Category: Car repair

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Trailer Loading Dock

Trailer Loading Dock

For a long time I have wanted a loading dock near my barn so that I don’t have to wrestle with heavy ramps every time I load and unload a Jeep there. I just could not figure out an easy way to build a big hump of dirt.

However, I noticed that with all the rain we have had lately that the place where I normally keep my trailer was getting kinda rutted and the rear deck was getting closer to the ground. That gave me an idea.

Instead of building a dirt ramp, I could make a hole like many of the truck loading docks at old stores in downtown. That way the load would be a ground level and the trailer bed would be tilted just like my little trailer.

At first I thought I would need to dig a big hole. Then I realized only the wheels need to go down. And they really don’t have to go down very far because the overhang behind the wheels is pretty long. I figured out if I dug two slots for the wheels then I would have my dock. I could use the dirt from the holes to make a small ramp as well.

I cleared a few small trees form one side of the driveway and made a couple of holes.

Here is how it ended up:

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Fabricating a Rear Bumper for a Jeep Cherokee

Fabricating a Rear Bumper for the Jeep Cherokee

Old and new bumpers

My old rear bumper had gotten pretty mangled. In fact, it was so bent that it was difficult to open the hatch. Every time I dropped into a ditch or V notch, the bumper was always dragging. I wanted something slimmer and stronger. But I did not want to spend any money.

The whole concept of Scuffy II has been to build a reliable and capable off road vehicle with minimum investment. Sometimes I have had to sacrifice appearance for functionality. I decided I could do the same with the rear bumper and build one out of whatever scrap I had lying around.

I started with a piece of two inch conduit. It seemed strong enough and light enough. But since the back of the Jeep is curved slightly a straight pipe did not look right or provide protection. I wanted to be able to back into a tree and not break the hatch or a tail light housing.

I solved that problem by using my pipe bender and putting a slight curve in the pipe. I then decided to fabricate brackets to mount the pipe so that it stuck out about half the pipe past the hatch and tail lights. That should keep it from dragging when coming up out of holes.

I wanted to use the stock mounting points so I looked around and found a piece of I beam that had holes that looked like they were the right spacing already. I simply cut the beam in half and had my two brackets. I just had to ream the holes a bit to make them match the holes it the Jeep. I made a few notches to get them to clear the hatch and other flanges at the rear of the Cherokee.

I then made half moon cuts to hold the pipe. I used vise grips to line up the pipe in the brackets and then tack welded it into place. I then pulled the assembly off and moved it to the welding table to finish welding it up.

I had purposely cut the pipe long because I was not sure what I wanted to do with the ends. I had thought about making bends to match the front bumper but I could not make a tight enough radius with my bender to do hat I wanted and still protect the bottom of the tail lights.

I eventually decided to make angled cut on the ends to somewhat match the lines of the Cherokee. I set up my band saw at the angle I wanted to cut both ends the same. I liked the look but not the sharp edge it left. Also, there was a gap between the body and the pipe where I could easily hang a small tree.

I decided to make end caps that covered the end of the pipe and extended forward to fill the gap. I searched the scrap pile again and came up with a piece of 3x3x1/4 angle that I cut into two plates. I welded them to the ends of the pipe and smoothed the corners.

I painted the whole thing flat black and bolted it to the back of the Jeep. The rear tow hook is much more accessible now. I can open the hatch easily now. I will have to give it a test drive to see how it handles dragging the mud.

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How to Change the oil in a Jeep Cherokee

How to Change the oil in a Jeep Cherokee

It seems the Jeep designers had the home mechanic in mind when they designed the XJ for oil changes. Most of the work is done from the top unlike most cars where most of the work is done from below.

For most owners who are doing the job in their driveway, there may not even be a need to jack up the vehicle. The stock Jeep sits high enough to access the oil pan drain. And lifted Jeeps provide even more clearance.

Note that the 4.0 inline six engine holds six quarts of oil. Be sure to buy enough to refill before you drain the old oil out. Also, make sure your catch pan will hold six quarts. Most engines just hold five quarts so oil is often sold in five quart containers.

To drain the oil, remove the drain plug form the oil pan. Various sized plugs have been used over the years but most are SAE rather than metric.

If the engine is warm the oil coming out will be hot, so use care when removing the plug. Try not to drop it in the catch pan a well. Once the oil has drained out, replace the plug. Be careful to get it snug but not overly tight. Inspect the copper washer while the plug is out to make sure it will seal back.

Working from under the hood, remove the oil filter. On the early models where the oil filter stands up, it is easiest to use a filter wrench that fits over the end of the filter. However a band style wrench works also. Use care working around the oil pressure sender. It can be damaged if it is hit by the wrench. On the later models where the filter lays flat, the band style wrench is easy to use. You will have to remove the wire from the oil pressure sender to remove the filter form the engine bay.

Inspect the old oil filter to make sure the gasket came out with the filter. If it is missing, inspect the surface of the oil filter adapter and remove the stuck gasket. If you try to use two gaskets you will pump six quarts of oil on the floor making a huge mess.

Coat the gasket of the new filter with a few drops of oil and rub it around with your finger. Old oil or new oil can be used. Screw the filter in place and tighten it down by hand. Try not to use a wrench to tighten the filter as it will be very hard to get it back off once the gasket swells.

Remove the filler cap from the valve cover. The older style is a cam and requires just a quarter turn. The later one screws in and can get stuck with heat.

Most funnels will not fit the holes so I like to use half an oil bottle. I take a quart bottle and cut it in half with a knife. Then place the top in the hole and pour oil in the cut open bottom. Add six quarts.

I like to also add a bottle of Market America Friction Free to the oil when I change it. Sometimes the active ingredients of the Friction Free will settle out in the bottle so I use some engine oil to wash out the bottle and then pour that into the funnel.

Start the engine and check for leaks. Shut it off and check the oil level. The dip stick should have clean oil and read near the full mark.

Inspect the old oil for any metal flakes or water before recycling. If you find any contaminants in the oil, try to determine their source for possible other repairs that are needed.

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New trailer tires from eBay

New trailer tires from eBay

I guess when you live in the country; you get excited by small things. My little red trailer has seen a lot of use over the years; mostly by people besides me. I have used it to help friends move furniture, my son has used is for a mobile coffee bar and it has hauled plenty of lawnmowers and other small bulky items. It makes a good substitute for a pickup truck.

The bed is made from a sheet of 4 by 8 plywood so it is about he same size as a pickup truck bed. The bed also tilts making loading and unloading easier. It has 4.80 by 12 tires on four lug wheels.

I have not seen my trailer in a while because my son has had it. He left it at my Dad’s place because the tires would no longer hold air. They had gotten in pretty sad shape with a lot of dry rot although the tread was still good. The leak turned out to be the valve stem. I had just let it set because it was always used more by other s than by me anyway.

When my Dad offered to buy tires so that we could use it again I quickly accepted the offer and began tire shopping. My first stop was Tractor supply. $57 each for the little tires sounded sorta steep. And I would still have to mount the little buggers. At one time they had tire and wheel combos cheaper than just the tires but that was a long time ago.

I shopped my other favorite stores, Northern Tools and Harbor Freight. They had similar prices. Still more than I thought the little tires should be.

I began searching ebay and found the tires at a more reasonable $42 each including shipping. But I decided to do a little more searching because buying the tires still meant that I would have to mount them. I have had bad experiences with little tires in the past. I much prefer mounting big heavy Maxxis mudders on my Jeep than fooling with the little trailer tires.

I found an auction for tires and rims for not much more money. I le the first one slip by and the second one went for more than I wanted to pay. But I was finally able to buy at less than $55 each. I had not noticed in the first auction that a hub was also included in the deal. When the packages arrived, I found that both wheels had a brand new hub attached.

I asked Dad to bring the trailer to me so that I could change them in my shop. I did not realize how bad the one tire leaked. He said he had to stop and air it up eight times on the way to my house. Good thing he had thought to bring his air tank. I had never bought a spare tire for the trailer.

I put the back of the trailer on the lift and raised it up enough to get the tires off the ground. I had forgotten that the wheels are held on by lug bolts rather than studs and nuts. I seriously considered putting on the new hubs I had just gotten because they had studs and nuts. But after spinning around the old hubs and feeling how smooth they ran, I just decide to put the new wheels on.

I had a bit of trouble getting the holes lined up since the trailer hubs don’t have an alignment pin like Volvos do. I finally learned to spin the hub cap and hold the wheel to line up the holes and get one bolt started. After that the others went in easily. With all eight bolts in and snug, I set the trailer down and torqued the lugs to 70 ft lbs.

I then began looking for a place to mount the one good tire for a spare. I still have not decided yet. Putting it on the tongue will interfere with the tilt mechanism. Putting it on the side with prevent loading wide items across the top of the rails. For now I will just leave it in the deck and move it around as needed.

I am looking forward to loading up some scrap metal and taking it to the recycler. It is nice to have my little trailer back home and with new shoes too.

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Miata Z3?

There is something odd about this Miata. I always thought there were some similarities with the look of the BMW and the Mazda but this is just confusing.

Miata Z3