So I got a DD and have retired the GSX to Weekend/AutoX Duty. I have been contemplating getting a DD. My three requirements were Room, Reliability, and Cost. So after much research and talking with others, this 2001 Cherokee with 130k fit the bill, we all know they are cheap and tanks, and it has the room Casey and I need/want. So, we are the 4th owner, this was a Fleet vehicle, purchased w/ 88k by Caseys Co workers parents, which was passed down to her, which was then purchased by me . Previous owners had this religiously looked after by a Jeep Dealership, oil changes every 3 months regardless of mileage, some Emissions hoses replaced, and new A/C compressor. It was painted a little over a year ago, the co workers mother got the pass front door dinged up in a parking lot and had the door replaced and it was mismatch, so before she handed it over it was resprayed. Its by no means an awesome paint job, but GM would put its stamp of approval on it.

I found out some cool stuff, this ain't your average Sport, thanks to some investigating by Jeff, we found out this was a Fed Govt fleet vehicle. They ordered it with HD cooling system, featuring an upgraded Radiator, tranny cooler. Also has HD suspension, giving it 1in of lift, heavier springs, and shocks compared to the stock suspension, and it has Skid plates.

Upon further inspection, the front diff seal has a slight leak, and the Oil drain does as well, so im gonna fix those up at some point, and I need to change the tranny fluid/filter, and prob do a coolant flush.

So on to the pics.....






Black/Grey cloth, and they had a radio and speakers installed, but i liked the radio out of the GSX better so I swapped that over.

FUTURE PLANS:

Well being as this is my DD we are keeping it mild for the 2-3 years its gonna be a DD, but immediate plans are....
-Get rid of the god awful vinyl stickers the painter put on there to replace to OEM decals, already pulled the one off the back hatch, next I gotta tackle the sides.
-Hitch, dad has one laying around we are gonna see if it fits, otherwise i gotta find one.
-Wheels, the steelies are god awful IMO, and im leaning towards some OEM "ECCOS" or some Black Steelies like Cragar D style wheels
-Safari Rack, so I can get the full size spare out of the back, and will give even more storage space
-Beefier Tires

FAR FAR FUTURE PLANS:
-3in lift
-TIRES, BIG ONES
-Front Hitch
-make it a fun weekend mall/trail rig

so back to the wheels....

Thoughts, keep in mind this will be on a stock height jeep with stock size tires. Im personally kinda feelin the Eccos, but want other peoples opinions, how bout we make a poll....

ECCOS


Steelies

I know DJ had some racing seats for sale a while ago, but I just wanted to see if anyone had any racing seats, prefereably on the cheaper side, unless you've got a great deal on some bride's But I'm looking for a fixed back, black or gray in color. I had been looking at corbeaus, momos, and some sparcos, but i'll consider anything.

I'm going to Hburg probably tomorrow afternoon to move into my apartment. Since Ken is being an indecisive little weeny butt and doesn't know if he can make it down, if anyone is going to be in town that could help me move a futon and a TV I would be eternally greatful, I can do the rest pretty easily.

Alternatively, if Ken decides to sew his nuts back on and drive down tomorrow night like a man, we can break in our apartment a little bit and kick it old school.

Everyday more and more manuals are lost to laziness. Do your part, save a manual today.

http://www.caranddriver.com/features/10q...and_driver

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This looks like it's going to be amazing, anyone want to meet up near Fairfax and head on down?

So my Dad's 03 Civic (95000 miles) stopped last Saturday on way back from airport. He says the engine just cut out and when he pulled over it wouldn't restart (it did turnover though). No smoke, no steam, no bang or other bad noises. He says the car was running fine up to that point (no stuttering or anything).

Car towed to dealership. Service writer says that there was no coolant in the car and that ruined the engine. Engine will need replacing. My dad just took the car in for timing belt/water pump and some other maintenance back in February, has only driven maybe 2000 miles since then.

So I called the dealership up because things sound fishy. Service writer said engine got so hot it melted the radiator cap and timing belt cover. She said engine needed to be replaced because one of the engine codes said the car overheated and was run in extreme conditions. She said they did not do a compression test nor leakdown.

My thoughts are:

*If there was a coolant leak in the system somewhere, there would've been steam
*Maybe they didn't put coolant back in the car after they changed timing belt/water pump. However, if there was no coolant in the car for several months I think my dad would've encountered an issue before then.
*The ECU might've shut off the car as a failsafe. Engine may not be significantly damaged and the dealership is just angling for $1500 in labor to replace the engine.

Any additional thoughts. I'm gonna head down to the dealership myself to check things out.

http://www.honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=2807257

:twisted:

Makes me want to get a cam and a bigass turbo!

I believe he's still running stock sleeves with just vitaras and a ton of headwork; I saw the dyno was 551whp and mid 300tq.

it's an '06 w/ 53k miles on it. No check engine light is coming on but yesterday it wouldn't start. It kept trying and trying but nothing. After a while I felt like I couldn't hear the fuel pump priming when I would turn the ignition to on (it's got half a tank of fuel). But I feel like if the fuel pump were dying or had bad pressure it would set off a check engine light. I let it sit for 30 minutes and it started up so I drove home w/ no problems. Figured it was a fluke until I walked back out to it 20 minutes later and it wouldn't start again. I pulled the glove box because most of the FI connections/modules are behind it and pushed on everything to make it all connections were seated and then when I turned the ignition to on I heard the pump prime and it fired right up. A few hours later it acted like it was going to give me trouble for about a second and then fired right up. There aren't any issues once I'm running. Running like this never ending paragraph.

Only recent work on it was an oil change and tire rotation at the Jiffy Lube down the street last week. No problems until yesterday, though.

Any thoughts?

Coming up, Both Mike and I are there September 25/26th at NCCAR. 4 20 minute sessions a day as it is HPDE only. Only 3.5 hours according to google map from NOVA, only 1.5 from Richmond. Tons of runoff room and there is plenty of space for more people.


Sign up here: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://nasa-se.com/2010Sep25.php">http://nasa-se.com/2010Sep25.php</a><!-- m -->

Entrant list here: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://nasa-se.com/nextweblist.php?eventid=2010">http://nasa-se.com/nextweblist.php?eventid=2010</a><!-- m --> Fall Fling

Hey all. I know this isn't a car but I thought some of you might be interesting in motorbikes. I am wanting to start a motorcycle club so do contact me if you are interested. Members won't need to own or have ever driven (on) one. Fun stuff in in store possibly including mechanics. Alright check out my project. I bought this thing last summer for $450. It was running at the time but obviously had some issues. After I let her sit for a semester of school, she died and never started again :roll: . Alright now for my first restoration:

As posted on Craigslist, Kansas City:

From:

To:

To: (Spray painted with "Dupli-Color" Dark Toreador $7 cans) (Pinstriped with 3M Scotch Plastic "pinstripe" Tape)

Parts:

The reason why she was not running before which later took quite a bite out of my wallet:

This is how I got her looking before the second year of college and before she died again: