Our car got totaled and we wanted to do a salvage retain (when you buy the salvaged car from the insurance). The instructions on the California DMV’s website are convoluted at best. They list many steps as a “you may need to”. Three trips to the DMV later I finally got it figured out. I spent a considerable time researching…

I installed a AEV 2.5" Dual Sport lift on my 2009 Jeep Wrangler. I chose this lift as it retains a lot of the factory parts. The lift is complete except for geometry correction brackets, which you can also purchase from AEV. However I went with the Rancho RS62103 geometry correction brackets because they were one piece, and looked a…

The 2009 Jeep Wrangler X comes with a Dana 30 from the factory. I found a Dana 44 from a 2016 Rubicon in good condition and less miles on craigslist. Before installing it I did a refresh to reduce problems in the future. The Rubicon from the newer Wrangler fit my 2009 with out any modification. The driveshaft flange is…

This is the list of parts that were required to swap a M50 (Non Vanos) into an early model (1986 325e) E30. This list of parts is not meant to be an exhaustive list. These were the main sticking points as I remember them. Depending on your engine swap year some of this may not be correct, make sure you…

The Jeep Wrangler I purchased needed some preventive maintenance. The coolant in the recovery bottle looked dirty, and there were no records of it being changed. I also noticed that the heater didn’t get that hot. Good maintenance is especially important on an off-road vehicle so it seemed like a good time to get the caught up. I started by…

The stock Jeep Wrangler 3.8 auto transmission pan has no drain plug. Servicing the transmission is much like servicing a front or rear differential except its overhead making it a messy job. Doorman makes a replacement pan that has a drain plug. While it has a few bad reviews on Amazon about the drain plug, its entirely the included drainplug…

In cleaning up and doing some maintenance on this new to me Jeep Wrangler It was apparent that the serpentine belt and tensioner needed to be replaced. The pulley on the tensioner had a little play and the serpentine belt was original with ~118k miles. The Gates tensioner appears to be identical to the Mopar (both stamped with “MADE IN…

This is a rather simple and straight forward job. It seems that most Jeep guys like the FEL-PRO gaskets for the 3.8. The 3.8 is a common motor and the gaskets seem to be available everywhere (cheap too). The FEL-PRO valve cover gasket set includes gromets for the valve cover bolts. I noticed that the PCV valve was stuck in…