techimoto

Jackson Dies; Neighborhood in Uproar

JamesW — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 22:39:37 +0000

Writing this from just a few blocks from the UCLA Hospital, where just a few hours ago, Michael Jackson passed away from heart failure. Where I live, we often “hear” the presence of dignitaries, and the rich and famous, since we are only blocks away from major Los Angeles Hotels, and the Beverly Hills Hilton, before it even hits the news. The skies vibrate with airplanes.

Right now it sounds like a warzone, with helicopters buzzing overhead like a swarm of bees. Honking from Wilshire Avenue, and Santa Monica Blvd., both main roads leading into and out off UCLA.

Only 50. A musicians life can be hard, even for those who achieved fame.

How the U.S. Quality-of-Life Went Down the Shitter

JamesW — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 16:28:17 +0000

The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country.
We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of. This is a logical result of the way in which our democratic society is organized.” – Edward Bernays

Life in America

THE HAND: New World Order/”global elite”/Bilderberg Group/The Feds

THE CARROT: “The American Dream”

THE BUNNY: would be us, the average American fool.

Who Is This Man Anyway?

Bernays invented the public relations profession in the 1920s and was the first person to take Freud’s ideas to manipulate the masses. He showed American corporations how they could make people want things they didn’t need by systematically linking mass-produced goods to their unconscious desires.

Bernays was one of the main architects of the modern techniques of mass-consumer persuasion, using every trick in the book, from celebrity endorsement and outrageous PR stunts, to eroticising the motorcar.

His most notorious coup was breaking the taboo on women smoking by persuading them that cigarettes were a symbol of independence and freedom. But Bernays was convinced that this was more than just a way of selling consumer goods. It was a new political idea of how to control the masses. By satisfying the inner irrational desires that his uncle had identified, people could be made happy and thus docile.

“Keep ‘em Barefoot and Pregnant” Updated

“Barefoot and pregnant” was originally associated with the controversial idea that women should not work outside the home and should have many children during their reproductive years. I think this phrase has a new meaning, and applies equally to men and women: “barefoot” translates to “keep ‘em poor”, and “pregnant” translates to constantly “in labor” (pun slightly intended). In other words, keep us rabble constantly in debt, so that we have to constantly work to stay above water, to provide money (or debt leverage) to constantly consume more products and services, that will keep us constantly in debt, that will keep us constantly working, etc. etc. And so the wheels-of-hell turn.

Introducing the Bad Guys

And who is it that want’s to keep us “barefoot and pregnant”? Well, to me, it’s not much of a stretch of the imagination to think that Corporate America LOVED Bernays’ ideas. And so, with massive amounts of cash in hand, was born our modern Madison Avenue. To the rich and powerful, what part of “control the masses” is not to like? And thus it came to pass, and their was born “advertising” in its many, and constant forms. There’s probably more behavior-manipulating psychology going on in the dark recesses of Madison Avenue than in all the therapists offices across America. Daily, hourly, minute-by-minute, second-by-second, advertisements, invading every little nook and cranny of our lives, playing on our secret and not-so-secret Freudian dreams and desires.

Corporations are all basically profit driven (stock has to keep going up after all, to keep stockholders happy, to keep the execs fat, to keep the stock going up, to keep …..). To make this happen, they have to keep pushing their mass-produced crap to more and more consumers across the world (hence was born the “global economy” concept. “Global Economy” is a nice benign term, itself hatched somewhere on Madison Avenue to make us think that a “global economy” is really a great thing – a world that has come together at last). The truth is, the global economy came about about because pushing corporate junk to just Americans wasn’t enough; it wasn’t keeping pace with their insatiable profit needs. So now Corporate America has endeavored to entrap other innocent cultures (mostly third-world countries) into their consumer-driven-wheel-of-hell, (and to add insult to injury, Corporate America exploits the countries cheap human and natural resources to boot!).

To government, esp. Republicans, this is all fine and good, since the growth of Corporations creates more jobs, which creates more taxes, which allows the officials currently in power to look good (not to mention, through greed and corruption, to get wealthy themselves).

ASIDE: Government wonks are just a necessary evil – they are the flunkies that go implement/enforce the various laws and financial policies (such as tax code, fiscal policy, etc.) that shape the social manipulations dreamed up by the REALLY bad guys. Government wonks aren’t nearly wealthy enough to be major players as REALLY bad guys. Read on.

Introducing the REALLY Bad Guys

If the above is halfway palletable, then it’s really not too much of a stretch to see that these corporate heads, media moguls, top government wonks, and financial kingpins, since they have common goals, wants and desires (get more wealthy, money, and power, respectively), might get together and form a “Good-Old-Wealthy-Boy-Club” to perpetuate their agenda via a united front. After all, two greedy MF’s are better than one. How about 100 or more greedy MF’s from around the globe?

Many think that this club comes to us in the form of The Bilderberg Group, a mysterious group of weatlhy industrialists, financiers, top government officials, and wealthy family heads that meet regularly at various exclusive hotels around the world. They remain very secretive, and their meeting places, agenda, etc. are always highly guarded. When meeting, the security is like something you might envision if Obama were scheduled to walk down a street in Baghdad. Unreal. (for more detail, see a documentary on the topic called “Endgame”, and the theories, commentaries, etc of radio host Alex Jones).

Stair Steps to Hell

The barriers to a consumer society were therefore numerous and effective. To overcome them required changes in attitude and thought, changes in prosperity and standards of living, changes in commercial technique and promotional skills, sometimes changes even in the law itself. Above all it required the commercialization of society.

— Neil McKendrik, John Brewer, J.H. Plumb, The Birth of a Consumer Society, (Hutchinson, 1983)

McKendrick et al continue to also point out that these changes were more than just processes in the world of advertising and selling, fashion and credit; it importantly touched things like:

Politics;
Commercialization of leisure;
of childhood;
Invention and creation
Economic, intellectual and social adjustments

The Campaign Began

In his book, Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalism (Allyn and Bacon, 1999), Richard Robins describes that for the rise of consumerism in the United States to occur, buying habits had to be transformed and luxuries had to be made into necessities. He describes numerous ways in which this was accomplished :

A major transformation in the meaning of goods and how they were presented and displayed. This included:
- The evolution of the department store into a place to display goods as objects in themselves. Orchestras, piano players, flower arrangements, and so on would be used to “present goods in a way that inspired people to buy them. The department store became a cultural primer telling people how they should dress, furnish their homes, and spend their leisure time.” (p. 15, emphasis added)
- Advertising was another “revolutionary development” to influence the creation of the consumer.
- The idea of fashion would help in the “stirring up of anxieties and restlessness over the possession of things that were not ‘new’ or ‘up-to-date’. Fashion pressured people to buy not out of need but for style — from a desire to conform to what others defined as ‘fashionable.’”
- Creation of, as well as improvement of service also helped. Customers were to be treated like guests. The adage of “the customer is always right” rings true here.

A transformation of the major institutions of American society, each redefining its function to include the promotion of consumption.

Education for example would be expanded from production/manufacturing knowledge to include things like accounting, marketing, sales, etc. Business schools popped up in many places.

Workers had to be given buying power in order to be able to create a consumer economy. This was accomplished via things like
- higher wages
- expanding consumer credit. An effect of this credit was to increase consumer debt, while creating mass markets for consumer goods that stimulated economic growth.
  - But it was harder initially, to convince the British public into accepting the credit card. Anothony Snow, Account Director of Barclaycard (a leading bank and credit card company in U.K.) from 1965-70, was one of many who went to the U.S. to see how they did it, to try and apply it in the U.K. A number of things were attempted to break through the resistance. He described some examples:
  - Recession at that time meant new techniques were needed to get people to consume.

There had to be a “change in spiritual and intellectual values from an emphasis on such values as thrift, modesty, and moderation, toward a value system that encouraged spending and ostentatious display.”

Hmmmm. Does the name “Tammie Fay” ring a bell.

Our So-Called ‘Life’

So, this incessant drive for us to earn more, consume more, spend more, has resulted in a frenetic daily life. It has taken us away from the “June Cleaver” days where one spouse at least was allowed to stay home to take care of kids and a mired of other domestic issues. (now days this could be either parent, just so somebody has it covered). And it seems these issues have expanded exponentially, with constant calls to correct billing mistakes, ward off telemarketers, taking in all the toys and crap we buy back for repair, or return, or to replace (since they intentionally have a shorter and shorter built-in obsolescence), and to tend to all the other millions of daily material and family demands. Are lives a feverish, frantic attempt to “keep up”. We have more “stuff”, but our life satisfaction level is rapidly approaching ground zero.

Those of us over 40 remember a different time. It was different, and better. The “June Cleaver” image is not so far fetched. Many 40+ friends and family that I talk to agree that “something has been lost”, and they wish we could magically go back to those times. Now, to remain above water economically, both spouses have to work (one wonders if this is part of the overall “bad guys” design. One meager income for consumer spending has become insufficient. Now we need two incomes to keep up the necessary, economically, politically and socially correct level of consumer spending).

So, how long will it be before we have to put the kids to work? “Forget school today Johnny. You have to hit the pavement to look for a job. By the way, get your own breakfast today. OK? Dad and I are late for work”.

Why “Trickle Down” Theory Doesn’t Work

JamesW — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 17:27:44 +0000

The Republicans love their “trickle down” theory. This theory, for the uninitiated, can be described as “terms of political rhetoric that refer to the policy of providing tax cuts or other benefits to businesses and rich individuals in the belief that this will indirectly benefit the broad population.”

Interesting idea, but why hasn’t it worked? The answer is simple; Greed. The majority of a corporations profits go to the top executives for allocation. That part works fine. But then, IT STAYS THERE! NO WAY DOES IT “TRICKLE DOWN”!

It’s no secret about the enormous salaries, bonus, and benefit packages received by the top guys and gals in major U.S. corporations. Ex-Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina comes to mind. She got a severance package worth about $21.4 million, but stood to get another $21 million after she was forced out by the company. Nice pay for messing things up royally (consider the logic of such packages: the board hires a CEO, gives them an incredible golden parachute. If they fail and are thrown out, they get rich. If they succeed, they get rich. What a Motivator!).

I was a first hand witness during that time, working for HP as a consultant, and it was a blood bath. I’ll never forget the pain she caused thousands of employees as she ruthlessly changed HP’s gentle and relatively caring culture to a culture of “the bottom-line”. What did she bring to HP as a result of all that pain (besides a lighter corporate pocketbook as she exited stage left): nothing.

Of course our more current stories come from Wall Street and the banking industry, and of course good ol’ AIG. The Feds pump millions into these companies to cover for basic failure in their management, and, of course, the ravages of Greed.

I also witnessed Greed at work first hand, when working for a small tech firm in Colorado. When I first joined up, the company was small, with only 5 of us working hard to build up the business. The owner at that time, was very humble, and appreciative of our efforts. What profits we did have, he shared generously. However, over the years, he (the CEO/President), changed. As his own personal fortune grew, he grew more and more reluctant to share the wealth with the rest of us (”exit strategy”?, what exit strategy? Stock? No way!). Getting a raise was like pulling teeth, and he became unilateral in his decision making, not wanting to make things messy by input from “the rabble rousers”.

To add insult to injury, he was from India, and got most of the companies work through a federal program that gives minorities a competitive edge during the bidding process for federal contracts. His “payback” to America? Keep the majority of profits for himself and his family, send massive amounts back to family members in India, and what was left, might, if it was a good year, result in a 1 or 2% raise for us working-stiff American citizens. “Much thanks America! Adios!”

Greed is the sand in our industrial wheels. Unfortunately, it is now up to government to come to our rescue and regulate against one of the worst of the “7 deadly sins”, greed, and with these insane bailouts, to regrease the wheels in hopes we can live for another day.

PS for MBA Students: Case Study: “The Carly Strategy”: Come into the organization like a whirlwind. Be authorative. Create massive amounts of smoke, dust-in-the-air, and fire people so that no one (esp. the members of the board) can tell that you have no clue what you are doing. Rape, pillage, and create massive amounts of personal wealth for yourself. Exit. Write a book telling the world how tough it is to be you.

Repubs: Dump “Mr. Sunlamp”

JamesW — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 14:28:23 +0000

Geez, I never thought I’d have to resort to being an “image consultant”, but the republicans are becoming soo retarded in that respect that I just have to jump in. Take a look at the picture on the right. You probably know that you’ve seen him somewhere. You might think he’s one of those Wall Street guys, you know, the one that sold investors those flaky financial instruments that have brought down the worlds economy? Or, you might think he’s top sales guy for a men’s hair cream, or perhaps some activity director from a Cancun resort. Either way, your initial reaction to his looks is probably not a good one. We collectively hate Wall Street right now, the wet hair look is way out of date, and none of us can afford a trip to Cancun anymore. Also check out his suit. What would you guess, a $5k “outift”. Meanwhile we’re sewing patches on our jeans.

Introducing Republican Minority Leader John Boehner. Now here’s an example of what NOT to look like in 21st century America. You republican dudes would be way better off with some badly dressed geeky looking person as your spokesperson.

Sorry John, I’m not available right now to help you update your image.

By the way, when he speaks, he sounds as dumb as he looks.

Boating: Potable Water

JamesW — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 14:46:08 +0000

“Water water everywhere, but not a drop to drink”. Something about this line from the “Ancient Mariner” makes it stick with us. I guess somewhere in the dark recesses of or psyche, their lurks the fear of going without this magic elixir: it has the power to sustain our lives.

For cruising boaters, having enough potable water is always an issue. Modern cruisers carry 80, 100, or more gallons in their water tanks. Yet if in a remote area, local water may either be suspect, hard to find, or difficult to transport back to the boat for future use.

Most boats have some space under their galley sinks, usually used for various cleaning supplies, etc. If you can spare a few cubic feet, I will present one technique that will help the boater supplement the water from their tanks. It also lends itself well to seperating your available water supply by QUALITY; i.e., keep your tank water for things like dishes, showers, etc., and use your new jerry jug setup described here, for your high quality drinking water.

The picture at the right shows you where we want to end up. This series of articles will give you a step-by-step description of how to put the galley-pumpable jerry jug together using simple off-the-shelf parts from any half way decent hardware store. The objective is to make your jerry jug storage easy-to-use and flexible.

Later on in this series, we will also show you how to hook up these jugs as part of a simple rain catching system.

Stay tuned!

Right Wingers: Lose Your Angry God

JamesW — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 16:04:33 +0000

Christian Conservative Right, would you like to get back in the game? Maybe win a few elections? Have some significant influence over frail humans? Then you need to change your mindset. The recent presidential election shows us that most Americans are tired of fear, intimidation, and most of all, anger. We don’t want it anymore. It is destructive, and ultimately self-defeating. In other words, it is a waste of time, and time is what we are beginning to run out of.

Molly next door is thinking of getting an abortion. Guess what, God doesn’t care. Get over it. GOD DOESN”T CARE! Such thinking is full of human conceit and a mindset that suggests HE is up there watching every little move you, or any of us make. And further more, if we don’t follow all these “rules” that we seem to make up on his/her behalf, that we will somehow get struck down by and angry God and surely go to the fiery depths of hell. Sorry, not true. Such thinking is relegated to human thought, not something that fits well with a supreme force. If an abortion will ultimately help Molly reach her personal spiritual actualization, then so be it.

Why are you beginning to lose elections? Well, for one, the Republican “core” that politicians seem to keep bowing to, are changing demographically and philosophically. The ones that adhere to a ferocious damning God are dying off, and younger, more enlightened individuals are taking their place. Have you noticed that people describe themselves these days a “spiritual”, as opposed to “religious”? Why do you think that is? Old fashion religion is fundamentally judgmental and damning, and fraught with so many “rules” its hard to keep track off. Religion says “do it my way (if you can figure out what that is)….. or else!”. Spirituality suggests an inner voice within each of us. It is our individual “guiding light”. No more dictates from various “religious leaders” telling us what is right or wrong, it is our OWN voice, our own dictates that must be followed in order for us to gain spiritual enlightenment (one soul at a time).

Project Code Yellow: Paint and Body

MaxW — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 03:30:08 +0000

So now that the Jeep is running and drivable we wanted to spruce the exterior up a bit. We thought a nice change in color was in order, and since we already have a white Jeep we decided to go with something a little more exotic, like, uh, yellow. After a bit of research we decided to get nasson paint since it is available at Carquest in any color combination. After some debate, and much asking of opinions, we ended up with a yellow that was one shade lighter then the Nissan Xterra color.

The supplies needed for this was:

One Gallon Paint
One Gallon Primer
Paint Activator
Primer Catalyst
Laqour Thinner
Measuring Cups
Stirrers
Sand Paper Varied Grits 60 – 2000 Grit
Polishing Compound
Electric Buffer Polisher
Spray Gun ($14 Harbor Freight)
Air Compressor and Hoses
Tack Cloth
Bondo for smoothing body panels
Resperstor masks!!! !! Very Important !!

The paint supplies cost us about $350. This included everything but the aircompressor and air hoses. Everything else on the list had to be purchased.

Once we had finished researching how to paint a vehicle and we had all the supplies, it was time to start prepping the body of the Jeep.

First we had to remove all the trim and windows from the Jeep. Most body shops just tape around all the trim but we wanted to take the time to do it the right way, which meant removing any windows that could end up with some paint mist on them. Ditto with all the rest of the trim and door handles, resulting in only tape off three parts which ended up being just the door locks.

The Jeep had been repainted at one time in it’s sordid past, using spray paint (rattle cans). Because of this, the paint was chipping and flaking away, which meant we had to sand down past the spray paint and create a smooth clean surface at the original primer level.

Then we started to remove the old paint to do this we used both power sanders and manual sanding to get the entire Jeep smooth and clean. We then used water and tack cloth to clean any dust away.

The next step was to closely inspect the entire vehicle and look for any low points or voids in the surface; any spots found we used Bondo to fill and then sanded smooth. After that it was time for one final wash before we sprayed the first layer of primer down.

Now that the body is prepped for paint it was time to mask and tape off any parts that are not to be painted ; we used paper and tape for the window trim areas and the front and rear bumpers.

With the Jeep taped up it is now ready for its first layer of primer, we used a Nasson brand epoxy primer. This type of primer is very good and is extremely tough, but requires careful preparation. Prior to spraying, we had to mix the proper amounts of primer and catalyst together, (follow the instructions on the can carefully!) We also had to thin it with lacquer thinner so we could spray it with our spray gun.

For spraying you want to keep the gun at a 90 degree angle to the body panel you are spraying. For each pass overlap by 50%, this will help create a even paint job without to much buildup of primer. After two layers of primer we one again sanded the Jeep, but this time we “wet sanded” using 600 grit paper. The purpose for this was to remove any bumps from the primer and smooth the surface to assure good adhesion for subsequent coats.

The mixing of the paint is similar to the primer but instead of a catalyst we used an activator. The activator causes the paint to cure to the touch in as little as 15 minutes. This is extremely useful and important for paint jobs like ours where one does not have a proper paint booth environment. Curing the paint quicker means less chance for dust and other contaminants to adhere to the paint. We also had to thin the paint to allow it to shoot smoothly from the gun.

The first coat covered very well with a medium wet coat. Never having sprayed automotive paint before it required a little bit of experimentation but after the second coat, we got more conformable with the process. The trick with the paint is to get the layers down as thick as possible without causing runs and drips; you will also need to adjust your fan pattern to make sure it is spraying evenly and not focused in the center.

For the last coat we where instructed to spray a light mist layer 10-15 minutes after the last coat, We waited a few minutes to long and this created some orange peel, so we had to wet sand the Jeep and then polishing it to correct our “mess up”.

The process for wet sanding is exactly what it sounds like; you take water and high grit sand paper (1000 – 2000 grit) and carefully take a layer of paint off (making sure not to burn though the paint). This process removes the bumpy layer leaving a smooth but dull finish.

The final step in the process is to polish the paint. We decided to buy a power buffer / polisher and not do it by hand. This made the job easy and created a great shine. One thing to remember is to not use polishes with wax in them; you want to allow the fresh paint to fully cure or off gas for 40 – 60 days before you apply your first layer of wax to the paint.

Once you have polished the paint you still might have some residue from the poilishing compound. Just rinse the vehicle with water and use a microfiber cloth to wipe it dry to remove any leftover compund.

Pirate Warfare Goes Hi-Tech

JamesW — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 15:22:10 +0000

WASH, RINSE, and REPEAT

With the recent rash of pirate attacks off the coast of Somalia, hi-tech entrepreneurs are coming to the rescue. Most people figure pirates probably don’t bathe often, at least often enough, so here’s one solution that kills two birds with one stone: The instant wash, but with no rinse cycle: This solution (no pun intended) allows crews of ships under attack to coat the side of the ship, ropes, ladders, etc. with a slimy liquid that makes it almost impossible to walk/climb/hold-on-to.

Ron Mathis, senior program manager of Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas, says the foam was developed for the Marine Corps to control unruly crowds. But, he says, he’s optimistic about selling some for “the pirate application.”

The idea would be to spray the pirate’s vessel as it approached, or to coat ropes, ladders, steps and the hull of the ship that’s under attack. Mathis says walking on a surface that has been sprayed is like walking on ice. Climbing steps becomes nearly impossible. And ladders are out of the question.

Next, we have the super-sized “sound blaster”. Think that pirates won’t take orders? Think again, but this time the order to “get the H__ off of my ship” command can be heard loud and clear. It’s a high-powered directional loudspeaker that allows a ship to hail an approaching vessel more than a mile away. And it comes with recordings of useful phrases, like “You must leave the area immediately,” in Somali and dozens of other languages.

For pirates who keep coming anyway, the LRAD has another feature. It’s a piercing “deterrent tone” that sounds a bit like a smoke detector alarm.

The tone can be transmitted with enough intensity to cause extreme pain and even permanent hearing loss for anyone directly in the beam of sound that comes from the device.
And finally, we have the high-powered squirt gun (at last, the “rinse cycle” after being slimed per the goo they got sprayed with earlier). “The Force 80 Water Cannon is a stainless steel, remote-controlled squirt gun,” says Roger Barrett James, director of international sales and marketing for the Swedish company Unifire.

The Force 80 is no ordinary squirt gun, he says. It has a 3-inch nozzle that can send1,400 gallons a minute 100 yards in any direction. It is a tremendous force of water that will knock over anything in its path and will also flood a pirate’s ship very quickly,” James says.

And since the Force 80 can be controlled from inside the ship, using video cameras and a joystick, pirates can’t easily shoot the person operating it.

Yar, armed with these beauties, acommercial ship can kick some serious pirate booty!

Project Code Yellow: Transmission Rebuild

MaxW — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 22:26:58 +0000

When we got the Jeep the transmission was slipping badly and was not drivable, because of this we wanted to rebuild a transmission we had pulled from our 88 Jeep Cherokee.

We started by removing the transmission from the Jeep and carefully examining all the components, we took a close look at the torque converter and quickly noticed that the oil bearing was stuck to the shaft. This would explain why the transmission was slipping, but since we had the Jeep apart we decided it was smarter to go ahead and put in a new torque converter and rebuild our spare transmission.

The first step in the process is to source the parts, We have used Transmission Parts of Oxnard in the past and decided to stop by the shop to see what they had. After a few minutes we where on our way with a new torque converter and all new seals and bushings for the transmission, the owner of the shop had a look at our clutch pack and we both agreed that it was unnecessary to replace them at this time because they had minimal wear. We also inspected the oil pump and sun gears for signs of wear but they all looked good with very minimal wear.

Digging into a transmission may sound like a daunting task but it is really a strait forward repair and with a little patience anyone can do. We also recommend downloading the factory service manual for the transmission you are working on, this will have many detailed images and tips for working on your transmission.

After returning to our garage we carefully installed the new parts and reassembled the transmission, on this transmission we are able to use the torque converter to align the oil pump before bolting down (some transmission models require a special tool to be used).

We then installed the new torque converter and bolted back up the transmission, after filling it with 9 quarts of Dexron III fluid we started it up and then cycled it though all the gears to make sure the fluid has filled all the passages in the valve body. We let it idle to operating temperature and checked the fluid level once more, after that we took it for a test drive. It drove good but it was not shifting properly, leading us to the Throttle Position Sensor (TPS) being faulty. Tests using a volt meter showed the sensor to be faulty and after replacing it and adjusting it to the proper voltage the Jeep then shifted properly.

The total cost for rebuilding the transmission and new parts came in at a whopping: $245, if we had taken the Jeep to a transmission shop we would have paid over $1400 for the same repair.

Project Code Yellow: Game Plan

MaxW — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 21:45:04 +0000

Now that the Jeep is registered we had to make a game plan of what we would do to the Jeep. Since the plan was to create a daily driver (DD) that is also highly capable off highway, because of this we wanted to lift the Jeep but also have a smooth ride on highway.

After a bit of research we came up with a list of major parts to install into the Jeep.

Rubicon Express 3.5″ SuperRide lift
Rubicon Express 1600 Adjustable Trackbar
Doestech Shocks
Rubicon Express SYE Flange, Custom Yoke
Coast Driveline, CV Rear Shaft
Nasson yellow paint & epoxy primer
New master cylinder & booster
Interstate Battery
New pads, shoes, rotors, and drums
Peel – N – Seal for the floors
New Carpet, Seats, Headliner

So now that we had a list of the parts we needed it was time to order, we decided to get the lift online and the rest of the parts locally. After a week of part gathering we had a pile of parts ready to be installed.

In the next article we will show the process of rebuilding the transmission and getting the Jeep running.