Well, after a few weeks of cold AC, the original compressor puked, I replaced it, a PIA, and it went another week and it quit again, I am ready to order the Vintage Air Magnum IV and be done with it. The Nissan is running decent and the AC is cold so I have used it as my daily driver for the time being. Yesterday it was cool and I decided to runs some errands, I love driving the Cherokee even with the harsh ride, squeaks, rattles and wandering steering. My last stop was the parts house to pick up front pads to eliminate the squeal, I am going deaf but damn I could hear that high pitch squeal really well.
I was about 5 miles from home going 65 and BOOM!
The first time the old Jeep has left me stranded on the side of the road, and that sucker made some serious noise. I decided to have it towed rather than hitching a ride home and back to make the repair on the side of the road. Turns out one strap was loose, I have lock washers on every bolt and typically tighten u-joints straps beyond snug but that is the cause of the failure.
I picked up a new u-joint and made the repair last night, took it for a spin and all is good.
I did close on my house mid-May and now I have a 2-car garage, it's smaller than what I would like but almost twice as large as the 1-car I used since 2007. I spent almost all of yesterday re-arranging my gear since everything was thrown in and the door shut the weekend I moved. For reference, the two shelves in the back are 24" deep, one is 7' wide and the other is 8' wide, I built them for the detached 2-car garage behind the house I owned in Houston from 95-06. I laid out everything on cadd and I will have room to park the Jeep inside and have plenty of room on the sides, less so at the front but it will beat the hell out of working under a tarp outside like I did since 2007.
I ran a 50A 240v outlet earlier this week near the coiling door that I will use with an extension cord to run the compressor and welder for now. It will be convenient for days I need to run 240v outside on the extension cord but I will install a 100A sub-panel in the next few weeks, the hole is cut and raceway to the main panel is done but I need to order the panel.
Plans right now are to install (9) twin tube, 48" T-8 fixtures, two ceiling fans, a dedicated 30A 240v outlet for the compressor, a 50A 240v for the welder and insulate the overhead door. Over the winter if funds allow, I will lay down porcelain tile and install a mini-split AC. Coax/Cat V is run to a panel in the garage so I had DirectTV provide a box for the garage and for now have a small flat panel tunes and TV.
Work on the Jeep is somewhat limited while I work on priority items in the garage and house but I want to replace the rear driveshaft to eliminate the vibration and install the new suspension. I also need to get the new (old) dash ready for installation, welding up the holes and installing the Speedhut speedometer and fuel gauge at a minimum. That will be costly because I will need to replace the windshield and purchase the Magnum IV under-dash unit for installation at the same time plus the cost of gauges.
This is the replacement dash I bought from Tad, I think this will look so cool compared to the original dash!