Fresh Oil

i have been ready to change the oil for quite some time. The gritty coarse feeling revs, sustained high idle during starts, jittery acceleration, etc told me it was time. i decided to wait patiently for the duty cycle oil change indicator to arrive and yesterday i was prompted with 2 lights all flashing the same thing 'Insert More Money to Continue'.

The low tire pressure i've been dealing with for a while, both front tires lose about 10 lb a week. This all started after smashing through icy puddles with the kids. When it's warm enough to rotate the tires i'll pull them off and find the leaks.

The oil change was very simple, as usual. The oil was ready, but the engine definitely runs clean.

This vehicle is no exception to the rule 'fresh oil makes it feel like a new vehicle'. With fresh oil you can literally drop the clutch in first gear and the jeep will start going. Instead of feeling uncomfortable around 2500-3000 RPM, it revs all the way to near 4 with no problems. The engine/exhaust sound is smooth and confident.

The mileage was 11,117. I am so ready to go wheeling! In spirit of getting ready i also put a whole gallon of windshield washer fluid in.

6 quarts 5w20 $2.79
STP filter $3.something

i haven't posted in a while. So then why? Well, mostly because it's still winter like and jeep stories really aren't that good. But i have been living the jeep spirit and there's a few comments on that.

First, I've been waiting for the change oil indicator to come on. In my opinion it's been too long. You can feel the hesitation, it runs rougher and the mpg is down (and no not just cause it's cold). So i've been taking it easy on it. Soon it will be time to change the oil and filter, check all the fluids, rotate the tires, change the differential fluids, soap the zippers, and generally get it ready for another topless season. Look for all that PM coming to a post here soon.

I've noticed the 18" with bridgestones are just plain junk for offroading. Both front tires now lose about 10lb of air a week! I'm now hunting for the guy with a new jeep that wants to off the rubicon wheels.

Enough about hardware, let's talk about that jeep wave. When i was young the wave was simple, the guy with the better rig waited for the other jeep to waive first. That's just the way it was. Was. I said was. Now it's simple, you have to weed through all the visa jeepers who don't live the lifestyle. They'll attend camp jeep (it's dead now) but it ends there. I see them regularly.

There are still true jeepers out there though. Regardless of options and add-ons winches and wheels they have the jeep attitude. A healthy helping of I don't give a crap what's going on outside i'm going out in it with a dash of may freedom reign and just the right amount of leave the campsite better than you found it. These individuals deserve the wave and i don't care who has the cooler rig.

It's rare, rarer every day and i salute you. Keep the dying attitude alive. You've got my wave.