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Thread: The Jeep Doctor

  1. #1
    Senior Member kyratshooter's Avatar
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    Default The Jeep Doctor

    The Cherokee went down a few months back and I have not been inclined to get it fixed, mostly due to stubbornness and a need to come to the realization that I can no longer fix what I used to fix due to age and infirmity. My age and my infirmity, Not the Jeep's.

    The brake lines dissolved. Not just one, all of them. I replaced the front calipers and pads along with all the lines and they still will not hold fluid. Probably a burr on a flared connection or something simple, but I can not find the problem so it is time to send out for help.

    Fact is I could probably still fix it, but then I would be out of pocket more for my own medical repairs than the cost of sending the Jeep out to professionals. Plus there would be a level of physical pain involved beyond what one as stingy as myself would feel in the wallet.

    The battery was dead, so I put it on the charger overnight. Just went out there and that thing started on the second turnover after not being started for nearly 6 months! I love that AMC straight six. It is one of the reason I still have the Jeep and have not traded for something of more resent vintage.

    So the Jeep goes to the Jeep Doctor tomorrow to have necessary alterations done to the brake system. I have really missed having the Jeep on the road and usable around the place. No way I can get the "big boat" off the line and into the water without the Jeep. And It is my range and hunting vehicle, the place where I store all the crap from lead sled to 400x spotting scope, target frames, two or three cases of clay pigeons, tools and assorted crap that will be needed on most any shooting excursion.

    I will be very happy when I have it back.
    Last edited by kyratshooter; 06-25-2017 at 02:21 PM.
    If you didn't bring jerky what did I just eat?


  2. #2
    Administrator Rick's Avatar
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    I have arrived at the point when glasses, a trouble light and a magnifying glass will not illuminate and enlarge things to a sufficient size to be able to repair them. I used to have trouble repairing things like the hinge screw on a pair of glasses. Today it is anything the size of a V6. My Ford dealer does my work now....when I can find the dealership.

  3. #3

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    Do you know the only thing that's worse than paying someone to fix your vehicle?

    NOT paying someone and having to fix it yourself.

  4. #4
    Senior Member hunter63's Avatar
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    Wise counsel....
    It is hard to admit that the "I can fix anything" days are over for a lot of things....and the "Who do I call" days are here"

    Went down the basement last night and found a water on the floor.....just a bit by the low spot what the water heater stands (replaced pretty recently).....So dried it up...
    I do get a trickle from a crack in the back wall behind the steps.....Have chinked it, ...applied hydro sealed in it.....still get a little bit.
    Option is to remove concert steps, dig down and seal from the outside.

    .This morning, was gonna check on a couple of glue jobs.......
    More water....Quite a bit.....but couldn't tell where from?

    Checked all pipes.....nothing....
    Several 5 gal jugs of water....been there a while so dumped them in the shower....needed to be changed out anyway.....

    Sewer started bubbling back thur the toilet......AH HA!
    Seems a good bet the sewer has roots in it...had this before.
    Thought I had had a done a year or so...so looked for the papers, generally any paperwork is put in a ziplock bag and stuck to the wall or on the appliance ?

    Nothing....
    Thought I had remembered who did it last time....so called a place, and it was the guys I had used....back in 2011...LOL..Man, time flies.

    So they will be here in the morning....have not reach critical mass yet.

    10 years ago...I would drive to my buddies house, pick up his Roto Rooter machine and do it myself.....
    Now I will stay out of the way.
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  5. #5
    Senior Member kyratshooter's Avatar
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    Guy came and put the Jeep on the big truck and took it away.

    I explained that I thought it was just a leak.

    He asked how I knew?

    I told him I had done new calipers, new pads and new lines from the master cylinder to the wheels last fall.

    He said "yea, probably a burr on one of the flared connections. You already did the hard part!".

    It should be back in a couple of days. Then I can start complaining about my car insurance rates. When I have two vehicles on the road my car insurance is the most expensive monthly bill I pay due to the state I am in. Only complaint I have about where I live. No fault system means they raise your rates after any accident no matter who was at fault.
    If you didn't bring jerky what did I just eat?

  6. #6

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    Tell the insurance company you can only drive one vehicle at a time...
    If we are to have another contest in…our national existence I predict that the dividing line will not be Mason and Dixon's, but between patriotism & intelligence on the one side, and superstition, ambition & ignorance on the other…
    ~ President Ulysses S. Grant

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    Senior Member hunter63's Avatar
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    How do you argue with a Greco?......

    He can't even speak proper American.
    Geezer Squad....Charter Member #1
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  8. #8
    Senior Member kyratshooter's Avatar
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    The insurance thing really rips me a new one.

    Being retired I do not drive as much as I did when working and I was easy on the miles even then.

    I average 5K miles a year, not a month but a year!

    At the current rate I am charged that is $0.30 cents a mile in insurance for one vehicle that is ten years old and another that is 20 years old.

    My gas is only costing me $0.13 cents per mile so insurance is costing me twice what my gas does.
    If you didn't bring jerky what did I just eat?

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    Resident Wildman Wildthang's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by kyratshooter View Post
    The insurance thing really rips me a new one.

    Being retired I do not drive as much as I did when working and I was easy on the miles even then.

    I average 5K miles a year, not a month but a year!

    At the current rate I am charged that is $0.30 cents a mile in insurance for one vehicle that is ten years old and another that is 20 years old.

    My gas is only costing me $0.13 cents per mile so insurance is costing me twice what my gas does.
    Keep the Jeep and get rid of the other vehicle!
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  10. #10
    Senior Member kyratshooter's Avatar
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    I love the Jeep but it has 20 years on it and nearly 200K miles. That makes it the secondary use camping, hunting, boat pulling and fishing vehicle.

    The 10 year old vehicle has half the miles and half the time on it. Still runs like new and I do not have to wonder if it is going to die of old age on every trip.

    Sometimes you just have to pay the extortion the state allows them to collect and keep asking the state representatives if they have relatives in the insurance industry before you vote for them.

    The states north and south of me cap insurance rates at about half what I pay.
    If you didn't bring jerky what did I just eat?

  11. #11
    Administrator Rick's Avatar
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    Kyrat, you gotta know something is wrong when every speech down there starts with Comrade Worker!

  12. #12
    Senior Member kyratshooter's Avatar
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    That is a bit east of me Rick.

    Back in the day you would have thought everyone in the coal fields had been descended from an affair between Mr. Marx and Mother Jones and the state song was "Which Side Are You On?"

    We are now considered a very conservative state, which is one thing that troubles me on the insurance thing. It's Obamacare for cars! You got to have it even if you don't use it, and it costs the same even if you do not drive the car but one mile a week.

    My agent did offer me a 15% discount if I allow them to plug a transmitter into my car that allows them to track my every move, each time I start the vehicle and each time I hit the brakes or gas pedal.

    I passed on that one. I ought to let them do it and then switch the devices to car three, which is never driven, and the Jeep, which only goes to the range and back a couple of times each week and on a camping trip once a month.
    If you didn't bring jerky what did I just eat?

  13. #13
    Senior Member hunter63's Avatar
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    Soooo.....
    Jeep back yet?
    Geezer Squad....Charter Member #1
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  14. #14
    Administrator Rick's Avatar
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    My insurance agent offered me that thing as well. I thought about accepting and mailing it to Copenhagen just for the phone call I would invariably receive. But then I figured anyone that actually dreamed up that gizmo would never be able to understand the humor involved and my insurance would jump to about $1200 a month. Anyone that drives 900 miles an hour and through water several fathoms deep should expect to pay a lot for insurance, right?

  15. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by kyratshooter View Post
    Sometimes you just have to pay the extortion the state allows them to collect and keep asking the state representatives if they have relatives in the insurance industry before you vote for them.
    I once saw this comic (couldn't find it online so I'll just have to explain it) that showed a caveman watching a dinosaur chomp on another caveman. The first caveman is thinking: "That could happen to me." The caption says: "One small step for man, one giant leap for the insurance industry."

  16. #16

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    Quote Originally Posted by kyratshooter View Post
    I love the Jeep but it has 20 years on it and nearly 200K miles. That makes it the secondary use camping, hunting, boat pulling and fishing vehicle.

    The 10 year old vehicle has half the miles and half the time on it. Still runs like new and I do not have to wonder if it is going to die of old age on every trip.

    Sometimes you just have to pay the extortion the state allows them to collect and keep asking the state representatives if they have relatives in the insurance industry before you vote for them.

    The states north and south of me cap insurance rates at about half what I pay.
    I had my 2000 F150 with right near 250,000 miles on it. I am not the most on point guy when it comes to maintenance. I started getting concerned with driving such a high mileage truck. In the 17 years of its life it had the battery changed once. The fuel filter under the frame changed once. I had the 75,000 mile service done. What ever that entailed. Brakes, wipers and belt as needed. I drove that truck down more rickety dirt roads at pretty high speeds. And when I get where I am going there isn't usually cell phone service.

    A co-worker of my wife and daughters had a nephew selling a Dodge Ram 1500 with only 85,000 miles or so on it. I bought it as a back up. Well, my wife mis-understood the insurance company and that extra truck was gonna cause my insurance rate to double.

    So, I sold the older, higher mileage f150. The Dodge misfired on cylinder one and the AC clutch gave out. Diagnosis was a blown head and no AC. I bough a 2017 F150 with the twin turbo 6 cylinder and 10 speed transmission.

    I gave the Dodge to my son-in-law. He had to rebuild the whole top end for $2,500. But, when he pulls you hear that sweat v8 piped out. Just sounds nice. And every day at work for a year I have watched my friend drive up in my old F150. Nice thing is. Having sold my best vehicle ever to a friend at a price way below what he thought I would sell it to him. I bet I get to see that truck roll past 300,000 miles.

    We'll see how the new F150 holds up in comparison to the old one. My point was the 2005 Dodge needed rebuilding at 95,000 miles (I put about 10k on it after I bought it). And the Ford is still going. Lots of old Jeep Cherokees through camp that are about the same age as your Jeep or older.

  17. #17
    Senior Member kyratshooter's Avatar
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    I got "the call" yesterday. I must say it was not a shock.

    Everything I had not replaced last fall needed repair. That would be the brake lines from the spliter block on the rear axle out to the rear brake drums. New drums, new cylinders, shoes, springs, everything that is attached to the brakes.

    The price he gave me was fair, $550, which included the tow truck fee. I figure about 4 hours time at $75 per hour (normal shop rate around here), $200 for parts and the $50 tow in fee, so he is quoting me about the standard rate and I knew the entire rear needed replacement anyway, so I do not feel misused or abused.

    About every 2 or 3 years I have to put $500-$600 into the Jeep to keep it on the road, which I do not feel is excessive. Besides, the repairs did not start until I hit 150K and the Jeep hit 15 years. No rust, the engine is still strong, it has a new front end and drives like new, and the old rig fits me like a glove.

    And there is something about having a vehicle in the driveway that will climb trees, pull 3x its weight, carry more than a 1/2 ton pickup and ford water over the hood that makes me feel all warm and cozy.
    If you didn't bring jerky what did I just eat?

  18. #18
    Senior Member hunter63's Avatar
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    I would be happy with that....that seems real fair to me....

    Good to hear she's still running
    Geezer Squad....Charter Member #1
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  19. #19
    Senior Member kyratshooter's Avatar
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    I think I drove the jeep to that jamboree you attended Hunter. That was the last long trip I took in it. I sort of put it into "close to home use" after that trip.

    That was a good trip too!

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    Last edited by kyratshooter; 06-29-2017 at 07:22 PM.
    If you didn't bring jerky what did I just eat?

  20. #20
    Senior Member hunter63's Avatar
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    Pretty sure that was correct...and we discussed the virtues of 4 wheel drive...LOL
    That was a pretty trip thru the mountains...Wasn't it...."
    Nice job Crash finding us a spot after the National Parks had closed....

    I think the brake pads were smoked a bit on "Big Red"

    Was looking thru my pictures try to find a pics of the camp
    Geezer Squad....Charter Member #1
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    First 50 years...worried about the small stuff...second 50 years....Not so much
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