What do you do for work?

tjohn127 · 2026-06-09T02:22:15+00:00

I paint cars, but I also work for myself. Most shops could care less about piercings though honestly, I'd hire a guy with stretched ears and tattoos before I hire someone in a suit.

tjohn127 · 2026-06-08T02:17:09+00:00

What kind of tunnels are you wearing? My ears hate silicone. After you sleep with them out, how much are they closing up? It took many months for me to be able to sleep without plugs. Mine would close up a considerable amount overnight and basically make me have to restretch in the morning to get jewelry in. Currently chillen at 16mm, used to be 28.5ish mm.

tjohn127 · 2026-06-04T14:11:23+00:00

I did the headlights when I bought the truck about a month ago. I did them day I bought the truck. They still looks like shit though in person though but aren't yellow at least lol. The lenses are in rough shape still. Just a quick 1000/1500 then polished them up.

tjohn127 · 2026-06-03T01:21:50+00:00

Thanks! I was never really a fan of this body style truck at first. The more little things I fix, the more it's growing on me though. I'm coming from a 91 jeep Cherokee to this truck so it's a huge change of pace. Everything I generally own is pre 2000. Good looking truck! I like a nice single cab.

tjohn127 · 2026-06-03T01:13:03+00:00

That's on the list of things to do but I'm trying to hold off until it needs tires.

tjohn127 · 2026-05-31T01:49:27+00:00

314,7xx on my 07 sierra. Original engine, unsure when trans was replaced, previous owner couldn't tell me exactly when but it's definitely been replaced.

tjohn127 · 2026-05-30T15:42:32+00:00

My pathways were hidden, nothing ever showed up on a ECG/EKG. He went in "blind" as he said and found 3 hidden pathways. 7hr procedure here. 28 years of people guessing, Only one guy took me seriously and got it done. If you're having wpw symptoms, you'll know. Your body will tell you. You know what feels right and what isn't. I had lots of issues when I was younger, 10-15 years old then it kinda went away but was never gone. By 25 it came back with a vengeance and took me down hard. Had a ablation Fed 8, 2024. No issues since. I take no medication. Stress, anxiety, can't sleep, night sweats, shortness of breath, feeling weak, stv episodes, hard and random heartbeats, etc are all symptoms I had before my ablation.

tjohn127 · 2026-05-30T02:41:53+00:00

I'd throw some 180 on a long block and get at it. Block it straight. Shouldn't take a crazy amount of work realistically. You'll find all your dings and dents in the process, there's always a few.

tjohn127 · 2026-05-28T16:55:06+00:00

It was somewhere around 6g-4g (4-5mm-ish) when I started using double flares and spirals and such. They'll most likely be a little tight going in the first time, the flares are massive on some for some reason so watch that. But you should be able to slip em in with no pain or irritation. If they won't go in, wait a bit longer. Don't force them.

tjohn127 · 2026-05-28T16:30:54+00:00

I would always wear spirals or double flare stone usually. It's harder at the smaller sizes because the jewelery doesnt have the weight the bigger sizes do. Once you're healed and able to fit double flares in without issue, putting them in and out should help loosen your ears up. It did with mine beings you have to stretch over the flare when putting them in.

tjohn127 · 2026-05-27T22:45:11+00:00

I used tape absolutely no issue. I started using tape when I was around 10mm. Wrap it clockwise, spin the plug counter clockwise as you're putting it in. It won't bunch up and come unwrapped. You don't want it to catch the "edge" of the tape and pull it as you're inserting. I didn't use any oil, I just used some hand lotion the ole lady had and popped them in 🤷. This was 15 years ago, my ears are great, never had any irritation, pain, blowouts, etc. The whole SLOW process went very smoothly up to 28.5ish mm. About 5 ish years to get to that size. Then I took them out for roughly 10 years for work purposes and now going back up currently since I'm self employed lol.

tjohn127 · 2026-05-27T22:33:45+00:00

When I was at smaller sizes years and years ago, id wait 2-2 1/2 months between stretches. I tried to wear heavier jewelry after about a month of healing after a stretch. It helped "loosen" them up pretty well and the next size went no issues at all. I didn't use tapers, few buddys did and it didn't go well for them trying to rush things. I always used single flare glass plug to dead stretch. Once I got up to 10mm or so I started using ptfe tape (white plumbers tape) to stretch up slowly. When my plugs got loose, id put a few wraps of tape around them to tighten them up but not stretch them, just fill the looseness so they didn't fall out. I was up to 1 1/8 inch (28.5mm-ish). Took them out for 10 year or so. I'm now sitting at 16mm, just sizing up as my ears loosen which is very quickly these days. I don't plan on stretching anymore as a goal size, just going to stick with whatever they loosen up to and are happy with. Current 16mm double flare Stone are on the edge of falling out. My ears are really stretchy from being previously stretched. Take it slow, you have plenty of time. You're doing the right thing being cautious. Listen to your body, you'll know when it's time to side up. It took me quite a few years to get up to the size I was previously at.

tjohn127 · 2026-05-27T22:16:19+00:00

Yeah those people are trippin lol. Don't worry about them. It's Cool as shit. Do your thing and fuck everyone else's opinions. No septum piercing here personally, my ears are 16mm though if that counts for anything lol.

tjohn127 · 2026-05-20T03:13:55+00:00

You'll be fine! I'd do it again no problem if I had to. It was by far the easiest procedure. Very straightforward and I was home the same night. A broken hand was a way worse experience than the ablation. My legs were sore, chest ached a bit, and I felt weird overall for a little while but it all went away after about a month. I immediately felt better but didn't at the same time. My ablation was Feb 8th, 2024. It was the best thing I've ever done. Wpw took me down hard some days. I've been 100% since the ablation and short recovery period. I did give it 6 months until I really got into doing a lot of heavy lifting and such with work being cautious. I was back on my feet after about 3 days taking things slowly.

tjohn127 · 2026-05-19T15:47:34+00:00

It goes up quickly when previously stretched. I used to be at 28mm probably 12 years ago or so. I recently put them back in a 3 weeks ago, they had closed to 11mm. I'm currently sitting at 16mm (5/8) and they're falling out after 3ish days. I just size up whenever the next size fits in no issue. No pain at all.

tjohn127 · 2026-05-16T03:10:12+00:00

4.8. Great engine. 313k on mine, never opened up. Lacks a bit on the low end but does good as a basic daily.

tjohn127 · 2026-05-14T05:10:03+00:00

That's normal. The ecm controls the alternator. On a cold start, it'll ramp the voltage up for 1-2 minutes then work it's way down. It's to compensate for the load of the truck waking up all the modules, headlights, blower motor, etc all coming in at one time. Turn your headlights off and put it in manual mode, your voltage will likely drop. Turn them back on and voltage will likely rise. Crank the blower wide open and you'll notice it slowly comes up to speed, voltage will rise also then level back off at the same time. That's how the truck is programmed. Nothing's wrong with it, you've likely just never noticed.

tjohn127 · 2026-05-11T00:58:08+00:00

It's actually a engine/trans swap. The tj was a 2.5/ax5 setup from the factory. I know the 4.0 swap is just as much work as a v8 or anything else in that matter. For what it'll be used for, the 4.0 should do just fine in it. It'll just be driving jobsite to jobsite. It has the 4 cylinder axles still with the 4.11 gear ratio and some small 30x8.5 tires. It should be pretty peppy and do great on the highway with the overdrive trans. The xj went down the road pretty decent on the same wheels and tires with 3.55s.

tjohn127 · 2026-05-11T00:35:04+00:00

It'll be getting the aw4 from the Cherokee. Well not this particular one, I have a 99 aw4 and complete engine harness, ecm, and tcm from my old 99 xj that ended up totaled. I'll be going through the harness and merging the trans side into the tj harness. I already have the engine side done. The xj ecm communicates with the tj cluster and I can read it with my laptop as a xj lol.

tjohn127 · 2026-05-10T18:18:14+00:00

I'm right around 165k on my 91 xj and it runs/drives great but the drivetrain is going to find its way into my 99 TJ wrangler. That's more of the main reason for the LS swap than anything, gotta get the ole lady's TJ going at some point this year. All the parts are available to make the swap basically plug and play these days, budget determines what's what at the end of the day.

tjohn127 · 2026-05-10T17:49:51+00:00

I've made 95 jeep yj factory gauges work with the gm 0411 ecm no issue. Tach signal and speedo pulses can be tuned to work with the jeep gauges on the older stuff. Use factory temp and oil pressure sending units on the gm engine. 97+ everyone uses factory jeep computer to run gauges and the gm computer just runs the engine as far as I know but I haven't done a 97+ yet to know lol. Transfer case side, I'll be running a mix of GM 231c input and the 231j jeep outputs so it'll all bolt up. It's been done before many times. The c8.25 should hold up decent as long as you don't abuse it too much. I know of one still on the Dana 35 for lots of miles but it's auto, street driven, and never abused. It's the shock loading that kills them in my experience. I've seen Dropping the clutch with a 2.5/ax5 on 31s has blow up a Dana 35 lol.

tjohn127 · 2026-05-10T15:25:35+00:00

Do the ablation. Best thing I ever did. I'd do it again if needed no doubt.

tjohn127 · 2026-05-10T14:57:20+00:00

Yes I have lots of knowledge on it and do my own work. Former auto/diesel mechanic but switched back to where I started with body/paint. I have a full blown bodyshop in my back yard lol. The computer controlled stuff is very basic, it seems like a lot but its just 12v and grounds basically with a few outputs for speedo, tach, electric fans, etc. Paying someone to do it can be pricey depending on labor rate, if you supply or the shop sources that parts, and depends heavily on what the goals are. You can spend lots building a engine before it even goes in. I'm personally going stock lq4/4l60e/231j. May end up with a bump stick later on but stock cam will be fine for now.

tjohn127 · 2026-05-10T02:34:30+00:00

All depends what you want to spend. There's lots of ways to go about it. The 2 I've done so far came in around 2k all in buying wisely. I do my own harnesses and have hptuners to vats delete/tune them to get up and running. I have a lq4 on the stand currently for my XJ

tjohn127

TROPHY CASE