Woot! It's a healthy Jeep too
Last week, after a very VERY long night at Texas Roadhouse, then Gameworks, then Club Chevele, then my kitchen, I awoke needing something to do... Since I had to head into Auburn Hills anyway (Joe's car somehow got left at the mall, and he ended up sleeping on my couch), I dropped him off, and headed on into Ortonville to do the yearly maintanance...
Since I get to it every winter, I manage to forget in the meantime how much smoother it makes things go. Did the diff fluid (brown and milky), the transfer case (purple and silvery), the oil (thick and chunky), and incidentally, that is a 3000 mile faithfully, but the tail portion of that was the Thanksgiving Day Run, checked the plugs, thermostat, belt, hoses, all custom wire connections... Rode smooth, but still shuddering as usual...
So I took it up to Belle Tire to get 2 new front tires, and an alignment (the old ones got chewed up after I threw off the alignment when I jumped it)... Well, the wheel bearings were a lot worse than I thought. I knew the passenger one had a bit of play in it, didn't even think about the drivers side one... Wow... It was up on the hoist, and I could gently rock the wheel quite a lot more than anyone should be able to... The good thing is, my friendly neighborhood Belle Tire, besides working with people normally, has a moderate clientele of Michigan Jeepers, so they didn't rape me too hard on pricing and things like that, knocked down labour, parts at cost, etc... While I could have done it myself, when do I have the time, so I bit the bullet, and had it taken care of...
Wow!!! Is this what it felt like when I bought it? At first, I was like, what the hell is wrong with it?!? It didn't feel right at all! I turned the wheel, and the damn thing moved in the general direction of where I wanted it to go, and then
stayed there... Before I knew it, I was doing 80 MPH on the 696, and I wasn't being shaken violently about... And when I did a lane change, it didn't start wobbling! Magic indeed... I don't know what small creature they sacrificed, but I am convinced that my Jeep runs on demons now, and pleasant ones at that
But the control arms are shot
And the shocks
And since those have to be replaced in a lift anyway...
MY PARENTS ARE GOING HALVSIES ON A CHRISTMAS LIFT!!!
Saurian is pleased :twisted:
