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Lawdog's TJ Build Thread

2K views 12 replies 4 participants last post by  Lawdog78 
#1 ·
So I picked up this 2002 TJ a few weeks ago and I wanted to get started going through everything and getting it road and trail ready. First thing I noticed was I had a ton of rust in the coolant. So I drained all the coolant and flushed the system a few times and the radiator started leaking. So I pulled the trigger on a all new cooling system. I flushed the heater core until the water was clear, new 195 degree thermostat, new water pump, fan clutch and new two row radiator. I had a little trouble trying to get the old fan clutch off the water pump so after 15 min of trying I broke out the sawzall and fixed the isssue.

Sawzall will fix anything..



New radiator...



New water pump and fan clutch...



All cleaned up ready for reinstall...



Water pump installed...



All buttoned up and ready for coolant...



Filled it up with 50/50 mix and ran it to Lowes and back with no leaks. It stays at 210 on the gauge but doesn't get any hotter. I will run it a few days and then check the coolant to see if I am still getting rust.
 
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#2 ·
Had a code pop up for an O2 sensor issue so I replaced two of the four sensors. I also replaced the spark plugs and did a compression test just to make sure the engine was worth putting new parts on or if I would have to pull it soon for a rebuild. I would say for having 220,000 miles on the Jeep the numbers I got were great. I can't say that it has been rebuilt but to have compression numbers like these I would guess at some point it was rebuilt.

#1 179
#2 170
#3 174
#4 177
#5 180
#6 170
 
#3 ·
The Jeep came with a homemade front winch bumper and rear bumper so I wanted to try to clean up the front bumper. I was thinking about replacing the front bumper at first but after it was cleaned up and sprayed I am happy with it. It's just missing a winch now.







 
#5 ·
I got the radiator from dnamotoring on eBay. I am sure it is made overseas but so was every replacement radiator I found for less then $200. I got it for $150 and paid $30 for the water pump. I get most of my parts from rockauto.com but they didn't have any custom radiators so that's why I hit up eBay.
 
#6 ·
So it was a nice day today here in San Diego and I wanted to get a few things done on the Jeep. I finished dying the replacement seats so I could install them. I put new speakers in the sound bar, changed out the turn signal flasher with an LED one and rewired the front turn signals.

















Old smaller Pioneer's next to the new larger Pyles...



Get the flashers to work...


 
#7 ·
Ok so its been a few months and I have been working on the Jeep. Sorry for waiting so long to update. To start it off I just got the new rims today from the UPS man and the tires should be here on Monday. Went with 35x12.5x15 Hankook DynaPro M/T's on 15x10 Ion Alloy 174's.

This is what the combo will look like but I am going with black walls out...




Over the pass few months I have dropped the gas tank and replaced the fuel pump. No choice when you get stranded on the side of the road.




I dropped the exhaust and the transmission skid place so I could get the oil pan out. Replaced the oil pump and pan gasket. Drained the transmission and transfer case oil and replaced them with Royal Purple.







Removed the hood, grill and the inner and outer fenders so I could sand it all down and just get a clean coat of paint on it.













Checked and cleaned all the brakes. With the new tires on next week I am hoping to get ready for some trail running soon. I think in the near future I am going to have to replace the clutch or get the transmission rebuilt. I also have a weird whining noise coming from the engine bay area during acceleration. You can't hear the noise to clearly in these videos but maybe someone can hear it and know what it is and where I need to start looking.

http://vid242.photobucket.com/albums/ff296/born4mud/IMG_1753.mp4
http://vid242.photobucket.com/albums/ff296/born4mud/IMG_1752.mp4

Thanks for looking...I know its going a little slow but its getting there.
 
#10 ·
So I finally got my 35's in today and installed. When I bought the Jeep it had 33's and flat fenders but the owner didn't know if it had a lift or what size it was. I knew I wanted to run 35's so I started there and figured they would fit or I would have to adjust as needed to make them fit. Got them on and they fit but the fit is not perfect. I need to now figure out what direction I want to go to lift it up for a better fit.











 
#12 ·
So I ordered a one inch Daystar body lift kit a couple days ago and it should be here next week. I started prepping for the install today. Got all the bolts out on the passenger side and all the bolts loosened on the drivers side with no issues. All the body mount positions on the frame are solid and the bushing really looked almost brand new. So I was happy that this part went so smooth. So far so good.







 
#13 ·
Even though I was fighting the Flu today I got a few things done. Got the new winch installed and tested...







Got the new LED back up lights installed...





Drained the front and rear diffs, checked the gears, painted the covers and refilled with new oil...











The Daystar body lift came in and I hope to get it installed this week...

 
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