As anyone who bothers to read this site has probably noticed… I’ve been MIA for months. Considering that my last post was about our daughter being born, maybe I have a good excuse.
Truth is, I bent my tie rod at Rausch Creek last year, and havent bothered to get it fixed yet. I havent even started the jeep in months. On top of that, it’s goddamn expensive to operate! With gas at $3.20 a gallon, it’s a $60 investment to fill up the tank. I love my Jeep, and i _really_ want to take it out and drive, it, but I just cant find the motivation when it’s so damned expensive. This is partially why the tie rod sits bent and not replaced. I can probably get a used tie rod from Northfield 4×4 for all of $50 tops, but then what? It goes from sitting because its broken, to sitting because i cant afford to put gas in it! That’s no life for a Jeep.
DIYJ is being equally neglected, we got it out of the way in the garage, and it’s sat there, collecting junk that I couldnt find a place for in the basement for months now. On the up side, i have a cherry picker and engine stand now. So i _should_ be able to pull the motor out of it soon, and maybe get some work done. The plan is to get the motor out, and then start taking it apart to clean up the frame, and body, for paint. Once thats done, i’ll hopefully have the money for a drivetrain. Been kicking around the idea of a remanufactured drivetrain from Jasper, but I get the feeling cost is going to prohibit that.
So thats where my Jeep projects sit. On the bright side, I’ve been getting things done on my cheaper hobbies, and Kiera’s 6 months old now. She’s doing great! 😀