Diagnosed a grinding noise in the front end that suddenly appeared when turning left which has been freaking me out for about a week. Looks like the steering damper got dinged by a rock. Thinking about a relocation kit now!

 

Installed a new radiator. Old rad was still good but was sludges up a bit. Gotta keep her cool in the heat!

 

Back door and rear passenger side door latch spring replacements. No more climbing/reaching through the disco to get the doors open. Cheap part, lots of labor. Helpful tips: take lots of pictures of the linkages, and spend some time understanding the latches before you put them back in because they won't always work the same after installed. I had to do some "creative bending" to get the latch to operate after installed. The rear door latch is a pain to get out of the door... lift it all the way up, then turn and jiggle until it comes free without forcing it (have faith. it can be done). I also had to clip the hook ends of the springs slightly in order to fit them in. The manufacturer's video was almost no help.

 

97 XD is getting a HG job this Labor Day weekend! I got it torn down on Saturday with no surprises. I inspected the HG on the passenger side and the outer part of the gasket around the water jacket had a little line thru it (water was squirting out externally). Everything else looked really good with the exception of nearly all the upper intake bolts being on at only finger tight....
Today I got onto cleaning the heads, and upper intake. Tomorrow I'm planning on slapping it all together!

 

I used a clay bar treatment on the paint. Wow what a difference! Paint was not in bad condition but this stuff really takes off all the surface oxidation, grit, and impurities. I was skeptical but am now totally impressed with the results.

 

I'm attacking the rest of the HG job today. The hardest part was cleaning the darn heads and the upper intake!!!! They were literally caked in 23 years of crap on the outside. Heads are back on and tightened up to spec. Finishing up a little cleaning on the rocker assemblies and rods. Then I'll slap them in and go from there.

 

Changed swivel pin oil, changed transfer case oil, chassis lube, replaced air filter. Tomorrow I’ll changed engine oil.

 

Added 32" super swampers with steel wheels and realized I need some more lift and some trimming!

 

I am thrilled to say I have every exterior light working. The boot lights lights up like a x-mas tree.

To celebrate I think I'll change the oil.

 

I am changing the oil today too - original LR oil filters are getting expensive