Posts by whatevah

  • DEJA fall cookout & meeting - Sept 12, 2026

    1. Whatevah - 2 adults, tray of smoked pulled pork and smokey bbq sauce

    2. MrJoop- 1 adult, cupcakes

    3. Truck - 2 adults - tray of brownies

    4. Captain II - 1 adult - not sure

    5. tmschramke - 2 adults - potato salad

    6. VernsVR6- 2 adults deviled eggs

    7. Deadbeat - 2 Adults , something Japanese

    8. Btheman- plus 2 children under 10. Several bags of various potato chips.

    9. Cmhulett - 2 adults, pasta salad & broccoli salad

    10. BigDawgDon 2 adults

    11. Flatfoot 2 adults (Cowboy Beans)

    12. Swift1too 2 adults TBD

    13. YJDave 2 adults Philly Pretzels

    14. JCarletti 2 adults Philly pretzels



    Added Carletti to the list (forum login issues, he emailed me yesterday).

  • the dreaded Pentastar tick/tap, my story

    A story with a somewhat positive ending... I'm posting this just to share my story because a lot of other people experience similar issues.


    On the way home from the Members Ride back in June, whilst towing our 6000lb trailer I noticed a light tapping from my Gladiator's engine on the passenger side. It didn't go away, but also didn't really get worse and there was no perceived loss of power. I babied it for a bit and tried to ignore it, even cancelled a camping trip...


    I watched a bunch of youtube videos and many forum posts before finally giving in... I ordered the specialty tools needed for a camshaft job, and 2 sets of intake and exhaust rockers/lifters. The internet made it seem like a 5 hour job, so I should have it done in a day... right? If I remember correctly, I needed sockets for 7mm, 8mm, 10mm and 13mm, plus E30 and E25 torx bits, short medium and long extensions. I used an air ratchet as much as I could to save time, but did need a hand ratchet for clearance in a few spots. Also used a hose clamp tool since it's way easier than using channellocks for those. A magnetic pickup tool was pretty much required as well. This job also gave me a chance to use the Boltster trays, much better than throwing everything into a magnetic bowl, I'm going to use these whenever I get the chance. They were also helpful to keep wrenches from falling off the grill.


    I pulled out all the tools the internet said and started tearing the engine bay apart. Removed the intake/airbox, disconnected coolant lines and tried for way too long to get to the coolant hose bracket lower nut. Finally gave up, pulled the battery, disconnected all the cables from the fuse box, removed the fuse box, removed the battery tray/fusebox support. Now I can reach that nut! I pull away the hoses and start unplugging the injectors, removing the sensors, coil packs from the valve cover and finally remove the cover. The camshafts look ok, sweet! Unfortunately now it's almost 5pm and my wife and I have dinner scheduled with family. Break for tomorrow.

    engine bay


    The next day I started a little late because I thought I only had a few hours to go. But, there's a storm coming so that'll be fun. I loosened the camshaft caps and pried the exhaust camshaft up enough to pull the rockers with a magnet. Getting the rear 2 back in place was a royal pain, took way too long. Out of the 6 rockers, 4 had stuck lifters. :( I only ordered 2! Fortunately 2 released as I was messing with them. Time will tell on that. I have a feeling I'll be doing this job again soon...

    passenger side valvetrain


    I was pretty sure that the exhaust lifters were the source of the tap but checked the intake side since I was already there. I noticed light scuffs on one lobe of the camshaft but I don't think it changed the profile. I pulled all of the rockers and found that 2 of them were worn down about a 1/16", maybe a little more. This is not good... that camshaft and all 6 rockers were replaced 20K miles ago. But, I did order 2 sets of arms and lifters, so I swapped them out. The rockers keep falling over due to the angle of my driveway, so tightening the caps took forever but I finally used a torque wrench for the first time in my life (kinda kidding) and started closing everything up.

    worn rockers

    After reattaching all of the various sensors and such, I put the battery box back in and start on the fuse box. There are 7 terminals for power leads and I somehow lost the cable #4 (they're all labeled). After searching the engine bay for far too long and finally removing the tray again to search more completely, I realize that #4 was never used. Why would it even be there? Why not make #7 the spare??? Ok, started reinstalling that again... no more issues. I got the battery back in place, reconnected the coolant hoses and closed the hood.


    Hopped back in the Jeep, pushed the button and it cranks.... and cranks... and cranks. :( Checked for codes, nothing. I'm defeated. Unfortunately, I have to clean up to goto a concert so put away all of the tools for the night. I have to work the next day, so have to wait another day until I can try again.


    2 days later, still no start... I hope that maybe the camshaft sensor got messed up in the process so walked to the local parts store and back. Swapped out the sensor and... no start. I started pumping the gas pedal and it started rough then sputtered out. :( Still no codes, but that sounds like a timing problem. I pulled out the tools again and started tearing everything apart again. At least I know what tools I need this time.


    It turns out that the rear intake rocker arm fell over again when I was tightening the cam caps and I couldn't see it behind the spark plug tube. I checked it for damage, looked ok so put it back in place. I tripled checked every rocker arm this time. Then put it all back together again...


    It started! And it ran smooth and quiet. Finally! Took it for a quick test drive around the neighborhood, then changed out the oil. Ehh... there were flakes in the filter and the oil was rather shimmery. I used 5w30 instead of the 0w20 the manual calls for when I refilled. My 2012 JK used 5w30 with the same engine and I never had any cam issues. I drove to work and back the next 2 days and changed the oil again. Filter is clean and no shimmer. Added new 5w30 and added ZDDP for extra protection. Fingers crossed. The next time I hear tapping or experience even worse symptoms I'll probably replace all rocker arms and lifters on both sides and order camshafts, expecting to replace the passenger intake shaft again.


    For a little backstory, a passenger intake rocker arm seized around 44000 miles as I was towing our camper trailer across southern Colorado. That's a whole story in itself, but got the camshaft and rocker arm replaced... then replaced it and all 6 intake rockers again around 600 miles later as the new camshaft was defective. Our trailer is rather heavy for a v6 so the engine has to run at higher rpms when towing but I attribute the issue mostly to dry starts from the 0w20 draining down to the pan with little residual on the valvetrain. I'm hoping the 5w30 and ZDDP will help delay the next failure.

  • Poll: should I lift my Gladiator?

    Unfortunately I did not get before/after photos. I meant to take a shot before we left AOAA but I forgot...


    I just took a poor photo in my driveway, hopefully this will suffice for now ;) 2" spacers front/rear and swapped to Mojave X front springs which took out the roughly 3/4" sag from the front bumper/winch. It's on 35" tires which I think were a perfect match to the stock Mojave suspension. Guess I'll eventually have to upgrade to 37s.


    JT

  • DEJA Members Appreciation Ride and camping @ AOAA 6/6/2026

    Updates/info for those camping with the group or on your own. FYI- the campground has late check-in/check-out times. Check-in is 6pm, check-out is 5pm. This is to give folks the opportunity to wheel on Sunday without booking the campsite for Sunday night, however it does mean you can't arrive before 6pm.


    Our group site is booked for Friday and Saturday nights. We'll have food and giveaways at the campsite after wheeling on Saturday (5 or 6ish?). There is a 20x32 pavilion so we'll be good if there is rain. The campground does not have running water but there are power outlets if you need to charge phones/devices. Currently, I think we're nearly at max capacity for camping on Friday but we can probably squeeze in another tent somewhere if needed.


    1. whatevah - Green/Blues, camping Fri-Sun morning

    2. Gary - green/light blue, camping Fri-Sun sometime

    3. Slowpoke - blacks, dinner, no camping

    4. Yolo - Greens/Blues, no camping. Probably stay at Kozy Kabins or a BNB. (work permitting)

    5. GrandDad - Blue, camping fri-sun

    6. Swift1too - Green/Blues camping Fri-Sun booked site150

    7. YJDave - Greens/Blues camping Fri-Sun site 150

    8. ChiChi - Greens camping Fri-Sun site 150

    9. TedKnowles34 - Green/light blue, camping Fri-Sun (2 Adults)

    10. Deadfeat, Camping Fri/Sat Solo. Dinner.

    11. Astape - camping fri night, dinner then home

    12. tmschramke- camping Friday/Saturday, dinner Green Trails

    13. Stafford - camping 133 Fri/sat, dinner, black as my soul

    14. TheDarkside - camping Fri-Sun morn

    15.


    Group camping list

    whatevah and accampb2470 both nights

    Gary both nights

    GrandDad both nights

    TedKnowles34 and 1 both nights

    Deadfeet both nights

    Astape Friday night

    tmschramke both nights

    TheDarkside and nutrijeeper both nights

  • Questions regarding trail rides.

    Driver experience plays a decent role but for a TJ/LJ on a 4" lift, you should be able to handle a good number of the blue trails without too much trouble but might need a hand in some sections. Do you have any skid plates? Differential guards or heavy duty replacement covers are pretty important, plus gas tank and engine/transmission skids.