So, when I met the PO at his mountain top cabin the Jeep was inside the one car garage. This cabin looks finished from the outside, but has been a 25 year project and the garage floor is still dirt and the inside walls are unfinished waiting on electric and plumbing to be done. The owner goes inside to open the garage door leaving my son and I outside (my wife stayed in the truck)...we can see and hear he's having trouble lifting the garage door so I go over and grab the outside handle and yank the door up. Unbeknownst to me he had laid a 2x4 across the top of the door to keep the squirrels out and when the door went up the board came down hitting me right on top of the head...after a little in the field first aid which amounted to gauze an an ace bandage going under my chin and over my head we got our first look at the Jeep. Note, the door was heavy because he hasn't put the lifting springs on the door yet.
I was told it was in running order, but discovered it had a dead battery, so the owner hiked down the hill to the road (300" long driveway that makes a 150' elevation change) and off to Tractor Supply for a battery. With the new battery in it wouldn't start, so out came the starting fluid and it ran as long as we kept spraying. Not long after that I asked my son to check the brakes...the pedal went right to the floor...that ended everything right there as there was no way to get it off the mountain without them working and it was now time for me to get real medical attention, so we headed home with my son driving and an empty trailer. Once we got close to my sons house the wife and I got dropped off at the Urgent Care facility...30 minutes later we were out the door with 4 staples in my head to hold the cut closed. The Doctor complemented the wife on her first aid skills and he said he'd be sending me out with the same style bandage she had used!
Two weeks later the owner and I made the decision to have the Jeep professionally towed off the mountain and deposited down at the county road. This turned out to be a challenge for the tow truck driver as it took him three tries with his 4x4 rollback to get to the cabin and once there he had to use his snatch block and winch to turn himself around...after all of that he loaded the Jeep and took it to the road without further issues.
With the Jeep now home I replaced both the fuel pump and filter and it runs great. I also replaced the Master Cylinder and flushed the brake lines and now have it stopping.
Next up I'll be looking at the drums and rotors to make sure they are in good order.
Chapter one of my adventures with this Jeep is done...LOL!
Mike B
