This Week In Jeep
You See This Happen To This Jeep – What Do You Do?
Winter is different all over the US. The only ice we drive on in Oregon is the ice rain.
February 4th, 83-year-old Thomas Lee was driving across iced-over East Okoboji Lake in Okoboji, Iowa in his Jeep when the ice cracked and the vehicle began to sink.
Lee was on his way to his son-in-law’s fishing shack when the incident occurred.
Has anyone ever gone ice fishing?
The lake is often frozen solid enough for people and even some vehicles to traverse it safely but the weight of Lee’s Jeep was just a wee bit too much.
The ice cracked and the Jeep Wrangler began to sink
Thankfully multiple individuals were close by, noticed, and acted.
Before reaching the Jeep, witnesses had already called the police, but one young man and four other bystanders decided to act rather than wait on authorities.
One particular 17-year-old kid got to the Jeep first, was able to get on top of the rear bumper, and tried opening the back hatch, but it was locked.
Someone else gave him a knife, and he hit the back glass a couple of times before it finally broke open.
The small band of good samaritans who had rushed to this old Jeepers aid and managed to rescue both him and his six-year-old dog Cooper.
Thankfully, all involved escaped serious injury during the rescue effort.
A local store took the dog in and helped dry everyone out, including the dog.
The Dickinson County Sheriff’s Office called out the quintet for its heroic actions on its Facebook page.
Evidently, it’s not the first time that a vehicle had fallen through the ice in this very spot.
On January 27th, just a week prior, the Sheriff’s Office posted an update involving a UTV that went down in the same location.
Thankfully, that spot, in particular, is only a few feet deep so neither the UTV nor Lee’s Jeep ended up completely submerged.
The Sheriff’s Office also updated everyone on the good news that both Lee and his dog Cooper are back home, dried out and doing well despite the dangerous accident.
Recovery efforts got the Jeep back on dry land, and all we know is the insurance company is involved.
Motorweek Gives Jeep Brand TWO Prestigious Awards
The Jeep brand is the winner of two 2023 MotorWeek Drivers’ Choice Awards.
For over 42 years MotorWeek has held the annual Drivers’ Choice Competition
To evaluate vehicles based on driving performance, technology, practicality, fuel efficiency, and value.
The new Jeep Grand Cherokee took top honors as the Best Midsize Utility vehicle.
The new Grand Wagoneer won the Best Luxury Utility honors.
Through a spokesperson, the brand said it is proud to design and deliver the best, most capable SUVs in the industry to its customers.
John Davis, Host and Creator of MotorWeek say “if you can find a more luxurious or capable SUV – BUY IT!”
By The Time you Hear This, It Might Be Too Late
The event sounds like an absolute blast – and it’s for a good cause too!
Blue Water Jeep Owners Club of Marysville Michigan is having its Fourth annual Polar Bear Jeep Run to benefit children’s charities
(Event is set for Feb. 25 – The weekend after this episode comes out)
The event consists of a large community of Jeep owners who raise money and get family and friends to donate in favor of their driving with their tops off in the middle of winter…in Michigan.
On the day of the event, Jeep owners will go through a drive-thru registration process somewhere in Port Huron, where they will turn in their money and have the tops taken off their Jeeps.
From there they will head over to The Fieldhouse Sports Bar and Kitchen in Marysville to line up into groups.
There will be five or six groups of Jeeps — each group will be sent out at staggered timing, three times during the afternoon for a 30-minute scavenger hunt.
The group will be given addresses they can choose from, to go and pick up an item to come back with and decorate a Polarman.
(A Polarman is a large plywood silhouette shaped like a polar bear)
Each group will be assigned its own Polarman.
Each location a team visits will have a bin of items. They will pick one, take a group picture and then go off to another location.
When the team returns, they use the items to start decorating their Polarman.
If the team arrives back later than 30 minutes, they start to lose items.
Spectators attending can buy tickets to vote on their favorite decorated Polarman during the event. – The one with the most tickets at the end of the day wins.
Spectators and teams can purchase — rent — items from a table in the main event tent to make a team have to use those items on their Polarman
You might have a team doing a great job making a Hawaiian-themed Polarman that all of a sudden has to use a pair of snow skis in their design.
Music, games, Live ice carving, raffles, auctions, and more activities will also be a part of the event. https://bluewaterjeepowners.org/
All proceeds will go toward local children’s charities, including child abuse prevention, adopting kids at Christmas, backpacks for kids, and others.
Thought they would raise about $500 the first year, but ended up raising over $9,000. Funds raised have steadily increased each year, with last year raising almost $19,000.
“Freezin’ for a Reason”
Thomas Lee 83
Tech Talk with Jeep Talk
TOPIC/QUESTION: Heater Hose Hack
Replacing heater hoses on a Jeep is a relatively simple process. Working on Jeeps has always been relatively simple, but there is always room for a hack or something that simplifies a process to make a job go easier or more smoothly. Heater hoses are the two smaller diameter rubber hoses that circulate engine coolant to and from the heater core, which is the small radiator inside the dashboard that provides heat for the cabin. They typically extend from the engine to the firewall, because of where the heater core is located. There may be a 
combination of rubber and hard lines depending on which year and model of Jeep you have and what engine it has. Despite this, the rubber hoses are a part that can and eventually will go out on you. The job of replacing them, as I mentioned, is relatively simple: take the old ones off, put the new ones on, and maybe top off a little coolant. Done. The issue is sometimes the old rubber hose makes a chemical bond with the metal hoses protruding through the firewall. Sometimes these are even plastic or have specialty locking connectors which makes things even that much more fun and interesting, as trying to get an old hose seized into a plastic connector is almost impossible without breaking the plastic connector, or sometimes bending or creasing the metal interconnect hose. It CAN be a pain in the ass. There are two things that will make this process go a lot easier though. One is a technique and the other is a tool. First the technique. Since these hoses are being replaced anyways, how you take them off isn’t really critical, it’s more important THAT they come off rather than HOW they come off. So instead of trying to twist and pull them off, simply cut them off.
Using a good box knife, make several passes longways from the end of the hose at the firewall, down the length past the connection point. This will probably be less than six inches. This will enable you to peel the hose off the connector, saving the hassle of turning a simple hose swap into a dashboard removal. The other method is by using the right tool for the job. You might be so inclined to grab the biggest set of channel locks you’ve got and just 
start twisting away. Chances are, you’ll do more harm than good, as the grip of the jaws isn’t putting the pressure in the right places, and could do damage. Instead, look for a set of hose grip pliers. These are a very specific set of pliers that are purpose-built to do one job; grab hoses. They look like a set of needle nose pliers that have had a bad nose job. The tips are stretched and bent to form a semi-circle, giving you the ability to grab a hose around its entire circumference. This spreads the force around the hose and thus doesn’t apply too much pressure at one point. This reduces the risk of pinching, crimping, breaking, or otherwise screwing up a simple job. They come in various sizes, so make sure you get one that closely matches the diameter of the hose you’re working with.
If in doubt, take a slice of the hose with you for reference, or take a measurement beforehand. The tool is relatively cheap compared to the cost of what NOT having them could turn into. This may be a tool you don’t use very often, but the alternative is a lot more expensive and time-consuming. And at least this way, if a fellow Jeeper needs a helping hand, you have the right tool for the job.
Links Mentioned in this Episode
NEXEN Tires USA https://www.nexentireusa.com/
Trails 411- POWERING Your Adventure https://www.youtube.com/user/backcountrydriver
The 4×4 Radio Network http://4x4radionetwork.com/
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Newbie Nuggets with Wendy
Jeep Talk Show Gladiator Update
Jeeps are awesome. We all know this. That’s one of the primary reasons we all own at least one. But Jeeps over the years have lacked some of the simple necessities of regular cars and trucks. For instance, things like cup holders were a creature comfort thought to be not needed in Jeeps for decades! No, it’s true, look it up. Thankfully the aftermarket, (and then later the OEM) finally came out with solutions. The same goes for interior lighting. Jeeps historically have not had the best interior lighting either. 
10mm socket, that lost earring, or your favorite pen that’s been missing since before covid. Now I’m going to leave the selection of the LED light strips up to you. Maybe you want something that you can change the color on, or that can strobe. Hell, I don’t know what you’re into. I will say this though,
Jeep Talk Show Gladiator Update
Over the last week or so we’ve heard some updates from Chuck regarding his new leaf springs, and the super articulating orbit eye that they have. This gave me some inspiration to cover a topic related to springs. So I figured I’d give some love to the TJ crowd this week. TJ owners deserve a cheap solution to spring problems just as much as anyone else. Especially with the way inflation has hit the aftermarket Jeep world. 
Now to bring the rear up to height, we’re going to be looking for a Crown Victoria. That’s right, just like the old cop cars. The Crown Vic springs are also taller springs, made to handle the weight of such a large car. Here too you’ll want to grab the isolators, and I hear some guys are running both sets of isolators to gain just that extra little bit of height. There are other considerations you will have to take care of after putting these springs into a TJ as well. First and foremost is of course going to be the shocks. The stock shocks won’t have the travel necessary for the new ride height and suspension travel, so new shocks will be needed. Now you could opt to go new here and to be honest, you’d still be well ahead of the game. Or you could continue to save, and turn to places like eBay, Craigslist, or FB Marketplace to track down something used. 
Look for take-off shocks from a stock Rubicon JKU. When someone upgrades their Jeep with aftermarket parts, they “take off” the stock stuff and sell it for super cheap. The stock Rubicon JKU shocks (these are the red ones BTW) will be the perfect upgrade, they are just barely within the specs needed to accommodate the new suspension of the TJ, and will be a suitable, easy-to-find, and inexpensive option. You may need or want to look into track bar relocation brackets as well. These will be needed to recenter the axles under the Jeep after the junkyard lift. You probably won’t find these in the junkyard, and they’re rare on the used market, but it never hurts to look. Either way, they’re relatively inexpensive, so just add them to the list and 
get a set regardless. You will also want to look into getting an alignment done as soon as possible since you just changed a lot of geometry under the Jeep in some rather critical areas. There are also a lot of “while you’re in there’s” that can go along with this too. Things like brake line length, we just talked about that recently too. You will of course need larger tires now, duh! Visual inspections of steering and brake components should be done ANY and EVERY time you crawl under the Jeep for any reason. Maybe it’s time for some new wheel bearings or a brake job, or maybe you’ll discover a worn tie rod end or ball joint, who knows, just be prepared for the unexpected and a last-minute run to the parts store or rockauto.com. In the end, you’ll have enough lift for some larger tires, you will have increased your suspension travel, and seriously change the looks of your Jeep for the better, so there’s the cool factor to all of this too. I will warn you though, that you will get what you pay for. Things may not fit perfectly, things may squeak, and you will definitely notice a change in the ride quality from what the Jeep was when it was stock. The overall ride quality of a junkyard lift is not going to be as soft of a ride as you had before and for a daily driver, I would almost advise against this procedure just because of that if this is something that matters to you. But don’t let that or me stop you, once lifted, it’s a lot easier to change things later down the road. And speaking of that road, when it comes time to leave said road and hit the trails, no matter what… you’ll still be doing a lot better than you were when the Jeep was stock. Now don’t think this ends with the TJ, there are tons of modifications that can be done to all kinds of Jeeps with junkyard parts. So do some research, and I bet you’ll be surprised what parts from other vehicles will fit on your Jeep and do just fine. 
Jeep Talk Show Gladiator Update
Tech Talk with Jeep Talk
say nasty because the straps you use to hold down cargo, maybe even inside the Jeep, shouldn’t be full of oil and grime, and when used more like a tool, straps tend to get dirty just like a wrench. Now I don’t have any tips for using a ratchet strap instead of a wrench, although that would be a neat trick. They can be used for several other things under the Jeep. I like to use one or two any time I’m installing new control arms to help clock the axle and pull it into position. Combined with a floor or bottle jack under the pinion, and some creative work with a pry bar here and there, they always drop in nice and easy. The same can be said for when you need to line up different parts of the exhaust system. Moving one side of the exhaust into place to line up with something else is easy by ratcheting it into place with a strap. Just don’t forget it’s under there (like I did recently) before starting the Jeep up, or you’re going to shrink that strap’s size real quick. Need help lifting a tire into place, get creative with the straps. Need to hold that bumper or light in position while you get the first couple of bolts in, Ratchet Straps! Maybe that new latch mechanism is still a week out… hold that rear hatch or door shut with a ratchet strap. Ever do a brake job and can’t find the right way to keep that caliper out of the way? Ratchet straps! Use a ratchet strap like a clothesline, but for drying painted parts. Strung up taught, you can hang bent pieces of wire or coat hangers and hold freshly painted parts to dry. … see where I’m going here? There are hundreds of uses for a ratchet strap in, on, under, and in proximity to your Jeep. You’re only limited by the size of the strap, and your imagination. …..But if you get hurt that’s all on you. 
Gaskets – Fitment issues
