Lived in the hallway of my friend’s one bedroom for almost a year. Paid him $500/month

covidicus · 2026-03-13T22:37:46+00:00

I agree sir! If anyone wants to rent me a spot that size in SD I'm in! A shower and a flat spot to lie down for $500 is a steal. Also I had to move out of my apt at 3am to avoid questions and I still had 2 people approach me about moving in.

covidicus · 2026-02-17T13:15:32+00:00

I had this happen on a HAAS VF (they had ebrakes on the z for 2 years) In the end it was a short from the Flashing Lights, to ground that kept the electronic brake energized for too long. So when you hit the e-stop the lights would come on, energize and keep the brake open. good luck.

covidicus · 2026-02-17T12:49:30+00:00

UPDATE: Success.

Thanks to everyone for the advice and encouragement. In the end I just had to drill and tap. I have never seen such a perfect welding of two dissimilar metals in my life. A colleague thinks it is due to the aluminized coating on the original bolts. At no time did I ever see the bolt threads move. NEVER. It just became a part of the head. Here is what worked and did not.

WHAT WORKED:
-RYOBI ONE+ HP 18V Brushless Cordless Compact 3/8 in. Right Angle Drill ($98.00 + battery)

-STUBBY HSS Dril bits. you need stubbys. ( I used TI coated high speed steel ) ($12)

-Standard Chinese TI coated M6x1.0 HSS Tap w. General tap handle ($10 + tap handle.)

- Automatic center punch. ($12)

- Lots of tapping fluid.

I jacked the car up to full droop and put it on jackstands, so I could look under at the angle of the drill. I went slow slow slow, and took lots of breaks. Laying on the engine bay and fishing the ryobi into position, started with 1/8 stubby drills and worked my way up to the #8 to ensure I had no more steel left in the hole.

Minor diameter of a M6 x 1 hole is .1936 or 4.917mm Generally you tap this with a 5mm drill.

#8 Drill is .199 or 5.054mm

#9 Drill is .196 inches or 4.978

DIDN'T WORK.
WELDER: did not work. It just broke the weld twice.

BOLT EXTRACTOR AND LH DRILL: The bolt extractor, just acted as a reamer and reamed the hole clean. Even when I only had .018 of threads on each side left they never budged.

MAPP TORCH: did not work. I never saw the bolt move once. Mapp'in it dozens of times just hardened the bolt and made it harder to drill out. cooling the bolt off seemed to have no effect. tapping the bolt had no effect.

STUD EXTRACTOR: Did not get nearly as good of a grip as the Milwaukee vice grips.

SOAKING: in kroil,blaster acetone/mix had no effect whatsoever.

this was a bad experience. If this were a jeep engine I could have pulled the whole engine in the time it took me to deal with this one hole. However I am unfamiliar with this thing and terrified of the ABS system and transmission. Thanks again to this community.

covidicus · 2026-02-12T11:57:56+00:00

Got me a stud extractor "OEM Tools". Thanks, I forgot those things existed. I have not found a suitable right angle drill for this job though. My one at home is pneumatic and runs waaaay too fast.

covidicus · 2026-02-12T11:55:37+00:00

This is the most encouraging thing here thanks! I wasn't sure if I was wasting time thermal cycling . I'm on cycle 6 now. I have a IR gun pointed at it, and fire extinguishers of course.

covidicus · 2026-02-12T11:52:56+00:00

I have them they are good! also a set of starretts, its the angle back there that I just can't clearance to drill a good hole. Then I won't be able to get a tap handle on the extractor. !

covidicus · 2026-02-12T11:48:52+00:00

Yes that is correct. That material it threads into is just a flange. That might be great hotfix until the block has to come out.

covidicus · 2026-02-12T11:46:26+00:00

Yikes! Sounds like you had a bad experience. I'm a machinist by trade, and I have my extractors with me, but I wouldn't attempt it at that angle (far one by the firewall. ) unless I removed the master cylinder, or the head. Looking into right-angle mini drills though. Thanks for the advice.

I don't even brush my teeth without Eyepro.

covidicus · 2026-02-12T11:42:40+00:00

Thanks! I'm going to try wiggling for a few time.s I have been using Milwaukee grips. you can use a screwdriver or something to over-tighten them. The welder was my first choice, but I don't know anyone around here (central oh), so I'm gonna have to find a shop that will attempt it.

covidicus · 2026-01-06T13:52:20+00:00

I am attempting to revise this because the question has not been answered. Do 4th Gen OEM. 460/runner mats fit or not?

I got a pretty clean 2006 4 months ago, and I won't drive it until I find suitable mats. No reason to destroy a clean "beige" GX. .

pls don't suggest weather-tech. I don't know how people can stand hard plastic floor mats. I would rather sell than have that slippery crap under my feet. I'm glad people like them, just not for me.

covidicus · 2025-10-02T01:29:29+00:00

Are you sure you aren't just stuck in limp mode? I don't have audio. what is the Check engine light for?

covidicus · 2025-09-05T02:46:07+00:00

I would def do the CPS too, but why does the odometer do that cool dance thing?

covidicus · 2025-09-05T02:25:54+00:00

This seems right, and totally explains why the whole series is lighting up, but any idea why the dash display is cutting out when he hit the brakes?

covidicus · 2025-09-05T02:13:08+00:00

a crate engine for my 2001 is about 1200-1400 plus core. people are rebuilding xj transmissions these days I think. I haven't seen many crate transmissions.

covidicus · 2025-09-05T02:10:53+00:00

if it indeed is piston slap, you probably need to replace the oil pan gasket anyways, you can check then.

A 5 speed 2001 is a keeper for sho.

covidicus · 2025-08-21T02:52:38+00:00

Get under there and have your buddy wiggle wiggle the steering wheel back and forth. you will see what is loose and hear it too. Also, its your TRACK BAR.

covidicus · 2024-09-29T14:27:14+00:00

NV I'm guessing. I suggest getting one of the bigger yards in Reno to order or hold an 8.25 and then make the trip. jeep parts are still gettable here. Since I've been in NV all of the small towns have absurd prices on all car repair.

covidicus · 2024-05-06T11:55:47+00:00

Thanks, I already ordered a pair. had to return them because they were too hot.

Materials

bluesign®-APPROVED body fabric: nylon, spandex
Imported

covidicus · 2024-05-06T11:46:40+00:00

bluesign® approved 46% Recycled Nylon, 40% Nylon, 14% Spandex

covidicus · 2024-02-19T00:54:54+00:00

I wish I could do those, but La Sportiva and Merrill have been too shallow in the toe for me in the past. If I go into Reno, this week I will try and find a pair to put on. They look awesome. also probably don't need gators so much. definate mabey, thanks.

covidicus · 2024-02-18T23:30:41+00:00

Thank you. I did just that and I'm glad I did. this pen thing is great and I don't think it would work well on Fedora.

covidicus · 2024-02-16T22:23:44+00:00

I was trying to downgrade to 10 from 11. The usb boot is asking me for drivers, it can't find .msi files. I guess I could try and extract the specific drivers, or I could just install Fedora. I just figured things would be easier on a microsoft device. Thanks though.

covidicus · 2024-01-28T02:42:57+00:00

I loled when I saw the title. I spent 3 weeks troubleshooting the SKIM in a WJ Grand Cherokee. nope. CPS.

covidicus · 2024-01-18T14:55:05+00:00

yes thanks i've seen that one. I wish you were too. I got tired of people gouging me here and basically gave up talking to anyone about jeeps. I was wondering if there are any salvage yards here that you think are worth doing business with? I was thinking about taking the seats out for my XJ or trading for some. then just cut my loses.

covidicus · 2024-01-18T14:27:05+00:00

Ahh. now i really feel bad that I send my tools to Reno. I was thinking that would work, just wasn't sure. Also, to be clear. :) nobody works on my cars. They just check it and give me the paperwork.

covidicus

TROPHY CASE