The Automotive Thread

[Road Guy]

I still need to go visit the store though    (but I will look)

I wonder if my sears one is just a POS - cause I was really hoping that would have worked with 33's

 

[Supe]

The old Craftsman type are definitely short throw.  

 

[jeb6294]

The old Craftsman type are definitely short throw.  

Yeah, I probably had the exact same one before I got the new one. It was really only meant for cars. Mine gets my truck on 35's off the ground using the axles as the lift point, so yeah, it'll work on a Jeep.

 

[Road Guy]

Well its a newer craftsman but probably also garbage  (made in China) We had accrued some sears bucks and thought they were going to go out of business a few years ago and spent them on this. But I probably should have gotten the 5 ton..

In other news, the daughter (who I take full responsibility for raising) changed her own oil in her jeep yesterday.. I was available for consultation (Mainly where certain tools were located, and which storm drain to dump the used oil down, etc) but it was a site to see (one less than I have to do)

 

[mudpuppy]

It finally warmed up here again so I got back to fixing the brake line on my Jeep.  I ended up buying my own flaring tool for $25 from Amazon because the borrowed tool from the parts store was junk.  The end result isn't a work of art, but it works with no leaks so I'm happy.  Thanks for the advice @Supe

 

[Supe]

Glad to hear it!

 

[Road Guy]

Well after learning it really was the transmission I just watched the Tahoe drive away - after a week of no interest on craigslist one of the kids my son works with offered me $200 for it - I guess he needs a car and his dad is mechanically inclined so I just let them have it - They will probably get it running and lift it, add 37" tires... hope they do!

Sort of sad, that car has been to Yellowstone, The Tetons, MOAB, Arches, Sand Dunes, Grand Canyon, Montana, South / North Dakota & 100+ ski trips through the Colorado snow, I put 150K of the 250K miles on it....

 

[Road Guy]

So I was putting on a rear tire carrier for the larger Jeep tires I had bought a while back but never put on- opened box and it’s missing 4 of the screws ****...- annoying - go to Lowe’s - **** show crowded - decide not to wait and fight crowds - go to a small hardware store open but a bit of a drive - get the screws - they are a weird size - M12-1.75 x 25 MM - get home... ****.... one of the nuts I bought is a different thread - arghhhhhh - Dammit to Hell!!!!

Start going through endless boxes of unorganized random screws nuts and bolts in the garage....... there is a really old package... with one nut in it...... can barely read.......looks close.... holy f’n **** it is the size I need!!!!! And the crowd goes wild!!!!

I think I have had this particular bag for at least 15 years...

Dad life for the win!

 

[Road Guy]

^- So apparently this vendor has a bad habit of not providing the bolts - guess that what I get for ordering from Amazon (I just needed something - that wasnt $1000 to get me by so the tire doesn't fall of the tailgate -  If they had supplied the 4 bolts,  one of the other bolts I had to trim and cut some of the head off to fit (thank you Internets for that trick), this would have been a 30-45 min install - but since they didnt it ended up taking me 4 hours with trips to stores and digging through **** (also was lucky to find a cut off wheel at home) - but anyways, thinking about giving them the 1 star amazon review?  Or is that a Dick move? It does appear to work 

Also I  went to Harbor Freight yesterday - I purposefully went to the one a little further out of town (nice weather for a jeep ride) and less people - I cant believe I have never been to one of these, it reminded me a little of Northern Hardware (which was in Atlanta and other places and was a great place to window shop)  - I needed a long breaker bar to change my drive belt (which I still didn't get around to) but will defin go back and look around at a later point in time - saw lots of things the garage probably needs   but just didnt want to "linger"

 

[jeb6294]

I would definitely drop it a couple stars.  Doesn't do much good if they don't send the stuff you need to install it.  Most "Jeep people" are pretty hands on so chances are they could do what you did, but still....

 

[Road Guy]

I do go ahead and sandbag them with 2 stars - if it hadnt been during the corona stuff then it would have just been a quick trip to home depot and not the scavenger hunt - the mechanism that locks the carrier to the tailgate is also a PIA to get tight..

One of the benefits of my daughter also having the same model jeep as me, I don't feel bad buying something that is a little cheaper to use for a while and then I can hand it down to her when I get around to getting a better one 

 

[Road Guy]

I know there are some other jeepers (& smart folks) here but anyone got or seen a decent DIY Secure rear storage plans or ideas?

It doesnt need to be as nice as this (these are $800 bucks!) But If I could have something just to keep the honest people out I could run with the hard top off pretty much all summer and run the bikini top with doors off. (Desert Sun Sucks)

I was thinking about just getting some 3/4 IN Plywood and somehow cut to fit around the roll bars (I could use the same size bolts that secure the hardtop to the jeep. And then maybe a second system under with those large ammo crates you can lock (just to make it difficult) - I have tried to find just a tool box that I could place in there but thats been harder than I thought size wise???

 

[Supe]

If you can't work with metal, just use plywood, cover it with roll on bedliner, and make it so the filler panels behind the roll bar are separate.  

 

[Road Guy]

I think I will give that a whirl next weekend - I even have some black marine carpet (no clue why I brought that from GA) in a box in the basement

I am mainly just looking for times when I make a few trips to stores and need to throw things in the back - dont normally run with any valuables

 

[blybrook PE]

Not directly automotive related, but another use for the hi lift: 

 





Pulled another rock out of the lawn. The frame is cobbled together from an old bow flex base and some unistrut.

Edit- sorry for the rotation issues. Posted from phone. 

 

[Road Guy]

anyone have these??
https://www.autoweek.com/car-life/diy/a32612380/harbor-freight-jack-stands-recalled-failure-risk-see-models-affected/

 

[Supe]

I do, but thankfully mine are a different part #.  

 

[blybrook PE]

I have a different part number, similar manufacturing though.

 

[Supe]

I can attest at mine not coming down due to worn out dies.  It's such a tight fit in there, I frequently have to kick the thing out from under the car to adjust, because if you don't have enough clearance to fully disengage the release which moves the stand up about 1/4, it absolutely isn't moving if the frame is still in the way.  

 

[Road Guy]

my cheapo oversized tire carrier may be coming off sooner than expected, I have it as tight as it will go and this thing squeaks like a son of a bitch!  Haven't given it the old WD-40 treatment but it is driving me F'n nuts!