From owner-xj-digest-at-digest.net Wed Dec 26 10:01:08 2001 From: xj-digest xj-digest Monday, December 24 2001 Volume 01 : Number 1337 Forum for Discussion of XJ cherokees and wagoneers Brian Colucci Digest Coordinator Contents: xj: Re: RE: Re: Steering Parts xj: Heavy Load problem... xj: Undercariage Diff Cam.. xj: the "new" Cherokee... xj: senate bill... xj: merry christmas... XJ Digest Home Page: http://www.digest.net/jeep/xj/ Send submissions to xj-digest-at-digest.net Send administrative requests to xj-digest-request-at-digest.net To unsubscribe, include the word unsubscribe by itself in the body of the message, unless you are sending the request from a different address than the one that appears on the list. Include the word help in a message to xj-digest-request to get a list of other majordomo commands. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 23 Dec 2001 08:19:55 -0800 From: "billandjennie" Subject: xj: Re: RE: Re: Steering Parts Whit, The Rusty's stuff is just ok. He tried to solved the linkage rotation problem of the T style linkage by putting the drag link on TOP of the tie rod instead of on the side, most people seem to mount it wrong though. It is not very strong however as I have seen it bent. You also MUST relocate the track bar. Since the tie rod is not offset, it makes it almost impossible to mount a sway bar. All in all, it seems a bad choice for many applications. Another bad linkage is the "K-Link" by Full Traction, while designed for the yj, it is a POS on any vehicle. The way I see it, you need to make a decision, do you want heavier linkage in the stock position, or do you do you want to move the linkage up for flatter angles and more clearance? The answer is easy if you want to keep it stock. Just go buy the new Currie HD linkage. It is by far the most hd linkage I have seen that will just bolt in. It is much stronger than it even looks in the pictures. You have to see it to really appreciate it. At $400, it's a bargain when compared to buying all new stock stuff from the dealer. Unfortunatly, on backorder for at least another month. If you want to move it up it gets more complicated. I have found the best setup is to use a right hand drive drag link mounted on top with a currie hd tie rod. This requires a custom built track bar and relocation, as well as relocating the sway bar mounts. It's amazing how much better it steers when the angles are relativly flat! The Y style linkage will work ok at higher angles but, flatter is better! What's best, depends on amount of lift, tire size, type of driving, and mechanical ability. Bill If it was safe, it wouldn't be fun! ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 Dec 2001 17:06:56 -0800 From: "Mike - G" Subject: xj: Heavy Load problem... Ok, I carry a huge load in the back, my soft rusty's springs sag an inch or more when I'm loaded up most of the time. (This is besides their usual sag from him, the spring has sagged to 4" unloaded, and 3" when I'm loaded up). I usually carry a lot with me, enough to sag at an inch, but when I do unload, I get a whole inch back. So question is, what should I do about this Do I A.. Try to get some airbags, or air shocks or somthing so I have a good 5-6" no matter what. or B. Get a stiffer spring in the rear that won't sag when I'm loaded up. Or C. ? Just curious if any of you noticed the huge amount of sag when loaded up with Rusty's springs. Oh, also their his 4.5" full replacement packs, which I've added a half inch lift shackle, and a 1.5" block to compensate for the sag and load sag, and I'm still low in the back. I've got some 1.5" lift shackles, still to put on it, which would even things out, but in the event that I take everything out, I would be almost 2" higher in the back (ie about 7" in the back and 5.5" up front), with no driveline mods, AAH! Scarry. - --- mike-g-at-mike-g.net http://www.mike-g.net/ boom.boom.beep.beep 5-6" lift, 32" tires, 4.56's, gears, Too much to list, check my site for more information ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 Dec 2001 18:25:10 -0800 From: "Mike - G" Subject: xj: Undercariage Diff Cam.. Ok, so this was a test run of my future plans, for an undercariage cam, so I can see the terrain better when 4 wheeling. It's my patend not-pending "Self-Spotter" or "Diff-Cam" hehe. I used my laptop, and a computer eyeball web cam, duct taped to one side of my cross member. The thing is supposed to take video, but for some reason it's not working (email into logitech waiting for responce). So I just took some still shots, and pasted them together in an animated gif. Anyhow, this is at night time, driving around over curbs and stuff, and the bright light near the end is another car coming at my in a parking lot. Thanks to Ryan Brown, for snapping the pic of my undeerneth . ENJOY... http://www.mike-g.net/jeep/yinyang/pics/diff_cam/diff_cam_anim2.gif OBTW, I've got some X10 cams on order, that I will probobly switch to for viewing, because the quickcam I used on above isn't ment for the outdoors. Not sure if I'm gonna A. buy a little TV so I can watch it. Or B. get the laptop adapter so I can view it on my laptop and record stuff. On a side note Dave Druck, I did this before writing my final. - --- mike-g-at-mike-g.net http://www.mike-g.net/ boom.boom.beep.beep 5-6" lift, 32" tires, 4.56's, gears, Too much to list, check my site for more information ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 Dec 2001 18:29:25 -0800 From: john Subject: xj: the "new" Cherokee... Made it home ok with the "new" '77 Cherokee. :) The owner drove it up to Issaquah from Centralia... saved me about 2 hours of driving! This is about the loudest and roughest FSJ I've driven... Not sure if my son's '67 J3000 rides rougher or not... suspect it's the tires... will slip the Michelin LTX's I have on and see... 31x10.5s. :) Engine runs nicely... Transmission isn't as smooth as my T-5 on the J10, but seems to be geared well for the ratio... I'm really excited about having a granny low gear... :) They're always fun. I think this thing will work nicely for a daily driver until my J10 is done. Man, the view from an FSJ is so much better than an XJ or WJ. The visibility makes it worth it the noise and rough ride... :) So, I'm going to wrap up the key (there's only one that works with the computer) to the '99 WJ and give it to the wife. She's been stranded at home for a couple months now... She loves her Jeep. It's an impressive vehicle. Glad we were able to get it. One other benefit of driving the '77 Cherokee daily will make me appreciate my J10 more when it's ready. Going from the '99 WJ to a restored '83 J10 might be disappointing... but going from a nice '77 Cherokee to a nicer '83 J10 will be extremely pleasant. :) So far my wife doesn't suspect a thing... so long as she doesn't go out to the carport before Christmas I can surprise her with a small box with the key to her Jeep... :) Finally giving her her replacement Jeep for the '88 XJ that was totalled in May... Guess I need to wash her Grand Cherokee and vacuum it out and get all my stuff out of it for her... :) I'll be selling the 77 Cherokee when my J10 is done. It's a nice rig but really won't need it. I may end up putting an exhaust system on it, and maybe even an inexpensive paint job so it looks nice... Also going to replace the steering wheel with a stock one... someone put in a tiny little thing... The owner before the one I bought it from did install a new engine, Offenhauser manifold and Holley 650. Runs out real nice... 13/18 mpg according to the guy I bought it from... Will take some nice pictures tomorrow, link to the directory in my sig file below. I do have a crazy idea of putting the driveline and seats from a WJ into this Cherokee... but that would cost about $4,000 and take months... of course that's still cheaper than buying a used Grand Cherokee... :) And I get the visibility of the SJ... we'll see what kind of crazy scheme I come up with next. (We haven't finished the morphing of the '96 XJ with the '83 J10 yet... :) My WJ has only been getting around 11 or so lately, I have a feeling I've got a bad bearing or u-joint (been hearing some bearing noise lately), and it may just need a tuneup... have put 13,000 miles on it since June! Was planning on going through and doing all the maintenance over the Christmas break, but I've been dealing with flood damage from the paving contractor's clogging the culvert... Excavated the culvert yesterday, found mortar, gravel and bricks in the culvert... that's what clogged it up and caused the flooding... now we have a big hole on the top of my property... An engineer friend is coming over tomorrow to let me know what I need to do to fix it correctly... http://www.wagoneers.com/tmp/carport-flood/ Anyway, hope you all have a wonderful Christmas, just remember the reason for the season is Jesus. :) I don't have to go back to work until the 2nd... :) ahhhh.... :) If you're in the area drop me an email and let's see if we can meet up for coffee... after all, I've got wheels now... :) john ----------------------------------------------------------- john-at-wagoneers.com http://wagoneers.com '99 Grand Cherokee Ltd (WJ) - http://wagoneers.com/WJ '83 J10 stepside (SJ) - http://wagoneers.com/SuperDawg '77 Cherokee (SJ) - http://wagoneers.com/FSJ/rigs/johns-77-cherokee (son's collection: '67 J-3000, 67 Fairlane, 68 Montego) trailers: '74 datsun longbed, building '75 J10, selling '54 Chev stepside bed... http://wagoneers.com/johns-vehicles.html Snohomish, WA, where Jeeps don't rust, they mold... ----------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 Dec 2001 19:00:30 -0800 From: john Subject: xj: senate bill... Did you hear about the law they passed in France? It's illegal to sell a car older than 5 years old!!!! Can't remember where I read it... Not sure if I have it right, but the article said it was really upsetting a lot of people. Of course in France most of the cars are small and cheap... remember "le car"? Lots of Simcas, Renaults, Peugots and other french cars... But there are Jeeps and other decent vehicles over there too... Not sure what they're trying to prove with a law like that.... john At 09:34 PM 12/23/01 -0500, fsj-digest wrote: >Date: Sat, 22 Dec 2001 16:42:12 -0500 >From: mpolkkidodge-at-netscape.net >Subject: fsj: Senate Bill 1776- Pay to Crush Older Vehicles >Another scrappage program has been proposed by congress. Scrappage programs >destroy perfectly good vehicles, which could be used for wheeling or for >parts. In the end it makes your hobby more expensive. > >If you have the money to burn don't bother calling to protest Title VIII of >Senate Bill 1766. > >Below is a form letter you may use to oppose Title VIII of Senate Bill 1766. >The bill (Energy Act of 2002) was introduced on 12/06/01 by Sen. Thomas >Daschle and co-sponsored by Sen. Jeff Bingaman. Sections 802 and 803 of >Title VIII develop a state program funded by federal money to scrap running >vehicles and offer financial incentives to encourage people to turn-in older >vehicles and purchase new vehicles in an attempt to raise CAFE standards. >In the past, federal programs and other bills which would increase CAFE >standards have been opposed. As CAFE standards are increased new four wheel >drive vehicles (SUVs and light trucks) become more expensive. Furthermore, >state scrappage programs make it difficult to find replacement parts for >many older vehicles we use for fourwheeling. State scrappage programs such >as the one outlined in this bill will make replacement parts for your Jeeps, >Land Cruisers, Bronco's, etc. more difficult to find. > >To find out who your U.S. Senators are, call the SEMA Washington, D.C. >office at 202-783-6007, myself at 757-482-4474, or access this information >via the Internet at >www.enjoythedrive.com/legislative/contact_legislator.asp. - --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.WAGONEERS.com/ Snohomish, WA - where Jeeps don't rust, they mold... jesus, don't leave life without him, please! - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Dec 2001 20:31:02 -0800 From: john Subject: xj: merry christmas... Hope all of you are having a great Christmas with family and friends... Have enjoyed being on the list with you this last year. Gave my wife the keys to her Jeep this afternoon... :) haven't seen her since... (just kidding... ;) It worked out nicely, I had to go south, she had to go west... stores closed early tonight... It'll be nice that she'll be able to get out of the house. She was getting cabin fever, I'd come home and she'd want to go somewhere. :) My son has decided he wants my '77 Cherokee. So as soon as my J10 is done he'll buy it. One good thing is he's decided to sell both his '67 Fairlane and his '67 J3000. We'll probably be putting them up on ebay in the next couple of days. The '77 Cherokee will be a much better vehicle for him. If you're interested in either let me know. The '77 Chero needs a few things, muffler is on the top of the list... ;) It starts up, goes, and stops, real important features... :) Anything beyond that represents a project I'm unable to deal with right now. :) The '99 WJ needs to be serviced, need to deal with the flood damage here first and then do some maintenance on the wife's Jeep so it's perfect. Thankfully the weather has been beautiful here, the mountains are fantastic! Snow covered, starry nights, crisp... sunshine during the day... later, john - ---------------------------------------------------- john-at-wagoneers.com http://www.wagoneers.com Snohomish, WA, where Jeeps don't rust, they mold... Real FREEDOM comes through knowing Jesus http://www.wagoneers.com/LivingByFaith/Christmas-message.html - ---------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ End of xj-digest V1 #1337 *************************