The Prodigal TJ, Part 4

The Prodigal TJ is back from the shop - literally, The Jeep Shop in Chester Springs, PA. With the new tires on, there was a significant rubbing problem at the extremes of the steering arc, plus the Jeep felt jittery on the road like the tires were out of balance. And I needed the annual inspections done.

It turned out:
- Steering stabilizer was shot and needed to be replaced
- The frame was somewhat rusted where the front lower control arm was connected

I had both attended to, along with a steering adjustment, lube & oil, tire balancing and state inspections. All for about $875.

This is where the mechanically inept like me pay a price - literally. I've no idea how easy some of these repairs were to make. And certainly some require special equipment, like tire balancing. And PA state inspections must be performed by a licensed inspection station. But it seems to me that a halfway competent backyard mechanic should have been able to get by with some elbow grease and far more of their money still sitting at the bank.



However, if you have the money to spend I don't begrudge paying hard-working fellow citizens to do the work. And for me, the drive home made it all worthwhile.



I couldn't help accessorizing just a little.

After watching the house of one of my neighbors burn to the ground last summer, I've gone a little bonkers on fire extinguishers. Here's what I saw that day in July 2015. No joke.

http://6abc.com/news/massive-chester-co-fire-blamed-on-smoking;-pets-found-alive/881489/

Nobody was hurt. Even the two dogs survived, although they weren't discovered until the day after the fire. They were still on the upper floor of the house where they'd taken cover beneath the bed.

No, you can't have too many fire extinguishers. I bought five of them right after that fire, which I now have at locations throughout the house. Now I've got one more for the Jeep.



And for good measure I picked up a sunshade: the SpiderWebShade. It attached with bungee cords in about five minutes and does a very effective job of keeping my balding head shaded.



Here's another view. Well worth the money.



So, I'm back on the road. A little poorer, but inspected and street legal for another year. Now I just need to figure out what to do with my rear view mirrors so I can pull the doors off. I plan to enjoy the good weather for as long as it lasts.