ZMotorsports Shop Projects 2.0

[zmotorsports]

You have no idea how timely this post is. I’m in the process of freshening up the dynatrac axles in the JK and I wanted to have the rotors turned as part of the process. Resetting the spindle nuts has always been that one thing I’ve never been comfortable doing. On the net I’ve only been able to find the “50 ft/lbs, back it off no more than 1/4 turn” advice for the Dana 60 front which actually did exist in the original service manuals. When I look, the most common post saying so is the one in the Dana 60 bible on pirate. That said, the advise as I understand it applies to brand new packed bearings with the intent if setting initial preload and not for follow-on reassembly. Friends I knew at the dealership (back in my 20’s) said the toque recommendation was too tight and you “just had to have a feel for it”. Knew that was ********. They’d more or less back it off until the bearings felt tight but the resistance/drag was only a little. As you can imagine, I’ve always hated doing it because it’s subjective guessing so I tend to put the step off (drag my feet)...

With a dial indicator, this now becomes a very, very, very easy task. .001 - .004 is a mile so the task becomes a breeze. Huge thanks Mike. Seriously, HUGE.

Matt

Glad to help Matt.

I can honestly say that a front axle, or axle adjustment, was the turning point for me in high school and why I went down the path of becoming a mechanic.

My first vehicle was a 1979 GMC Jimmy (same as Blazer) that I purchased wrecked with the help of my dad. I was to work on it after school weekends in addition to working on the farm so when I turned 16 it would be ready to drive. Well I put a lot more time in that he expected and it was ready long before I had my driver's license.

In addition to some body panels and other damage we discovered a bent front axle housing during the rebuild. My brother who was a heavy truck mechanic at the time told me if I found a straight housing he would swap all of the components over for me.

Upon assembling the used housing he was setting up the front bearings and while he was tightening them down I asked him about the torque spec. He said you have to go by feel. Now I get that experience comes into play many times but this didn't "feel" right to me. But hey, I was just a dumb kid, what did I know??

Several months later when I finally got my driver's license our FFA (Future Farmers of America) chapter was headed down to Orem for a two-day training seminar and I drove my truck down. I was about 80 miles from home when the front wheel locked up and pulled me off the freeway into the median. It scared the **** out of me.....

Once I gathered my wits about me, I limped my way into town driving slowly along the emergency lane with the front end making all kinds of noise. I pulled into the first service station I came across. It was a small 3-bay garage and as I pulled in a kind looking older gentleman walked out to greet me. He said "that doesn't sound good". I think he could tell that this young punk kid was shaken up and clueless as to what to do. My first thought of calling my dad was quickly dismissed as he would be upset to have to drop what he was doing on the farm to spend several hours to drive south to get me and then figure out how to get my truck home. I didn't want him to worry nor have the expense as time and money was tight for us on the farm.

I talked with the shop owner and inquired about roughly how much it would cost and he said "let's throw it on the lift and see what we're looking at shall we." I remember as the truck was raising the tire cambered severely and once it was at height he reached over to spin the tire and it turned roughly a couple of revolutions and then came off the spindle. I also remember the heat waves coming off the front spindle.

The inner bearings had actually welded themselves onto the spindle and most everything inside of the hub was toast. The gentleman made a couple of phone calls then came back out and told me that he had located the parts in Salt Lake City (about 25-miles back to the north of where we were at). He pointed to his very nice and sweet 1972 Chevy truck and said "if you want to take my truck and go pick up the parts we can get right to work on it when you get back with them while this thing cools off".

I remember being blown away that this guy would give his trust to a teenage kid that he didn't know then go about his work. I was scared to death and didn't know what to do. Did I bite the bullet and call my dad? Did I go get the needed parts? Did I just arrange for a tow truck, have it towed home and deal with it later? I had no idea what to do but I was scared to call my dad, plus I already had a motel room for the night with my classmates so I went and picked up the parts.

Upon returning with the parts the shop owner worked with me to finish disassembling and putting everything back together. I remember when he was setting the preload on the front bearings I asked him about it and he said "well these need to be tight enough to keep them retained but not so tight that they get hot". When I explained how my brother had assembled them he suggested we take a look at the other side while it was on the lift.

As we took the driver's side apart it was also too tight and had signs of being overheated. After everything was assembled and my truck was done I was afraid to ask how much the repair bill would be but faced the fact that no matter what it was the situation could have been much worse.

The guy charged me parts plus $60 labor if I would help him out for a few hours. I remember thinking there is no way this can be happening. I had a few hundred dollars in the bank and asked where the nearest branch was and I would go and grab the money. It nearly wiped out my bank account but I was thankful I had been saving up for a while, even though I didn't know what I was saving for.

I returned, paid the gentleman and then proceeded to work for a couple of hours before I had to leave for my seminar and dinner with my classmates. The next morning as my fellow classmates were heading home I returned to the shop to ask if I could help out as I still felt guilty about what the guy charged me. I worked in his shop for another several hours before saying goodbye, thanking him profusely and heading home to face my dad and explain what had happened.

There were SO many lessons learned from that one situation but it had such a HUGE impact on me and the direction I chose in life. And it all started with an improperly setup front wheel bearing.....

 

[XJSuperman]

Guys like that aren't easy to find these days. Society has shown them that sticking your neck out is a good way to get your head chopped off. I have been fortunate enough to meet a couple and they are without a doubt some of the best people you will ever know. Its one thing to cut someone a deal when they are in over their heads and need help, but its another thing entirely to also give them the help they need in terms of learning and doing the job at hand so long as they are willing to do so. Thanks for the story Mike.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Great story, Mike, and what luck to find a shop with an honest mechanic willing to help you out!

I've run across a few in my travels, but nothing that ever lead to a story like that.

 

[alexb2000]

Glad to help Matt.

I can honestly say that a front axle, or axle adjustment, was the turning point for me in high school and why I went down the path of becoming a mechanic.

My first vehicle was a 1979 GMC Jimmy (same as Blazer) that I purchased wrecked with the help of my dad. I was to work on it after school weekends in addition to working on the farm so when I turned 16 it would be ready to drive. Well I put a lot more time in that he expected and it was ready long before I had my driver's license.

In addition to some body panels and other damage we discovered a bent front axle housing during the rebuild. My brother who was a heavy truck mechanic at the time told me if I found a straight housing he would swap all of the components over for me.

Upon assembling the used housing he was setting up the front bearings and while he was tightening them down I asked him about the torque spec. He said you have to go by feel. Now I get that experience comes into play many times but this didn't "feel" right to me. But hey, I was just a dumb kid, what did I know??

Several months later when I finally got my driver's license our FFA (Future Farmers of America) chapter was headed down to Orem for a two-day training seminar and I drove my truck down. I was about 80 miles from home when the front wheel locked up and pulled me off the freeway into the median. It scared the **** out of me.....

Once I gathered my wits about me, I limped my way into town driving slowly along the emergency lane with the front end making all kinds of noise. I pulled into the first service station I came across. It was a small 3-bay garage and as I pulled in a kind looking older gentleman walked out to greet me. He said "that doesn't sound good". I think he could tell that this young punk kid was shaken up and clueless as to what to do. My first thought of calling my dad was quickly dismissed as he would be upset to have to drop what he was doing on the farm to spend several hours to drive south to get me and then figure out how to get my truck home. I didn't want him to worry nor have the expense as time and money was tight for us on the farm.

I talked with the shop owner and inquired about roughly how much it would cost and he said "let's throw it on the lift and see what we're looking at shall we." I remember as the truck was raising the tire cambered severely and once it was at height he reached over to spin the tire and it turned roughly a couple of revolutions and then came off the spindle. I also remember the heat waves coming off the front spindle.

The inner bearings had actually welded themselves onto the spindle and most everything inside of the hub was toast. The gentleman made a couple of phone calls then came back out and told me that he had located the parts in Salt Lake City (about 25-miles back to the north of where we were at). He pointed to his very nice and sweet 1972 Chevy truck and said "if you want to take my truck and go pick up the parts we can get right to work on it when you get back with them while this thing cools off".

I remember being blown away that this guy would give his trust to a teenage kid that he didn't know then go about his work. I was scared to death and didn't know what to do. Did I bite the bullet and call my dad? Did I go get the needed parts? Did I just arrange for a tow truck, have it towed home and deal with it later? I had no idea what to do but I was scared to call my dad, plus I already had a motel room for the night with my classmates so I went and picked up the parts.

Upon returning with the parts the shop owner worked with me to finish disassembling and putting everything back together. I remember when he was setting the preload on the front bearings I asked him about it and he said "well these need to be tight enough to keep them retained but not so tight that they get hot". When I explained how my brother had assembled them he suggested we take a look at the other side while it was on the lift.

As we took the driver's side apart it was also too tight and had signs of being overheated. After everything was assembled and my truck was done I was afraid to ask how much the repair bill would be but faced the fact that no matter what it was the situation could have been much worse.

The guy charged me parts plus $60 labor if I would help him out for a few hours. I remember thinking there is no way this can be happening. I had a few hundred dollars in the bank and asked where the nearest branch was and I would go and grab the money. It nearly wiped out my bank account but I was thankful I had been saving up for a while, even though I didn't know what I was saving for.

I returned, paid the gentleman and then proceeded to work for a couple of hours before I had to leave for my seminar and dinner with my classmates. The next morning as my fellow classmates were heading home I returned to the shop to ask if I could help out as I still felt guilty about what the guy charged me. I worked in his shop for another several hours before saying goodbye, thanking him profusely and heading home to face my dad and explain what had happened.

There were SO many lessons learned from that one situation but it had such a HUGE impact on me and the direction I chose in life. And it all started with an improperly setup front wheel bearing.....

Great story Mike.

Necessity is how most of us got started doing mechanics. It is sad that today a teenager would pickup their cellphone, call their parents, and the parents credit card would immediately come to the rescue. The kid would learn that they didn't need to worry about mechanical things with a cellphone and credit card. There's a sermon in there somewhere.

 

[zmotorsports]

Guys like that aren't easy to find these days. Society has shown them that sticking your neck out is a good way to get your head chopped off. I have been fortunate enough to meet a couple and they are without a doubt some of the best people you will ever know. Its one thing to cut someone a deal when they are in over their heads and need help, but its another thing entirely to also give them the help they need in terms of learning and doing the job at hand so long as they are willing to do so. Thanks for the story Mike.

Great story, Mike, and what luck to find a shop with an honest mechanic willing to help you out!

I've run across a few in my travels, but nothing that ever lead to a story like that.

Thanks guys. I agree, people like that are hard to find these days. Luckily that was back in about 1984 when I think it was much more common, especially before people became afraid to stick their neck out and help someone.

There were many lessons learned there and I also knew right then and there that I wanted to learn anything and everything I could about all things mechanical so I could not only get myself out of a situation but I could help someone else if/when the time called. I wanted to be known for being honest and hard working and not someone who would merely take advantage of someone due to timing. I also wanted to drive the nicest and cleanest stuff on the road and knew I needed to know how to work on them in order to make that happen.

After that incident I went on to dive head first and hard into all things automotive. I pushed myself and the following two years was on the high school automotive team where we went to state to compete as well as competing in the state FFA agricultural mechanics contest as a junior and senior.

Now for a somewhat hard story to tell yet one that also helped form my future....

After the state automotive competition my senior year me and my three team mates were chosen to receive partial scholarships to the Phoenix Automotive Institute. We were invited to take a several day tour of the campus along with our parents. I was so excited because I had worked so hard the previous two years to excel in my automotive classes and even doing side work for friends and family of friends to learn (as well as earn money). I talked to my parent's about it and my mom said no son of hers was going to be a damn grease monkey. I understood that they wanted so much more for me but this was something that I truly enjoyed and made me happy and I was decent at it. Needless to say I never had the opportunity to visit the campus nor even take any formal automotive classes after high school. My mom thought it was a phase I was going through and after high school it was time to grow up and take life serious.

I continued working at the auto parts store throughout the remainder of high school and after graduation. The fall semester after graduating high school I had saved up enough money to start college. This was 1987, I had met my now wife about the time I was graduating high school and was thinking about the future. At that time electronics and computers were the up and coming field that was supposed to be where the money was at. I attended only 3 semesters of college taking some general classes as well as some introduction to electronics classes. The whole time sitting in my classes all I could think about was making enough side money to build cars and bikes at the time. I was spending more and more time in the shop and with my girlfriend and less and less time with my parents. I was helping my dad on the farm as much as possible when I wasn't working at the auto parts store and then after farm work was done I was working on side jobs earning money. My girlfriend would bring me over dinner and hang out with me while I worked and anytime I didn't have a wrench in my hand I was with her.

After my third semester of college I said f**k it. I can't sit in a classroom learning one thing when all I could think about was something entirely different. That was the last time I stepped foot in a classroom.

My girlfriend at the time (now my wife) had a friend who's uncle managed the maintenance department at a local warehouse and was able to get me a sit-down meeting with him. Turns out he was impressed and hired me as an apprentice industrial maintenance mechanic. I was on my way to making my living turning wrenches and I couldn't have been any happier. My girlfriend, now wife, and I started making future plans of marriage and creating a life together and soon afterwards I was out and on my own. I don't think my mom knew at the time that by telling me I couldn't do something was hands down the biggest motivator for me to prove the whole world wrong. I had it in my head that I was going to become the best mechanic I could possibly be and someday be able to say I created one hell of a life spinning wrenches.

Also worth mentioning is that this gentleman that interviewed me turned out to be my great mentor and friend whom I spoken of many times. Not only was he my boss for the first several years of my career but we remained close friends and I always looked up to him until his passing almost 4 years ago now. He was like a second father to me and I still find myself trying to impress both him and my father and make them both proud.

Thanks for letting me ramble about my past. Haven't thought about much of that in quite some time as my parents have been gone for many years now.

 

[zmotorsports]

Great story Mike.

Necessity is how most of us got started doing mechanics. It is sad that today a teenager would pickup their cellphone, call their parents, and the parents credit card would immediately come to the rescue. The kid would learn that they didn't need to worry about mechanical things with a cellphone and credit card. There's a sermon in there somewhere.

Thank you.

I agree, that is not how a teenager would handle it now, although I would like to think I still would have attempted to solve the issue myself.

With my father there was a fine line between fear and respect. I feared his wrath as he was a very strict and firm man. He viewed a person by what they contributed to society and the intent in his heart towards fellow mankind and I respected that. I also respected and was grateful for his sacrifices for his children. I have found this to be more true after he passed and having a family of my own. I wish I could have told him how much I appreciated him before he passed however but it wasn't until much later that his actions as a father had much more impact on my life.

After that particular incident I do remember him not saying much to me. He wasn't mad but didn't really express anything towards me other than things were a bit different between us. There seemed to be more mutual appreciation between the two of us no matter what we were doing. He wasn't a man of many words but I felt the difference in the way he treated and looked at me.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Another great story, Mike.

I had intended to go to WyoTech in Laramie after high school and go through their "Hot Rod Program". Dad told me no, wanted me to go to college and do something different. He had gone 4 years to the same college I went to and came down with mono his senior semester before graduation, ended up a few credit hours short of graduating, and never went back. He went on to lead a very successful life as a business man, farmer, and truck driver.

The job I currently work in, is more out of convenience, rather than something I "want" to do. In my last job I was traveling 120k-130K miles a year, but I enjoyed the work more than what I do now...but, that comes at a cost of missing out on your kids growing up when you're gone 2-3 nights every week.

Like you, I still find myself trying to impress and live up to my dad's expectations, even though he's no longer around to give me feedback on any of it.

 

[zmotorsports]

Another great story, Mike.

I had intended to go to WyoTech in Laramie after high school and go through their "Hot Rod Program". Dad told me no, wanted me to go to college and do something different. He had gone 4 years to the same college I went to and came down with mono his senior semester before graduation, ended up a few credit hours short of graduating, and never went back. He went on to lead a very successful life as a business man, farmer, and truck driver.

The job I currently work in, is more out of convenience, rather than something I "want" to do. In my last job I was traveling 120k-130K miles a year, but I enjoyed the work more than what I do now...but, that comes at a cost of missing out on your kids growing up when you're gone 2-3 nights every week.

Like you, I still find myself trying to impress and live up to my dad's expectations, even though he's no longer around to give me feedback on any of it.

Thanks for sharing Marc. I have the feeling that there are a lot on this forum that feel similar about trying to live up to expectations. Maybe that's a good thing because it pushes us to be a better version of our former selves.

 

[zmotorsports]

I made quite a bit of progress on my friend’s Dodge truck over the weekend.

Pulled the front driveshaft so I could remove the seal and clean thing up before reassembling.






I still grin every time I get to use my bearing and seal driving set. This kit was spendy but so well designed and machined it is a joy to use. Having the center hollow works great for installing seals over shafts.




Yolk installed, bolts with threadlocker at the ready.


Transfer case front seal completed and driveshaft reinstalled.


Rear driveshaft removed, seal replaced and ready for reassembly. I had forgotten how heavy and awkward those two-piece driveshafts are with the carrier bearing.


While I was working in the shop my son came over to wash and vacuum his Jeep.




I think all I have left to do on the Dodge is to build and install a couple of new battery cables.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Mike what seal/bearing driver kit do you use?

Son's Jeep is looking good.

 

[zmotorsports]

Mike what seal/bearing driver kit do you use?



Son's Jeep is looking good.

Marc, I purchased the EZ-Driver kit from ATM (Arizona Transmission & Machine) several years ago. It is geared more towards transmission repair but I have found it works on so much more than just transmissions.



http://www.ez-driver.com/

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Thank you!

 

[zmotorsports]

Thank you!

You're welcome.

 

[zmotorsports]

I finished up my friend’s Dodge truck tonight.

Installed new battery cables and had to build a short 12” positive.


Cut some 4-gauge wire and crimped the lugs on before adding heat shrink.




On a cable this short I like to clock the lug properly and mark it so the lugs line up correctly.




Convoluted casing added and ready for installation.


Cables installed and everything under the hood buttoned up.


Torqued the wheels on and road tested. No pulling and handles great. Ready to be picked up.

 

[bugnut]

Mike appreciated the stories. Your postulation on fathers is probably accurate.
I too am a driven soul, and did not know better, when raising my children, as my dad was a tough taskmaster.

 

[E12-535iTurbo]

By simply placing a magnetic based dial indicator on the spindle which is stationary and then the dial on the hub you can very accurately and quickly measure the clearance in the hub. I've added a marked picture to help show what you are actually measuring with the dial indicator.

I hope that explains it. Thanks for following along and for the kind words.

Thank you so much for you additional explanation on the clearance. To measure the play you just rock the hub by hand and check the min/max values on the dial indicator, right?

Thanks again Mike.

 

[zmotorsports]

Thank you so much for you additional explanation on the clearance. To measure the play you just rock the hub by hand and check the min/max values on the dial indicator, right?

Thanks again Mike.

That it correct. I push or pull it to the max, then zero out the dial and push or pull to the opposite extreme and measure the end play.

 

[zmotorsports]

I haven’t really done anything but maintenance and some honey do’s over the past week.

Pulled the wife’s Acura in to perform a service, tire rotation, transmission fluid drain/fill and vacuum on Sunday.


As I walked in the house the wife informed me that the washing machine over-flowed. I thought I would be able to sit and relax & enjoy the rest of my Sunday, but NOPE!

After investigating it appeared the drain valve didn’t open and the fill valve didn’t shut off. I then noticed the timer had a dead spot and wouldn’t advance. After looking up parts and seeing that we’d be about $165 we discussed whether we should buy new or repair. I have repaired other items on both the washer and dryer before we moved and they’ve been trouble free since we moved into the new home until now. We decided to repair it and continue on as neither of us wanted to buy new right now because there didn’t appear to be any other issues.

Parts will be here tomorrow for the washing machine.

Monday night the wife noticed the handle on the kitchen faucet was loose and made sure to point it out to me. Last night I tore into the faucet and determined it wasn’t just the handle that was loose, the cartridge was moving inside the body so that came apart to repair.

This is getting old and I have projects in the shop I need to get to. Can’t wait to see what she has planned for me tonight. [emoji848]

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Buy a house they said...it'll be great

The "must-dos" are never any fun!

 

[zmotorsports]

Buy a house they said...it'll be great

The "must-dos" are never any fun!

Yeah, they just seem to have hit at once.

On a positive note, the guy that I just did the work for on the Dodge truck stopped by yesterday to inform me that he was very pleased with how the truck is starting and especially stopping. He said he dreaded having to find a new mechanic after I closed my shop down and would love to be able to bring stuff back to me. I told him I would be willing to work on his stuff if and when I have time.

I had promised my wife that I wouldn't get so busy like I used to be when I had our speed shop and don't want to piss her off by taking on too much work. I was glad to hear he was happy with the work though, because I realized the bill wasn't cheap. I bumped my shop rates a bit from several years ago when I had my business because I don't want to get too busy and just want to fill in the gaps a bit with some side work. Still cheaper than most indy shops around but I'm not giving my work away either.

 

[lilscorpion]

Yeah, they just seem to have hit at once.



On a positive note, the guy that I just did the work for on the Dodge truck stopped by yesterday to inform me that he was very pleased with how the truck is starting and especially stopping. He said he dreaded having to find a new mechanic after I closed my shop down and would love to be able to bring stuff back to me. I told him I would be willing to work on his stuff if and when I have time.



I had promised my wife that I wouldn't get so busy like I used to be when I had our speed shop and don't want to piss her off by taking on too much work. I was glad to hear he was happy with the work though, because I realized the bill wasn't cheap. I bumped my shop rates a bit from several years ago when I had my business because I don't want to get too busy and just want to fill in the gaps a bit with some side work. Still cheaper than most indy shops around but I'm not giving my work away either.

Mike - you taking on side-work or are you the most helpful guy anyone knows? Seems like you’re on the verge of an open house.

 

[Duker]

Mike - you taking on side-work or are you the most helpful guy anyone knows? Seems like you’re on the verge of an open house.

Mike is taking on side work? Let’s see shipping my truck to Utah $880 each way plus cost of repairs... yep .... still worth it knowing it will be done right! [emoji3]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[zmotorsports]

Yeah, I've decided to take on some side work when I have time and IF it's something I'm interested in doing. I have no plans to go full bore and open another side business though. My wife is concerned I will get too busy like at the last place but I have assured her I will keep it under control. I see it as being very little side work actually.

Besides, with my aging fleet, larger property and all of my son and DIL's stuff I keep pretty busy regardless.

 

[rattle_snake]

Mike is taking on side work? Let’s see shipping my truck to Utah $880 each way plus cost of repairs... yep .... still worth it knowing it will be done right!

This. I wouldn't even ask how much it would cost.

 

[aka Larry]

Mike is taking on side work? Let’s see shipping my truck to Utah $880 each way plus cost of repairs... yep .... still worth it knowing it will be done right!

With Mike's reputation and attention to detail, I'm sure he can get as much work as he wanted, if he wanted it, from all around.

 

[zmotorsports]

Thanks for all of the comments guys. I appreciate the kudos.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

See gentleman, I have this idea worked out in my head on how it would work out just right.

1.) Purchase said vehicle in UT near Mike, asking to "borrow" some storage space for a short amount of time, offering to pay for the inconvenience...of course.

B.) Then, once there, offer for Mike to daily drive it and bill the gas to you...all the while Mike will be shaking it down and creating a list of "to-dos".....

3.) Per Mike's good nature, he'll offer to help his buddies out fixing on the list, cause he wouldn't want it to die on us on the way home...being the good buddies we are, we obviously pay for the stellar work done.

 

[XJSuperman]

Better pack up and move out of town now Mike, looks like a long line of work is forming outside your shop! Run while you can!

 

[zmotorsports]

Better pack up and move out of town now Mike, looks like a long line of work is forming outside your shop! Run while you can!

NO ****! I really don't want to move again..

 

[lilscorpion]

Yeah, I've decided to take on some side work when I have time and IF it's something I'm interested in doing. I have no plans to go full bore and open another side business though. My wife is concerned I will get too busy like at the last place but I have assured her I will keep it under control. I see it as being very little side work actually.

Besides, with my aging fleet, larger property and all of my son and DIL's stuff I keep pretty busy regardless.

Doin' your own thing and occasionally someone pays. Best hobby setup I can think of.

 

[zmotorsports]

Doin' your own thing and occasionally someone pays. Best hobby setup I can think of.

Agreed Matt. Over the weekend I had two calls for work. I opted to decline one because it was a bit larger job than I want to do right now but the other one was something I knocked out rather quickly and put a few bucks in my pocket. I have two major tasks to accomplish on our coach over the next couple of weeks in order to get her ready for the travel season and I don't want to rush through those jobs just to take on some side work. I want to take my time and do the work so I'm happy with it for the long haul.

It is nice to have that option.

 

[zmotorsports]

I was able to get a little fabricating done in the shop tonight.


My welds need a little attention as I haven't held a MIG gun in my hand for quite some time now.






I thought I was going to have to move snow when I got home but thankfully I was able to get right to work in the shop.

I did have a guy stop by tonight asking me to put an LS in his Jeep Wrangler but I passed on the job. Been there done that, nailed it and don’t need to do another one. I’d rather move on to a project that is new to me.

 

[Nlped]

To bad you don’t want to do another LS swap on a Jeep. My dad (that lives up your way’ish) is contemplating an LS swap in his ‘17. Jeep is trying to screw him on his warranty long story, but he may have to come out of pocket for the repair.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[zmotorsports]

To bad you don’t want to do another LS swap on a Jeep. My dad (that lives up your way’ish) is contemplating an LS swap in his ‘17. Jeep is trying to screw him on his warranty long story, but he may have to come out of pocket for the repair.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sorry to hear your dad is having issues with his Jeep. That *****. I haven't heard or seen to awful many issues with the 2013+ 3.6 Pentastars.

Some good friends of ours that we wheel with in our RV/Jeep club that full-time and spend the winters around Surprise, AZ and Havasu area just flopped their 2011 JKUR a few weeks ago at a gathering, can't remember if it was Quartzite or Parker gathering. It didn't look like that bad of a flop based on the pictures but the insurance company totaled it so they sent us pictures yesterday of their new JLUR, Pumpkin orange in color. We probably won't get a chance to wheel with them until September or October in either South Dakota or Moab.

 

[casmurbax]

So what are you fabricating Mike?

 

[zmotorsports]

So what are you fabricating Mike?

Couple of extensions for my jack stands and a fuel pump bracket for my next project. You'll have to wait and see for that though because I don't have a plan yet, just building off the cuff.

 

[XJSuperman]

We like off the cuff, keep us posted.

 

[zmotorsports]

As for my comment about why not another LS swap.

Maybe I should explain, although it may expose more about myself than the other guy and maybe not paint me in the best of light.

Had I been approached a bit differently, maybe, just maybe, I would have agreed to do another LS swap into a Jeep. I'm not saying that I will never do another one, but I know who I won't be doing one for. I shut that bridge down hard.

Again, maybe this has more to do with me than him but I don't like feeling like I can be bought and/or coerced into doing something solely for a paycheck, I get that feeling enough at work and hated that feeling when I ran my speed shop, which probably contributed to my choice to shut it down and not pursue it again at the new house/shop. Also, more than likely why I didn't ever go full-time with my shop.

Don't get me wrong, I love working on stuff for people, at least those who are appreciative of the quality and workmanship that goes into something yet I'm not very tolerant of people who think they are better than others because of a job title or income level simply because they can throw money at something and get what they want. That kind of arrogance is like nails on a chalkboard. I try to avoid people like that and sure as hell don't want to do work for people like that.

 

[aka Larry]

So would I be correct in saying that a rough translation is Mike is far more likely to do an LS swap for someone on this board than some rich *******?

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Mike, I don't think that is a bad character trait to paint for yourself. Having principles and a code to live by is a good thing. I would have done the same thing, and have done it in the past.

Job title/Salary to some, comes with an unearned sense of entitlement.