Distractions continued...

TJ

Chase topping off the AC refrigerant in his sister's TJ:

We got legal, and can now do some better test drives:

New tire cover for my daughter's upcoming birthday:

Fredericksburg Swap Meet

Chase and I went down to the Fredericksburg Swap Meet on July 28. I typically don't see a lot of Jeep parts there, and this year was no exception. It was still fun to walk around and look at the old parts.

I did buy a set of four beefy Wilton USA C-clamps and a Warn Solenoid Box for not much money:

This looks identical to the box on my M8000 Warn Winch, so I got it as a spare.

Distraction #3...95 Jeep YJ Renovations

AX15

The Jeep YJ needs a new AX15...I've been procrastinating for a couple of years...

The magical Rubicon transfer case was removed separately, as my Harbor Freight scissors jack is pretty wimpy. Removing the transfer case and AX15 together would be sketchy.

AX15 Removed:

There were a ton of brass particles left over in the AX15 oil - it was time for a rebuild:

And the second bad throwout bearing I've found in a single month!

One of the ears broke off the throwout bearing. I'm guessing that this probably caused a lot of the shifting issues that I had with the AX15, as the pressure plate wouldn't be fully disengaged when the clutch was pushed in. This bearing came with the Luk clutch kit that I used back in 2014. This particular plastic bearing doesn't have a great reputation online, which seems to be well-deserved.

Even before I found this problem, I had already ordered a more expensive Timken throwout bearing that has a cast iron body. I'm trying to give myself the best chance for long term reliability.

Tunnel Insulation

You've seen this before, as I've done it to the 88 CJ-YJ and also, recently, to my daughter's TJ. I started by wrapping a section of exhaust pipe that is very close to the floor

Then added insulation to the driver's side:

Then the passenger side, which is mostly done:

This is the critical part, as the catalytic converter throws a lot of heat up into the tub under the passenger seat. I'm going to add a separate metal shield on top of the converter, as well as more insulation on the floorboard above it.

Doing the insulation isn't very much fun. My trusty sidekick was MIA today 😐

Side Note

I'm staying pretty comfortable in the garage even in the afternoon heat by leaving the door open and running the fan.

Coming Up

New Rear Main Seal...yuck!

And several other repairs/improvements on the 95 YJ