Novak Conversions Jeep Wrangler JK shifters

What did you do to your JK today?

@Rich1961 that's cool! Please take some before and after pictures. Are you installing the control arm drop brackets too? I am leaning towards this kit myself although I'll probably hold off until we move into our new place...
I did not use the drop brackets. I ordered them for the first lift, but never used them. They are sitting in the garage. Here are some before / after pictures.

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Yeah I'm really looking forward to this lift. I have some BFG All Terrains 285/17's that a friend gave me from his JL that will go on with the lift. The 33's shouldn't affect the gear ratio much, and I'll run them and see if I want to go to 35"s. But that will need a re-gear so we'll see.

Yes, I did order the geometry correction brackets as it seems to keep the front axle close to where it is setup stock.

I'll definitely post before and after pictures.
The wife has 33” with 3.73 gears and they work fine. Here is picture of hers with the 33”.

IMG_4514.jpeg
 
Drove it through a snowstorm to Denver to take Mrs. Dog to see Dancing with the Stars. She's a huge fan. I got her seats so close to the stage that there was risk of dancer sweat landing on us.

On the way home, I caught this on the odometer:
IMG_6923[1].JPG
More accurately, Mrs. Dog caught it. I wouldn't take a photo while driving.
And hey @BigAL07! This one has a non-OEM gas cap, which fixed the GASCAP evap error. :)
 
Damn, that sucks!
Ok, here’s where I’m at now.

First off, ZERO complaints w/ Wrangler Fix.

Cruising along on the freeway and the lightning bolt & CEL illuminated; pulled to shoulder and checked codes.
All of the previous codes were again present.
Cleared the codes and headed towards the next exit.
Codes returned at the stop light so I headed to the nearest parking lot to diagnose.
Cleared codes and checked battery connections as well as the plugs that connect to the ECU, then pointed it towards home.

Made it home w/o any issues.

Literally the only thing I did was jiggle the battery terminals and the 2 ECU plugs to ensure they were tight.


This makes me think the ECU was actually NOT the root cause, and I’m growing very suspicious of the wire harness that connects to the ECU.

I have the weekend to either dig into it more, or get started on the hunt for a new vehicle.
 
Ok, here’s where I’m at now.

First off, ZERO complaints w/ Wrangler Fix.

Cruising along on the freeway and the lightning bolt & CEL illuminated; pulled to shoulder and checked codes.
All of the previous codes were again present.
Cleared the codes and headed towards the next exit.
Codes returned at the stop light so I headed to the nearest parking lot to diagnose.
Cleared codes and checked battery connections as well as the plugs that connect to the ECU, then pointed it towards home.

Made it home w/o any issues.

Literally the only thing I did was jiggle the battery terminals and the 2 ECU plugs to ensure they were tight.


This makes me think the ECU was actually NOT the root cause, and I’m growing very suspicious of the wire harness that connects to the ECU.

I have the weekend to either dig into it more, or get started on the hunt for a new vehicle.
So I know everyone talks about this, do you have the stock battery clamps? I know we do on both of ours, I’ve yet to change them and they are working (i know I’ll get the dash Christmas tree someday). If you do have the stock clamps I’d start with changing them out and see if there is any improvement. I would also recommend having the battery tested under load to make sure it is good. I know from experience a poor performing battery can cause problems. Our suburban would start fine, but we would get random dash lights. Ended up changing the battery, didn’t happen again till time to replace the battery.
 
Absolutely not… I got rid of those stamped tin clamps as soon as I discovered the ground had worn a groove all the way around the battery post and had intermittent contact.
I have “full grip” clamps, and they are tight. Cable connections to the clamps are also tight w/o corrosion, etc.
Battery is a brand new Optima YellowTop. Alternator works as intended (over 14v when charging).

This has got to be connection-related; either AT the ECU plugs, or the ground on the ECU itself (yes, the connector is attached and tight on the ECU, as well as on the ground post on the inner fender.
 
Absolutely not… I got rid of those stamped tin clamps as soon as I discovered the ground had worn a groove all the way around the battery post and had intermittent contact.
I have “full grip” clamps, and they are tight. Cable connections to the clamps are also tight w/o corrosion, etc.
Battery is a brand new Optima YellowTop. Alternator works as intended (over 14v when charging).

This has got to be connection-related; either AT the ECU plugs, or the ground on the ECU itself (yes, the connector is attached and tight on the ECU, as well as on the ground post on the inner fender.
I wonder if there is a short in one of the wires? Maybe the insulation wore off and two wires are touching or a wire is grounding out somewhere. Maybe it’s the actual plug location. Wonder if some dietetic grease in the plug would do anything? Is the plug clean or is there any corrosion inside?
 
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Absolutely not… I got rid of those stamped tin clamps as soon as I discovered the ground had worn a groove all the way around the battery post and had intermittent contact.
I have “full grip” clamps, and they are tight. Cable connections to the clamps are also tight w/o corrosion, etc.
Battery is a brand new Optima YellowTop. Alternator works as intended (over 14v when charging).

This has got to be connection-related; either AT the ECU plugs, or the ground on the ECU itself (yes, the connector is attached and tight on the ECU, as well as on the ground post on the inner fender.
Might try dielectric grease on all the connectors.
 
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I have felt like giving up on this Jeep so many times that I've honestly lost count, but the realization of how much $$ we would lose right now (as-is) using it as a trade or a even a private sale has inspired my interest in finding a repair.

Today I started really searching for fixes. I saw a ton of posts in several different forums about this exact scenario that I'm going through, and while there were a ton of suggested fixes (most of which I have tried), there was only 1 post that happened to point me to a video where a guy went through the same path of attempts that I have tried so far, and ultimately he found the root cause was located under the intake manifold where the oil temp/pressure is, towards the rear of the engine.
His video shows a harness that's wrapped in a silver heat shield up to about 1/2" of the connector.
That, small exposed, 1/2" area had brittle, deteriorating wire insulation with exposed conductors on at least 2 of the wires.

Since ours is a high mileage vehicle, I can definitely believe the wires at that sensor location have been exposed to a lot of heat cycles and could be as bad as the ones shown in the video.
I'm going to pull the intake off and check the condition of that harness and connector.
 
Drove it through a snowstorm to Denver to take Mrs. Dog to see Dancing with the Stars. She's a huge fan. I got her seats so close to the stage that there was risk of dancer sweat landing on us.

On the way home, I caught this on the odometer:
View attachment 126595
More accurately, Mrs. Dog caught it. I wouldn't take a photo while driving.
And hey @BigAL07! This one has a non-OEM gas cap, which fixed the GASCAP evap error. :)
Probably just remembered to actually take the nozzle out and put the cap back on this time 🍺🍺
 
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You know, sometimes it's the little things that bring satisfaction.

I have a Midland MXT-275 gmrs radio that has been velcro'd to the passenger side of the center console for a couple of years. I HATE it there, but have been flummoxed with where I should mount it. Available real estate in the JK cab is more like Manhattan rather than Montana, so I searched for ideas. Found a contributor in Reddit some time ago and copied his idea and since I haven't seen it on any other forum, thought I'd share.

I went rummaging in my stack o' stuff and found a 2-gang galvanized electrical box cover and some nuts/bolts. A little time with my grinder, drill and the vise, and viola!
mxt275 bracket1.jpg
mxt275 mounted.jpg


It's mounted behind the glove box in it's original bracket so it can still be removed. I'll make an extension for the mic & speaker, but this gets the radio out of the way and isn't easily seen by ne'er do wells. Not too worried about heat generation since it's only a 15w radio.

Next is mounting the overhead molle panel which will be where this radio's speaker will live, along side my ham radio. And I still have to get my 1/2 doors painted! JEEP not only means Just Empty Every Pocket, but it also means Just EndlEss Projects!
 
Novak Conversions Jeep Wrangler JK shifters