What did you do TO your Gladiator today? [ADMIN WARNING: NO POLITICS, NO GUN TALK]

[Mud Pie]

Down the street from me in my neighborhood there is one house with 3 Jeeps. A JK Wrangler, a JL Wrangler and a Gladiator. Yeah, they like Jeeps. The JK (all tricked out) is driven by Dad, the stock JL by Mom, the JT by their college-age daughter. The JT was a 2020 model and it was ALWAYS in the shop, she said she kept having electrical and tranny issues. She recently got rid of it. My wife talks to the Mom and Daughter all the time, they are involved in neighborhood crap that I don't care about in the slightest.

Anyways, my wife calls me yesterday and said the Mom was "selling something that goes on the dash" and did I want it. She was offering it to us before posting it online for sale. I said I need a little more info and the price. My wife forwarded me pics of a Bulletpoint Dash System. It had 2 cell phone holders, and the arms were blue (like my Gladiator). I asked how much. 50 bucks for everything. I told my wife get it !!

It looks brand freaking new, I doubt she ever used it. My guess is her husband did the "you need this" and put it in and she said, "no I don't".

I don't need it for my cell phone. I have a Samsung Flip and I leave it folded in that little cubby hole under the 12 vdc socket. Perfect slot for that phone and it's not in the sun.

Now I'm checking for other doo-dads for a mount that I didn't want or need....already ordered the camera mount, the handheld radio mount and two extra balls.

And I haven't even installed it yet.

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[Mud Pie]

Or they put 6 quarts in a 3.6
That was a thing back in 2019 2020, idk if they still make that mistake, that was the last time I took a freebie from them

I've heard of those horror stories so I do check my oil afterwards. No issues yet.

 

[WILDHOBO]

Took it to a diy car wash to clean it up reasonably well before starting to put it all back together. Did the engine compartment for the very first time in 85k miles. I’ve always been nervous about getting water into electronics. Just used soap with no pressure, and then the low pressure spot free rinse. Drove it home without any codes, so hopefully I didn’t screw up. I know people do this all the time, and I’m in the minority, but certain things make my balls shrink.

 

[DronePilot]

Installed 4 new tires TOYO R/T PRO 35/11.50-17 today, on the highway a saw 8 gear most of the time.

 

[Pliny]

Y'know what's even easier ?

Telling the service advisor at Jeep, "I need an oil change.".

Yeah...

Nearest dealership is 35 miles away. To use up my last "complimentary" Jeep Wave oil change they were scheduling two weeks out.

For me, it is less time, cost and hassle to do the oil change myself.

 

[Pliny]

Changed out the PCV valve today at ~37k miles. Had a noticeable amount of oil residue in the air intake plenum so figured it was prudent to do so. When shaking the old one vs. the new one the sound of the rattling noise wasn't that different. I don't think I made anything worse by putting in a new one.

Ended up disconnecting my redline tuning hood struts and putting the hood all the way back against the windshield to make access to the PCV valve easier. Needed to use both hands to pop the new PCV valve into place.

 

[Proximo]

After hand washing

After clay bar

Did annual spring clay bar. Getting harder every year, my arms and shoulders are wasted after 2 hours of clay bar, wipe, and spray wax. Real wax will have to wait, but needed to get some wax back on after clay bar.

 

[Mud Pie]

I've clay-barred mine twice already - and I bought it last November.

When I give it a bath and run my fingers lightly over the hood, if I feel stuck-on "grit", the clay bar comes out. I use Mother's clay bar system. No real rubbing required; spray on the instant detailer, drag the bar across. No real pressure needed. I do give my grip a workout kneading that clay bar all the time. One time I unwrapped a brand new bar, squirt the hood, dragged the bar and it flew out of my hand onto my concrete driveway. Into the trash that bar went, not worth the risk.

Then I apply Best of Show Wax using my Amazon cheapie orbital, small sections at a time, not the entire vehicle at once. Again, no real pressure. Wait 20 minutes. When the clock gets to 15, apply wax on the next section. Then go back with a microfiber and buff the completed section. Leapfrog around the whole vehicle. Time consuming, yes, but all I have is time now. When complete, give the entire vehicle a rub down with a large microfiber towel. So far I've never been sore/tired when done. I take my time, no rush.

 

[WILDHOBO]

Yeah...

Nearest dealership is 35 miles away. To use up my last "complimentary" Jeep Wave oil change they were scheduling two weeks out.

For me, it is less time, cost and hassle to do the oil change myself.

 

[Proximo]

I've clay-barred mine twice already - and I bought it last November.

When I give it a bath and run my fingers lightly over the hood, if I feel stuck-on "grit", the clay bar comes out. I use Mother's clay bar system. No real rubbing required; spray on the instant detailer, drag the bar across. No real pressure needed. I do give my grip a workout kneading that clay bar all the time. One time I unwrapped a brand new bar, squirt the hood, dragged the bar and it flew out of my hand onto my concrete driveway. Into the trash that bar went, not worth the risk.

Then I apply Best of Show Wax using my Amazon cheapie orbital, small sections at a time, not the entire vehicle at once. Again, no real pressure. Wait 20 minutes. When the clock gets to 15, apply wax on the next section. Then go back with a microfiber and buff the completed section. Leapfrog around the whole vehicle. Time consuming, yes, but all I have is time now. When complete, give the entire vehicle a rub down with a large microfiber towel. So far I've never been sore/tired when done. I take my time, no rush.

I'm always in a rush, never enough time to do what I want. Yesterday, hand wash after 9hrs work. Today was wipe, clay bar, wipe, and spray wax after 9hrs work and get it done before starting dinner.
Owning Bright White, requires pressure to get all of the "rail dust" out. White is a blessing and a curse when you get up close to the paint and see all the speckles.

 

[WanderingTrail]

I tightened my JT's Nuts...

Lower front ball joints were at about 45lb/ft vice the required 59. Still gotta do the son's JL. They are both 21's and fall within the TSB's range for the lower ball joint nut torque problem. Steering didn't feel any different, just got to wait for a good rain to see if the squeak went away because of this.

Ron

 

[Clamcakes]

Dead pedal installed!

 

[JCappy]

He has the F106S, I’m almost positive.

Same as what I have on mine.

 

[Mud Pie]

Took it to a diy car wash to clean it up reasonably well before starting to put it all back together. Did the engine compartment for the very first time in 85k miles. I’ve always been nervous about getting water into electronics. Just used soap with no pressure, and then the low pressure spot free rinse. Drove it home without any codes, so hopefully I didn’t screw up. I know people do this all the time, and I’m in the minority, but certain things make my balls shrink.

I, too, can't bring myself to hosing down the engine bay. Sure, everything is supposed to be water resistant, I just can't hose it down.

So I go about it the most tortuous way; Simple Green, shop rags, toothbrushes, compressed air and USGI Q-Tips (they have about a 6" wooden stick on them, made for weapons maintenance). It takes hours. Hours. According to my (nosy) neighbor, he once said while leaving, "You've been at that for over 3 hours now !!". But I know I'm not oversoaking anything.

End result:

 

[Bandit’s Lair]

I, too, can't bring myself to hosing down the engine bay. Sure, everything is supposed to be water resistant, I just can't hose it down.

So I go about it the most tortuous way; Simple Green, shop rags, toothbrushes, compressed air and USGI Q-Tips (they have about a 6" wooden stick on them, made for weapons maintenance). It takes hours. Hours. According to my (nosy) neighbor, he once said while leaving, "You've been at that for over 3 hours now !!". But I know I'm not oversoaking anything.

End result:

If my neighbor observed me cleaning an engine for 3 hours I’d say that is a more pressing issue than a dirty engine bay. I recommend hedges. And maybe claymores…..

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