well, i spent the day working on the jeep.
at the hobby shop on base i dropped my fuel tank, laid neoprene around the recessed fuelpump ring at it's base to keep the tank level, and then stacked 1.5" of neoprene over the tank to help fill the space above it that was created by my 1" body lift.
i then got the swamper mounted to my old spare tire's rim and bolted back onto my swingaway. no more rear view mirror anymore 
on the way home i convinced napa to let me return my bent tierod even though i didn't have my receipt. i told them when i had purchased it (last summer) and they found it in their computer. no name, was on the computer, but i quoted them the price i paid and the three parts that i had ordered. i had to pay for the new one up front but will get the full price back when i return the old one. once home i pulled the bent one off, threw on the new one, and then did a quick alignment. it's not perfect (the toe-in), but it's keeping the shimmy to a minimum. i'm thinking of paying for that $89 alignment at NTB next week. i'm getting it pretty close in my garage...but i tend to need to do this every few weeks after a ride. i'm sure that they can get it much closer to perfect than i can...and at only $90 for the year (scott at kirkwood's store said he could care less how many times i took it to the rock parks - a warranty is a warranty) i can bring it back as many times as i want.
all in all a great day for my jeep. ditched that infamous clunk my jeep had since last december, got my spare hooked up, and got my steering issues "straightened" out thanks again to john for the neoprene - it did the trick. thanks also to tony for the spare swamper - holding air like a champ!
chris
