Noise when starting in the cold

Recently since it has gotten cold there is a funny noise as the Jeep starts. The only thing I can compare it to is a zip tie being pulled quickly. It goes away very quickly and only happens when temps are at or below 70 degrees. Also only the first time I crank it after sitting for a few hours. It won't do it after it's been started once. Here is a video from inside the cab so you can hear it.

FINALLY! I really found the clunk/pop when turning left

Well, I thought I had already figured it out, but it ended up not being the exhaust hitting the frame. Although, I do know it was hitting the frame because there was a notch in the exhaust pipe.

Anyway, I got under the jeep the other day and was poking around trying to create that noise by pushing on parts of the suspension. I came to the sway bar, which I think might have been put on by a previous owner. When I pushed up on it it moved. And when it came back down into place it made the pop I was looking for. I took a video to show what was happening, but basically the washer that was on the bolt holding the bar onto the frame was too small for the hole. It was starting to actually pull through the hole which cause the bar to be slightly loose. Video is below.

This was a flat washer at one point. You can see that it was starting to pull through the mounting hole in the frame.

I replaced it with a big fender washer so I wouldn't have that problem again. No crazy sounds coming from underneath anymore!

Sloppy Shifter Linkage

Ever since I bought the jeep the shifter indicator was more of a suggestion. When you were in park it looked more like reverse on the shifter indicator. Anyway, I got underneath to adjust the linkage. It's a pretty easy adjustment. Just one nut, then slide the bar up or down to line up at the right gear. I did this though, and the jeep all of a sudden wouldn't hold when it was in park. The problem was the bushings in the linkage were so worn that the linkage was very sloppy and wasn't staying in gear. I took a video of the linkage as I shifted through the gears and you can tell the bar going horizontal is pretty sloppy. I was able to buy some nylon spacers at lowes that fit almost perfect. I shaved just a tiny bit off the outside of each with a sanding pad on my dremel to make it fit in the existing bracket. It made everything really tight, lined up on the indicator and shifts great now. A really cheap, easy fix.

The 2 new clean spacers in place of the old bushings. Everything fit very snug back in place.

It's hard to read, but the nylon spacers are 3/8" x 1" x 3/8"

New Belts

Changed out the belts this weekend. I'm honestly not sure, but I don't know that the belts are routed the way they were from the factory, but everything is working so I wasn't going to mess with a good thing. They were old, but the reason I decided to change them was because the power steering belt was started to squeal. I changed them out and it actually helped my alternator charge too. At night I was noticing when I would turn my lights on the volt meter would drop down close to 8. After changing out the belts and getting them tight it now shows 13 when I turn the lights on. Success!

 

Old belts

  

7500 and 7535 were the new belt numbers

Clunk when turning left

Ever since I got the Jeep there has been a clunk when turning left. It always seemed to be coming from the middle to rear on the passenger side. I'm still not positive, but I think my exhaust is flexing enough to knock against the from when I turn. Here are some pics of the mark on the exhaust where it looks like it's hitting the frame.

Heater vacuum hose

I haven't had any heat blowing out of the vents, and recently noticed a loose vacuum hose just sitting hanging down in my floorboard. After some help by the guys on the IFSJ forum I was able to locate the vacuum motor and reattach the hose. Thought I'd post a pic in case anyone else was having the same issue. By the way this happened after messing with the radio and heater control on the dash. The vacuum line really doesn't have much slack in it so if it's hung up on another wire behind the dash it's pretty easy to pull it off the motor. I rerouted it just a bit to give me as much slack as possible.

Starter?

The Jeep has been making a grinding sound recently as soon as it starts up. It only lasts about half a second, but I'm wondering if this is the starter not disengaging from the flywheel quick enough. In the video it's slow to start, but you can briefly hear it when it finally fires up. I immediately started it after the video was shot and it didn't make the noise. Any thoughts?