my driveway. 

I became a bus rider to work for a few days while waiting for the weekend a some nice weather to tackle the "one hour job". Well, it took six, but you know how these things go. 

To start, up on jack stands the Jeep went - note to self and anyone reading, get taller jack stands. Both rear tires came off, and then the fuel filler cup to free the filler from the body. 

 

 

 

From the drivers side, you should be able to reach in and disconnect the fuel line, vent line, and electrical connections. I was lucky enough that the rust hadn't destroyed the lines, and I was  able to get everything apart relatively easy. For a great tutorial video I highly recommend this video from Taboo Customs on YouTube.

To start you will need to support the skid plate and tank using a jack of some sort. I built a quick jack adapter out of plywood and some two by fours. I had to create a flat surface to carry the weight. It should go without saying don't be like me and do this with a nearly full tank.

The Jeep TJ has seven bolts holding the skid plate on the Jeep. Three in front  over the track bar (rest assured they can be reached with a ratchet and long extension) and four in the back. The confusing part in the back is that there are six bolts. Two of those hold the tank straps in place, they're the longer ones, usually with rubber covers on them. The bolts coming down from the Jeep are carriage bolts, and should be captured by the mounting frame. I had to cut two off ultimately, but they were easily replaced with new hardware from the local hardware store. 

Now onto the "Hopes and Prayers". Once I had the tank sitting on the driveway, and had freed it from the straps (had to cut them off) I discovered just how bad the skid plate was. Basically the tank was being held up off the road by two flaps of rust. A solid bump may have dropped the tank out. 

 

Given my incredible intelligence (ha) I was stuck with a nearly full tank (about 45L/12gallons, or 73lbs of gas - give or take). I had to lighten that load or there was no way I was going to be able to manhandle it back into place under the Jeep. Fortunately I have a couple spare fuel pumps, and no fear of death (ha), so I "wired" up a pump with one of those lithium ion jumper boxes (you should get one they're handy). I ended up pumping the gas out into whatever spare gas cans I had to make putting the tank back as easy as possible.

Speaking of manhandling. Even empty it was a battle to get the tank and skid back in place. The new skid plate is thicker and has more protection than the stock one, so that added some weight. Not having taller jack stands made working under the Jeep with the tank and jack that much more difficult. I managed and now have a tank in place with a new skid that will last MANY years. If I ever have to drop the tank again, I'm just taking it to a shop.

Airing Down the Easy Way

For the last 20+ years that I've been doing the Jeep thing, one thing that was consistent, was the way I aired down my tires. I always just pulled my valve stem cores, and chased my tires with a pressure gauge. 

It wasn't the most elegant solution, and there was always the risk of firing a core into the bush, but it was fast and it worked. Unfortunately, on my last trip to Bobcaygeon, I spent a little too much time chatting, and ended up having to actually inflate a couple tires, because I aired them down too much. 

So....

While searching for Jeep "stuff" as I'm known to do, I found this tire deflator. It removes the valve core, but keeps it safely tucked in itself. It allows controlled release of air, and a handy pressure gauge to keep tabs on the tire. The kit included the deflator, four valve caps, a valve stem tool, and a handy storage box. 

Since pictures speak a thousand words, videos must speak millions. Here's a quick video showing how it works, and really, how simple it is to use.

Canada Jeep Show

On August 10th, I took part in the annual Canada Jeep Show. Arguably the largest all breeds Jeep show. This year Pavement Still Sucks was one of 436 Jeeps that came together for the show. Besides being all about Jeeps, the show raises money for Sick Kids Hospital here in Toronto.
Being that my son will (most likely) need open heart surgery before his 6th birthday, and that it'll be at Sick Kids, I can be doubly passionate about the event.

While I didn't win any raffle prizes, or the 50/50 draw, my Jeep did manage to win the "Best License Plate" category in the Show and Shine. Not bad for a 20 year old TJ that only really looks good from 10' away.



Not really much more to add, except that $15,000 was raised this year, so massive kudos to all those that help put this together.

Just a few photo, since they'll speak for themselves.

Beautiful CJ-3A

I can dream

The TJ always feels so old at these events. But if you look close, there is a CJ poking it's nose out

Panorama from the top of my Jeep

Jeep Therapy - Trip to Bobcaygeon Ontario

Starting the day off

Something isn't right with us Jeep owners. Case in point, I spent July 21st either on my way to, on, or on my way from a trail. To put it another way, I drove 175km (110 miles) to the trails in Bobcaygeon, MAYBE, 10km (6 mile) on the trails, and another 175km home. It was a long day.
I also learned, that at 41, those kinda days are hard on my body.

Putting some country air back in my tires

I also had some time to think in my travels. My Jeep is the result of experiences gained while younger, and in a YJ. So when I set up myself to build the TJ, I made some very conscious decisions in my build.

With the TJ, I decided to go with as low a lift as possible, so rather than 4", I went 2.5". The YJ had no sway bars, the TJ does, and they don't get disconnected. The front and rear carried over the lockers with 4.88's, and the front Warn hub conversion.

It runs down the road as straight as an arrow, and can hold 110km/h (70mph) while doing so.
On the trail, I point it, and it does it. It claws, crawls, and pulls itself through what I throw at it.
It's a ten foot Jeep (looks good from ten feet away), reliable as an anvil, 20 years old, and only has 95000km (59000 miles) on the odometer.


The story of my therapy session is a simple one. Make plans with a buddy, head up to the trails, get some time in the Jeep in. A day when the only responsibility to to make it in and out of the trail and home safely.

Pavement Ends Sprint Top

I picked up a Pavements Ends Sprint Top (PN: 56840) for an absolute steal from Amazon just before Christmas. The down side, is that it's been sitting in my garage teasing me, making me wait for soft top season. Soft top season finally arrived.

As with any fresh top, it's best to get it out and warmed up before trying to get it installed. I had some time to let it sit, since the Sprint Top requires some parts from the stock top. The key parts required are the front bow, door surrounds, and tailgate bar. 

Removing the front bow wasn't difficult. It required laying out the stock top, removing a few screws, and the rear two bows, before flipping the front bow over to access the retaining screws. The screws didn't put up too much of a fight. 

Once the bow has been removed, it's time to drill out the rivets to install the new arms. The Sprint Top includes new arms that will need to be screwed into place. 

It should be noted, that if you don't have a stock sunrider from Jeep, you're going to have to drill a couple holes in your door surrounds for some brackets. For some reason, unknown to me, the measurements are all in metric. Now, I know you're thinking, "Kev, you're from Canada, that should be normal". Well, it's not. I learned to read a tape measure the right way, and millimetre is not it. To save you some time converting, and to assure you that you really don't need to measure out 23/32", here's the conversion that works:  18.5mm -> 3/4"
9.5mm -> 3/8"
19mm -> 3/4"

Now that all the drilling and re-purposing is over, it's time to mount this top. Start by snapping the pivot arms into the door surround brackets you just installed. Flip the header down, and latch it to your windshield.
There are two straps over the centre rollbar loop, get them started, but not cinched down

Flip the rear of the top over the rear of the rollbar, noting that there is an aluminum bar acting as a rear header that will rest against the rollbar. Pull the rear straps down, and loosely attach them to the inside of the tub.

Now attach the windows, and use them as a guide to centre the top. Mine was sitting too far to the drivers side, and the passenger side window simply didn't zip up properly.
Once the fit is right, tighten down all those straps.
Follow the remaining instructions for installing the windows (similar to stock) and you're set.

The top seals really well, doesn't flap too much in the wind, and the large windows are really awesome. I'm really looking forward to getting some use out of the flip back top, mostly because my Redneck Sunrider was a pain to work with, despite being a near zero cost mod. 

Jeep TJ Front Fender Replacement

Originally Published in 4WD Magazine

Rust, every Jeep owners other four letter word. My front fenders finally got to the point where I was running out of good metal to attach new metal to. I came across a local supplier selling replacement fenders for $140 a side. They're imported, solid enough, and came primed in a solid black. As I would come to learn, they fit damn near perfect. More on that as we go on.

Part of what causes TJ fenders to rot out so badly, is the support brackets lack any proper drainage. This allows dirt and grime to collect, causing the fenders to rust out from the inside out. To counteract this, I've drilled holes at each end. Just a 1/4" to allow water to drain. Hopefully that keeps them healthy for a long time. At least for the same 18 years my old ones lasted.

You can see by the pictures to the right the brackets I'm talking about, and the lower picture shows the damaged area. That's the typical TJ fender rust. In my case, the rust had practically eaten through the entire centre of my fender. It was held together with some old ducting and rivets.

The start of a project this grandiose, is realizing that it's not just 11 bolts and you're set, but it's all the accessories that are on the fenders that need to be dealt with. Lights, wiring, bottles, airbox, battery, battery tray, weird drivers side battery tray. Just a lot of detail work.
I started with the simple stuff, removing the lights and wiring for them. The front signal lights come out with two torx screws. Followed by two clips to free the housing. This is key, as the light socket won't fit through the fender hole with the wiring harness.


The side marker sockets just need a twist to remove them from the housing. Trace the wire back and remove all the plastic trim clips. Ultimately back to the fender hole.

The rubber grommet will push through to the engine side easy enough and you can fish the wiring through to the engine side.







I got tied up with the work, and didn't take photo's of removing all the screws for the air box and electric distribution centre. Also, now's a good time to remove the battery. Just get it out of the way.
Basically, remove everything that's attached to the fenders.


As mentioned, there are 11 bolts total. 7 at the front of the fender, where it meets the grill. Those pretty easy. Now comes the tough ones, especially on 19 year old Jeep. The best solution is to break out the reciprocating saw. Give it a clean cut to free the front of the fender from the Jeep. Now it's easy to get an impact gun with extension on the 4 fender to tub bolts remaining.

Keen eyes will notice that these are different fenders. Guess I wasn't quick on the camera while doing this. Regardless, it gives you an idea of where I did the cut.



It should be noted at this point, I worked around the battery tray on both sides. Removing them was going to be a pain in the butt, and working around wasn't too difficult. If your Jeep isn't as rusty, give it a shot. It'll make life easier.

So by now, you're just over an hour in, and it's time to put the new fender on. Guess what, do everything you just did, but backwards, and you to can have a fender that now looks like this.
It's not a hard job. I may have used an impact and air ratchet, but there was nothing stopping me from just using hand tools. So this is definitely a driveway do-able job. Be prepared for broken bolts, and plan for two days.
Also, expect to need to drill a couple holes. Over the years some accessory mounts changed, and things didn't always line up. It wasn't a big deal, just worth noting.

All said and done, 7 hours later, you can have fenders that look like this

And ultimately, once the flares are back on, lights back in place, and all accessories back in, you'll have a front end that will look like this.