WTF-J

The first “real” road trip for the Jeep formerly known as WTF-J was to the Brown County Fair also known as “The  Little State Fair” about 30 mi southeast of Cincinnati.  (“Real” means – Destination >= Journey)  It was a perfect evening and our friends from the neighborhood invited us to join the ~80K attendees who view the exhibits and attend the demolition derby that is included in the $7 price of admission.  The only downer was that Significant Other chose to ride with our friends as the Jeep formerly known as WTF-J  was deemed a bit too primitive.

The Fair is really a neat affair and in an election year finds over half the visitors were running for some sort of office or supporting their favorite candidate/proposition with a t-shirt.   If the Fair weren’t so authentic, you could easily mistake it for a caricature of rural America.

It was fun seeing the pursuit of perfection in bunnies, lambs, and hogs.  I also learned a lot about the trees and crops in the region and was surprised to see how the State also supported the wine producers.  Next year’s “Must See BCF” includes the beef tenderloin sandwiches at the Brown County Beef Producers tent and the Potato Chip “flower” (i.e. What happens when you spiral slice a raw potato and deep fry it?) booth; both were perfect examples of transforming Fair to Outstanding!

Other than eating and visiting displays, I also validated the wow-factor of the Jeep formerly known as WTF-J as the loud exhaust resonated literally and figuratively with the younger set along with some of the cartoonish dimensions.  It was a hit.  From a tech perspective I learned:

• Headlamp aim is w-a-a-a-a-a-y off.  The lamps seep to point straight down and effectively illuminate the first 30-50.’  Somehow I lost the power to the auxiliary lights, so they were no help. 
• Steering is still a bit vague with ~2-3” of slack in the wheel.  The perception is exacerbated by the steering wheel being off by ~45°   (This also inhibits proper cancellation of the turn signals.)
  • The slop ended up being a simple fix by adjusting a top screw on the steering box and centering the steering wheel was only a bit more complicated
• There is some wander in the rear suspension
  • Turns out it was due to incorrect bolt size in the shock mounts allowing minor disruptions in the rear track.  Changing from 7/16” hardware to the correct metric bolts eliminated the slop and made for a much more solid feel.
• Heater blows cold air.   I’m guessing that there is insufficient vacuum in the connection I chose to drive the flow control valve.  The seat heaters do work and will get us through the Fall.
• Need to rewire Cruise Control circuit.  The installed switch logic is simply wrong.  It should be an easy fix, but my Ver 1.0 dashboard design makes it hard to perform these kinds of mods without taking down the whole dash.  (Arghhhh!)  This too will be added to the Winter “to-do” list.
• While not a luxury vehicle by any stretch of the imagination, the Jeep formerly known as WTF-J needs a cup holder or two.  There is no place that securely holds either full or empty drinks.  Big mistake!
• The torque convertor clutch (“TCC”) was engaging very early and had a tendency to stick (Stay in gear) when rolling into a stop.  This was a new symptom that appeared shortly after replacing the VSS reluctor ring.
  • Based on the trouble codes from the scan tool, it looked like an electrical problem or a faulty TCC solenoid.  While doing the reluctor ring fix, I also addressed a Transfer Case (“TC”) shifter cable routing issue and I had inadvertently pinched the cable loom connecting the transmission controls to the powertrain control module.  Fortunately, it was a simple fix, but it took a day’s worth of teardown and reinstallation to get to it. (Doh!)

 The good great news was that the Jeep formerly known as WTF-J actually performed well and there was no need for the roadside assistance provisions of the insurance coverage. 

Next time it’s Citius, Altius, Fortius!