C.Shontz 2001 Jeep Cherokee (Progress)
- Thread starter cshontz
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cshontz
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It's back in the stable! Let us never speak again of this misfortune, nor of how much it cost.
It's a new Jasper block covered by a 3 year, 100,000 mile warranty. It feels tight, quiet, and no longer taps, ticks, rattles, or knocks. I'm pretty happy, and hope to have it for many more years.
I made a video of starting it up for the first time. Forgive the poor quality. My hands were full, and I was fumbling with my phone a bit. I have to admit, I was a little disappointed when rainbows, fairy dust, and unicorns didn't spray out from under the hood after starting it. I quickly came to the realization that I wasn't witnessing anything particularly magical - it was just an engine.
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For the record:
It's a new Jasper block covered by a 3 year, 100,000 mile warranty. It feels tight, quiet, and no longer taps, ticks, rattles, or knocks. I'm pretty happy, and hope to have it for many more years.
I made a video of starting it up for the first time. Forgive the poor quality. My hands were full, and I was fumbling with my phone a bit. I have to admit, I was a little disappointed when rainbows, fairy dust, and unicorns didn't spray out from under the hood after starting it. I quickly came to the realization that I wasn't witnessing anything particularly magical - it was just an engine.
Home:
For the record:
cshontz
Supporting Sponsor
A bit of a rat's nest at the moment, but I plugged in the amp and Bluetooth dongle without a head unit. Works pretty well.
Two minor compromises:
1) While I would describe the sound quality to be great (not an audiophile), it could use just a little bit more bass. Of course the goal here was simplicity, so I have no means of adjusting the bass.
2) The Bluetooth dongle doesn't remember my iPhone. So anytime it loses connection, I have to go into settings and reconnect. A first-world problem, clearly.
Overall, I still feel it's a pretty slick setup and well worth these minor compromises. Less than a hundred bucks to get rid of your stereo, free up dashboard real estate, and still have music and other Bluetooth fanciness. I'll post another pic when it's all done.
Two minor compromises:
1) While I would describe the sound quality to be great (not an audiophile), it could use just a little bit more bass. Of course the goal here was simplicity, so I have no means of adjusting the bass.
2) The Bluetooth dongle doesn't remember my iPhone. So anytime it loses connection, I have to go into settings and reconnect. A first-world problem, clearly.
Overall, I still feel it's a pretty slick setup and well worth these minor compromises. Less than a hundred bucks to get rid of your stereo, free up dashboard real estate, and still have music and other Bluetooth fanciness. I'll post another pic when it's all done.
TerryD
Adventurer
Glad you've got it back! The head unit swap out is pretty cool too. A friend of mine did the same kinda thing, but used a 1/8" stereo jack to rca converter and plugged into the head phone jack on his ipod.
I saw that you said that you had some power/staining issues with the 30" tires. Do you run mid-grade fuel? My Cherokee was on 31s with 3.55 gears and I found through large amounts of long trips (3hr one way, twice a week for two years) that my Cherokee had better power and fuel economy on a mid grade gas.
~2mpg better or more depending on fuel brand and would easily high gear some very step grades where I would have had to gear down and drop to 55-60mph on lesser fuels. Mine was very fond of Hess gas. It did not like any grade of Liberty or Marathon though.
I saw that you said that you had some power/staining issues with the 30" tires. Do you run mid-grade fuel? My Cherokee was on 31s with 3.55 gears and I found through large amounts of long trips (3hr one way, twice a week for two years) that my Cherokee had better power and fuel economy on a mid grade gas.
~2mpg better or more depending on fuel brand and would easily high gear some very step grades where I would have had to gear down and drop to 55-60mph on lesser fuels. Mine was very fond of Hess gas. It did not like any grade of Liberty or Marathon though.
moparmansfield
New member
Props to you for sticking with the XJ. I've had my fair share of xj's and problems with them, but I always end up wanting another one after awhile. . I now have a 99 I am building very similar to yours. You've done a good job on the thing and look forward reading more about your adventures with your XJ.
cshontz
Supporting Sponsor
Took the Cherokee out on the trail to stretch its legs. First time off-pavement with the new engine and the Cooper tires. Sorry for the shameless poser pic. The stump was there, and I was having fun, so consider it a celebratory flaunting of the Jeep's current state of mechanical soundness.
Here are a few mildly entertaining GoPro clips of some of the obstacles we faced.
The Cooper Discoverer AT3s were superb. So far, I couldn't be happier with these tires. They're whisper-quiet and comfortable on the highway, and at 15 psi, they grip and soak up the terrain amazingly. In the sand and mud, the tread stayed clean, and they stuck to rock like glue. Loss of traction was minimal, and only in extraneous circumstances.
The load rating C tires are very supple at 15 psi; noticeably more than my previous Duratracs and BFG ATs. This is a good thing, for me, because this translates to a better footprint, but I speculate that this could be coming at the cost of durability. We shall see. All I know is, I ran 'em hard this past weekend, and they performed beautifully and held up well.
Here are a few mildly entertaining GoPro clips of some of the obstacles we faced.
The Cooper Discoverer AT3s were superb. So far, I couldn't be happier with these tires. They're whisper-quiet and comfortable on the highway, and at 15 psi, they grip and soak up the terrain amazingly. In the sand and mud, the tread stayed clean, and they stuck to rock like glue. Loss of traction was minimal, and only in extraneous circumstances.
The load rating C tires are very supple at 15 psi; noticeably more than my previous Duratracs and BFG ATs. This is a good thing, for me, because this translates to a better footprint, but I speculate that this could be coming at the cost of durability. We shall see. All I know is, I ran 'em hard this past weekend, and they performed beautifully and held up well.
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cshontz
Supporting Sponsor
Tire carrier is installed, finally. There are some things that I want to tweak, but I'm very happy with it, overall.
Pros
Cons
I can't think of anything else. I have to break it in, get used to it, and make some adjustments here and there, but I love it. I'm glad I have the spare on the tailgate now, and freed up valuable interior room for camping gear.
Pros
- Great quality
- Very snug to body (a lot of utility in a little space)
- Adds tow points
- Improves departure angle
- Beefy
- Aesthetically pleasing lines
- Adds armor to rear quarters
- Nicely accommodates Hi-Lift and Rotopax
- Adjustable for large assortment of tire and wheel sizes
Cons
- So snug to body interferes with rear wiper (looking into this)
- License plate mount not ideal (want to relocate)
- Added A LOT of weight, need to reinforce rear suspension (aal)
- LED reverse lights a little cheesy, not particularly useful
- Removing Hi-Lift requires tools (should be easy upgrade)
I can't think of anything else. I have to break it in, get used to it, and make some adjustments here and there, but I love it. I'm glad I have the spare on the tailgate now, and freed up valuable interior room for camping gear.