Louie4's YJ by Louie4

6 minute(s) of a 411 minute read

Been a long time since I even touched the Jeep. I did get it inspected for registration. Until today, I decided to put my 2 degree WFO shims in to bring the pinion angle down slightly. I bought them a while ago. Need to do the passenger side next.

12-13-2020

Well my in laws are staying with us for 3 months to take care of the kiddos. Since we leave them my wife’s car to drive, my wife takes the truck and I drive the Jeep to work which I enjoy.

But of course I start to notice things. One is my vintage OEM alternator from a ‘91 Cherokee is squealing and goes away after driving a while. I’m pretty sure it’s a bearing. I plan to replace it but not sure with what. I don’t think I need do the 136A alternator upgrade just get a stock replacement. I found an AC Delco, new, on RockAuto for $100. Napa has a new Bosch for $229 and a new Napa brand for $179. I’m leaning towards RockAuto. Don’t want one from AutoZone as my taste have refined.

I also had a small coolant leak but I just had to tighten a hose clamp.

Oh and my Destaco latch broke after 10 years.

12-27-2020

Here was a first attempt...which failed. Shouldn't have used nylon locking nuts on all thread.

12-31-2020

So after my debacle with all thread. I found the replacement u-bolts from Destaco. I bought two and plan to use the right parts. They are not generic by any stretch of the imagination using an M8 bolt and an inner width of 1.5” or 38mm and 111mm inside length. Which is why I was having trouble finding them locally. The first one lasted 10 years. With two, I should get 20 years out of it.

1-8-2021

Dang, I missed that!

I got a couple new U-bolts for my Destaco latch. The part number for it is on their website.

Glad I bought the replacement.

So now my alternator (I'm pretty sure) is starting to have a more consistent low level squeal to it. It still charges the battery but I think the bearings are starting to fail. I need to decide if I should go ahead and fix it or just let the alternator fail. I drive my Jeep to work every day now but once my in-laws leave March 1st, it will just sit.

Some other things I plan to do are: Install my horn. I removed it for the ARB pump and never put it back in. I find myself needing it in Phoenix. I also have a credit on my Q-Tec account so I may buy a TJ 4WD indicator switch for the t-case. Not sure what else to get.

1-13-2021

Ha! I just looked at my thread!

So I did take the easy way out and bought a rebuild kit for $20. It gets here Saturday. I figured I would get some flack for it but like I said, it will not be driven much after February.

On the other hand, I had a $25 Amazon gift card and bought crimpers, cutters, and tinned lugs for building my own battery cables.

Just preparing for a higher amp one day and relocating the winch solenoids.

I also wanted to mention mg Gladiator had two bad batteries. I noticed the auto stop/start hadn’t worked for a couple months. Not that I like that feature really but I noticed it wasn’t ready because it was charging the battery all the time. I took it to the dealer and they replaced both batteries under warranty.

1-16-2021

Rebuilding my 30 year old alternator.

Brushes had some wear to them.

Bearings were not awful but not good.

1-26-2021

I bought a lug crimper off Amazon and tried it out. I had #2 sitting around that I finally used. I replaced my starter motor cable and was going to replace the cable to the PDC but saw it was a two hole lug.

I plan to buy some 1/0 black and red cable at some point.

2-1-2021

I pulled my wiper motor off. I turned the motor on to see how it spins. Doesn't seem to spin that fast even not connected to the linkage. I moved that top plate off and looked inside. The grease was still greasy and looked ok.

Maybe my motor is just wearing out?

2-6-2021

Got my stuff from Q-Tec today. I also made a new #2 negative battery cable with my new crimpers.

New 4WD switch. I need to find a plug for it.