Sorry I've been away for so long........I'm really surprised they keep this group forum still open.......hope that my truck is ok, as I forgot that I drained all the antifreeze a few months ago to race in the Pinks event, and everything is froze up solid as a brick. Thats the thing that sucks about not being a daily driver anymore, you tend to forget about minor maintenance problems that can turn into major disasters when left unattended.

 

Ouch!

I hope the truck is ok.

Plug in the block heater and see what leaks - before you start it up.

 

Dont feel bad, I removed one of my faucet covers to use the faucet today and the darn things are frozen solid! What sense does it make to put covers on to keep from freezing if they are gonna freeze anyway? I think I will ask in the general forum and see what everyone says.

If your truck is frozen, dont try to start it until it is thawed. Thats a sure way to at the very least ruin a water pump. And if by some extremely long shot the block is split, I will give you $2000 cash for the whole thing.

 

That's really nice offer for a split water pump!

 

Everything turned out fine, thank God!!! Details about it all here: https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...n-t261128.html

Got one battery that is shot. Driver side immediately starts dropping charge as soon as its unplugged from charger. Pass side holds fine. Got everything thawed out, and was able to crank it up this afternoon and let it run for a couple hours (well, my wife did, as I'm back on the boat). Will leave the heat lamp on with a blanket covering the engine bay/radiator every night until i get home the 23rd. As good as wifey has been in taking care of all this today, her auto knowledge ends with how to properly drain, flush, and fill the cooling system.

 

Well snap! I was hoping to get a deal on a truck wth a busted block. I had a feeling it would be fine though. Always replace batteries in sets also. The one you leave in it will go bad and will take your new one with it.

 

Yeh, i know about swaping both at the same time, and will go ahead while I'm at it, mite as well upgrade and run dual red-top Optimas.....on a quick side note, I'm on the lookout for a Rubicon Unlimited TJ so that I can finally have a proper Jeep!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I will keep a look out for a Jeep.

DO NOT BUY OPTIMA BATTERIES! The new ones are JUNK! They are made by some no name company and the quality went down!

The top of the line Die Hard is a rebadged Odyssey which is the perfect battery. Its an AGM design. They are about $180 but well wort it. You can also get one from Oreillys which is made by Deka, another company thats as good as Odyssey. The Deka version is only about $140. I am about to put one of these in the TJ.

 

Yeh, I knew Exide was making the Optimas now.....which is also made by some company the name of which escapes me, but also makes about 30% of all batteries sold today......help,90% of batteries are made by just 3 manufactures.

 

Just go wth an AGM battery and you will be good. Forget Optimas though.

Why do you want a Rubi? Just find a regular one and take the money you saved for not buying one with the Rubicon stickers on it and build a for real Rubicon! I havent heard a lot of good things about that front half breed D44 in the Rubicons either. Its more fun to build it than to buy it. Plus you get better quality.

 

Why a Rubi you ask? Cause they're not much more expensive than a regular LJ but you get the air lockers, d44's w/4.11's, and a 4to1 tcase with no slip yokes.......so you see, it really is more than just a few stickers.......just add a small lift, 33"-35" tires, some body armor and a winch then your all set!!!!! All the while staying fairly stock and keeping decent value because your not spending a lot of money building a base stock model.......Think of it this way, what's more desirable and worthy, any old bone stock hemi Mopar or a base model of the same kind that was built to beat one that came with the relatively cheap option of a hemi?

 

I havent priced the plain LJs but I have heard many guys say you can buy the additional parts to make rubi for a couple grand cheaper than the markup for the rubi package and then you also get stronger aftermarket parts! I would just build one but I like that kinda thing. And whats up with all the Cs failing on the halfbreed D44s?

 

The c's as in c section? If so, then I don't know.....1st I've heard of it.....from what I understand, the only thing different in the Rubi front d44 and say the old Dodge 1/2 tons was from the knuckles out......27spline stubs, d30 style spindle and hub bearings.....all of which is upgradable. The center section out to the knuckles was Full size in strength.

 

I took a look and realy like the Deka brand.....don't doubt that's who makes the factory own batt......I just wonder why their top of the line AGM type has a lesser warranty than the next step down battery? 1yr vs. 3yr on the 2nd best.

 

Here is the one I put in the TJ.

http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/de...3321&ppt=C0005

It has a 3 year free replacement and 84 month pro rated warranty.

I never realized how weak that 8 year old stock battery was! The TJ spins over quick fast and in a hurry now!