ZMotorsports Shop Projects 2.0
- Thread starter zmotorsports
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PugetDude
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Thanks, Mike.For those non-Jeep people out there, the angry grilles are the aftermarket grilles that have a tapered area near each headlight. Basically they take an already small surface area of cooling capacity and make it much smaller. So the owners who install them are paying to have an overheating issue and make their cooling systems work extra hard. Makes no sense to me and I did a whole video on my YouTube channel explaining the reasons to keep the grille area free of obstructions, including sinking winches down in the frame rails and not placing lights in front of the air flow path.
As for the ducks, it is a trend started a few years back of Jeep owners recognizing other Jeep owners by placing a small rubber duck on their Jeep. Think of it as a "thumbs up" from one Jeep owner to another. Unfortunately, the trend has grown so much momentum that people are lining their dashes with all of their ducks that they've obtained.
What's funny is it seems those who can add the most bolt on accessories to their Jeeps and make them the most "mall-crawler-ish" seem to get the most ducks, which is why I personally despise the trend and reject it altogether. Simply makes no sense to me that people will add things to their Jeeps with the sole reason to obtain ducks (ie. other's approval).
Off my high horse now.
When I bought the 2010 Wranger Sport to tow behind my ill-fated motorhome it had an Angry Birds grille on it. First thing I did was order a stock replacement from a salvage yard in Kendallville, IN.
Didn't own it long enough to collect any ducks...
ntsqd
Well-known member
I read an article on one of the major news pages (NYT? WP? BBC?) about 8 months ago that had traced the ducks phenom back to a gal in the Midwest somewhere. Don't recall any of the details beyond she thought it was a nice, benign way to say "I like your Jeep."
Most of my vehicles end up with some sort of mascot. My old '79 (bought in 2001) and then '91 Surburbans (bought in ~2007) someway or other got a little yellow rubber duck. Most of the mascots are plushies, but oh well. Somehow that duck ended up in the '71 Wagoneer. I don't know how, but I hide the danged thing every time I drive the Wagon anywhere as I've no need for more of them!
Most of my vehicles end up with some sort of mascot. My old '79 (bought in 2001) and then '91 Surburbans (bought in ~2007) someway or other got a little yellow rubber duck. Most of the mascots are plushies, but oh well. Somehow that duck ended up in the '71 Wagoneer. I don't know how, but I hide the danged thing every time I drive the Wagon anywhere as I've no need for more of them!
OP
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Well Scott, I've got to give you kudos for getting rid of the angry grille.
And you haven't missed out on the duck thing.....
OP
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
@SilverJimmy , Sterling, one thing I forgot to mention and don't know if it's a selling point or not, but the newer Fox 2.0's are rebuildable so that would be an option rather than replacement down the road. Although, most people don't rebuild them on daily drivers/weekend wheelers, they just replace as needed and when needed. I personally don't see many people rebuilding their shocks until they get into the larger and much more expensive 2.5" and 3.0" coilovers and more trail or purpose-built Jeeps.
aka Larry
Well-known member
Well that's not the whole story.
It was actually started during Covid by a lady named Allison Parliament as a random act of kindness during the pandemic back in 2020, and it just took off from there. Unfortunately she actually passed away in 2024.
There are plenty of non-mall-crawler Jeeps with a dash full of ducks, mine being one of them. Even among the mall-crawlers, being a part of the Jeep community is a real thing. In our case, my wife and I joined a local club after being 'ducked', which caused us to meet some of our best friends. You can think of the duck thing is basically an extension of the "Jeep Wave". We don't 'duck' the Jeeps that we see that have none, because that usually means they aren't a fan of them, which is OK. I can tell you I've seen 'ducking' put smiles on MANY faces however.
I too have much dislike for the 'angry grill' thing because it looks cheap, and adversely affects the radiator's cooling ability, but to each his own right? I'm getting where I dislike the black "Fuel-style" wheels just as much because the trend is waaaaaay overdone IMO.
PugetDude
ALLIANCE MEMBER
I would leave it in the parking lot like the fliers I find under my wipers offering cash back on windshield replacement, handyman services or religious redemption.And you haven't missed out on the duck thing.....
OP
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
I'm glad that you found a good group to join and create friendships Vincent. I think that is actually what the Jeep community is more about and why my wife and I thoroughly enjoyed our RV group that was also into Jeeps even before joining an organized club. That comradery is not to be discounted nor taken lightly.
We enjoyed it so much with our RV'ing group that I also sought it out locally and joined a local Jeep club to help fill in the void between our out of town or out of state travels. The first couple of years in the local club was ok, but when covid hit, the numbskulls came out of the woodwork and I lost interest in being a part of it and I became more embarrassed about being a part of it based on the social media posts and comments amongst club members. It has obviously tainted my opinions. These days the wife and I seem to Jeep alone and almost prefer it that way, so the local club has really skewed my opinions.
I know Jeeping alone is not advised nor encouraged, but in my opinion not having to deal with other people's BS is a better option, especially for my sanity and when the wife and I are supposedly on vacation. I think I do better alone these days anyways. I think the group that we used to travel and RV with was a unique breed and probably a group like the wife and I will never experience ever again. A time gone by.
ntsqd
Well-known member
Bilstein 7100's (2" body like the 5100's) are also rebuild-able or re-valve-able. I have re-valved some 7100's and some Fox 2.0's, never had cause to rebuild either of them.
Bilstein also offers 5160 and 5165 series that are valved and sized for a specific application. those that I have on the CTD came with remote reservoirs.
Bilstein also offers 5160 and 5165 series that are valved and sized for a specific application. those that I have on the CTD came with remote reservoirs.
aka Larry
Well-known member
We were heavily involved with our Jeep local club this past year. Our group (nine of us) spearheaded our club's annual charity event and put a TON of time and effort into ensuring it's success. The 'old guard' (current officers) either didn't help or stood our the way right up until the day of the event. Even though our event plan ended up netting our charity (local veterans group) over 2X of their previous efforts, none of us felt appreciated at all. For all intensive purposes, we handed them (club officers) a check for about $12K, and decided that we were done with them and club as a whole.
Since that time, our group has spent TONS of time together, and we don't miss the rest of their club politic BS one bit. It's very unique that all nine of us hit it off and are now such good friends they are all going with my wife and I on a trip to St. Lucia in May to celebrate our 20th wedding annivesary.
ntsqd
Well-known member
Bilstein 7100's (2" body like the 5100's) are also rebuildable or re-valveable. I have revalved some 7100's and some Fox 2.0's, never had cause to rebuild either of them although I now have a set of 7100's that will likely need it before going back into service.
Bilstein also offers 5160 and 5165 series that are valved for a specific application. those that I have came with remote reservoirs.
I belong to an off-road club. We call ourselves the "SOB's" (Some Other Brand) because at the time of formation none of us actually owned a Jeep and my grandparents had recently then told me that's how GMC Coach owners jokingly referred to owners of other brands of coaches. "No, they don't own a GMC, they're SOB's."
We don't have rules, we don't have meetings, we don't have membership fees, we don't have a club roster, and we all deny 'membership' when approached by someone not in the club. "Heard of those guys, no idea who they are." Welcome to form your own satellite club, but don't contact me because as Sgt. Shultz was fond of saying "I kno nut-ting!"
Bilstein also offers 5160 and 5165 series that are valved for a specific application. those that I have came with remote reservoirs.
I belong to an off-road club. We call ourselves the "SOB's" (Some Other Brand) because at the time of formation none of us actually owned a Jeep and my grandparents had recently then told me that's how GMC Coach owners jokingly referred to owners of other brands of coaches. "No, they don't own a GMC, they're SOB's."
We don't have rules, we don't have meetings, we don't have membership fees, we don't have a club roster, and we all deny 'membership' when approached by someone not in the club. "Heard of those guys, no idea who they are." Welcome to form your own satellite club, but don't contact me because as Sgt. Shultz was fond of saying "I kno nut-ting!"
Bigblue&Goldie
Well-known member
I was at King of Hammers a couple of weeks ago with a group of friends, one of which has a really wild Cherokee. For those that don't know, Cherokee guys are a subset all their own. Naturally, everyone and their brother with a Cherokee wanted to talk to him about his Jeep.
We were leaving Hammertown (vendor area, race staging area) and a guy pulls up and started talking to him. We were many beers deep, so we found it amusing. The guy goes back to his Cherokee and comes back with a handful of poker chips he gave to my friend. Apparently this guy had custom made poker chips made with a picture of his Cherokee and all of his social media handles.......this didn't help the heckling! I'm not sure, but this must be another "duck" like thing?
We were leaving Hammertown (vendor area, race staging area) and a guy pulls up and started talking to him. We were many beers deep, so we found it amusing. The guy goes back to his Cherokee and comes back with a handful of poker chips he gave to my friend. Apparently this guy had custom made poker chips made with a picture of his Cherokee and all of his social media handles.......this didn't help the heckling! I'm not sure, but this must be another "duck" like thing?
For those non-Jeep people out there, the angry grilles are the aftermarket grilles that have a tapered area near each headlight. Basically they take an already small surface area of cooling capacity and make it much smaller. So the owners who install them are paying to have an overheating issue and make their cooling systems work extra hard. Makes no sense to me and I did a whole video on my YouTube channel explaining the reasons to keep the grille area free of obstructions, including sinking winches down in the frame rails and not placing lights in front of the air flow path.
As for the ducks, it is a trend started a few years back of Jeep owners recognizing other Jeep owners by placing a small rubber duck on their Jeep. Think of it as a "thumbs up" from one Jeep owner to another. Unfortunately, the trend has grown so much momentum that people are lining their dashes with all of their ducks that they've obtained.
What's funny is it seems those who can add the most bolt on accessories to their Jeeps and make them the most "mall-crawler-ish" seem to get the most ducks, which is why I personally despise the trend and reject it altogether. Simply makes no sense to me that people will add things to their Jeeps with the sole reason to obtain ducks (ie. other's approval).
Off my high horse now.
Well isn't the ducki thing lovely...good on you guys Vincent
I think Scott and I will start a Ram trend, I'm gonna buy cute wittle donkeys and pass them out.
Ya that's it, everyone with a Ram gets a jackass for their dash.
PugetDude
ALLIANCE MEMBER
How about leaving a Tampon on Ford trucks, since they come with a tow rope?Well isn't the ducki thing lovely...good on you guys Vincent
I think Scott and I will start a Ram trend, I'm gonna buy cute wittle donkeys and pass them out.
Ya that's it, everyone with a Ram gets a jackass for their dash.
Finallygotit
ALLIANCE MEMBER
SilverJimmy
Well-known member
That tampon will come in handy for soaking up the tears from the Chevy guys when my truck out tows them up the Ash Fork Hill! 
If you Jeep guys ever need a trip to the southeast, check out Jeep Fest in Jasper, Georgia. It is a pretty big event with trail rides all over the Chattahoochee National Forest: https://www.sheriffsjeepfest.com/
It is local for us, so at some point we plan to buy a Jeep and attend, butit hasn't happened yet.
It is local for us, so at some point we plan to buy a Jeep and attend, butit hasn't happened yet.
PhantomEB
Well-known member
Someone at work left a rubber duck on my tool box, running joke that my bronco is a jeep in disguise but like like the machinist said, no one else has a truck built like yours so screw it and make them jealous with how much attention it will get on your biweekly drives of it to work on the Thursday before our Fridays off.
so He promptly said I coming over after work with a beer or two….take that rubber duck home.
we promptly stuck a firecracker up its rear end and blew it up!
so He promptly said I coming over after work with a beer or two….take that rubber duck home.
we promptly stuck a firecracker up its rear end and blew it up!
Bigblue&Goldie
Well-known member
Well isn't the ducki thing lovely...good on you guys Vincent
I think Scott and I will start a Ram trend, I'm gonna buy cute wittle donkeys and pass them out.
Ya that's it, everyone with a Ram gets a jackass for their dash.
That would be awkward watching the Ram guys in assless chaps handing out tampons.
madison069
Well-known member
Same here, no cows yet.
ntsqd
Well-known member
FWIW someone on CB (Bronco forum) found a little rubber bronco for his 6G’s dash. Not clear on why he’d encourage that, but there it is.
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Swanny1953
ALLIANCE MEMBER
As for the ducks, it is a trend started a few years back of Jeep owners recognizing other Jeep owners by placing a small rubber duck on their Jeep. Think of it as a "thumbs up" from one Jeep owner to another. Unfortunately, the trend has grown so much momentum that people are lining their dashes with all of their ducks that they've obtained.
Off my high horse now.
There's a little more to the story that I heard, and I'll share how it has impacted me personally.
On the way to visit a friend, miss Allison was thinking about how she could make her visit meaningful once she had departed. On a whim, she passed a display of miniature ducks in a novelty store and came up with the idea of hiding them in various places in her friend’s home before she left. On the way to her car, she came across a Jeep she really liked, and left one of the ducks on the door handle with a little note expressing her admiration. My understanding is that’s where the “ducking” tradition started! She then went on to visit her friend, and while they went to work on her departure day, she hid the rest of the ducks around the house for a "treasure hunt" later!
Now for the personal part. I made the mistake of sharing that story with my kids and their friends at one of our lake house gatherings. Several months later, Lori and I returned home from a family reunion at the Oregon coast to find a note on the garage door from our daughters -
They had found a lot of 100 miniature ducks, and hid them throughout the house. I found ducks in my peanut butter, in the butter dish, in the bottom of the hand soap dispenser (wasn't apparent until it was empty many months later), in the Dawn dish soap bottle, and, painfully, one in my boot that I didn't discover until I slammed my foot into it several months later!! I can't guarantee that we found all the ducks, but I know we came damn close.
The second sign was from another trip we took, only to come home and find the girls had used a couple of large rolls of aluminum foil to wrap just about everything in the house. My monitors, keyboard and mouse were wrapped, they wrapped family pictures then used a Sharpie to draw stick figures on the wrapped frame, silverware and cooking utensils were wrapped - whatever they could think of was wrapped. We were still finding things that were wrapped months later. For Christmas, as payback my wife wrapped all their gifts in foil without any name tags, so if they got one another's gifts, they had to swap them out!
In March 2024, we returned from a trip to the Bahamas. The kids had asked Lori to go in the house first as they had arranged a birthday gift for me "that was too big to wrap" and wanted Lori to video me coming into the house. She walks in and I hear a bunch of swearing and "I'm going to kill 'em!" coming from the house. When she finally admits me to the house, I find our daughters had lined or entry way (and many other areas) with red Solo cups. They flooded the hall to our master with cups, so we had to start cleaning up before we could get to bed (and it was a late arrival home). We get down on our hands and knees to start stacking cups, only to find the little shits had put small amounts of water in many of the cups - not enough that you would see it until you stack the cup and it hits you in the face! To add insult to injury, they had also bought a dozen goldfish and put them in selected cups around the house.
To say the least, our kids still keep us on our toes, even at 40 and 36!! We never know what we're going to find when we get home from a trip, and we begged them not to do anything after our last trip to Oregon where Lori broke her leg (they complied, luckily for them!!). They began the "Great Christmas Light Switch-a-roo" in 2019, and now they have sorority sisters who travel from S. TX and Kansas City to participate every year and Grinch costumes to wear while punking us - we just don't know what day they will do it. It's another example of be careful what stories you share with your kids!! We never know what they will come up with next!
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OP
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Ya know Gary, you could fix that by just staying home and not giving them the opportunity.....
Our kids tend to put packets of condiments in the kitchen drawers when we're gone. They stop by our house to check on things and grab the mail, often times eating their takeout dinner at our house while doing so. The condiment packets drive my wife up the wall and the kids know it, but it doesn't stop them from having a little fun.
Our kids tend to put packets of condiments in the kitchen drawers when we're gone. They stop by our house to check on things and grab the mail, often times eating their takeout dinner at our house while doing so. The condiment packets drive my wife up the wall and the kids know it, but it doesn't stop them from having a little fun.
Swanny1953
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Yeah, but what's the fun in that?? We'll find a way to get back at them somehow - just saving up for now!!Ya know Gary, you could fix that by just staying home and not giving them the opportunity.....
I'm just glad to see someone else has grown kids who still like to annoy their parents in innocuous ways!!!Our kids tend to put packets of condiments in the kitchen drawers when we're gone. They stop by our house to check on things and grab the mail, often times eating their takeout dinner at our house while doing so. The condiment packets drive my wife up the wall and the kids know it, but it doesn't stop them from having a little fun.
gearhead1960
ALLIANCE MEMBER
@Swanny1953 you could always change the locks before your next trip or if you have an combination lock set, change the combo....
BigMike782
Well-known member
We went to get in my Forester one night at the mall and someone had left a cow baggie......cow, note, sticker.
I promptly took it and was going to leave it on a post in the lot but my GF was sooo excited. Needless to say I couldn't give two schits.
MP&C
Well-known member
One of our supervisors at the day job has a Jeep that he without fail takes off the doors and top when weather gets nice outside. We took up a collection in anticipation to reward him with his duck, but this one had to be fully inflated after it was put in the passenger seat. He missed a meeting because he didn't think the guards at local navy base would have a sense of humor.
danielbuck
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 15, 2014
- Messages
- 922
I've never had anyone put a duck on any of my jeeps, I suppose the spider webs and cat piss protect me from the ducks
OP
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
I stopped on the way home from work and grabbed the new fenders for the trailer that I ordered last week.
Then did a little housekeeping until the next job rolled through the door.
Then did a little housekeeping until the next job rolled through the door.
OP
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Next job in the shop.
2018 Jeep Wrangler JL Sport needing to be zeroed out for the owner.
Four-cylinder turbo-charged engine. Not my first pick of engines in these.
The only fluid he didn't ask me to replace was the brake fluid, but I told him I highly suggested at least testing, but seeing as how it is probably still the factory fluid, it will need to be replaced and then he'll have a baseline. Sure enough, not terrible, but should be replaced being 8-year-old fluid.
So with that, off came the tires/wheels.
Front differential fluid actually doesn't look too bad.
The rear was a bit darker though.
And had quite a bit of buildup on the magnetic drain plug. Nothing alarming, but time to replace it.
He asked me to do the engine oil while I had it on the lift as well.
Transfer case was full, but I generally replace these fluids twice as often as the axle and transmission fluids, so this will also get drained and refilled.
That was about it for the night. I need to grab a transmission filter, gasket and fluid from my local dealership on the way home and then refill all of the fluids.
Thanks for looking.
2018 Jeep Wrangler JL Sport needing to be zeroed out for the owner.
Four-cylinder turbo-charged engine. Not my first pick of engines in these.
The only fluid he didn't ask me to replace was the brake fluid, but I told him I highly suggested at least testing, but seeing as how it is probably still the factory fluid, it will need to be replaced and then he'll have a baseline. Sure enough, not terrible, but should be replaced being 8-year-old fluid.
So with that, off came the tires/wheels.
Front differential fluid actually doesn't look too bad.
The rear was a bit darker though.
And had quite a bit of buildup on the magnetic drain plug. Nothing alarming, but time to replace it.
He asked me to do the engine oil while I had it on the lift as well.
Transfer case was full, but I generally replace these fluids twice as often as the axle and transmission fluids, so this will also get drained and refilled.
That was about it for the night. I need to grab a transmission filter, gasket and fluid from my local dealership on the way home and then refill all of the fluids.
Thanks for looking.
ntsqd
Well-known member
I've borrowed a knurling tool so that I can build one of those fluid level checking tools!
OP
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Thom, I'm embarassed to admit this, but I have wanted to make myself one for at least a decade or so now. I just used zip-ties and told myself I'll make one before the next time I need it, that went on for years. I finally decided to take the whole 10-minutes to make one a while back and now look for every occasion I can to use it.
OP
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
I used to use test strips but a few years ago I bought an inexpensive moisture tester made by Motive and it works great. That is the electronic tester I used in my picture above. I used the test strips to compare for the first little bit, but now pretty much solely use the digital tester as I feel it is pretty accurate.
ntsqd
Well-known member
I didn't know that I needed one until I saw yours. Am thinking to make a few spares to give to friends w/o a lathe.Thom, I'm embarassed to admit this, but I have wanted to make myself one for at least a decade or so now. I just used zip-ties and told myself I'll make one before the next time I need it, that went on for years. I finally decided to take the whole 10-minutes to make one a while back and now look for every occasion I can to use it.
OP
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
I briefly thought about making a few of them, but then I realized I don't have any friends, so I just made the one.
SilverJimmy
Well-known member
WHAT? I THOUGHT WE WERE…….
never mind….
never mind….
jeep63
Well-known member
Popped in to check out the latest Jeep news. Always fun to see whats going on at your place @zmotorsports
PugetDude
ALLIANCE MEMBER
I briefly thought about making a few of them, but then I realized I don't have any friends, so I just made the one.
Got mine yesterday, thanks Mike.
