Miller sent us a Passport Plus MIG welder to play with so they could get our opinions on the machine. In short, we love it. And we think you will, too. It's one of the most versatile welding tools we've laid hands on. There's a ton of info on the company's Web site, so we won't cover every specification, but we will clue you in on a few of the key features we find most appealing.

You know the kind of guy that might not be too book smart, but has done things over and over and over again and finally learned how to make things work, and knows really well what things don't work? Well, I'm that guy. My name is Randy.

It seems like part of being a Jeeper is that no matter what we've got, we want something different or better. If we have all-terrain tires, we wish we had mud tires. If we have a soft top, we're jealous of our friends with the milk-mobiles and grocery-getters, who wheel in shade and A/C. If we're in a Cherokee, we envy the open-top, doorless experience our Wrangler friends take for granted.

Rocker guards are one of the first modifications we recommend for anyone planning to take their Jeep off-road. They are inexpensive protection for an easily damaged and expensive area to repair. We typically look for rocker guards that mount either directly to the frame or solidly to body mounts and the body itself. We wanted maximum clearance nd protection for our project JK, so we opted for Poly Performance high-clearance rockers. They mount rigidly to the body and body mounts and provide a smooth, snag-free, tapered surface for obstacles to easily slide under. You gain the advantages of an expensive custom boatside conversion in a simple, affordable, bolt-on package. Here's how they work.

They're one of those parts you rarely think about until they go bad. And then you're usually content to just check the diff-oil level every now and then. But neglecting a weeping or leaking axle seal can cause bigger problems. Foremost of which is oil contamination on your brakes. Once your brake pads or shoes become contaminated, they've got to be replaced. And until they're replaced, not only won't the contaminated brakes stop the vehicle effectively, but they can cause a vicious pull to one side when the brakes are applied. It can be enough to send you into oncoming traffic.

Have you always wondered what your Jeep weighs? We have a bitchin' set of Intercomp racing products sW650 scales we got from summit racing a few years back that will answer that question for you nearly to the ounce. But unless you look like halle Berry and cook like Rachel ray, we're not coming to your house to weigh your Jeep for you.

If you've ever done a proper clutch replacement, then you've wrestled with removing the pilot pushing via one means or another-here are three of the most common ways it's done. While we've never had any luck using our pilot bushing removal tool (lead photo), the hydraulic grease trick has never let us down. Here are some choices. Pick your poison.

If you've ever come across a Jeep on the trail that has a power-steering pump screaming like a wounded monkey, you know what air in your power-steering system sounds like. It's not too often you have to crack your power-steering system open, but if and when you do, there are ways to ensure you don't wind up with aerated fluid that will cause your pump to whine, scream, and overheat.

Most guys want to build the world's most killer rig for pennies scraped together from between the couch cushions. In real life that just doesn't happen. If you want real, quality parts you have to dole out some real, quality cash. But you don't always have to part with as much of it as you think. Here are some of the screamingest deals around.

The first piece of engine-performance-improving equipment for a Jeep I ever saw was an aluminum cylinder head designed by Vic Hickey in the early '50s before I had a driver's license when I was just a kid. It was the coolest thing on a Jeep I had ever seen. Later on, Brian Chuchua, also known as Mr. Jeep, sold a similar one with his name on it that was still listed in his 1971 catalog. Dual carburetor manifolds in the '50s were available for just about any engine you could imagine and an old-time company, Burns, made a log-type manifold that utilized two Stromberg Ford V-8 carburetors for the Jeep four-cylinder. I'm sure these helped the four-cylinder flathead's performance, but, still, the long-stroke 134.2ci engine needed a lot more than this. Based on a modified Whippet engine from 1926, the Go Devil struggled to put out all of 60 horsepower at 3,600 rpm and a questionable 105lb-ft of torque at 2,000 rpm. The bore/stroke ratio, or should it be called the stroke/bore ratio, was way out of place when compared to a modern engine. The extremely long stroke of 4 3/8 inches was a full 1 1/4-inch more than the bore, so along with the very heavy rods and deep skirted T-slot pistons, rpm potential was limited. The oiling system was also lacking. The only thing one could do was open up some of the passageways, increase the crank clearances a bit, make sure the oil pump clearances were at a minimum, and increase the pump's relief valvespring tension with either a stronger spring or shims.

You might have noticed I might not be the brightest bulb in the box. But I still am pretty good at fixing things. For some reason, I just get electrical things. Because I did wiring stuff better than Hazel, the editors decided to let me write this column.You might think something is temporary when you do it, but we all know that it will stay that way forever. Do it right the first time. What's right, you ask? When you wire something right, you feel proud of it and want to show it off to others. Unless, of course, you are the previous owner who wired up all of Trasborg's CJs, in which case you don't know any better.

Why should we reinvent the wheel? We've brought you countless tire tests in the past. In most cases our opinions of the tires we tested then is the same as it is now. If anything changes, we'll let you know. For example, in this third installment of our yearly tire test hotsheet we've removed the Goodyear AT/S because we feel it's just not a great off-road tire. That's not to say it isn't a good tire. It's just better suited for the street. Since Jp Magazine is an off-road Jeep enthusiast publication, just street ain't gonna cut it. In its place we bring you the Maxxis Creepy Crawler, as well as some pretty new pictures of the tires you saw last year. Next time you can expect to see some of the tire tests found elsewhere in this issue. Tune in next year to see which ones.

Most leaf-spring Jeeps rolled out of the factory with the front spring shackles hanging on the front of the frame. No one is really sure why they did that, but we say it was just so you can more easily bend your main leaf, and keep the leaf spring companies in business. It's a conspiracy.We are going to concentrate on the movement of the Jeep's suspension when moving forward. This is the motion that your Jeep sees 99.5 percent of the time. Unless, of course, you are Ferris Bueller.

Hey everyone, it's me Randy again. This month, I wanted to follow up on last month's "Light Wiring" column. I amgoing to try to explain how to choose what size wire you need to use for whatever it is you are wiring up.

Certain words come to mind when we try to describe our Grand Cherokee's stock braking system. "Squirrelly" is one such word, as is "sketchy." If this weren't a somewhat family-friendly magazine, there are some more profane descriptors we might include. As you may have guessed, we haven't felt all that confident about our WJ's stopping abilities. We've had some tense moments while depending on the stock brakes; navigating down slippery downslopes can be worrisome, and quick slowdowns on freeways can be downright terrifying. You know the feeling - your spine goes rigid, all of your butt muscles clench up, and you contort your face into something that looks even uglier than Editor Cappa's deformed mug. This type of thing didn't suit us very well (especially the looking-uglier-than-Cappa thing), so we were glad to get our hands on a set of new rotors from Powerslot.

After we wrote our story "a Day On The Dyno" in the June '07 issue, we decided that we weren't quite happy with how we did things.

We aren't talking about the gas that Aunt Aggie passed at the holiday dinner table. We are talking about exhaust gasses. If you are installing your own header, chances are good you'll end up with worse gas than Aunt Aggie.

Walk through a lot of car shows and you'll be violated by a variety of sounds. If you're lucky, those sounds will be coming from engines, but more often than not, the music will be unfamiliar to you. Car stereo systems have gotten beyond ridiculous lately, and when all is said and done, the bill for these battery-draining wonders is usually more than GM's debt.

How come you never see a Currie Antirock swaybar on YJs? One exception was on a YJ in JP Magazine's September 2007 issue. Is the Antirock a bad choice on a YJ? I drove a custom buggy for a day in Moab. It had Antirocks front and rear and they controlled body roll like no other. This only made me want them on my YJ. Maybe leaf springs and Antirocks are a bad combo. Help me out here.
"Jeep Boy"
Logan, Utah

With all the power parts and combos we've installed and dyno'd over the years, it seemed a shame to just let them slip blindly into oblivion.

One of the most overlooked areas of fullsize Jeeps is the gauge cluster. We add lift kits and other upgrades, but rarely give much thought to the cluster often filled with non-functioning gauges.

Some of us like to make our pancakes from scratch, some of us grab the Aunt Jemima box, and some of us just drive to I-hop. no matter which type you are, if you're contemplating a serious Jeep build, chances are you'll be yanking the stock engine for a high-horsepower replacement. You'll have tons of choices, from a scratch rebuild to a ready-to-run crate engine. here are 10 really good choices for anything from an early flattie to a prerunner J-truck.

We don't know who came up with the idea of putting a door on the rear of a Jeep. Unless you've been out at the bar, no one is going to try to get in or out of that rear-mounted door. For our part, we've been getting rid of that thing Chrysler calls a tailgate every chance we get.

It wasn't too long ago that we put a new top on Red, our '01 TJ ("TJ Top Replacement," Sept. '07). Well, it always seems we do something boneheaded right after we've spent the money to put a new component on the Jeep.

With all the fuss over aftermarket trinkets and flash components that make your Jeep look and wheel better, it's easy to overlook the simple maintenance necessary to keep your Jeep safe. Case in point is our recent '68 J2000 Gladiator purchase. After dragging it home, we discovered the steering-knuckle kingpins were in horrible shape. The same principles apply to all early '40s to early '70s closed-knuckle Jeep front axles, but you want to make sure the knuckle cavity is full of grease to keep the kingpin bearings and axleshaft joints lubed and that you've got the right kingpin preload for safe tracking and resistance to death wobble. Here's what we found in our axle.