My KJ

So I decided that I should put together a narrative of my little 2006 Jeep Liberty, AKA a KJ. So here it goes. In February 2018 while driving on a delivery for work I heard an ad on the local radio classified ads for a Jeep Liberty. I quickly pulled over to text the owner for an address to go check it out later that night. After viewing it and mulling it over I decided to make an offer for the Jeep. The guy was asking $500. It had been wrecked in the front end (looked like they ran into a pole). This accident caused the trans cooler to be pushed up into the radiator, which cut off air flow and caused the trans to burn up. The owner's son had "started" to take things apart thinking that he was going to make it a running vehicle again. In addition to being torn apart some, they had been storing bags of livestock feed in it. On Valentines day, I purchased the Jeep for $220. A couple days later I had my brother help me go load it on a trailer and bring it home. We used the hydraulic arms on the hay bed of his truck to pull the Jeep up onto the trailer. The Jeep then sat on the trailer until May as I worked out what I was going to do with it. Originally the plan was to just build it into a hunting/camping vehicle. No real concern about aesthetics and if everything worked well. And then my wife looked at it and found out that it was a loaded limited model. So the plans from being a hunting/camping vehicle became those of a daily driver fit to become a family ride. As I was trying to figure out where I was going to work on the Jeep, I was told space at my dad's building was going to be freed up since the current renter was leaving. Working on the Jeep outside my house in the gravel driveway just wouldn't have been very easy. Indoors and on concrete would be much better. So using my truck, I pulled the trailer down to the shop and pushed the Jeep into the building. Using a floor jack to help finagle the Jeep around I was able to get it in and turned 90 degrees so I wasn't taking up so much space so I could work on other vehicles in there in addition to working on my Jeep.

Working off and on on the Jeep by myself on nights and weekends that I didn't have prior obligations, I was able to get the old transmission out on my own. This KJ has the 42RLE transmission. And looking at what was available in the junk yards, it was pretty clear that a newly re-manufactured transmission was the correct choice. So saving what I could was next on the list. In the meantime, we used the space in the shop to work on dad's ZJ and my brother's S10. With the fall coming, hunting seasons took precedence over working on the KJ. Archery hunts started in August, I had a limited entry elk tag in September, plus we had muzzleloader deer tags at the end of September. Once we were done with our hunts, it was time to focus on working on the Jeep again.

I was still deciding where to get the transmission, so I started gutting the interior to clean up the years of neglect and storage from previous owners. I took out all the seats, the center console, most of the body panels, and pulled the carpet out. Many lost coins were found. The linkage to allow the key to be removed was reconnected. Carpet was scrubbed and pressure washed. All the seats were scrubbed down. All the plastic was cleaned. And then I was able to get it all back in.

All this took well into December. But I was finally able to get a transmission in, and everything put back together. Some interesting things had to happen. The front cross member behind the bumper had to be straightened out so I could put the entire front end back together. I pondered about how to do this for quite a while. I finally settled on backing my truck up to it and using some lumber skids as spacers to keep distance between the truck and the Jeep. Then I tried a ratchet strap first, but it wasn't enough umph to straighten it out. A chain and a ratchet binder was finally the solution. After getting things straight the grille support and other components could go back on and it could finally look like a vehicle worthy to be on the road again.

After buying a stereo for Christmas, I decided to put the time in to fix the wiring. The previous owner had cut out the factory plug at one point, and then used yellow wire nuts to put it back in. This took up a large amount of volume in a limited space, in addition to shortening the wires by about an inch or so. I found these nifty heat shrink/solder butt connectors on Amazon. They're awesome. They have low temp solder in the middle, and you just crimp that to hold the wires while you heat it up to connect it all back together. I installed a head unit that was just radio/bluetooth. There really isn't a need for a CD player anymore, and that helped with the lack of space behind the dash.

At this point it was January 2019 and I was ready to get it on the road and license it. Before getting plates on it, I took it in to the dealership to have a few recalls done on it. One was programming, one was installing new lower control arms, and another was to install a receiver hitch to protect the fuel tank. While there I had them flash the PCM just so the computer wasn't shifting based on the old transmission.

I was able to drive it some during the week before my wife wanted to use it for a trip to the city. She took it out on a Friday when there was a storm all weekend. She loved driving it around and being able to go through the snow drifts, and into unplowed/poorly plowed parking lots without the fear of getting stuck. The Jeep has the Selec-Trac Full Time transfer case. Throwing it into Full-time 4wd is simple and it does great wherever you want to go. Summer brought some adventures throughout the Uintas. As time went on, I could tell more clearance was needed. I knew the original springs were sagging. As well as the front lower strut mount bushing was worn on both sides. From the factory, there's supposed to be 19" from the center of the wheel, to the fender above. I had 18" in the front, and 18-1/2" in the rear.

A trip this spring was the kicker on needing more clearance and a better suspension. I took a trip in the desert with my wife and one of my daughters. While on a two track that I had previously been on the week before when alone, I smacked a rock that was hidden behind some brush in the middle of the road with the transmission. When we got back from a hike, I could see atf dripping in the sand. I was able to get home and top it off. I had only lost about half a pint or so. When I got to work Monday morning, I ordered a new transmission pan and a filter kit. I work at a Carquest, so it was nice to see that they had the parts available in the warehouse. A plus to the new Dorman transmission pan, is it comes with a drain plug installed. The down side is that the plug leaks. A new plug gasket is needed.

Finally, I found the lift springs that I wanted. They're advertised to be a 1.5" lift spring. Knowing I'd also get about an inch in the front by changing out the worn bushings, I decided that I'd also add a lift kit on top of the new springs. I was hoping to get about 4" in lift with the new springs and lift kit.

After waiting on parts to be shipped, it was finally time to work on the KJ lift. The first evening I worked on the front end. The goal was to pull the old strut assemblies so I could get the parts to a shop to put together the new struts and springs. Things went well. I skipped the majority of the steps that I saw others do in the videos on YouTube. My steps were simple as this, Remove the wheel, and remove the strut. I took the clevis off the strut and pulled them out as two separate pieces. Most videos showed a line or groove centering the clevis back on the new strut. My new struts didn't have that. They were smooth all around.

Evening two I worked on cutting off the guide points off the strut mounts so the lift could be bolted on top. Surprisingly, this only ate up one cut off wheel for my dremel. The shop installed the springs upside down, so I needed to take them back to have them flip them over. Many online say it doesn't matter which way a progressive rate spring is mounted if the coil buckets are identical. KJ buckets are identical, but one person had a valid point that mud can escape easier if the tighter coils are on the top. Also, the words on the coils were upside down. That alone was enough to convince me to have the springs flipped over.

Since I couldn't finish the front, I decided to install the rear springs and lift spacers. This was an easier said than done process. I was hoping to not need to take apart much, but that didn't work out as well as planned. This process required me to remove the caliper on the left side, so the brake hose wasn't pulled too tightly. Obviously shocks had to be disconnected. The part I didn't want to remove, but ended up needing to, was the upper control arm ball joint. That needed removed so I could get enough flex to get the springs and spacers in. After getting them in, the new challenge was getting the ball joint back in. I used a 1" ratchet strap to hold the ball joint lined up, and then a small bottle jack to push it into place. I was surprised at how high the rear of the Jeep ended up. It was about 4-5" higher than stock. The math wasn't adding up with the new springs and the spacers. I left them in so I could tackle things on the front end the next night.

Day three brought new challenges. I left work early since I was supposed to be going camping for the weekend. I still had to change the lower bushings, and install the new strut assemblies. Using a rented ball joint press, I pressed out the old bushing. I started on the passenger side and started with a driver that came in the kit. It wasn't quite small enough and ended up bending the body of the bushing. After wasting time getting things bent back so it could clearly travel through it's hole, I was able to use a 30mm socket to act as the driver. Seeing how well that worked, I was able to put the drivers side one in quickly. Now it was time to install the new struts with the lift on. I struggled to get the clearance I needed to get the strut in with the lift on it with the suspension still together. I popped off the upper ball joint, brake caliper, and the outer tie rod end. I was hoping that this would give me enough flex in the parts to get things put back together. I had read that if you lift a KJ more than 4" you would need new modified CV axles. After quite a while of fighting the parts, I found that I was getting more than 4" of lift and that the CV axles would be in way too much of a bind to be able to make it work. My only option was to pull the spacer off the strut and do just a spring lift. So I did that and was able to quickly put things back together. Since I couldn't use the lift in the front, I had to remove the lift in the back. I rented a spring compressor to make this easier. Once I got the spacers off, and things put back together I was done!

I have enjoyed the new feel of the ride so far. I am no longer bottoming out going through dips or gutters. I ended up netting 3" of lift in the front, and a bit over 2" in the rear. Now I just need to decide on tires, and I am "done" for now. And it'll be off to new adventures! I'm working on selling the lift kit locally before I send it back. I'd rather take a hit and sell it versus taking the hit in shipping costs and waiting for refunds. With the money from the lift kit, I'll add some airbags to the rear springs so I don't have the sag when I pull my trailers.

SKS

SKS, a set on Flickr.

My new SKS all cleaned up!

Heart Attack Hike... With Fishing!

Saturday I decided I wanted to go fishing. Since there's so much snow and all the places I really wanted to go are closed I figured I'd try my luck and Moon Lake. After an hour of fishing and getting hot from standing on the shore I decided I'd had enough. One little bite wasn't enough to keep me on that lake.

I figured I was close enough to Yellowstone Canyon so I'd head over that way. Water is RAGING!

3 of the 5 campgrounds in Yellowstone are closed. Water is dirty and cold. Then I had a crazy idea. I figured it was only 12:30 so I had plenty of time to go to Lily Lake. I knew there was a trail and it had been a long time since I have been there. I think it was in 97 or 98.

I got my pack set up, put on the fishing vest and headed up. That trail goes... STRAIGHT UP!


About half way up I jumped a 5 point bull elk. Unfortunately I couldn't get the camera out in time. The trail is tough to see at times but it is there. There are a few spots where you have to sit on the log blocking the trail and swing your legs up and around and the you're basically sitting on the ground when you're on the uphill side. It's a steep one. I was glad I had my hands free to grab whatever tree/rock I needed to to help myself up. It took me about an hour to hike up. And after a good little rest I was ready for fishing!

There's about a 5 foot patch of grass around the edges of the lake that you have to fish over. But it wasn't too bad with my 7.5' pole. A few fish were jumping and There were a couple beavers swimming around where I first started fishing the lake.


I ended up catching 5 good 12-14" brookies.



I brought 2 home. It was nice to be fishing and catching such beautiful fish.

It was only a 40 minute hike coming down. And even though it'll wear you out and give you a heart attack going up, I think I need to hit it again this year when I have more time.

I went Fishing!!

I've been waiting and waiting to go fishing for quite some time. The weather this year has been odd to say the least. Snow is melted at the lower elevations in the mountains for the most part. Snow up high is still deep. I watch the SnoTel and StreamFlow sites regularly. From those I can see that the water is fishable still and whatnot.

Shari and David are heading to NY for the summer so we had a hot dog roast up Uinta Canyon today. Amy, Lily and I went up early so I could get some fishing in. We went to the trail head and headed to the ponds to the west. I caught two rainbows out of that pond. I wanted to wander and search more ponds but Amy and Lily didn't. So we eventually ended up back at the car and shortly after that we met up with the rest of the clan to eat.



I've never liked rainbows, they always look plain and boring to me. But a fish is a fish. I really was sad that I didn't catch a brookie. That would have been good eating for lunch. Oh well, there's always next week!

Bored...

March sucks... It's so boring.... small game hunting ended in February.... Snow all over still... Mud is coming... and is here in the driveway because of the great melt every day... You can't go fishing cause things are still frozen... and for those loony people that ice fish it's dangerous time because of the melting and filling of lakes.... March sucks... nothing to do... and now Sunday is the start of daylight saving time.... so now another hour of light after work with nothing to do.. March created cabin fever... BOO on March...

Goals......

This year I have a few goals I'd like to accomplish...

Camping!
I want to go camping a lot more this year than I did last year. And not just alone. Dan, Jeremy, Kyle, that means you need to come camping with me. Get a fishing license or get your hunter safety info swapped from AZ to UT and get a combination license and plan on coming camping. Friday night to Saturday Afternoon. I've got the Bronco, Jeremy has the Astro. Let's go explore the Uinta's this summer!

Hunting!
I want to shoot an elk! Right now I have an elk tag for the Nine Mile Range Creek area. We saw some cow elk just before dark last weekend. No good shot unfortunately. I took a shot, but it wasn't a good one. I think I want to apply for some closer areas for cow elk. I don't need to get a bull. I'm totally fine with a cow for now. I also want to shoot a coyote, a fox, and a lot more rabbits!

Fishing!
This goes along with camping. I want to go fish more areas and lakes than I have in the past. Maybe I'll even take a camera and take pictures for once. And even GPS my locations and log things to make it seem like I'm getting places knocked off the list.

Weight.....
Yeah, I'm not excited about this goal, but I need to lose about 15-20 pounds. I just don't have the ambition to do it. I know I know... cut out the soda... but... but... water is just so bland and blah... And I get bored with Gatorade and the like. I just love a good Mt. Dew fountain drink.

And last but not least... ok.. last for now...

I want to buy another GUN!

I've really been eying this:

It's a Stag Arms 2L LEFT hand AR. I am right handed, but I have this problem. My left eye is my dominant eye. Being cross eye dominant there are a couple of options. One is shoot right handed with the left eye. That just results in half moon cuts above the left eyebrow due to scope contact. NOT FUN! Another option is close the left eye and use just the right. That would work if I could shut just the left eye! Doesn't work for me. Never has probably never will. The option I have chosen is shoot left handed. It works best for me. Doing such I kind of have some limitations on what guns I shoot. I LOVE my pump .270Win it is quick to load and is pretty much ambidextrous. I also love pump shotguns. I have been known to do well back in the day with a pump Mossberg 500A. I like the tang safety. Not really a fan of cross bolt safeties. I'm not so quick with bolt actions. And I can't justify buying a left handed one. Seems most of them are over charging just to be lefty models. But the Stag 2L..... that's just awesome! I just need to get a LOCAL dealer... or get my own FFL... but I don't see that happening in the near future.

So these are just a few of the goals I have for the year. I just want this year to be a year of fun. Last year went too fast and I didn't get to get out and enjoy the outdoors like I wanted to. And if the current administration has their way many places may become locked up sooner than later.