23 Years, 55555 Miles, Third Jeep Wrangler

Yes, I still have that Jeep.

23 years later.  It finally hit a milestone number on the clock.  55555 miles.

89407 km for the Imperially Impaired.

I was sitting at a stop light in Pompano Beach.  Southbound on Federal Highway, US1, and Mc Nab Road.  Seems like that's been my history for quite a while.  Always heading south on US1. Always carving a groove in US1. 

I got into Jeeps back when AMC was a going concern.  I had a friend who was influencing me.  I commented that I was tired of "Fussy Cars" that had problems.  I wanted something I could fix if I had to but had to be well supported.

He took me out into the NJ Pine Barrens with his own CJ 7.  I was hooked. 

I got myself a CJ 7, charcoal with a hard top.  I had that car for about 3 years and enjoyed it until I drove it to Indianapolis.  It ruined my back.  So I got a small car and drove that back home. 

That was a mistake.  I never stopped missing that CJ. 

So after I wrecked the small car and had a mistaken flirtation with a Ford Taurus, I got a Chevy Nova.  Mind you that was basically a Toyota Corolla and it fit me well for 10 years.  It started having issues with rust and someone who I was seeing was being cranky about being in a small car so I was pointed to the new Jeeps.

"It's a Jeep TJ.  The Wranglers.  They are actually comfortable unlike your CJ and you never stopped talking about that one."

So I test drove a TJ.  Bought it that day.  Only draw back was it was an Automatic.

I don't know why anyone wants a Jeep with an Automatic.  It's just not... Jeeplike.

I need to "Row My Own".  I need to be in touch with what I am doing. 

Three years later, I got this one.  5 speed.  4 liter inline 6 motor.  One of the last indestructible engines that was made.  Still AMC designed but built by Chrysler in the Toledo Ohio plant. 

It has the nicest sound when you drive it on the road.  Between 30 and 50 it sings to you in third gear, purrs in fourth.  I should know, I put it in that gear myself.

It's also a thirsty beast, and has always been.  16 MPG is a good time for me.  The best I ever got was 23 mpg and that took a tail wind and a trip to Key West, FL to do it.

Pro Tip is if you ever are going to Key West, plan your trip to hit the Seven Mile Bridge at sunset and make sure you have a convertible car.  Put the roof down and enjoy that ride.  One of the most beautiful rides you can ever have, I did it both in that Jeep and a Honda GoldWing Interstate motorcycle.  If you plan your timing right the stars come out like someone threw glitter in the air.

No, really, it is truly that beautiful.

I'd even consider driving you there, if you talk nice to me, and pay for gas, food, and lodging.  I may be nostalgic and a bit of a travel romantic, but I am not stupid, Key West is damn expensive!

If we do go, you had better be comfortable with my choice of music.  My Jeep, My Rules.  No country, none of that "Album Rock" crap.

But let me get the old boy serviced.  23 years is a long time and the hoses are starting to crack.  That's why the engine light is on the dash board.  It has been for about 10 years.  I suppose I should get that looked into, but the code is the gas cap code, and I am tired of buying new ones.

For the most part, it's been a good friend.  Mechanical friend that only let me down once.  Ironically at that self same intersection, the clutch master cylinder failed on me.  I limped to a dealer and they did repair the clutch.  I told the advisor what was wrong, and after a week they found the part and replaced it.  It's been good ever since.

I pulled in and the service advisor said "we don't have a loaner or a driver for you".  I had just come south from the park and a workout.  Pointing at the bike on the back of the Jeep I just said "You are only 6 miles/10K from my house and I just finished a marathon, a little bit more will be fine".  It was the look of astonishment from all the service advisors that convinced me that remaining in shape all these years and being able to ride 38 miles in one day on a bike was well worth it.

Yes, that old dusty Jeep is a friend.  A good ride.  They don't make them like this any more.  They got big just like every other car on the road.  They are transitioning to hybrid which would be nice.  That 16 MPG is tough to take but I have been told to hold onto my old boy.

I do talk about it like a cowboy talks about his horse.  Funny thing about all that.  I see a lot of cars on the road but nothing really catches my eye.  Prices have tripled and quadrupled.  But I still have my old Jeep and I'm comfortable in it.  Nice not to have a car payment for the last 20 years.

I may even be convinced to take it in for service to have that gas cap code looked at.  I know what has to be done and I am not finding the idea of lowering a gas tank for an inspection to be attractive in my own carport.

More than I would like to attack.  I did replace the stereo more than once and made a bezel and a mount for the speaker out of a laundry detergent bucket.  I am still picking up bits of blue plastic in my kitchen that flew off the Dremel from that day.

Better to make your own microplastic waste than absorb it from the environment I guess!

If I can find a truly good mechanic who knows old cars, I may be able to relax enough to trust my old friend to.

North American Battle Wagons, or Honey, You Shrunk The Jeep

 I have been driving Jeeps for the majority of my "career".  I have been driving Jeep Wrangler TJ since 1996 without a stop.

This is my second TJ.  They are now getting thin on the ground, so I don't say "Oh Look!  A Parts Car!" as frequently as I did when I saw one. 

I still do the Jeep Wave, and I always would Tread Lightly when I was off road.  I haven't gone off road since moving to Florida in 2006 so he's been a Pavement Prince since then.

The thing is that when I got my first Jeep, a CJ7 back in 1984, I noticed that it was much higher than most cars on the road.  I used to be amused looking down into cars and seeing the goings on in there.

You folks are nuts!  All sorts of things happened!  I was immediately taught that if I could see down, so could the truck drivers in a "Big Rig" so I made sure not to do anything "untowards" in my own cars from that point on.

Then I went back to "regular cars" until my first and second Wranglers.  I noticed that I was above the majority of cars, but not as much as before.  So much so that it was a surprise when I saw someone enjoying the driver of the car ... from the passenger seat.

Wink! Wink! Say No More!

But that visual advantage was disappearing.  As time went on, I became "regular sized" if not a bit small.

Yes, a Jeep Wrangler is "average sized".  No longer, the current Jeep Wranglers have four doors and is just too big.  Bloated for me.

This was beaten home after I stopped at the end of the workout the other day.  Someone parked a wall next to me.  I fail to see why someone needs a full sized pickup truck, GMC Denali, just to get in a workout at a park.

This was the literal illustration of what I heard described as a North American Battle Wagon.  Massive.

I am 6'4" tall.  A Very Fit 193 CM, if my math is correct.  I am used to looking over things.  I tell people that I usually write my initials in the dust of their refrigerator tops when I visit.

I will wait until you check to see if I did.  Then you can clean your fridge top.  It's why mine is a "Counter Depth" and there's no gap at the top.   Saves me from cleaning!

There was no possible way I can see over the top of this truck.  In fact, standing next to it in my sneakers I was eye level with the driver's view.  Luckily the driver was on the trail getting their Beta Endorphins on.

I squeezed past this monster truck and thought to myself that I used to consider the old Toyota 4x4 trucks big when they came out in the late 1980s, and "what on earth!" would I have considered this beast when I was driving a little first generation Honda Accord in College? 

*shudder*

Getting the bike on the rack on the back, chuckling at my bumper sticker which proclaims "I workout because salads are boring", I had to squeeze past this huge beast to get in my now "Little" Jeep Wrangler.  The driver left adequate room but I am not used to not being able to look over the tops of things.  I see more bad haircuts than you may realize.

Driving home on US1, Federal Highway, in Pompano Beach and Fort Lauderdale, there was more.  It was driven home that we love huge trucks here and we are locked in an arms race of keeping up with the neighbor's beast trucks each time we upgrade.

There is a house down the block that the smallest truck that they own is what is now considered a Mid Sized truck, larger than my own Jeep.  It is about the size of a base Ford Truck that would be a Work Truck, stripper, these days.  They have so many trucks on their own suburban lot that it spills over the property line onto the neighbor's on one side, and the other side had put boulders on their side of the property line to stop them from "encroaching".

A bit drastic but I'd do the same.

So I guess my idea of getting a wee little, efficient, car is foolhardy.  I'd be a speed bump to these giant beasts in one of those.  I've done that before and thanks, I'll pass.

What's next?  Large cars are at best impractical, and at worst destroying the environment.  At one point in time, an AMC Gremlin got 18 MPG and they were advertised in the mid 1970s as being a "Fuel Saver".  I have a derivative of the same engine used in many of those cars and the 16 MPG I got in my last tank now is in no way thrifty.

The full sized pickup truck that was a loaner to a friend struggled to get 10 MPG city.  It dwarfed my own Jeep.  I know his driving patterns, he's much less "assertive" than I am on the road.

I don't know that there is a solution here, seeing the way politics are going.  At least with EVs, Hybrids, and Electrification, the efficiency of these things is getting better.  That old first generation, "Mark 1" Honda Accord I had got a reliable 30 MPG which is average in a car, low for a hybrid now.

Anything that small would be missed by one of those massive beasts coming out of a driveway.

Forget getting another Motorcycle.  My typo of "Mortal Cycle" must have been a Freudian slip due to the traffic we have here.  The woman on the scooter on the same trip home yesterday was dwarfed by my own "Little" Jeep, watching her weave in traffic had me terrified for her as she avoided one clueless huge beast after another.

I'm thinking that there really is no room for efficiency and a "tidy" rightsized car on the road any more.  Not here.  That would explain why someone commenting that "Bad Driving Has Become Normalized" makes so much sense to me. 

If they can't see you, you aren't there.

Good luck out there, I have an appointment at 1pm that I have to brave the other idiots on the road.  Trust me, if I can smell your pot smoke, that officer can as well.

And put that damn cellphone away, it's still against the law to use hands on cell phones in most jurisdictions.

My Jeep Got Ducked. So I Cycled A Marathon.

As an endurance athlete, you have time to think.  It really is logistics, whether you are going for a marathon, a couple hour walk, or skating that sixth lap around the big park.  You have to plan for the time, and you have to set your mind to achieve that goal.

When I was in Philadelphia, that big park was a long run from Independence Mall in Center City to Valley Forge.  I got into audio books and long DJ music sets and that would keep me going.

Here in South Florida, I am fortunate to have access to a data plan that is unlimited so I can fill my head with any media I can find.  I found a "Classic Dance" station in Puerto Rico that plays music in English, mostly.  Which is fine because my Spanish is merely "Intermediate".  B2 perhaps.  Puedo entenderte si hablaste lentemente. ¿Si?

I was chugging around the big park, a 4.6 mile loop around the Pompano Air Park watching them cart the Goodyear Blimp out of the hangar and have it just sit in the sun to acclimate. 

Lap 1 was easy.

Lap 2 was easy.

Lap 3 I was slowing noticeably and needed a water stop.  Music had stopped playing for some weird reason so at a half-marathon, I thought it was a good time for a rest.

The Jeep was under a tree, and I knew I had water on the bike with me.  But that snack I hid under the front seat was calling my name and I know I had peaked.  I was hitting the wall and "Mr Announcer" on Runkeeper had said that I was over an hour and at 13 plus miles.

I rolled close to the car and spotted a blue dot.

That blue dot grew to become a little plastic duck.

Finally! I had gotten Ducked! 

I have been driving Jeep Wranglers since 1996 and I had a CJ 7 back in the mid 1980s.  

This Duck Thing is new.  I remember that it was something that came out of Canada as a "Fun thing to do" for other Jeepers.  Of course, it's Wholesome, and it is Nice.  Of course, it comes from Canada. 

I guess I qualify as a Jeeper, having had three of the inefficient things.  They have the aerodynamics of a cow.  Moo-ve out of my way, I can push you if you need help keeping up with traffic.

I roll up on the bike and immediately get a big smile on my face.  Looking at the little blue artifact, I am jumping up and down in the parking lot under the tree.  All 6'4" and 194 pounds of me dressed in a uniform of colorful and sweaty "technical fabrics" cheering like a kid. 

Yep, it's fun!  Having gotten my first ducking.

I guess it is my time.  I have had this car since 2002 and Jeep Wrangler TJs are getting thin on the ground.  By that measure, it's a special car now, a standout, and a survivor.

The ducking says, I noticed you and appreciate your Jeep. 

Yes, It's a Jeep Thing and you wouldn't understand.  Other (ahem) "lesser" types of vehicles have their own fan club and their own ways of honoring them.

I put the little blue critter on my dashboard where it is now, and there it will stay.

I finished my snack, and my water stop.  It was time to get going again. 

In fact, I was so energized by that encounter that I did my first marathon since the accident and the repair of my shoulder.

But the duck, the marathon, and my beta endorphins all made for a truly fun day.

To Install a BestTop Roof on a 2002 Jeep Wrangler TJ, Get a Heat Gun, Dremel, and Spudgers. Really!

Yes, this is a story 28 years in the making.

Let me just start out by saying that had I had it to do all over I would absolutely get another BestTop roof for my Jeep Wrangler.

This is not a slam against their products.  Actually the word on the street (No, I have no proof) was that Chrysler was getting the roofs for the Jeep Wrangler TJ during their entire run from 1996 to 2006  from BestTop.

Now a couple strange things happened with me.

My previous Wrangler, a 1997, got broken into in Philadelphia in front of my house.  I told my insurance, and they shipped me a new roof.  This was roughly 1998.  I was able to get the old roof professionally repaired and I kept the new roof in my basement.

Eventually I sold the Wrangler when I got my current TJ, a 2002 Jeep Wrangler.  I kept that roof in the basement.  The new TJ had a stick shift and I vastly prefer a stick to an automatic.  It's more engaging to drive.

But that roof rode with me to Florida.  Here,it went into my shed.

So the other day, September 30, 2024.  I was in Boca Raton, FL.  It was a stunning day.  82F, light winds, sunny.  Previously, a hurricane (Milton) had come through and we had a week of rains, some of which were heavy.

I had a Doctor's Appointment where I was yelled at for not following instructions.  Don't Lift Anything More Than A Cellphone.  *grumble*. 

So of course I went out into the parking lot and started opening the windows on the Jeep.  The seams catastrophically failed.  I packed things up as best as I could and drove home with what was left of the roof down.

Getting the new roof put on the car would be easy, right?

No.  Don't even.  You have a 26 year old product sitting coiled up in a box that had been sitting in your shed and the basement before that.  It even still smelled like the basement in Philadelphia that it lived in for 3 or 4 years.

So I got the box out and found the instructions.  The thing that caught me was where they tell you to use a razor or knife to rip the seams out of the door window skins.  The new skins would go in place with Velcro fasteners.

I put the entire roof on the car save those window skins and left the old ones in place.  Having broken bones healing will slow you down and the car was technically in one piece.

I took a day off to recover, per Doctor's Orders, and came to it the next day.

Utility Knife in hand, I sliced the driver's door skin off the metal frame that holds it in place.  The skin had to be stretched to remove it from the frame.

This is a 23 year old car.  The idea that the vinyl door skin had that much tension left scared me.

I began the process of stretching the new skin in place.

The new door skins were a finger's length short from top to bottom and side to side.

Three inches.  8cm or so.  Short.

Are. You. Kidding. Me?

I thought to myself get the heat gun and start to loosen up the vinyl to allow it to stretch over the frame.

Two hours later it was in place. 

Two HOURS for the one piece.

The problem was that the frame had a bit at the leading edge that would not seat inside the door skin that was open like a pair of scissors in a V Shape.  I eventually got it over that bit but was not happy with the way it fit.

I also had another skin to put on the car on the passenger side.  That would wait for another day.

That other day came and I started.  An hour after following the instructions to start at the rear lower corner and work counter clockwise stretching the vinyl into place, I got out the power tools.

First the Heat Gun.  That made the vinyl stretch more and almost allowed me to put it in place.  The skin hooked itself on that leading corner and refused to let it go.  It got there almost immediately but after an hour of heat and stretching, I was cursing and frustrated.

Second the Dremel with the cutting wheel.  I got it out and cut the ends of the points down so that there was nowhere for the window skin to hook onto.  Then I sanded the metal down for this purpose.  I even painted it black to match the rest. 

Eventually after another hour, the next problem started.

Third it bent my spudger.  Sure that sounds like something a kid would say but lets deconstruct that.  I got the skin to stretch so that it was almost in place.  Almost as in the Vinyl had only tore a little bit.  The spudger is a metal tool that you use in installing a bicycle tire to a wheel.  I have some in plastic and they were too fragile for the task.  The one just bent as I was holding the vinyl skin over the frame for the door.  Eventually I was able to use a second spudger to help stretch the skin over the frame with a lot of Bad Words said.

That blasted passenger window skin took two solid hours to install even after trimming the frame.

So the list of materials needed to install a "no problem" Jeep Wrangler TJ window skin were Knife, Two Spudgers, Heat Gun, and Dremel drill with Cutting Wheel.

Do not do this process if you are easily frustrated.  The entire roof took 8 hours to install including allowing the plastic to relax in the sun, and threading it over frames.

I never would have thought that I would need a heat gun to install a window skin made out of vinyl that smells of a new beach ball (and my Philadelphia Basement) not to mention a Dremel and two Spudgers, but it did.

(Spudgers?  I told you not to mention those!)

I did look it up by the way, a replacement BestTop roof covers the years from 1997-2006 for the Jeep Wrangler TJ.

Or so the website said.  I don't remember which website, of course.

The instructions also say do not attempt this if the Jeep and roof are below 72F (21C).  The entire time I am cursing the process, I was thinking that if I had a walk in freezer or meat locker and tried this there because of the colder temperatures, the window would be able to stretched into shape with a heat gun and the metal frame would have shrunk due to the temps.

Yes, I had a LOT of time to think this through.  8 Hours from what I can tell.

Of course the standard internet warranty applies - do not attempt if you are unsure of your abilities, your tools, or your conditions.  Ramblingmoose.com takes no responsibility for your inability to finish the process or any damage to your Jeep.

Sorry folks, had to say that!

Whack-A-Mole on a 23 year old Jeep Wrangler is never fun. Maintaining your old soldier Jeep is important.

Whack-a-mole.

It's the game you get to play when your car gets older.  My car, well, it's practically ancient.  Almost Antique.

I'm still enjoying the thing, I do like driving it.  I may be the "Little Old Lady" Driver who only goes to The Park three times a week, but I do enjoy the daylights out of the Jeep.

I must.  I've only driven Jeep Wrangler TJs since 1996.

But this one is a 2002.  That makes it, what, as of this writing?  23 model years old.

If I am off by a bit, it won't matter, I'm not replacing the thirsty beast.

It's a simple machine, as far as a vehicle goes. 
I've had 4 car stereos in it. 
Replaced the tires twice. 
I prefer to do my own oil changes, and besides, it gives me something to keep me honest when I do.

The rubber hoses can be old and cracking but I know where to look. 

If you have an old car, you will need to open your hood and look very closely at your hoses.  If you see any kind of cracking on them, the hose should be replaced.  When I did, I put a zip tie on the end to make sure it's "Good And Tight".

Last year I did a LOT of maintenance.

After an oil change:

I replaced almost all of the vacuum hoses under the hood and came back and did more later.

I replaced the "Oxygen Sensors".  There's a truly strange tool that looks like a socket wrench socket with a notch cut out of it for the wire to be avoided as you turn.  They're not easy, all the heat on them tries to weld them to your exhaust system.

I replaced the Fuel Injectors.

I replaced the "Coil Rail".

I replaced the Clutch Master Cylinder at the dealer since I was stranded at the dealer after a workout.  It was another 10K to ride the bike home since they couldn't get me here.  Turns out, that's a plug in replacement on a 2002 Jeep Wrangler.  Could have done that one myself if I had the part, and they didn't.  I had to wait a week without a car at home.

There is a bag waiting for me to replace the bearings in the driver's seat so it rolls back and forth smoothly.

I replaced the gas cap.  Twice.

I am sure there are other things.  I'm about to replace the roof and windows since they're held in by zippers and velcro.

There is no such thing as Security in a Soft Top or Convertible.  Period.  I had to remove the alarm years ago when it shorted out and blew one of those weird plastic fuses.

Mind you, this is over the years.  Not just "right now".   Maybe since 2015 or so.

I don't drive a lot.  The car rides great though, new tires help that.  I went from 10mpg to 16mpg which helps after all that maintenance.

Being bored on Covid Lockdown and "Peak Summer Workout Pause" helped.

This time it was the battery.  I got stranded this morning.  I was going to go to The Park to do my usual Maintenance Workout of 23 or so miles on the bike.  Got everything together and went to start the car.  "Rrrrr" said DJ the TJ.  Then "CLICK CLICK CLICK". 

What I said is unprintable.

We took Mr Dog for his second walk around town.  When I came back I had put the charger on the car and ignored it for 3 hours.  That gave me enough charge to get to Walmart for a warranty replacement.

A repeat also implies that I have a charging system problem or a "Parasitic Drain".

We will see.  I have a brand new battery in the car now.  If I get the "Rrrrr... CLICK" problem again, I'll have the portable jump starter under the back seat after Friday and will have to replace the alternator.

That's what it is right?  Alternator not charging?

*sigh* I have my appointments, Darth Jeep.  Better behave.

I Guess It Is The Wet Season, Part Two or When August is Too Hot To Rain

Yeah I know, "Global Warming Doesn't Exist".

Turn off Fox News.  It isn't news, even Rupert Murdoch tells you that it's lies.

Sorry, "Boomers" but the "Zoomers" and "Millennials" are right, things have changed and not for the better.

Besides, I was a kid who noticed that things were changing years ago and I'll be collecting Social Security soon if they don't steal it.

Off the soap box now, but hey It is a Blog and it's my right.

When I was a kid I noticed that the weather was "Normal, One Way".  Growing up in South Jersey, it would snow around Thanksgiving, have a snow pack by Xmas, and the last of it would melt in a small pile in April.

I also noticed that it was changing.  We never had Ice Storms, that was what happened in North Carolina.  We got those.  Snows got deeper and more abundant when they came.

Mind you that sounds wrong but when you grow up in an area where it's too cold to snow in February and you start getting feet of snow (ok, 30cm) where you never did before, it is because the atmosphere warmed just enough to hold that much more water and dumped it on your head.

Down here in Fort Lauderdale, the old timers say "You could set your watch by it.  It rains at 3:30 every afternoon.  I saw that when I was a snowbird in the late 80s.  Not any more."

This year, it was hot.  Hotter longer and later.  When August happened, the rains stopped. 

That's the meaning of the picture at the top.  I worked out in Fairmount Park in Philadelphia and that particular year we learned if we were up at 6am and skating, we could beat the heat.  Why was that important?  I saw my first 104F/40C day ever there and then.

It hasn't quite gotten that bad here in So Flo.  We saw 98 which surprised me since I am only 2.5 miles (4km) from the beach.  It was like that all August, or "close enough for us". 

If you hear that the hurricane belt has moved North, I won't be surprised.  They're highly unpredictable beasts, but it used to be that a storm would come here if it went anywhere. 

It really messed up my schedule because I had a lot of work to do on my Jeep Wrangler this summer.  I hardly ever drive but I have been doing so by the light of the Check Engine Light.  The "Gas Cap Code" P0442 "Very Small Evap Leak" caused a cascade of repairable problems.  In a 21 year old car, that is repairable but it is also a game of Whack A Mole.  

Similar to the workouts in Philly, I was out in the carport at the crack of 7 setting up a large fan to blow the mosquitoes away, then to keep me cool.  Once 10am hit, it was stop work time since it was too hot to continue.

21 year old vacuum hoses don't bend well, those are the ones you have to GENTLY wiggle to see if they move.  If so, replace, if not, move to the next one.

That 21 year old Jeep isn't the problem either.  51,000 miles on it, it hardly gets used.

So what does a 21 year old Jeep have to do with the weather?

Red Blobs On Radar will make you stop work too if you're smart.  If August was too hot to rain, late September it's restarted with a vengeance.   Getting caught out in a Red Blob On Radar can "ruin your day" when it's more water than you used in the shower this morning all at once.

So here we are, Global Warming doesn't exist until it does, and run for Higher Ground.  Or at least stay out of the way of the lightning.  If your hair stands on end, good luck, you're going to be close to that strike.

After all, you can outrun the storms.  I did once on Inline Skates.  I could see the rains coming South on Federal Highway in Pompano Beach once and I was a Mile North of the Car.  That day I got to the car before the rains unleashed their fury.  Not always and don't do it on a Metal Framed Bike. 

But can everyone?

Got a Convertible? Where Do You Keep Your Sunblock? In my Jeep of course!

Having a convertible car means you adjust how you use it.

Convertible meaning your roof is usually vinyl on a frame.  In my case it also means the windows are held on the car with velcro and zippers and made of something resembling industrial Cling Film.

Saran Wrap for the American readers.

I've driven Jeep Wranglers since 1996.  I'm tall, they fit me well.  They also have terrible gas mileage by today's standards.  The best I ever did was 23 MPG on the overseas highway from Key Largo to Key West.  It was because I had a tail wind and I was pushed there. 

Aerodynamics of a Cow indeed.

But you do tend never to keep anything in the car.  It will get opened and the contents inspected for "value" by a nefarious character who should be removed from society.

I'll leave that to you how to translate that into more direct slang.

My own Jeep is pretty much theft proof.  Why?  It has a manual transmission. 

Because I like it that way.

I tend to only drive to two places, both are parks, for workouts. 

I guess others don't want to ride in something that is noisy, inefficient, and at 22 years old, smells slightly of dog, sweat, and sunblock.

I guess I need to spray some febreeze in it. 

Getting back from a workout in South Florida means you're going to be hot, you're going to sweat.

Apparently I'm beginning to forget that first rule of "never leave anything in the car". 

Both parks have signs up that say "Secure your valuables".

I respond "Where?". 

Oh I am sure I'll be selling it some day for a soulless thing with more computing power than the entire NASA Moon Shot program that reports your use of "their" car back home.  It's one reason why I haven't got anything newer, I value my privacy.

So why have I gotten to the point when I am looking for the Sunblock, the first place I look for it is in the footwell of the Jeep?

Simple, it isn't really all that valuable and I only ever use it at the parks.

I met someone once with a beautiful early Ford Mustang Convertible.  First version so what is that, 1963 or 1964?  Doesn't really matter.   He had the car in Los Angeles during the 1990s.  He never locked it.  His response was that if they want the car better not to damage the thing.

I am not that bold, and the lock it and pocket the keys maxim is way too well ingrained with me.

But it certainly passes through my mind, even if I can't figure out why someone would break into a 22 year old Jeep Wrangler just to steal some Sunblock and perhaps a cigarette lighter USB charger.

Ok, that Cigarette Lighter Charger is the best in the world, have at it!

Bah humbug, just leave my Jeep alone.  You can't drive the thing anyway.  It has a stick shift.

I won't tell you about the Kill Switch I have hidden under the dash...

Actually the worst thing that happened to the car was the neighbor's cat decided to crack the roof when it insisted on sleeping on that.  Um, No.  When the owner died, that cat disappeared.  I still don't know where it is.  An Outdoor Cat does not exist, it is just a stray.

So don't do what I do and store your sunblock in your car.  I always park in the shade and it will be fine, but it may draw nefarious characters.  That would be a bad thing.

When Summer Comes, The Traffic Cones Sprout Near The Jeep

When the universe wants to mess with your head... 

It leaves you Traffic Cones.

Living as close to The Bars in Wilton Manors as I do, I see a lot of strange things.  I have seen people coming home from the bars on foot, wandering around aimlessly, and even had some clown fall asleep in my garden.

That is a story for another time.

This time, I am thinking a similar fate happened to this cone.  From what I can tell from the road rash on the base of the thing and how it was left on the driveway, I have a story to tell.

Some random person came to my town, and visited the Arts and Entertainment District on Wilton Drive.  They probably had a rather nice time there, dinner, drinks, maybe some dancing.

Once they were through, they decided to take a drive and come home.

I have to assume there was some impairment included because I now have a new traffic cone.

Their car had hit the cone, dragged it along under the car.  Either when they pulled in to my driveway here to inspect the noise, because there is always noise when you run over a traffic cone, or when they threw the car into reverse it left the thing there, the cone remained.

I am in the back of the house here, away from the parking areas, and away from the street.  I sleep with earplugs.  I did not hear a thing.  

When I got up, put on enough clothes to take Mr Dog out to water the hedges, and walked past the gate, I spotted the thing.  When I walked over to it, I laughed at it because it reminded me of a younger me and a trip through Cherry Hill and Haddonfield, NJ.

You know, where they set the Halloween movies?  Michael Myers?  Haddonfield was a town east of Cherry Hill, where I grew up.  The movies were shot in Illinois, and the name came from the writer knowing South Jersey.

Living in Cherry Hill, you knew Halloween was in Haddonfield (even if it wasn't shot there) and was southwest of you, and Voorhees was Friday the 13th and was east of you.  Ok Jason?

I have been driving Jeep Wranglers since 1997 continuously.  They fit me, and they let me go where I want to go comfortably.  My head does not hit the ceiling and that is important.

Well before then, I had a Jeep CJ7.  Much rougher ride, and I eventually got rid of it because it hurt my back riding long distances. 

One night I was doing a similar thing.  Coming home from the city, I had a ride on the PATCO Hi Speed Line that took you from Center City Philadelphia to the Suburban South Jersey of my youth.  I got off in Haddonfield, and mounted my CJ to ride home.  

I think I may have wanted to wait another hour before I did get into that old Jeep because somewhere in Haddonfield, I clipped a different cone.  It hooked itself on the steering linkage on the front end and I kept going.  By the time I left Haddonfield, and came up Brace Road towards my childhood house, I heard that scraping.  

I shrugged and pulled into the driveway there.  Not waking Mom, or my sister, I looked under the Jeep and there it was.  

"How on earth?" I said as I pulled the cone out.  I left it in the front of the driveway and came in to sleep the rest of the night away.

So there you have it.  The Universe wanted to remind me of that trip and give me a gift of bright safety orange plastic.

I had to tell the neighbor, Diane, about this story, and she was laughing as I was.  She's welcome to this new cone, I have two of my own to protect the property from ne'er do wells and partiers when she moves out to her new home.

Welcome to the neighborhood.  Strangeness happens and you find things.

What did the step ladder say to the ladder? You’re not my real dad!

I have driven Jeep Wranglers for quite a while.  I have a vehicle that can take me anywhere that there is a hit of a road.  The one I have is 19 years old, and is as sound as the day I bought it.  It is thirsty and if I can find gas for it, it will probably outlast me.  With only 50,000 miles, it's just a baby.

That combination of the 4 Liter Inline Six designed by AMC and a Manual Five Speed Transmission is usually described as unkillable.

It's taken me to some amazing places where I got to indulge my desires to commune with Nature, see the sunrise over the New Jersey Pine Forests, and see the wildlife where they live.

Take nothing but memories, leave nothing but footprints, and tread lightly.

I never was the kind of Jeep Bro who would carve out water channels through the muck because it just was not my way.  But it was fun to get out to places where once your motor is turned off, the only thing you would hear is the cooling of the heat shields and the breezes through the forest.  

Wildlife was always nearby and you could get out and hike a bit while you are at it.

Just remember When Hiking Near Bears.

The National Park Rangers are advising hikers in Glacier National Park and other Rocky Mountain parks to be alert for bears and take extra precautions to avoid an encounter.

They advise park visitors to wear little bells on their clothes so they make noise when hiking.
The bell noise allows bears to hear them coming from a distance and not be startled by a hiker accidentally sneaking up on them. This might cause a bear to charge.

Visitors should also carry a pepper spray can just in case a bear is encountered. S
praying the pepper into the air will irritate the bear's sensitive nose and it will run away.

It is also a good idea to keep an eye out for fresh bear scat so you have an idea if bears are in the area.
People should be able to recognize the difference between black bear and grizzly bear scat.
Black bear droppings are smaller and often contain berries, leaves, and possibly bits of fur.
Grizzly bear droppings tend to contain small bells and smell of pepper.

50000 Miles in 18 Years in a 2002 Jeep Wrangler, 45 Minutes to Air Up 5 Tires

 

I don't drive the Jeep as much as I would like.

I've had it since Chrysler was taken over and then neglected by Daimler, right around Xmas 2002.

Give or take a few weeks.   I'm sure I could find the specifics but it isn't really that important.

They had "Zero Point Zero Financing" and I really hated that the earlier Jeep I had had an Automatic Transmission.  

To me, it needed a stick.

I have been driving Jeep Wranglers, and the CJ7 I had back in the day, longer than anything else.

It just fits.

I have plenty of room.  It's thirsty but I don't go that far.  2778 miles in a year on average.

But every time I get in it, I smile.  Sure, it's basic and primitive, but it is beyond fun to drive.  

This is the "Bulletproof Combination" of that car.  4.0 Inline Six Cylinder, 5 speed Manual transmission.  Soft top if I want to have the sun bleach my hair and tan my skin on the way home from where ever I want to go.

Like I said, I don't drive it often.  I was working behind the TV set next to the window and when I stood up, I noticed through the living room window that one tire was low.  It meant I had to get into the car and drive somewhere to get the air back in the tires.  When I got "there" the air pump was not working no matter how I begged. 

On the way home, I noticed I was very close to 50K so I got the phone out and took a picture.

Really, I should not take pictures while driving.  40 MPH in a Jeep and I was just due to shift up into the next gear.

I got home and let him sit in the driveway.  Having to get the portable air compressor out on that afternoon meant I wanted to try it out with the power pack.  Nope.  Snapped the circuit breaker immediately.  

As it was, each tire would take 5 to 10 minutes to air up.

I pushed the car forward and settled in to sit around doing nothing for the better part of the hour.  Wait, check the watch, lather, rinse, repeat.

It gave me time to think. 

Jeep needs a bath.  Too much dust on it from the beach 2 1/2 miles away, the Bahamas, and the Sahara across the ocean.

Check the air, move to the next tire.

Wave at the neighbor.

Check the Mailbox.

Sit on the front bumper and stare at my boots.

Check the air, move to the next tire.

The air compressor is getting warm.

Started thinking.  Some day I really do want to go back to visit New Jersey.  Sure, North Jersey is one ugly city and you can see the pollution from that and New York when you approach New Brunswick, exit 9 on the Jersey Turnpike.  

But I am from South Jersey.  Life is different there.  The air is cleaner.  Not clean, simply cleaner.  After all, at 40 Degrees North, the air flows from the Midwest Cities and drops the pollution on Philadelphia. Allergies are quite common.

My allergies vanished when I moved to Florida.  It's dusty but the air is always clean until the Everglades start burning.

I do want to go back.  I have a few trips I want to make.  Out to the Pine Barrens.  Beautiful pine forests, cedar creeks, hiking trails, and maybe drive the Jeep to the top of Apple Pie Hill to look at the stars.

Once you could climb the fire tower up to the outlook and look around.  Well over the tops of the trees, at night you could see Atlantic City, Philadelphia in the distance, and way up there on a very clear night, you could just make out New York City.

Can't do all that on flat tires can you?

With Covid, you can't do it at all.  It is also 1200 miles from here so visiting my Sister, Friends, and Family as well as climbing a muddy fire tower in the wilderness is off the table.

Check the air, move to the next tire.

Might want to check the other tires while I am at it.

Spare has no air.  Pressed the air pressure gauge to it and it didn't move.  

Can't replace a flat with a dead tire, that will take more time.

Back out to the front of the car.

Lock the house doors, I need to start the car after this tire hits 30 PSI.

Check the air, move to the next tire.

Wandering around the yard is getting boring.  Sit back on the front bumper and watch the parrots screeching in the trees, the buzzards making lazy circles on the updrafts North of downtown Fort Lauderdale. 

"Hey Buzzards!  We're not dead yet!"  Seriously they must be "Pinin' for the Fjords" or something.

It's time for the spare.  Last to go. 

I plugged the now hot compressor in to the spare, sat the compressor on top of it, and settled in on the bumper.

Bumpers are important.  If your bumper does not stick out past the nose of the car enough a simple tap in a parking lot will cause thousands of dollars of Sheet Metal damage.

I figure this one will take about 15 minutes.  I started the motor.

The Jeep roared to life and settled in on a smooth idle.

50,000 miles and not a problem.  

I know this car like the back of my hand.  Many cars at this age are rusting in a junk yard.  Jeeps don't.  They hold their value.  The motors were designed in the 1950s or 1960s by Willys/Kaiser.  Then a merger to form AMC.  American Motors.  Limped along into the 1980s and got swallowed up by Chrysler.  Chrysler was mortally wounded by the "merger of equals" with Daimler Benz.

Became Daimler Chrysler.  As the joke went "How do you say the name of the company?  Daimler, the Chrysler is silent."

Then with Fiat to become FCA, and the pending merger with Peugeot and who knows what else.

Meanwhile, I inspect the tubes, the belts, the tires.  I've fixed one of the most maddening problems with Jeeps.  The Check Engine light will come on and you may or may not get A Code.

I found my problem with a finger length piece of tube that cracked and was replaced.  A truly competent young woman helped me diagnose what I needed at Autozone up on Oakland Park Blvd. 

Helpful hint - if you are in a place where a woman is working and it is "non-traditional" for her to be there... Always, Always, Always go to the woman.  She knew her stuff.

Nothing wrong with my Jeep that a bucket of soapy water could not fix.  I may wash off the dust from the Sahara Desert off the car an ocean away, but not today. 

Today, smile on my face, it is time to take the Jeep for a lap around town.

Beep!  Beep!  I'm A Jeep!  I wonder how long it will take to get to 100,000 miles?

Insecticidal Soap or Engine Cleaner Recipe

(Recipe at end)

There's an old ethnic joke that I will clean up for you.

How do you know there is no ice in that country?

The little old lady with the recipe died.

Why the joke?  I tend to be that little old lady.  Other than being male, 6'4" and not really all that old aside, I have a habit of collecting odd helpful recipes and things that can be really helpful.

The garden picture shows it.   That is directly in front of my patio.  There mixed among the weeds and the Croton, I have some Basil.  Fresh basil is easy to grow, and unfortunately I am not the only one who likes it.  Mine got infested with mites.

The leaves on the basil that are curly and not "regular" are the ones where the mites were, and I didn't want to bomb the garden with persistent chemicals that would render the plants useless to use on the Pizza that I grow it for.

Insecticidal soap is apparently trivial to make.  It doesn't really have to be anything specific.  I use "Blue Dawn" dish detergent.  If you can use it to cut the grease on your dishes, you can use it on the food that goes onto the dishes. 

Or under the leaves.  

I have been using this recipe (below) for a while now, and it has reduced the number of mites, scale insect, and other nasties that want to eat my crop before I do.

But why the engine picture?  I got a wild hair, and sprayed it all over the motor.   That motor is a 18 year old Jeep Wrangler 4.0 Liter inline 6 cylinder that was smelling like old motor oil when I would park it.  Since I did the last oil change myself and managed to get some of the oil on the surfaces, I also decided to do a very rare spray of that insecticidal soap solution.   Allowed it to sit for about five minutes, and it cut the grease in there quite well, if I do say so myself.

On the other hand, while I may be a little crazy to use the stuff that way, I won't do it often since I am concerned that that may be a bit too aggressive.

I really don't recommend it to be used for that, but it did work.

Use it on your engine at your own risk.  I will use it on my Basil for my own pizza.

Recipe:

5 mL or 1 teaspoon Blue Dawn Dishwashing liquid.

450 mL or 16 Oz of water.

Process:

Add the water to an empty and clean spray bottle.

Add the Dawn Dishwashing Liquid.

Mix and use as needed.

Don't forget to rinse after application.  Nobody wants soapy vegetables and fruit.

Godzilla Climbs Mt. Jeep

I don't bother these creatures.  I have transported lizards before and arrived with one looking at  me from a weird crevasse in the car.

I have a live and let live attitude towards Lizards.  Even these invasive Curly Tailed Lizards.

I figure if one gets into my Jeep and does not cause too much of a mess, and survives, I probably needed to set loose a pest spray inside the car.  They are finding food, shelter, and get enough water if they are there for more than a short visit.  

I don't care for pesticides myself.

I just have to say that it is a bit strange looking down into the car when I am inside the house and seeing those little eyes looking back at me. 

 

Now I have been told that we had lizards in Suburban South Jersey where I grew up but I never saw them.   Here in Suburban South Florida I know of two lizards that live in my Florida Room on a permanent basis. 

As a result I have markedly fewer insects invading my space.

I'll take a lizard over a mosquito any day.  It's a case of choosing your guests.  

Besides my hand gets tired flinging that tennis racket around.  The Tennis Racket Of Doom is strung with wires into which voltage is passed at the right current to vaporize what ever bugs are caught to create a circuit between them.  A brief snap, a flash, and that insect has gone to its next reality.

Even if that next life will not be a relation to me.

Removing the Failing Code-Alarm From a 2002 Jeep Wrangler TJ

I'm phrasing this title carefully, in case another Jeeper needs some help out there.

And your standard Internet Warranty applies - at no time does Ramblingmoose.com take any responsibilities for any actions that come from this article.  You perform any work on your car at your own risk.  If you feel uncomfortable with working on your car, take it to a qualified professional.  I'm not a qualified professional, I merely took the time to find the files out there to remove the alarm from my car.

Again - take this as help, but you are doing this at your own risk.  It "worked for me".



In the 16 years I have had the Jeep, I have done only two mods to it that effect the electrical system.

I upgraded the radio,  and that is powered off when the key is removed.

I ordered an alarm installed at purchase by the dealer.

That is the problem.  Since the car sits for a while between uses, the alarm was draining the battery dead.

I know that because whenever I went to run the car, it either would not start, or pressing the Disarm button would make a strangled noise from the alarm.  Most of the time the alarm was not working at all.

So in an effort to diagnose my electrical system, the thing had to go.

The goal is to render the car back to original manufacture or as close as possible to it.  Since the alarm noise maker under the hood had rusted to the point where it may do more damage than good in removing it, I'll leave that and the valet switch in place.

I also ended up removing the bypass switch from the glove box and repurposing it as an ignition kill switch.

So the car starts without the alarm now as long as that switch is in the right position.

To determine whether you have the right alarm system, you have to look at the alarm itself. 

Luckily for me, I had the model sticker still on the front after 16 years.

Taking that sticker and the number on it, I had to search to see if it made any sense. 

No, it hadn't.

I went back out into the car and flipped the thing over. 

On any electronic appliance that transmits  over the radio waves in the US, there must have been an FCC Sticker.  That sticker has and FCC ID Number.  The FCC never forgets, and that information can be searched on. 

That number told me that it was from Code-Alarm and that it was an EVS II (two).  It told me who was responsible for this at Code-Alarm and some other information that was all worthless.   You see, Code-Alarm, having being bought up by Audiovox which became Voxx International, those people and the original documentation are not completely available.

Documentation you will want to get.  This is a link to the original instructions by Code Alarm and Chrysler to the tech on how to actually install the alarm system.  In case my instructions get to be too much, check this link.

The View Behind the Knee Kick Panel of the Wiring Bundle After Work

To achieve this, you need to remove the knee kick panel under the steering column.  Two Phillips screws.

Then remove the shroud from around the steering column and key.  Two Phillips screws.

Both will give you ample room to work with.  I had a lot of trouble working in the tight spaces, and really could have used a "Jeep Chick" with her smaller hands and body.  But you do what you can with what you have, even if you are a bruiser of a guy like me.

The way I did this was to remove both connectors from the alarm control computer box and that rendered the car immobile.

There are two connectors, a 6 pin and a 22 pin connector.  The connection to the ignition is in the smaller 6 pin connector.  The wires in question are the two yellow ones of the same thickness - one is solid yellow and the other is yellow with a black stripe. 

There is a third yellow wire on the 6 pin connector that goes to a kill switch in the glove box compartment.  I used this wire for testing and later for a kill switch.

Ignore the other wire harness for now.  I actually left it in place because I had to travel somewhere, but that is the feed to the alarm emitter under the hood (black and red), plus a bypass (brown wires).  The remaining wires are to a shock sensor, hood switch, light sensor, and back door switch.  I am purposely ignoring them for now since as I said, I left that harness in place.

From the original installation document:

• Blue - Jumpered off the ignition harness (To be Cut)
• Red - Jumpered off the 12+ Volt line in the ignition harness (To be Cut)
• Yellow - To Ignition Side of the yellow ignition line (To be re-joined at harness)
• Yellow with Black Stripe - To Starter Motor side of the yellow ignition line (To be re-joined with the yellow ignition line above)
• Black - To Ground (To be Cut)
• Yellow - Thinner solid yellow line - (To door on/off switch.  Reuse as kill switch)

Trace the thicker yellow and yellow black striped wires from the 6 pin harness back to the steering column.  In mine, everything was wrapped in electrical tape.  

There is a yellow wire that goes from the wiring harness on the left of the steering column, and in mine, it was cut and spliced to the yellow and striped wires that came from the six pin connector.

I removed the spliced-in wires and had the original yellow wire parts from the jeep exposed.

Those two pieces must be reconnected to be able to start the car.  You can test it by clamping the ends together.  At this point the car was disconnected from the alarm, and the car was able to start when I connected the wires together.

Now, a variation.

In order to clear out the alarm box, the box was now hanging on the floor with its two wires.  The grey wire is the antenna to the alarm.  The yellow wire runs under the dash to behind the glove box.  That yellow wire had a switch on it and I wanted to use that switch as a kill switch.  Flip it one way and the car can be started, the other way and it's never going to start.

Good idea huh?

Since the yellow wire on the steering column was too short for me to comfortably connect using butt connectors on that 88 degree (31 c) morning, I got frustrated and this idea.

I connected one end of the switch to one end of the yellow steering column wire that came from the ignition key switch.  The second end of the kill switch went to the other end of the yellow steering wire.  That second end of the wire disappeared in the wiring harness of the car.  Both ends were tidied up with crimp connectors, then taped over with electrical tape.

The kill switch was tested and then left in the car on the on position.

I got out of the car after putting all panels back in place and taping any dangling wires down.


End note:  I was at the point where the car would not start on the third day after driving it enough to charge the battery.  I just got back this Wednesday morning.  This was done and mostly written on Saturday after working on the car as I did it.  As I tested the connections, I'd turn the ignition enough to see if the starter motor would start.  Made sure to test it each intervening day but never drove it - so the battery was not really topped off.   This morning the car started like a champ and said that it's ready for duty.  (He's a Jeep after all) 

So we're golden and I found the problem!


Some History about Code Alarm and what happened with them after I got my Jeep.

Code-Alarm was a company that contracted with Chrysler for their installed car alarms.  The Jeep TJs were not coming from the factory with an alarm.  The alarm was installed at the dealer.  My dealer in Norristown, PA did a fine job of putting everything in place and it worked well for 15 years.

In the intervening years, the niche manufacturer Code-Alarm got bought out by Audiovox.  Audiovox later renamed itself as Voxx and that is where it is today.

So the Alarm in my Jeep is an orphan product.  If you have one in your car, it may be a good idea to look into removing it or replacing it.  In my case a wee little switch is enough.

Maybe Voxx International can help.  Or perhaps Chrysler/Jeep or whoever is owning them these days.  Or maybe they could just bring back the Jeepster...

Yes, You can sell your car from your living room recliner, but why would you want to? Especially if it is a Jeep Wrangler.

A Jeep Wrangler is a funny thing.

I never get into that car without having a big silly grin on my face.  They are just that fun to drive.

Mine isn't particularly modified, other than what I did for every other car.  I always bump the size up on the tires "one size" than the manufacturer shipped it with because it almost always makes the car much better to drive.  Handling is improved.

In my case, it made the speedometer more accurate.  But that's an aside.

It's not one of those mudder Jeeps that you see where your eyes are looking at it's bumper.  But I do take care of it.

For a car that is 16 years old, you wouldn't know it.  They hold their value and I won't let this one slide through my fingers.

As a Jeep Wrangler X TJ is the last gasp of AMC Engineering, it's built to last.  I could rebuild the thing in my driveway.  The motor is a 4 Liter Push-rod Inline Six Cylinder hooked to a five speed manual transmission. 

2002 with only 47,000 miles.

Oh and I've been driving Jeeps since 1996, so yeah I like them.

So do others.  They hold their values and they're in great demand like few other cars.  "Classic" Jeep Cherokee drivers are in the same boat.  In fact, they're the same car, different body.

When I see an article on a car forum about them, I'm bound to look.  This one in particular caught my attention and had me laughing.

Two guys, of course, talking about Jeeps.  That link has the video I'm talking about.

"Jeep Chicks" do exist, and they're wonderful and rare creatures who always, without a doubt, are worth getting to know.

But here were two guys.  Self appointed "experts" who were bloggers for www.jalopnik.com which can be an entertaining site to begin with.

Mind you, neither of them have ever owned a Jeep Wrangler, but hey that's why they are "experts" and writing about the cars right?

Um, Yeah.

One guy was in love with the Wranglers.  Smart Guy.  Talking about how we always seem to enjoy being in the beasts and going on about our business and occasionally taking our cars on adventures and ... you get the picture.

The other one was saying Land Rover was the best and Jeeps blah, and so forth.  Ranting about Angry Faced Jeeps and "Jeep Bros".

Yeah, Self Appointed Expert. 

Neither owned one. 

I remember the Land Rovers that they're talking about in the video.  The lines I remember the most were "British Engineering" and "Buy One for Wash, One for Wear" - meaning they broke down frequently and were rarely trustworthy. 

You couldn't give me one.

Never did I have a problem with that Jeep, but I have had to tow-rope a Land Rover out of a stuck spot once or twice.

Sitting in my recliner, laughing at this video, and waiting for the time to take the dog for his walk, someone pulls into my driveway.

He's looking at the Jeep.  I sit up.

He spots me.  He's in a posh-ass Mercedes Benz.  The kind of car you make rude comments about because the driving style is ... over privileged.  You know the kind.  You think "I'm not letting him in" on the interstate.

That kind of guy. 

Roof down, bald head glistening in the afternoon sun.

And he's gesturing me to come out and talk to him.

Did I mention Over-Privileged and Mercedes Benz?  Of A Certain Age (Over 50)? 

Yeah, you know the type.

And he's gesturing to me to come out and pointing at my Jeep.

I unroll myself out of the chair to my full length, and walk out to the front porch.

Before I step out of the house I hear "You sellin' that Jeep?!?!"

I'll admit the car is cherry.  Not a thing wrong with it, but "Nope, it's not for sale".

This is how weirdly random it is.  The guy is driving down the street and looking at Jeep Wranglers and saw me in the window looking at a video about Jeep Wranglers, and wanted to buy mine.

Huh?

"I saw the sign in the window and wanted to know".

"Oh The Sign".  That explains it.

I have a neighbor across the street.  Same year Jeep that has been left out in the rain with the roof off for as long as he lived there.  Someone came by and opened his door and took the door tops off the car. 

So I put a sign in my windows that says "Look up, You are on Camera, and there is nothing in the Car". 

The neighbor keeps the doors unlocked.  It made it easy for them to walk off with pieces from the car.  I can take the doors off the Jeep for extra breezes and less car if I like.  One bolt per door and I'm done.

My car is locked, has an alarm, and is on three video cameras.  Idiots who steal live everywhere.

I explained all of this to the Man Of A Certain Age with a sense of amusement.  All the while chuckling in my head at the pure strangeness of the situation.

"I Can't sell that Jeep. I wouldn't be able to get another one that nice, they aren't making them like that any more!  Sorry, he's not for sale."

Yes, He.  DJ as in Darth Jeep.  Unlike a car that is a rolling computer room on wheels, a Jeep Wrangler truly has a personality.  He's got a black body, tan roof.  Black and tan like I like my beer.  Nice HD Radio that also plays my phone with a cable and ... just basic mild mods that you would not notice unless you look very close.  Nothing out of the ordinary.

It's one of the last cars that doesn't have insane amounts of things that interfere with your enjoyment of the vehicle.  No On-Star or other nosy nonsense that listens in on what you are doing.  The computer in the car is mild and does not interfere with what you want to do.  The transmission is a 5 speed manual, I'll shift when I damn well feel like it.

Oh and I get 23MPG highway which is pretty good for a car that just makes me smile.  "Beep Beep! I'm a Jeep"

Besides, since nobody who isn't a truck driver can drive a stick shift, so the worlds least secure vehicle is safe in a mall parking lot in a questionable area.

He pulled off and blew through the stop sign on the corner.  I shook my head at him and the situation and went into the house laughing.

The next day I took that Jeep out for a drive, again.  No destination, just driving around.  "I can't sell you, it's like selling a good friend!"  I had my dog Rack in the car.  He looked up confused.

Mind you, my dog Rack is not so sure of the Jeep.  It's a little too real to ride around in a car with windows made of Cling Film and held in place with velcro and zippers.  You hear the next car a little too loudly, and the wind noise is a bit intense above 65.  But the speed limit here is 65 MPH on the highway and why would you want to go faster than that anyway.  Just keep up with traffic and let others get the speeding ticket.

Pulling back into the driveway I hear myself saying "I couldn't sell this car.  It's just too damn good, too much fun, and I can't see myself stepping down to a used Toyota!"

If you have ever been at sunset in a Jeep Wrangler on the Seven Mile Bridge with the roof down, stars coming out overhead, and the warm tropical breezes caressing your body, you will know why.  

I hope to make that trip again some day...

Yes, You can sell your car from your living room recliner, but why would you want to?  Especially if it is a Jeep Wrangler.