Well some updates on this:
After my big trip planned to glacier national park, it could not have gone any worse for the XJ. About 30 seconds into the drive leaving the gas station out of SLC, my mom goes to plug in her cell phone into the 12V. I take off Jimi Hendrix for a few minutes as my 12V powers my ipod adapter. Blam...no stereo, no 12V. The older fuse must not have handled the new power source and that blew my radio and 12V. No worries though, my mom and I can chat for 8 hours to Helena.
I go to pull over about 15 minutes in because I already am going crazy thinking "No worries though, my mom and I can chat for 8 hours to Helena...AHHHHH" So I try to pull over just like any other Jeep owner would do and turn the car off and on again to have it miraculously start back again. Upon going to pull over, Death Wobble comes with a vengeance. My rear shocks have litterally been ripped from the bar pins and now I am driving a boat...the death wobble was due to this...I knew I had weak shock mounts but DAMN.
So I keep on truckin' because I can fix it in Helena. About 100 miles out my clutch goes a tad soft though, adding insult to injury. 200 Miles out and its still getting softer, finally, I have no clutch come 250 miles out of Helena.
We pull over to stop and the previously filled Master Cylinder is BONE dry. My feet are covered in DOT3 from the leak. I go under to bleed the system and just get a hot explosion of DOT3 in my face. Satan himself might have walked away from me with the thoughts in my head.
Thankfully, my Mom, calms me down, and teaches me a new method of driving. I throw the Jeep in first let the starter get me going, timing my shifts on a given interval that does not grind gears. Long story short, we limp into Helena.
The next day the Jeep goes into the shop for a new MC and shocks put BACK in, we take my Aunts Subaru up to Glacier. Now, I have the cleanest running Jeep I joke, but it was a great trip and gorgeous country. I loved every second of exploring Glacier and its a place I know I will be back to.
As for progress on the Jeep, some have seen my new parts car that I am just taking a few things off of then getting rid of. One of which was the tires. So here are the new(ish) 31x10.50R15's. They are mostly great on tread besides one tire which is very low. There was also a spare tire brand new-BRAND NEW, 235/75R15 which will replace my even smaller spare tire. No full sized spare just yet. These will only be until Xmas when I get 4 new ones. I have also mounted a shovel for easy access, fixed that center console that the top flies off of it, and gotten a few more Overlanding things: Camp stove that is thinner than the Coleman 2 burner, plates, flashlights, and cookware. I maximized internal space by fitting everyday carry tools in the center console, straps and jacks under the rear seats, and other space saving techniques. (Parts Jeep is the new tan/grey one- first 2 shots are my Jeep without the tires mounted, just showing the parts jeep)
Here are some pics of the tires and shovel mounted:
Once I can sell the parts jeep for enough, I have been quoted by a friend who will paint my Jeep white. This will be great for temperature. Also, getting rid of those vinyl seats will help my rump. Stay tune for more updates. Id like to do some camping up at Big Cottonwood soon so you can see the Jeep in Camper mode hopefully
)but this is a definite improvement and super easy- once you realize the TPS goes under the throttle edge- I am not too smart I guess.
