Skip to content

Crankshaft Culture

Menu
  • About Us
  • Our Rally Résumé
  • Crankshaft Culture Shop
  • Instagram
  • Contact Us

Tag: The PDXJ

Adventuring is an Art Form. Here’s How We Do It.

May 30, 2017 / Mercedes Lilienthal / Leave a comment
Jeep Cherokee XJ in the snow. Photo by Curtis Reesor

No matter where you travel or how you get there: via car, truck, plane, boat, snow machine, skiff, or even a scooter, you’ll need the right gear, gadgets, and go-to necessities. Plus, you’ll need the right mode of transportation to get you there. Adventuring is an art form. Here’s how we do it.

Continue reading →

How the Jeep Community Made Moab Happen

May 1, 2017 / Andy Lilienthal / 8 Comments

Words by Andy Lilienthal; photos by Mercedes Lilienthal As we work on The PDXJ (project ’01 Jeep Cherokee), we’ve had an outpouring of support and help to get it upgraded, maintained, and well, fixed. Whether it’s the crew from ARB USA, the team at Nitro Gear & Axle, Jason from Outlaw Xpeditions, or our friends…

Continue reading →

Projects Aplenty: Lots of Work on the PDXJ

March 21, 2017 / Andy Lilienthal / Leave a comment
The PDXJ Going Up A Hill

Yesterday was the first day of spring. Frankly, after a nasty winter in Portland, we’re looking forward to some much-needed sunshine and better weather. We’ve already done lots of work on The PDXJ in preparation for spring, summer, and a host of upcoming events.

Continue reading →

Cravenspeed Stubby Antenna Review

March 15, 2017 / Andy Lilienthal / 1 Comment
Cravenspeed Stubby Antenna

Let’s face it: The Jeep Cherokee (the XJ, not the new Cherokee) is really a malaise-era vehicle at heart. It’s an old design fitted with relatively modern amenities. Well, OK, some relatively modern amenities.

Continue reading →

Yokohama Geolandar M/T+Tires In the Snow

January 17, 2017 / Andy Lilienthal / 2 Comments
Yokohama Geolandar M/T+ in the snow

During Portland Snopocalypse 2017, I’ve been driving The PDXJ (project 2001 Jeep Cherokee) quite a bit; it’s been pretty much unstoppable in the snow. Then again, vehicle is only as good as its tires. I must say, I’ve been very impressed with our Yokohama Geolandar M/T+ tires during this snowy mess.

Continue reading →

Why You Want to Regear Your 4×4

December 30, 2016 / Andy Lilienthal / 1 Comment
Regearing the PDXJ

You’ve got your 4WD vehicle, and you’re wanting to add larger tires on it. Cool! You’ll likely be able to go more places and do more things with that extra bit of meaty rubber and you know they look good. However, there is one downside that comes along with adding larger tires: Your rig is now…

Continue reading →

The PDXJ Gets a Winch and Bumper

December 9, 2016 / Andy Lilienthal / Leave a comment
Jeep with VR10-S Winch

Until recently, the where was something missing in our Cherokee’s JCR Offroad Vanguard bumper: a winch. After all, what good is a winch bumper without a winch? This week, I installed a WARN VR10-S into the bumper on The PDXJ, aka, Project Cherokee, aka “Cranky.” This is Warn’s latest winch in its standard-duty VR lineup. I’ll actually…

Continue reading →

Review: Yokohama Geolandar MT+ Tires

November 15, 2016 / Andy Lilienthal / Leave a comment
Yokohama Geolandar MT+ review

I’ll make no apologies: I like Yokohama tires. I first had  Yokohamas back in 2006 when I got a set of 205/50/16 AVS ES100 tires for my Scion xB . A couple years later, I shod my Toyota Yaris’ wheels with 195/55/15 S-Drives. In fact, I just replaced them last month with the same tires. So when…

Continue reading →

Giving our Jeep Cherokee a Lift

October 20, 2016 / Andy Lilienthal / Leave a comment

The Jeep Cherokee (XJ) was made from 1984–2001, and there have been tons of lift kits on the market during those 18 model years. So when it came time to choose a Jeep Cherokee Lift for Cranky, our Jeep Cherokee project, I decided to look to a company that had plenty of experience lifting Jeeps. Skyjacker has been…

Continue reading →

Behold: Cranky (Project Jeep Cherokee)

August 28, 2016 / Andy Lilienthal / Leave a comment
Cranky - Project Jeep Cherokee

I’ve long held the belief that a vehicle’s nickname manifests itself. It shouldn’t be forced or given prematurely. Well, we decided that our project Jeep Cherokee now has a nickname: Cranky.

Continue reading →

Posts pagination

1 2 Next »

Recent Posts

  • 2025 Volkswagen Tiguan First Drive: Refined and Ready for Road-Worthy Adventures
  • Our 1994 Mitsubishi Delica Space Gear Walkaround Video
  • The 2025 One Moto Show Brings Eccentric and Eclectic Bikes and Cars to Portland
  • Mitsubishi Delica Deep Dive FAQs
  • Part 4: Days 13–16 of the 2024 Baltic Sea Circle Rally with a Volkswagen ID. Buzz EV

Categories

  • Aftermarket Parts
  • BMW
  • Campervan
  • Camping
  • Car Culture
  • Cherokee
  • Chevrolet
  • Classics
  • CR-V
  • Crankshaft Chronicles
  • Crankshaft Culture Classifieds
  • Crosstrek
  • Delica
  • Dodge
  • Durango
  • Editorial
  • Events
  • Feature Vehicles
  • For Sale
  • Ford
  • Forester
  • Gear
  • Gear Garage
  • Honda
  • How-To
  • Hybrid
  • INEOS Automotive
  • Jeep
  • Kia
  • Land Rover
  • Lifted
  • Maintenance
  • Mercedes-Benz
  • Mitsubishi
  • News
  • Nissan
  • Off Road
  • Pajero
  • Pickup
  • Project Car
  • Racing
  • Rally
  • Recommended Routes
  • Remote Control
  • Review
  • Road Rally
  • Saab
  • Sports Cars
  • Subaru
  • Subcompact Culture
  • Suzuki
  • Toyota
  • Trailers
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized
  • Volkswagen
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • TikTok
  • Bluesky
Copyright 2016–2023
Privacy Policy
Powered by WordPress | Theme by Themehaus