What did you do today for your bug out vehicle?

[12_Gauge_Chimp]

I've been looking at that particular kit and now I'm thinking I'll pick one up to do the headlights on my mom's Explorer and my oldest sister's Honda Pilot.

[Uomo Senza Nome]

I try to run all of my maintenance together, so last Friday....
The Titan: 40K Miles
- Oil/ Filter
- New Tires, Cooper AT's
- Brake fluid swap
The C8: 5K Miles
- Oil/ Filter
- Transmission Filter
- Was getting some kind of post ignition detonation under hard acceleration. They said they needed to keep it for a couple of days to check it out.

[NT2C]

Took the Jeep for its annual state safety inspection and tried to get the required state emissions check.  The emissions check was a no-go.  There's only two local places that do it.  The closest had a line of 6 other cars ahead of me when I got there at 9 am (this was yesterday), and no inspector was available.  They're short three people these days and their only qualified inspector is also their only qualified tow truck driver and he was out on a call.  The other place was also short-handed and had an even longer waiting list because they were getting the overflow.

The state safety inspection was done at the dealer and I also went over with the tech (Andrew - very cool dude) some issues and concerns I had and got some recommendations on things to do before my trip, ways to run wiring for off-road lights, and what the connection is between Jeeps and ducks.

We discovered a failing gas strut in my lifgate that's under warranty (we have a lifetime warranty with a $200 deductible - the strut is only $61 but the labor is $175, so cheaper to pay the $200 ded.) and testing also showed both batteries are at the "end-of-life" stage after 6 years of ownership (not bad for batteries rated for 36 months warranty).  This was not an expense we really needed right now but it is what it is.  Two replacement batteries, new strut, new front and rear wiper blades, system software update, plus labor and shop fees and taxes, all told ~$1,000 (batteries are not covered under the lifetime warranty as they are considered expendables, like tires and brake pads).  Parts are ordered and I have an appointment to bring it back Monday or Tuesday.  The wife comes home Monday around noon so I should be able to get it done Monday afternoon.

The new ham radio is gradually getting "dialed in" and will be a nice thing to have on this trip.  I'll be supplementing it with a GMRS unit and keeping an HT in the seat pocket for a backup.

A set of brackets, wiring harness, and pair of 3" pod lights are going to be added as "ditch lights", which should prove useful passing through some of the areas on back roads that I plan to travel at night.  I seldom sleep more than 6-7 hours these days (been averaging 2-3 hours sleeping then 7-8 awake the past few months) so I expect to be on the road at all hours this trip.

[NT2C]

Ordered a pair of ditch light brackets from Valkyrie Off Road Gear, and a pair of CYBER 1 Pro Series | 3 Inches Cube Pods Off-road Auxiliary SAE Driving Light from Novsight.

[wolf_from_wv]

I changed out the failed AC/Heater blower motor.  It was shoulder deep under the dash, only reachable by removing the gas/brake pedal assembly.

[EBuff75]

Drat...  Well, the exhaust manifold repairs on the new truck have taken a turn.  There were broken studs on both sides (which was the reason for the leaks) and the shop was able to extract all but one.  They spent hours trying to get that final stud out (of course it's the one right up by the firewall), but ultimately failed.  The owner said they could put it back together without that stud, but that it would likely start leaking again in short order.  So, I bit the bullet and said to go ahead with the correct fix, which is to pull off the cylinder head and send it to a machine shop to have the broken stud drilled out.  The bummer is that this is going to add something like $1500-2000 to the bill.  

On the plus side, I visited the shop on Friday to see how things were going and they took me out onto the shop floor to go over what they'd found.  The truck also needs a brake job, new plugs/wires, an oil change, and was missing the sway bar ends (not sure why those were missing, as this truck isn't exactly set up for off-roading).  The good news is that everything is just as clean and rust free as I had hoped!  Even better, with the exhaust manifolds removed, I was able to see that the exhaust ports on the engine are really clean!  So it appears that, despite the 225k miles, the truck was well-cared for and the engine appears to be in good condition. 

I've got a few minor things left to do once I get the truck back in a few days (plus new tires, which aren't exactly "minor") and then I can start my modifications (lights, solar, awning, building a platform in the 2nd row area, etc.).

[majorhavoc]

Extracting a broken stud or bolt ranks as one of my all time PITA mechanical issues to deal with. But even if it's just a rusted bolt or nut that eventually comes loose, it always seems to be in THE most inaccessible spot.

In addition to donating a lot of knuckle skin over the years, those situations have led me to come up with some truly inspired hyphenated swear word combos. 

You have my sincere sympathy. 

[EBuff75]

Extracting a broken stud or bolt ranks as one of my all time PITA mechanical issues to deal with. But even if it's just a rusted bolt or nut that eventually comes loose, it always seems to be in THE most inaccessible spot.

In addition to donating a lot of knuckle skin over the years, those situations have led me to come up with some truly inspired hyphenated swear word combos.

You have my sincere sympathy.

There's probably some Murphy's Law equivalent for the worst repairs always being in the most inaccessible place! 

The shop spent almost an entire day working on it before they gave up.  I think he said that they tried welding onto it 4-5 times and just couldn't get the weld to hold well enough to back out the remaining chunk.  Hopefully they'll be able to get all the rest of the work done while the head is getting machined so that they can just put the head and exhaust back on and it'll be done.  Looking forward to having a (mostly) fixed truck in a few days!  Then I can do a few little jobs and get the tires. 

[MacWa77ace]

I've used a few differnt kits on my 2004 corrolla. Those headlamp covers were pretty bad and the kit got them better but they reverted to cloudy very shortly thereafter.


Then the leftfront one got cracked.

So I found a set of lenses on amazon for $99 and just replaced them. Now my POS greyman 2004 corrolla has impressively new looking headlamp lenses.

But had to take the front end off to make that change out. It was worth it though.

Sorry I didn't take a before photo.



I don't know why those kits didn't keep the lenses clear longer but they clouded back up kinda quick.

[EBuff75]

Got my Suburban back from the shop today.  Not sure if it's because of the exhaust repair, the new plugs/wires, or just the process of taking things apart and reassembling them to get the cylinder head off, but the throttle is hugely improved!  Previously, it was somewhat lethargic and didn't respond well to inputs.  Now it's quite snappy.  Big thumbs up on that!

I'd previously noted that the wipers were terrible (it's a TX truck, so who knows how often they were ever used), so I'd picked up some replacements which were waiting to be installed.  Since it's raining here today, I put them on as soon as I got home with it.  The old ones were so bad that they were actively disintegrating and left tar-like, melted rubber all over my hands in the process.  Yuck! 

Still need to get tires ordered for it.  This week is a mess, but I might be able to swing by Discount Tire next Monday to get the process started.  I am thinking about waiting until next month though, in the hope that there might be a 4th of July discount that I could take advantage of!

[NT2C]

Got my Suburban back from the shop today.  Not sure if it's because of the exhaust repair, the new plugs/wires, or just the process of taking things apart and reassembling them to get the cylinder head off, but the throttle is hugely improved!  Previously, it was somewhat lethargic and didn't respond well to inputs.  Now it's quite snappy.  Big thumbs up on that!

I'd previously noted that the wipers were terrible (it's a TX truck, so who knows how often they were ever used), so I'd picked up some replacements which were waiting to be installed.  Since it's raining here today, I put them on as soon as I got home with it.  The old ones were so bad that they were actively disintegrating and left tar-like, melted rubber all over my hands in the process.  Yuck! 

Still need to get tires ordered for it.  This week is a mess, but I might be able to swing by Discount Tire next Monday to get the process started.  I am thinking about waiting until next month though, in the hope that there might be a 4th of July discount that I could take advantage of!

I could probably arrange a 20% discount for you over at Simple Tire if you want.  I've been meaning to hit them up about offering members here a discount.

[NT2C]

I'm in a grumpy mood today.  Valkyrie Off-Road took my money and sent me a receipt with my brackets marked as being back-ordered, and I can't get them to answer their phone or multiple emails regarding expected shipping times.  I've tried phoning several times and it just rings a few times before going to voicemail.

I've contacted my bank and opened a dispute over the charge but this leaves me with a nice set of pod lights and no way to mount them other than those crap amounts that clamp to the edge of the hood and rust almost immediately.  I do have a pair of those coming tomorrow but I'm loathe to use them on my thin aluminum hood.  The only other place I've found that makes brackets which attach to the hood hinge studs is in Australia, charges 3x for an aluminum pair what Valkyrie wanted for stainless steel, and they don't ship to the USA.  This sucks.

[12_Gauge_Chimp]

I would suggest maybe finding someone that could fabricate you a set of mounts locally, but I'm not sure how much that'd cost you or how long it'd take.

Custom work like that tends to take a good bit of time, especially if the shop doing the work is swamped with work.

[NT2C]

I would suggest maybe finding someone that could fabricate you a set of mounts locally, but I'm not sure how much that'd cost you or how long it'd take.

Custom work like that tends to take a good bit of time, especially if the shop doing the work is swamped with work.

It's bugging me that, if I had the equipment and stock to do it, I could fabricate my own, maybe even better than these others.

[12_Gauge_Chimp]

I would suggest maybe finding someone that could fabricate you a set of mounts locally, but I'm not sure how much that'd cost you or how long it'd take.

Custom work like that tends to take a good bit of time, especially if the shop doing the work is swamped with work.

It's bugging me that, if I had the equipment and stock to do it, I could fabricate my own, maybe even better than these others.

I know exactly how that feels.

[12_Gauge_Chimp]

NT2C probably already knows about this, but others may not.

Chrysler has issued a recall on some 355K+ Jeep Grand Cherokees because the rear coil springs can fall off while the vehicle is moving.

ETA: The year models of Jeep Grand Cherokee that's under recall range from 2021 to 2023.

[NT2C]

NT2C probably already knows about this, but others may not.

Chrysler has issued a recall on some 355K+ Jeep Grand Cherokees because the rear coil springs can fall off while the vehicle is moving.

ETA: The year models of Jeep Grand Cherokee that's under recall range from 2021 to 2023.

Yeah, having parts of the suspension fall off while driving is not a good feature.  Fortunately, mine is a 2017 and has air suspension.

[12_Gauge_Chimp]

NT2C probably already knows about this, but others may not.

Chrysler has issued a recall on some 355K+ Jeep Grand Cherokees because the rear coil springs can fall off while the vehicle is moving.

ETA: The year models of Jeep Grand Cherokee that's under recall range from 2021 to 2023.

Yeah, having parts of the suspension fall off while driving is not a good feature.  Fortunately, mine is a 2017 and has air suspension.

I wasn't sure what year model your Jeep was, but I figured I'd post that anyway just in case anyone here had one that fell under the recall or knew someone that does.

[NT2C]

Got my ditch lights mounted (hood edge mounts) and wired.  I'm not happy with the results.  Due to the curve of the hood, the lights are noticeably tilted outward.  I may have to move them more towards the middle of the hood but that would negate the purpose I bought them for.

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I also replaced the cheap wipers the dealer installed with an original OEM set, and the rear wiper that I got charged for but that wasn't replaced.  Next up is to mount a control switch for the lights below the headlight switch. I'm currently using a keyfob-type control for them and then get the new GMRS antenna cut to length and installed.

[NT2C]

Ordered a Wouxun KG-1000G GMRS radio for installation in the Jeep prior to my trip this coming July.