It’s been a while. Work and the kid’s activities have kept me occupied. The spring has been wet, but that has kept temperatures mild and I’ve been able to enjoy the jeep topless for a good long stretch.
There have been a few updates.
I added cruise control with a factory module from eBay. The harness was already wired for it. I enjoy it a lot.
Battery failed last November. I replaced it with a SuperStart Marine AGM from O’Reilly. Nothing exciting, its a battery and its been trouble free since.
I replaced the hood footman loop with a Crown 55176422K part. One of the threaded ends had broken off of mine. It has been broken since before I had the Jeep, but never moved unless I was washing it. Something small checked off.
I’ve been running a cheap $25 sub for the last two years. Finally pushed it too hard. Replaced it today with the Kicker 48CWRT674 4 ohm. I wired it in parallel for a total of 2 ohms. The Soundstream amp’s sub channel is rated at 350 watts at 2 ohms. Still running the factory box in the center console. I added some clearance with a heat gun and a yeti tumbler for the larger kicker. Sounds great, much more punch than the Goldwood.
Running the soft top on the highway had been miserably loud. I have been blaming the MasterTop that came from the PO. After some more reading, its possible the worn out tension straps might be the cause of at least some of it allowing slack in the wrong places. I ordered replacement material from Strapworks and found a template on an old Jeep Forum post. I cut and installed them today with #8 - 1/2" stainless screws and washers. Much more tension when putting the top up. I’ll give it a few days to settle and see what the noise level is like with the whole top on. Either way, the straps were busted for the 3rd time and needed to be replaced.
Overall, the Jeep is running well. There is some looseness in the steering that wasn’t there a year ago. That is on the list to check in to this weekend. I’ve been putting off greasing johnny joints too - that needs to happen this weekend. Engine temps on the highway were hitting 220 last weekend. I just did most of the cooling system late last year. Something to keep an eye on this summer.