TheKSmith's 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee WJ Limited 4.7 H.O. - The Do-It-All Rig

[theksmith 5,778]

YJs/TJs fit with no problem:

 

 

a JK is a tight fit, but can do it without scratches:

 

 

but a WJ is fat and round down low where it counts (sound like a rap lyric, i know):

 

 

 

 

 

The Carnage from The Squeeze:

 

 

 

right after i got out, i went around to look at the damage and everyone heard me yell "holy sh#t!" because the whole door panel was caved in, then i pulled on the handle and it all popped right back out except for the dents you see in the first carnage pic. i might try and take the interior panel off and the handle and see if there is anyway to bang the dents out even better. after thinking the entire door was caved in and having it pop back out, everything else seemed not-so-bad now, i just need a lot of that expensive mopar touch up spray!

[theksmith 5,778]

after my carnage, the group decided to stack a fair amount of rocks.

 

Cory (merkur92) came over from San Diego to Join us just for Saturday. here he is after the rock stacking.

 

thanks to those few inches of rocks on the passenger side, his mirror was his only carnage:

 

one of our crazier group members took a different line:

[theksmith 5,778]

Heart Attack Hill!

 

the pucker factor:

 

i was very nervous after watching others go down... however, my spotter put me in a perfect line, and as i inched down extremely slowly the suspension flexed well... ended up not being a big deal;

 

A few more shots from Anza-Borrego, the full album is here: http://picasaweb.google.com/kristoffersmith/20090226AnzaBorrego#

 

Parked at the end of the road for The Slot:

 

Poser shot near Sandstone Canyon:

 

Addco rear swaybar limiting flex:

 

 

Night Run at Blow Sand Hill:

 

Sunrise at camp:

 

 

 

misc:

 

 

[theksmith 5,778]

i'm still running the rear Addco sway bar because i love how it handles on the street.. but for those that wonder how bad i affects flex:

 

here is back when i was running the stock rear bar:

 

compared to with the addco rear again:

 

not exactly from the same angle, but you can see how much farther down in the wheel-well the rear tire is in the first shot, and the tire is puckering a little as it still has some weight on it. in the second shot, the tire is off the ground about 9" and is a fair amount further up in the wheel-well. i think if i didn't have a rear bar at all, then in the second shot i would just barely still have the rear on the ground.

[theksmith 5,778]

did the popular Back Road to Crown King trail again, here's a few pics from the trip...

 

 

sweet new mog we saw on the trail:

 

the small group, we had a liberty with us that was slightly lifted... the driver did a great job pushing it through all the obstacles with a tire in the air all the time

 

 

[theksmith 5,778]

a picture with my good buddies' jeep (Number 7), from the Anza Borrego trip, this is just south of Truck Haven on the way to the Pumpkin Patch:

 

 

and some better pictures from my friend's camera of my ineptness at navigating The Squeeze...

 

 

 

[theksmith 5,778]

2 runs ago (Crown King), i started hearing a thunking noise coming from what seemed like the center of the vehicle. i thought it was my exhaust hitting my skid-plate mounting tube as the clearance is very close and the sound just seemed sorta holow like a muffler body hitting something solid.

 

so when i got home, i bent the exhaust hanger a little to move the exhaust up and thought i had it all fixed up.

 

then on a little scenic run last saturday, i started hearing it again, but it got worse and worse as the trail went one.

 

when i got home, it took forever to find the real problem because i had it in my head that it was in the center of the vehicle... well lesson learned - always question your assumptions!

 

here was the final problem:

 

 

 

i don't know if i nailed a rock and did this, or if the mounting straps are just weak and tore apart. i think the straps just can't handle trying to hold down the beefy addco while the rest of the jeep is pulling it 2 different directions in extreme flex situations.

 

i'm a big fan of the rear addco, but i don't have time right now to work up a good rear disconnect option (though i have some ideas for one eventually). so i guess i'll be running without the swaybar for right now.

[theksmith 5,778]

 

Video - jump to like 7 minutes in to watch the last 2 of us go up:

 

 

and yes, i was driving a bit fast, but without any lockers, sometimes you need a little momentum. (and of course, it was steeper than it ever looks in video)

 

it was a solid 3.5 trail, loose terrain, lots of off-camber, very fun! Other than the video, none of us really captured any of the roughest areas in a pic, too busy driving i guess!:

 

http://rides.webshots.com/album/571016576qbqtrL

 

http://picasaweb.google.com/kristoffersmith/20090412MudSprings

 

http://s187.photobucket.com/albums/x165/sprinksbeme/Mud%20Springs%204%2012%2009/

[theksmith 5,778]

while wheeling sunday, suddenly there was pop/crack sound from my steering wheel column and then the steering wheel was loose. by loose i mean you can wobble it forward and backward. it is NOT loose when turning left/right, just you can wobble the whole wheel as if it was barely attached to the column.

 

this is a tilt column, and i can still tilt it and lock the tilt just as always. it's like something is broken between around the key area and the wheel itself.

 

i removed the airbag and can see the main nut that attaches the wheel to the colum is still firmly seated. i will have to get a puller tomorrow to remove the wheel and further inspect the column inside of where the clockspring and switch stalks go.

 

-------------

 

well i took off the wheel this weekend and found that something inside the column housing was broken (seemed to be inside the tilt area).

 

ooked like you could maybe take a snap ring off the end of the column and maybe remove the shaft from the housing... but i opted to just grab a new entire steering column from an 04 with low miles at the salvage yard. cost me $150, but that included a new wheel/airbag that i can probably sell on ebay, and clockspring and switches that i will keep for backups since i hear that the clockspring is a common failure.

 

video showing the play in the column: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEdm1nNdbow

 

 

 

[theksmith 5,778]

and new blend/recirc doors were installed while i had the wheel/column out...

 

to pull the steering wheel, this was the loan-a-tool i got from autozone, a 2/3 jaw puller:

 

this is what i looks like when you're entire dash is on the floor (plus an extra steering column):

 

i already had new blend/recirc doors and housing that i got from a guy on ebay who ended up selling his GC before ever installing them.... turns out my recirc door wasn't broken, but instead the actuall actuator was busted:

 

pondered fixing it with a hose clamp like such:

 

but opted to just get a new one from the dealer since they had it in stock, with jeep club discount came to $65. i went ahead an put a hose clamp on each actuator as insurance against that kind of break.

 

overall the whole swapping steering columns, removing dash, removing a/c box, and replacing stuff and putting it all back only took like 10 hours total... i don't see how dealership can justify a trained mechanic charging 12 hours, should be more like 8 for a trained mechanic at most.

 

the hardest part by far was disconnecting/reconnecting the heater hoses at the firewall... there's just no good way to get your hand in there, total PITA. other than that, not a bad project, just time consuming!