i have been slack, no doubt about it. All those poor people out there wondering if my jeep will be ok and me, sitting here with no concern for said people. i apologize for that and offer no excuses.
So... i have to give it it Chrysler, they did it right this time. They towed my jeep away and that same day it was fixed and returned to me! It turns out that the #2 cylinder threw a misfire code. Chrysler says it was a bad spark plug... When is the last time you had a spark plug go bad at 12K miles? Anyway it's running fine now.
So what's new? What's happening? Uwharrie. I know, beating the dead horse but hey, it's the only real place to prove how awesome the jeep really is!
The black JK and i set out to have a 'kick ass' opening weekend. Uwharrie OHV trails opened on April 1st 2010, a Thursday this year. We traveled down to the Badin Lake Campground, site 20, with 2 vehicles the white hot knife and the black jk. We setup the camp and promptly went night wheeling.
Let me tell you that we did it all. I mean all of it. We covered 95% of all the trails and all of the core trails multiple times. It was just me and a 9 and 6 year old and we went where no one thought we could. We went up Kodak rock. We went down Daniel (including Daniel Rock). We went up Dicky Bell. I mean we did it all and gracefully.
We did have to say goodbye to one friend, a BF Goodrich A/T tire with 12K miles on it. The poor thing just couldn't handle the pressure! Changing a tire in the field usually sucks major puppy water but i had the help of 2 great friends, snag wood and tim dogg. It was like nascar on the trail. Hell, we were the fastest jack in in Montgomery county! Thanks to Shawn and Tim we overcame obstacles and had a great time doing so.
I can find no reason to modify my stock Sahara. If there was something that i couldn't do... maybe. But there isn't, that JK is simply the most capable off road machine built today. Did i mention the tires SUCK! Now, i realize that most Visa jeepers who purchase a Sahara don't take it off roading in the first 40K miles but PLEASE! Chrysler, offer us the 'i am going to take this jeep and use it for what it was built for' package!
2 days of cleaning and the jeep is back to normal. i changed the air filter and the oil and filter. One thing to note is that the oil took a major beating. In Uwharrie i couldn't have done more than 20 miles yet the oil aged a good 2 to 3 thousand miles! 4 days of hard trail riding is like 5K rode miles!
Oh ya, if you have some great JK wheels with those awesome Wrangler off road treads, give me a call. i need some new wheels!
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Friday, March 19, 2010
And they're off again!
You wake up in the morning, ready for a jeep ride on your day off. Perfect. Get in the jeep, its cold out, perfect. Start it up. perfect. drive 1 mile, um not so perfect. SO, my first time since starting it that i attempt to go above 2 grand. When i do, the jeep goes all hollow sounding and gets the shakes. Engine light comes on. Under 2 grand the engine light goes off. I pretty much make an immediate turn around to home. Definitely one or more out of 6 ponies ain't fir'in! Now dag gone it all... If you actually read this blog you'd see the previous post where i did a bunch of back breaking labor.
So, a real man with a jeep blog would FIX IT! But am i a real man? No, i have a warrantee! That's right, come pick that thing up and take it away! i don't want it any more!
A friendly man came and kindly took it away without giving me a single piece of paper. Paperless billing... i hope. So he asks me for the guys name at the steelership that i talked to, i say "Joe". "Oh Joe Ya!" Then proceeds to chain the jk to the flat bed and move it into place. After a few minutes of this he responds, "What was that guy at the..." "Joe" i respond. So warm and cuddly i'm feeling. So either i have an iphone photo and a Chrysler phone call, and one to the steelership, or i hope i never see the jeep again. Those 2010 jeeps look pretty cool. Ha!
Anyhow, we'll let you know how this trip does. So if you're a yankee, that last sentence reads, Anyhow, i'll post again as the situation progresses.
So, a real man with a jeep blog would FIX IT! But am i a real man? No, i have a warrantee! That's right, come pick that thing up and take it away! i don't want it any more!
A friendly man came and kindly took it away without giving me a single piece of paper. Paperless billing... i hope. So he asks me for the guys name at the steelership that i talked to, i say "Joe". "Oh Joe Ya!" Then proceeds to chain the jk to the flat bed and move it into place. After a few minutes of this he responds, "What was that guy at the..." "Joe" i respond. So warm and cuddly i'm feeling. So either i have an iphone photo and a Chrysler phone call, and one to the steelership, or i hope i never see the jeep again. Those 2010 jeeps look pretty cool. Ha!
Anyhow, we'll let you know how this trip does. So if you're a yankee, that last sentence reads, Anyhow, i'll post again as the situation progresses.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
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
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
Sunday, February 7, 2010
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.
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.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
2009 Pontiac G8 GXP
If you're interested in the stats, check them out here. i like stats sure, they're neat. Wait, bullshit aside i don't really care for stats when we're talking about a car meant to be driven really hard by one dude with no helmet. i care about how it does it. i want to feel it for myself. Become one with the mochine. I want to drive the damn thing like it's stolen.
In this case the car is choice, brand spankin 5K miles new. It's a neighbor's of INSERT PERSON'S NAME HERE. He was generous enough to let me and my ANONYMOUS RELATIVE run around town to do some errands.
Lets just say that even grandma and two kids went 110 mph. 'Yes officer, i'm from North Carolina, driving a car with Florida plates in Michigan going 125mph'
Anyhow, i do so love a great big 4 door sedan that will smoke most anything on the road. That's a real neat feeling. If you have the means, i highly recommend picking one up.
In this case the car is choice, brand spankin 5K miles new. It's a neighbor's of INSERT PERSON'S NAME HERE. He was generous enough to let me and my ANONYMOUS RELATIVE run around town to do some errands.
So we start it up and pop the hood. I love it when all the wires and stuffy things are covered up with a nice plastic cover. It makes me feel so much better about myself and my effects on polluting this planet. I love even more, sarcasm aside, the sound it makes. They took all the backfire when you're jake breaking so there's no real pops there. Under throttle tho it sounds fantabulous.
Lets just say that even grandma and two kids went 110 mph. 'Yes officer, i'm from North Carolina, driving a car with Florida plates in Michigan going 125mph'
Anyhow, i do so love a great big 4 door sedan that will smoke most anything on the road. That's a real neat feeling. If you have the means, i highly recommend picking one up.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
First solo trip to Uwharie
I've always felt very vulnerable when i picture myself wheeling through Uwharrie by myself. It's like i'm a little boy again, lost in the woods all by myself...
Anyway, i had a friend bail on me and decided, what the heck, there's always a first time and when you find yourself married with 2 kids, well, another first time actually sounds kind of fun! Exhilarating almost!
So, i packed up my gear, put the entire top on, took the doors off and headed toward the outpost. i went as cheap as i could and splurged for a sixer of Heineken.
At the outpost i pulled a most painful, yet typical (for me), move. While disengaging the sway bar and airing down the tires, i placed my sunglasses on the front bumper. After purchasing my day pass and a couple bottles of water i was on my way, ready to hit the trails solo! Solo i was, with no sunglasses. Frick! i hate that.
not 10 minutes off the road i was hung up. i came down on the passenger side frame right when a few jeeps rounded the corner of the trail coming the other way. They were courteous and helped me stack some rocks and spotted me. In less than 5 minutes i was on my way again. i didn't hit any advanced sections and pretty much just went to check things out. I went down trails that i had not seen in a while.
i had a great peaceful day and i highly recommend a solo trip for any experienced wheeler. It keeps your mind in check. i find myself all too often wheeling with a couple friends and i'm like, 'hey that obstacle ain't sh1t'. Oh look i'm stuck and i damaged my jeep. Doh!
Don't underestimate the power of the han solo trip. Just make sure the force is with you. Check out a few pics and 1 vid from my trip here. Thanks Picasa!
Anyway, i had a friend bail on me and decided, what the heck, there's always a first time and when you find yourself married with 2 kids, well, another first time actually sounds kind of fun! Exhilarating almost!
So, i packed up my gear, put the entire top on, took the doors off and headed toward the outpost. i went as cheap as i could and splurged for a sixer of Heineken.
At the outpost i pulled a most painful, yet typical (for me), move. While disengaging the sway bar and airing down the tires, i placed my sunglasses on the front bumper. After purchasing my day pass and a couple bottles of water i was on my way, ready to hit the trails solo! Solo i was, with no sunglasses. Frick! i hate that.
not 10 minutes off the road i was hung up. i came down on the passenger side frame right when a few jeeps rounded the corner of the trail coming the other way. They were courteous and helped me stack some rocks and spotted me. In less than 5 minutes i was on my way again. i didn't hit any advanced sections and pretty much just went to check things out. I went down trails that i had not seen in a while.
i had a great peaceful day and i highly recommend a solo trip for any experienced wheeler. It keeps your mind in check. i find myself all too often wheeling with a couple friends and i'm like, 'hey that obstacle ain't sh1t'. Oh look i'm stuck and i damaged my jeep. Doh!
Don't underestimate the power of the han solo trip. Just make sure the force is with you. Check out a few pics and 1 vid from my trip here. Thanks Picasa!
The 85 dollar 13 cent fix
Ahh yes, Chrysler. i love to support American made products. No really i do!. i bought a new jeep and suffered the abuse from my wife for CHr1st sake!
However, i'm not to keen on the idea of paying 653 times the cost for simple parts. You may (probably not) remember the post where i told you not to let friends help you put your top up. Well, i went to the 5 star stealership to get a replacement windshield clamp for my soft top. i was surprised to find that the very simple lever was 85 dollars! Yes, US dollars. That's just for one side!
So, i hit Home Depot, no luck. i hit Lowe's, no luck. Finally i went back to my roots and hit up the lowly Ace Hardware. What an amazing place. Not only do they have Fels Naptha soap to cure my wife's poison ivy from hell, they also carry the perfect steel rivet that fixes said windshield clamp. Total cost, $.13 (Thirteen United States of America Federal Mint pennies).
I brought the broken part and the rivet home, put the rivet in the hole, placed it in the vice, squeezed it against a nail, and voila, clamp works better than new. A little shout out goes to my wife (who is also happy with Ace Hardware) for turning the vice whilest i held said part in position.
Ace is the helpful hardware place. Chryler is the 'we have no clue about economics' place.
However, i'm not to keen on the idea of paying 653 times the cost for simple parts. You may (probably not) remember the post where i told you not to let friends help you put your top up. Well, i went to the 5 star stealership to get a replacement windshield clamp for my soft top. i was surprised to find that the very simple lever was 85 dollars! Yes, US dollars. That's just for one side!
So, i hit Home Depot, no luck. i hit Lowe's, no luck. Finally i went back to my roots and hit up the lowly Ace Hardware. What an amazing place. Not only do they have Fels Naptha soap to cure my wife's poison ivy from hell, they also carry the perfect steel rivet that fixes said windshield clamp. Total cost, $.13 (Thirteen United States of America Federal Mint pennies).
I brought the broken part and the rivet home, put the rivet in the hole, placed it in the vice, squeezed it against a nail, and voila, clamp works better than new. A little shout out goes to my wife (who is also happy with Ace Hardware) for turning the vice whilest i held said part in position.
Ace is the helpful hardware place. Chryler is the 'we have no clue about economics' place.
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