Spring Fever

It's March in New Hampshire, the nights are still dipping below freezing and there is still snow on the ground. As I look out my window my Wrangler sits in the driveway, a light frost covers the surface, but there's none on the roof, why? That's because for the past 3 days in a row the top has been down. It's officially spring and I am reclaiming my Jeeper given right to go topless.
It happens every year, that day when I reluctantly zip the windows in my Wrangler's top for what I know will be the last time. I try to make it as far into fall as I can in New Hampshire's ever changing weather, not wanting to give up that freedom you feel with the top of but once the rain starts turning to snow it's time to concede to nature.
Then it comes, usually in "February Thaw" time, when nature teases us with a glimpse of spring by means of a few 45 degree days. That's all a New England Jeeper needs, the mercury to touch 40's and the sun to shine. The tops go down and it's time to enjoy the fresh air and wind in our faces. But those few day, a week if we're lucky pass all to quickly and it's back to closing it in.
But then, it's March and that ever magical month of April is just around the bend, days on end in the 40's and 50's, sure it's cold at night but you know tomorrow will be warm again so, barring an evening rain or flurry, the top stays down. On those wet days when the top is up, you better believe those rear windows are staying out, and they'll be that way until November. Sure it might mean looking a little foolish when caught in the occasional April snow flurry but I don't care.
It might not be nice to fool Mother Nature, but it feels good to stick it to her once in a while.

Just Another Reason Jeep Chicks Rock

Sometimes you need another set of hands when wrenching on your rig. Sometimes you just need a smaller set of hands.

Half the projects I've done to my Jeeps have been made easier with my wife's help. She goes beyond the "hold the light here", "hand me the 13mm", "pump, pump, hold". No, she's not afraid to get her hands on the project and get them dirty.

She often provides a different look into a trouble shooting situation that I might have over looked, and many times her working on one part of a repair while I work on another has sped up the process. And on more than one occasion her smaller hands have come in handy for getting to a hard to reach bolt or screw.

So here's to you all you Jeep chicks. As good as you look behind the wheel, you look better under the hood.

More than a thing, it's a life style..

"It's a Jeep thing, you wouldn't understand.." we've all read the stickers and slogans, and yet there's a number of people who although the own a Jeep, still don't get it. That's why no matter how many people make complimentary comments about my Jeeps, there's still people who have something negative to say about owning a Jeep.



It always starts with "I used to have a Jeep." or "Yeah, my brother (sister,cousin, friend, etc.) had a Jeep." then follows with why they got rid of it. It rode worse than a truck, it used too much gas, it was bad in the snow (I never understand that one myself), it didn't have enough room, they tip over too easily while going down the road.



You see, it's not just owning a Jeep that somehow enlightens you as to what the "Jeep Thing" is. No, it's more than that. It's the reason behind owning a Jeep. The difference between a "Jeep Owner" and a true "Jeeper". Are you buying that soft top Wrangler merely because you heard they are chick magnets? (don't get me wrong, they sure are) Do you think owning a Grand Cherokee for your grocery getter will make people think you're not as lame as the guy driving that Buick, and that maybe you might be a little tougher than you are merely because you drive a Jeep?



Or are you a true "Jeeper", one who overlooks the quirks certain Jeep models have because you realize that your Jeep has so much more to offer than it ever asks from you. The person who chooses a Jeep because they need something that can keep up with their activities, be it fishing, hunting, kayaking, taking the kids and dog on a camping trip, or navigating that stretch of road that always gets extra hairy in the winter time. The type of person that doesn't care if the ride is rough or loud, believes paying a little extra for gas each week is fair trade off for the peace of mind four wheel drive gives you when your 50 miles from home and the snow is building up on the road.

If you own a Jeep and never use it to even HALF of what it was built to do, get out there, get it dirty, go for a ride with a local off road club,use the four wheel drive, climb some rocks with it, pull someone out of a ditch with it. Become a true "Jeeper", or else you'll never know what your Jeep can do and you'll be one of those former "Jeep owners" at the gas pump next to me in there Honda Civic telling me how their Jeep was the worse vehicle they had.

I'm going on my second year using a jeep for snow plowing. started last year with the cj7 we brought home. Her AMC 360 and locked rear end makes her a bull dozer in the snow.
This year put a Fisher set up on my XJ. She doesn't have the aggressive tires the CJ does so she breaks traction easier. Since her plow setup is a bit heavier than the smaller Myers on the CJ I'm hoping that extra weight from tube sand over the rear wheels will help keep the rear wheels grabing easier.
People always tell me it's just wrong to put a plow on a Jeep. I disagree, I'm not going out and doing huge comercial lots, just a few driveways and part of the class 6 road we live off from. Look at all the things the old Willys were put to use doing during and after WWII, Jeeps have always been built to be worked.
Sure my XJ's unibody won't hold up if I went ramming snow banks like she was a 3/4 ton truck, but for the type of work I put my Jeeps through they are the perfect multi tool.

Best $300 I've spent

After our last purchase of the '95 XJ I figured it would be a while before another Jeep found it's way home to us. nope, wrong again.

Of course once you purchase the Jeep you were looking for the scouring of Craigslist does not stop. It merely shifts from looking for a specific Jeep to looking for add on parts or the occasional parts donor. That's how we came across our latest purchase, jeep number 5, a rust riddled tetanus infested '88 Comanche.

We decided that although we had a plow on the CJ7 it would be nice to have a back plow up on Red (our nickname for the '95 XJ) so we regularly browsed Craigslist for plow setups. One morning my wife found it, an 88 Comanche with a plow setup, just 10 miles down the road from us. The thing was no where's near road worthy. But the 30x9.50 tires were practically new all around and on the style rims I had been looking to put on Red. Plus the plow setup was an exact match for bolting onto Red. What little bit was left of the clutch was burned up loading it onto the trailer but for $500 it was a steal.

No time was wasted in swapping out the half bald 28" tires Red had been running on since we bought her. Then just in time for the first big snow of the year we removed the plow setup, which proved a bit harder then first thought, and installed it onto Red.

Having got all we needed and wanted off the old MJ there were still a number of usable parts even with the severe underside rot and tranny issues. The front fenders and hood were all solid, as well as a descent custom rear bumper just to name a few. Again, she ended up on Cragslist were in under 24 hrs someone responded and happily took her away for an easy $200 cash.

Now had I the time and room I would have stripped the MJ down and sold her a piece at a time most likely making back the initial $500 I spent. But considering I got a new set of tires, rims, and a decent plow out of it all, I consider that a well spent $300 in the end.

Ready for winter

Hand me down shoes

The Right Tools...

The more time I spend working on my Jeeps the better I get at it. One reason being, the old saying "practice makes perfect" is true.

The second reason is the more projects I tackle the more tools I aquire, some of them simply because they are cool,shiny,and on sale. However most of them serve a particular purpose, that being to save me time and help me move onto the project sooner.

I spent many an afternoon under the hood on the verge of chucking the tool in hand across the drive way out of frustration. Here's a list of some of the handy items I keep on hand. hopefully if you add them to your collection they might save you some time, frustration, and busted knuckles.





Safety First:



Saftey glasses are always recomend but often overlooked, they keep the dried up mud from you last outing from falling into your eyes.

Sure, some might say work gloves are for wimps who don't want to ruin their manicures. But I found that thes less time I spend washing out and super gluing cuts and wondering if I should get tetnious shot, that leaves more time to get something done. Plus the wife doesn't need to yell at me for getting blood on the good towels.

Shed some Light:

A good drop light can help alot, another handy thing I've found is a head lamp. Frees up the need to balance a flashlight and the light always shines where you're looking.

Bend It:

A good set of various extentions for your ratchet can be a life saver for getting into the nooks and crannys of you engine bay. Another handy thing is a flex extention for your ratchet. This little thing can help you get the right angle you need and save you alot of time and frusration. Many a jeeper has complained about what a pain changing the CPS on a 4.0 can be. This one little tool can make something like that so much easier.

Another fix for my addiction

Well, we did it again. Had to take another hit of the drug known as Jeep. This time our fix came in the form of a '95 XJ.

In an effort to keep miles from racking up on the TJ while we try to sell it we thought it would be wise to pick up a cheap daily driver to use. Now some might have looked into a practicall compact car, nope, not us. This was yet another excuse to bring home another Jeep.

We know it wouldn't have less than 100,000 miles on it for the budget we had set aside so the 4.0 would be a must since it was long lived easily past 250,000 miles. Wanting something with a little more cargo space then our TJ we decided on looking for an XJ or ZJ.

After much searhing through Craigslist and for sale ads we had made up a list of prospective Jeeps. Finally we came across a little red '95 XJ with 106,000 miles and none of the body rot we had come across in our looking at even 98-99 models. Sure it needs a little brake work and exhaust work but it's still perfect, and it already has a 3" suspension lift, wich means we of course need to get bigger tires to replace the 29" A/Ts on her. And the rusted off exhaust hangers were all the excuse my wife and I needed to decide we should get a whole new cat back performance exhaust, wich we eagerly await.

So for now our drive way, wich my Father in law has taken to calling "The Jeep Dealership", has four Jeeps in it. at this rate my addiction needs a fix every 6-8 months. hopefully another Jeep to wrench on will curb the cravings.