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Razz's Round 2 05' TJ build

11K views 37 replies 7 participants last post by  Hexiled Razz 
#1 ·
Hey all, a little note before i start this thread.
Those of you who notice my posts probably notice that i like to talk a lot. So a lot of this is likely to be long-winded. If the thread doesn't get much attention, i'll likely shorten things up to keep people interested. I also plan on including a lot of pictures that WILL stay up for as long as photobucket doesn't mess with image URLs or gets taken down entirely.

This build thread is going to focus around both mods and necessary repairs/maintenance. While i'd like to keep people entertained with this thread, ultimately my goal is to document all my encounters/issues with all my projects on my Jeep. So that it will benefit both current and future TJ owners doing a google search.
For that reason, please, feel free to ask questions. There's nothing i like more than helping fellow Jeepers with the knowledge and experience I've gained!

With that being said, here's a (somewhat) brief history on me and my Jeeps.

My name is Josh, and i live in Northwestern PA. And my TJ is my daily driver. This sets the table for an interesting battle with rust that will, and has been, overlaying my entire Jeeping career.
I bought a old rust bucket 2000 with 143k miles for 4.5k back in may of 2013. After battling a lot of rust, doing mods and repairs that were necessary(due to rust/worn parts/engines exploding, etc) it finally succumbed last November when i lost control on the highway, smashing into the guardrail and cracking the front control arms mounts. I wish i had made a build thread on this TJ, because honestly i had done too many things to it to list in this one, and i'll probably reference all those mods/repairs later. But a picture(before the accident) will have to suffice.

I still have this TJ. And i hope to put a few hundred into it this summer to make it into an off-highway secondary driver. But for now it sits in my side yard, looking at me with sad puppy dog eyes.

After that, i knew i wanted to go after another TJ with the knowledge I've gained of them(on the forefront of my mind is "rustisevilrustisevilrustisevil"). And finally i found this 2005 sport.

Minimal rust, 89k miles, auto, 4.0, D44 rear, all for 12.5K It was the next best thing to a Rubi. It came with some half-worn 31s, so i put on my 31" Duratracs with canyon rims from my 2000. I also swapped over the hard top, among other small things.
Some of the mods and repairs I've done in the past 6 months are:
-Drain holes drilled in bottom of frame & skid spaced with a couple washers
-Rampage Euro grille guard that used to be on my 2000(Only really a hood ornament until i get a proper bumper)
-KC H4 headlight enclosure kit swapped from my 2000
-Direct 12v 10ga wired & relayed headlights and fog lights
-Optilux 1800 driving lamps mounted on windshield brackets from my 2000
-Bestop Trektop NX from my 2000(As stated before, i have a hardtop for winter too)
-Decals
-GM gas filler to fix overflow issue
-Rough country 1.25" body lift
-Advanced adapters T-case shifter linkage isolation bracket
-Digital rear view mirror out of a 2002 Avalanche(Auto dimming, compass & temperature)
-Front & rear driveshafts rebuilt

Here's how she stands now(coincidentally, in the same car wash):


This year's goal for the TJ is to have it in tiptop shape for winter. I'm aware how bad Wranglers are in the snow & ice, and i should just put the money into a beater car with snow tires for winter. However, that wouldn't be very fun, would it?
This goal includes mods/add-ons i want to do such as:

-POR-15ing entire frame, underside of body, and axles. Eastwood internal frame coating on the inside.
-powered door/tailgate locks
-remote start/keyless entry
-ordering & installing an OEM hard top wiring harness, re-pinned for my 2000's hardtop
-designated snow tires(Seeing as some of the biggest sizes are 30s, these are gonna look funky on an eventual 4.25" of lift)
-new shocks, possibly higher rate coils for the weight of the hardtop(My current coils were bottoming out last winter)

A lot of people probably view these as "prissy" mods. However, i enjoy every aspect of modding my TJ. Both those creature comfort/convenience mods, and the gritty offroad mods. After i get my TJ where i want it function-wise, there will be plenty of time for the offroad mods. And i'll probably tuck some of them in this year.

If i get lucky, i would love to be rolling 4.55/4.88 gearing & Detroit truetracs front & rear. But that's a big bill to foot this year.
I also notice that my front fenders are starting to bubble. I would love to have MCE flat fenders & rear flares. However that would be nearly $600 alone so that might have to wait for next year.
I've already spent nearly half of the year laid off, so my TJ isn't going to be where the bulk of my finances will be going when i'm back to work. Hence why some of the mods I've listed are small-dollar mods. However i'll definitely fit some other mods into the year to keep things interesting(Electrical mods run cheap, and happen to be my favorite).

Towards the end of my build, i'm hoping to be running 33s with appropriate gearing, a 3" coil lift, trutracs front & rear, high-clearance skid, aftermarket front & rear bumpers, sliders, savvy aluminum gas tank skid, remote cooler & filter for the tranny, flat front & rear fenders, and maybe a V8 Vortec if my 4.0 decides to blow like my last one did.
I'm aware most of this is probably stuff that people decide to throw on in their first year. However, as a 21 year old shop rat with a girlfriend and his life ahead of him in his mind, sadly his TJ is not his primary money pit. BUT, i am thrifty and enjoy mods & repairs of all shapes & sizes. So i should be an entertaining person to follow(I hope!)

Thanks for reading this long-winded post. I'm sure more will come to follow. And if you didn't, i hope you caught the pointers!
 
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#2 ·
Rock/outside courtesy light wiring & mounting


Planned as more of a cheap project, i picked up 6 of these LEDs for some rock/outside courtesy lights, and to re-do my auxiliary reverse lights(A mod i did on my 2000 and loved). I noticed them being circulated around the forum as a nice cheap LED light that is bright and preforms well.

I'm glad i picked them up when i did, they went from 11 a piece to 14. But as with every project, after wires and stupid special switches it ended up being about a $80 - $90 job.

Mounting them wasn't too hard. I put two under the tub by the doors on either side. Angled outwards so they shine where you step out of the jeep. I probably could have made them more functional as rock lights by shining them directly forward towards the front tires, but 90% of the time they'll be functioning as courtesy lights so the girlfriend can see what she's stepping out of the jeep into at night. So i positioned them accordingly.


Another one is mounted under the grill, shining directly down to illuminate the front differential, steering, and tires.


And finally, the last one is mounted in the same location that STU Olson mounted his rear rock light. On the rear, driver side upper control arm bracket(link).

This one took a little hardware creativity. Due to the LED light's length, i couldn't position it at the angle i want with it flush up against the control arm bracket. So i picked up a longer bolt, and a spacer sleeve from Lowes to space the light away from the bracket. It worked flawlessly.

Wiring them was a different story. I was having trouble getting the lights to function the way i wanted them to. I wanted them to turn on with the flip of a switch, but also turn on with my dome lights when the doors are opened. BUT, also be able to be disabled by my custom wired dome light cut-out switch(For when the doors are off).

With some help from Water Dog here on the forum, i finally got them functioning 90% the way i want to. I only have two more issues with them: A: They turn on with my dome light switch on the malfunction switch. Water Dog's schmatic that he shared with me incorporated a center-off switch to remedy this. However, i'd like to figure out a more "hands off" approach to keeping them from turning on.
And B: Due to the dimming nature of the dome lights, the relay(which is under my glove box in the cab) lets out a loud metallic PING when they finally turn off all the way. My assumption as to why this happens is because the current flowing though the dome light circuit(and my relay) decreases gradually to create the dimming effect. This in turn causes the electromagnet in the relay to let go of the switch slowly instead of a quick snap. I have no idea if this will effect the longevity of the relay or not.

To fix the metallic PING sound, i'll eventually either A: Move the relay into the engine bay to muffle the sound or B: find a way to bypass the dimming feature all together.
To fix the rock lights turning on with my malfunction switch, i'll have to look at wiring schematics and see if i can wire in the relay to react to ONLY the door jam switches. Though, the door jam switches are wired AFTER all the things they control, and only interrupt the ground when actuated. This makes utilizing them for that purpose, difficult. Due to this, i'll probably have to drill holes and mount a second set of door jam switches. This would fix all my problems. However, due to the small nature of this wiring annoyance, i'm not going to worry about it now. And maybe never will.

The remaining two lights that i purchased will be mounted in the gap between my body and rear bumper for auxiliary reverse lights. I already have mounted the lights' mounts. But due to dropping a vital nut into the gas tank skid, i have to pick up some more hardware from Lowes before i finish these up.
Here's a couple shots of the rocklights alone, though:



Overall, i'm not as impressed with the lights' output as some people seemed to be. Though the limited field of light might be due to how low my jeep is to the ground. As i lift it and get bigger tires(And get that ugly shovel skid plate out of the light's way) the light's fields should increase in size. Or i may pick up 4 more and mount them in my wheel wells.
They're advertised as waterproof, but i know better than that... I'll be sealing up the ones under the sides of the tub with silicon. They will be constantly pelted with mud/water/slush/salt year round.
The design of tightening them leaves much to be desired. They're an socket hex bolt, and they give you an allen key that is barely long enough to clear the "channel" that is grooved into the heatsink on the back of the light. But i'm just nitpicking about a $11 chinese-made LED at this point.

Well, that concludes this long-winded update... Like i said in the original post, i'm trying my best to document my experiences with my projects in the fullest way possible. I know what it's like to dig through google and find someone who has run into the exact issue you're dealing with, with the exact project you're working on. It helps immensely. If anyone wants anymore information on this mod, post or message me and i'll be glad to help with pictures/etc.
 
#3 ·
Axle U-joints, steering linkage, and ball joints with an Advance Auto rental kit

When I took my TJ in for annual inspection earlier this year, my mechanic gave me a nice list of things he found that'll still pass inspection, but needed to be addressed. Among them was front axle u joints and ball joints. Which made sense, as ever since I got my 05 I have felt a little slack in the steering. This was very noticeable as my 2000 that I previously drove had almost all-new steering components.

I ordered a couple sets of spicer ball joints and moog non-greasable axle u joints. Everyone has their preference on parts like these, but I chose what I thought were the highest quality parts that fit my budget. After handling them, I honestly prefer the moog ball joints that I put into my 2000 over the Spicers I purchased. The moog lowers were greasable and had a plug for the hole so the axle yoke did not snap off the grease fitting. The boots were thick and had a metal ring that held it on the joint snugly.
The axle u joints, I have only ever used moog so far due to the cheapness I can pick them up for with an advance auto coupon. I will probably try spicers next to compare once these need replaced. I am still on the fence about u-joint greasability.
When I started tearing into the front end, I managed to mangle the drag link and tie rod studs. So I decided to go with a new drag link, ZJ tie rod, and steering stablizer. Drag link was auto zone's duralast brand and the ZJ tie rod components were advance auto's driveworks brand mostly due to my budget and needing the parts that day. I chose Monroe for the stabilizer as i'm told they're all pretty much the same. I gave all the new parts a nice coat of silver paint to spruce up the bottom end.

Anyone changing ball joints on a TJ must be aware of the weird angle the axle's ears are set at. This often calls for a special press adapter that normally runs around 100 bucks. Some people have luck shimming the cups with pieces of steel so the joint goes in straight, but this never worked well for me.
After changing a couple sets of joints, I've finally gotten the hang of using advance auto's rental master ball joint kit to put these joints in with minimal effort. Make sure you inspect the kit before you drive away from the store. The first one I got had a bent push pin and stripped threads.


Note that the adapter needed is ONLY in their bigger 23 piece kit. It has a slight bevel that makes up for the ear's slant.

I have never really had any issues with getting the joints out, or getting the bottom one in. Putting the cups in the right order and putting some ass behind the breaker bar has broken loose pretty much all the joints I've done. Although it is true that the harbor freight press is not up to handling that much torque. I bent mine the first joint I did on my 2000.
My joints weren't completely shot like they were on my 2000. The bottom ones were pretty easily moved by hand. (interestingly, the ones WITHOUT grease fittings) but i'm glad I replaced them as now they are recorded on my maintenance schedule.

Getting the top joint to go in straight has always give me issues. This is where that special adapter comes into play. It has a notch in the high end, which is positioned closest to you, on the bottom of the ear. I grease up the joint and the hole they go in and they usually slip in without much effort.


Installing the u joints was not anything special. I cleaned the factory grease out of the caps and put in a couple shots of Lucas red n' tacky. I found the C clips a lot easier to install than the outer clips that the driveshafts use.
My passenger side u joint had a cap that was worn out and was probably getting pretty close to failure.

Unfortunately, it was not the source of my squeaking in the front end at moderate speeds. So unit bearings will probably happen sometime soon.

Shortly before my 2000 TJ was taken out of commission, i had replaced the brakes pads with some decent Weaver platinums. The pads in my 2005 were in good shape, however the better stopping power is apparent in the weavers so i swapped them, along with the rotors, from my 2000. I also fancy'ed up my calipers by giving them a quick coat of fire red caliper paint.

Next i moved onto all my new steering components. I basically got all-new tie rod and drag link assemblies, including their ends. The only thing i left out is my drag link's adjustment sleeve as there was no good reason to replace it. The steering stabilizer wasn't needed, however i chose to replace it to finish off the fresh, new look. My old parts weren't in *terrible* condition. I mangled the threads trying to beat the studs out of the ears(Even with the nut threaded on). Truthfully i probably could have chased the threads on the studs, and used new castle nuts. But I've wanted to do a ZJ tie rod upgrade since i got this jeep, and i was out to eliminate all the play in the steering i could. Besides, just look at that unbooted steering stabilizer shaft. Sexy.

Ehem, anyway I measured everything stud-to-stud(as centered as i could estimate them) and replicated those measurements as best i could while threading the new tie rods/ends, then bolted everything together underneath the TJ.

I used this method to dial-in my toe-in. I found my tape measure rubbed under my control arms while taking the rear measurements, so i feel like that measurement wasn't as accurate as it could have been. However it feels right driving down the road. I am going to take it to an alignment shop that offers free checks, to see how accurate i really was.

A little before and after:


Finished bolting everything together and aligning the front end at 1AM thanks to my handly rock lights.

The TJ handles and brakes like a dream now. Only closing issue is that one of the tie rod ends Advance auto sold me has a dry rotted boot that cracked under torque and is seeping grease. I ordered 2 total for the job and when they pulled them out, they gave me one driveworks brand, and another chinese brand i had never seen. I figured they'd both be similar but this one apparently had been sitting in the warehouse a few too many years. It'll be going back and replaced with a proper driveworks. This particular branch is known for giving me rusty/used and returned/junk parts. Unfortunately they're the only ones that had my parts on the fly.

This is being posted a couple weeks after this job due to me being busy. In that time i had a chance to wire up my reverse lights. One of them had accumulated moisture in the lens and stopped working after about an hour of use. My front suspension rock light is also developing moisture in the lens, however it has yet to fail. I'm in contact with who sold them to me, and i'm hoping to get them replaced and RTV'ed(Clearly i should have as soon as i got them)

And i'll finish off with probably the biggest issue at the moment: My TJ has quickly developed a terrible engine/transmission vibration and has been stalling on me. I'm still in the process of diagnosing the problem, however it's also giving me a knocking sound when warm, and a more aggressive knock/pop sound when i shut it down. It's parked to prevent further damage, however due to the disheartening knocking sound, i fear the worst.
I'm hoping it's something simple. However if it's something internal in the engine, i'll most likely throw in the towel and swap my brand-new 4.0 out of my 2000 along with the flat fenders/etc and just part out the 2000. More updates to come.
 
#4 ·
Vibration/Knocking/rough idle solved, misc. small projects

After many days, forum posts, poking around online, intake cleaning, spark plug checks, and parts purchases i finally tracked down the source of my drivetrain tremor. 2 out of 4 of my bellhousing to engine block bolts, were finger tight, and 1 was missing. This gave me terrible vibrations, timing codes, and did not let my starter gear disengage(Burnt up the starter).

A little embarrassed, i admit it took me over a week to find this simple issue. In the process, i replaced my OPDA(Which was much needed, picture below)knowing the 05s and 06s had an issue with it.

I went with a dorman unit, but retained the factory sensor.
Upon installation, my timing was off just a hair; enough to throw a code. I'm not sure if this is due to the wear on the old OPDA, or me just fugging up the install. None the less, i fine-tuned the timing using the marks on the drive pulley, and all was well.

I also replaced my starter, as the play between the engine block and bellhousing did not let the starter gear disengage, and most likely severely shortened the lift expectancy of the starter. Fate did not let me pinch pennies on this one, either. Trying to take the power wire off the starter, i snapped the copper stud on the solenoid. So i opted to replace the whole thing.

Another task i got done while my Jeep was done was having the heat shield on one of my upstream cats welded. It had broken free(something that happened to my 2000 as well) and would create a racket whenever i accelerated. I took my headers completely out and took them to my local welder who charged me 20 bucks to tack it back on. I melted right through the thin sheet metal with my poor welding skills, so i figured i'd leave it to a professional.

With the headers off, i decided to give them a coat of ceramic exhaust paint before re-installing. They looked very pretty, however it quickly got scratched up while i muscled them back under the jeep. The ceramic paint has a special curing process that involved running vehicle for X amount of time & letting it cool multiple times. Since i was still trying to troubleshoot my vibration issue, i was unable to do this so the paint started flaking pretty quick.

With all these jobs done and the bellhousing bolts back in place and tightened down, my jeep finally drove again and with a bunch of maintenance done to boot. However with these events taking place over a month ago, i have done a lot more small jobs since.

Contacting the Amazon seller that i got my LED rock/reverse lights from, they sent me two brand new ones. Which i sealed with RTV, along with my existing lights that have not bit the dust(yet). The ones that i sealed with no moisture inside, have yet to accumulate any so i'm confident it worked. However, the ones with moisture already in them are retaining it, so i'll most likely have to drain them somehow, and re-seal them.

I also had someone back into the driver side rear corner of my jeep. While there was no serious damage, it cracked the paint job on my flares, and added to the list of scuffs and scrapes they have. So, naturally, it was time to paint. I used Krylon fusion and realized that satin black is not the same as matte. Unsatisfied with the finish, i went over them with Krylon's regular matte black paint as i was unable to find fusion in matte. The results hold up great, and show no signs of chipping, even on the gravel-invested back roads i live on. Below are before and after pictures:

I also found out that at some point, a PO had the flares color-matched by a shop. It was most-likely the same time they had this rust touched-up, but not taken care of properly. So cutting this section out and welding in new steel is on my short-list.


My sway bar links are pretty much at the end of their life-span. I opted to remove the whole sway bar, and install all-new links and bushings. I have yet to order them, however in the meantime i built my own set of HD swaybar disconnects using this method.


I also picked up a set of 4 Crager 15x7(4.25BS) D window wagon wheels for 65 bucks. I had seen these on a facebook parts page for about a month and the kid still hadn't sold them, so i figured i'd make the hour drive to look at them. He did advertise them as 15x8, so i figured i could put eventual 33x12.50s on them. However that might not be a good idea on 15x7s.
I still picked them up given the price and condition they were in. I figured i could get some good use out of them with my current tires, and could give my TJ some more offset, and less of a stock look. I'm going to pick up some cheap center caps for them, a spare cover to hide the miss-matched spare, and some gloss black paint. I'm going to strip some areas that are starting to bubble, and strip off the tacky red/blue pin stripes around the boarder.

Also on my way down to look at the rims, i stopped by a napa that was having a closing down sale. I picked up 16 quarts of ATF+4 for 3.69 a quart. I've been doing a lot of towing with my TJ lately, so i figured i'm due for a fluid flush, new filter, lube locker gasket, drain plug, temperature sensor, and aux cooler. I have a few more parts to gather, but that'll most likely be my next task.

The final thing on my list happens to be a flea market find. I picked up a 2 sets of Polk DXi650 6.5" speakers for only 10 bucks. One set appeared used with wire plugs shoddily soldered on, a few wires ripped off, and some rust. The other set seemed brand new with only a small rip in one of them.

I figured i had pretty good odds of 2 out of 4 of them working, so i picked them up for my sound pods. I used clear silicone to patch up the small rip in the new-looking set, and i fixed up the soldering on the used set. I vouched to install the used set, as i wanted to test the least-promising looking set. And if they worked, i had a brand new set as backups anyways.

People seem to have better luck squeezing other 6.5" speakers into the sound pods and getting them flush, however these polks were just too big, and i didn't want to chance damaging the speaker trying to cut them to fit. So i ended up drilling holes and screwing down the speakers where they set: just on the ridge of the sound pod. This doesn't allow me to put on the stock speaker grills, however i believe the polks will be just fine; they're marine rated after all.

I also took this opportunity to pack the sound pods, and factory sub box with poly-fil. Some say this makes better sound, some say it makes worse sound. Since a bag is only a couple bucks, i decided to give it a shot.
Opening up my sub box also showed me that the PO had the stock sub(Which they most likely blew out) replaced with a cheap Scosche 6.5" speaker. Seeing as though it's plain speaker with less than half the power of a designated sub, i'll be excited to see the improved auto quality when i upgrade it to a real sub.
With everything hobbled back together, much to my delight the used polks are loud, clear, and really flesh out my lows.
However, the poly-fil muffles the bass a little more than i like. So it'll be coming out eventually. I believe it depends on what kind of music you listen to. My tastes include a good amount of hard-beating EDM, so i prefer more of that echo-y, hollow bassy sound.

This just about concludes this long addition to my build. While i'm sure most people aren't up to reading long blocks of text like this, i definitely enjoy having a place to document my projects. See you next post, cheers!:beerdrinking:
 
#5 ·
Aquiring parts for transmission flush, Valve cover gasket change

Another item on the list my inspection mechanic gave me was a "weeping" valve cover gasket. I also think i need a rear main seal replaced since i have oil trickling down the bellhousing inspection plate. But i read that this can often be mistaken for a rear main seal when it's simply a valve cover gasket leaking oil out the rear of the head. So, i decided to go with the cheaper route first.

Removal is pretty straight forward. Pull off all the tubes, cables, etc. It became a tiny bit more involved since i have AC, and a later-year TJ with that annoying-ass plastic encasing around the wiring harness at the rear of the cover. This is held down by one nut on the passenger side, and by some sort of satan-spawn plastic retention clip on the driver side.(Don't mind the after-the-job-is-done taken pictures)

I ended up just stuffing a screwdriver around the stud and just tapped it in with a hammer until the plastic was destroyed enough for it to just lift off.

Then i had to remove the nut holding the AC line brackets to the head.

I also took the 8MM bolt out of the bracket between the AC lines. This let me muscle the bracket off the stud so that the corner isn't hanging up the cover.

Lastly, i had to move the spring-loaded clamp on the upper radiator hose(thermostat side) up the hose a bit, as it also interferes with the cover coming off(It sure is a tight fit!)
The rest of the bolts and brackets were pretty straight forward. Take them out, remember where they go, etc.
With some muscling i managed to get the cover off. The biggest issue was trying to work around that stupid plastic harness housing at the rear.

Cover off, i scrubbed it down GOOD with Krud Kutter. I've become accustom to Mean Green, but when my dad handed me this it seemed to work much better on the heavy gunk in the grooves of the cover. I then sanded it with 100 grit, and sprayed it down with Dupicolor fire red caliper paint(I find it hard to put things back together without painting them).

I "ATTEMPTED" to stencil "4.0 LITRE" across the top of the valve cover. However, due to the grooves in the top of the cover, the paint over-sprayed beneath the stencil.

Instead of re-doing the whole cover and waiting another couple days, i decided to just leave it. As it's hard to see the stenciling buried under all the cables and tubes anyway.

I cleaned the gasket mating surface with a tooth brush, parts cleaner, and a rag.
Re-assembly went smoother than i expected. Worried about scuffing the paint, i took the plastic housing off the wiring harness at the rear of the engine, and slid the cover in. I then re-assembled the plastic housing around the harness, with the cover in place. The cover went in almost effortlessly.
I put all the bolts in place, and torqued them down to 7-ft lbs in a criss-cross pattern. I then assembled everything around the cover again. Bellow is the fruits of my labor:

I love the splash of color it gives to the engine bay. Like i said, it's hard to see the stenciling under all the clutter. I'll have to tell people what it says if they're trying to read it :whistling:

I also have been slowly gathering parts for my transmission fluid maintenance project coming up. It's going to be more extensive than just a traditional flush. I'll be removing the front grill to install a larger auxiliary transmission cooler on the core supports. While it's out, i'll be painting it matte black.
I'm planning on other goodies like a lube locker gasket for the transmission pan, painting the pan, installing a drain plug in it, along with a temp sensor i pulled from my 00' TJ.

My 05' is also missing it's crossmember under the tranny pan. I picked up one of these from a junk yard for 25 bucks. Mine seems to had been cut/ripped off at some point, as the nutserts are mostly gone too. So i'll be ordering a couple of those from black magic brakes.

I still have quite a few parts to gather, and while i would love things like a remote filter and a Derale remote cooler, i'm already spending over a couple hundred on the project as i have it planned.
I also hope to sneak in getting my sway-bar put back on with new bushings and links. My rear sway bar also needs new links, so i'll most likely try to do both at once.

Until next time!
 
#6 ·
:drool: That valve cover is awesome! I never thought about painting it, but I love yours.

Interesting about your rock lights, I was looking at the same lights. I might use some different ones after seeing how it came out on yours. Not that they look bad... at all! But I was hoping for the light beams to be more spread out. They almost look like spot lights. I saw a guy on here use LED light strips and it came out nicely too.
 
#7 ·
Thanks! I saw a trend with people rebuilding engines and painting the valve covers. I've always loved the look so i figured i'd give it a go.
I really do like the splash of color it adds to the bay, even with the sub-par stenciling.

I was originally lead to these lights for the fact that they were only 11 bucks a pop and people raved about their light output(AND a couple people raved about the light spread). While it is true they are bright as all-hell, you're right about the light spread. I notice when i first installed them, they didn't throw as wide of a beam as i had hoped.
However, i wouldn't go as far as to call it a spot beam. Here's a picture of the ones wired up as my backup lights:

They definitely throw light, but it doesn't really shine past ~20'. I noticed a lot of LED lights have beam angle specs. The plain white box these LEDs came in had a sticker on it saying "18W 30degrees" so i'm assuming that means a 30 degree beam angle. Not very wide for rock lights, but they work well enough for me. If you go a similar route, i'd try to find a pretty wide beam angle.

I thought about the LED strip idea, and i was actually going to do it. But i decided to go with this idea, simply because of the higher light output. I was unsure how bright those LED strips can get.
 
#8 ·
swaybar rebuilds, Windstar cowl intake, brake overhaul, new rims
So, i made a build update post a couple weeks ago. I come back to make another today to find out my last one did not post/is no longer up. So, this one will have to be a little longer. I'm a little hazy on the details of some of these mods as they were a while ago. But maybe that'll be a good thing as it'll shorten the wall of text :p

Since a couple months after i bought my 05, I've been trying to track down a rear suspension racket. I finally isolated it to my rear swaybar links needing replaced. My front links had also been worn to the point of almost pulling apart at the ball and socket. So, i decided it was time for a complete overhaul.
I choose new moog bushings, and the cheapest front/rear links i could find. This way, i would not be afraid to hack them up and weld extensions in when i eventually lift my TJ.

I painted both sway bars, and the bushing brackets. Everything went together smoothly. I also installed my custom quick disconnects in the front. They're a little short, the nut on the outside does not fully thread onto the bolt. I believe this is due to my new links being a little thicker in the front than original OEM links. I'll probably disassemble them and apply loctite just to ensure they don't come apart.

rebuilding the rear swaybar did not solve my rear racket. Actually, it was worse now. I learned that the special shoulder bolts in the rear sway bar assembly are replaceable wear items. So, 20 bucks later i had 4 new mopar bolts installed and the racket is STILL there, albeit it happens MUCH less often. I suspect that all the movement wallowed out the hole in my stock swaybar. A new MOPAR bar runs about 80 bucks so i'm going to pull the one out of my 2000 to see if that one is in better shape. I'm also unsatisfied with the rear moog bushings. There is room for the bar to rattle around in the bushings, so i'll probably be replacing those with another brand once i take the bar back off.

My next mod was a bit of an impulse mod. I'm aware of the worthlessness of CAI setups on the 4.0. However, when i read about the Ford windstar cowl intake, i put my feelers out for a cheap box & horn. And sure enough, someone had one for 10 bucks(Local u pull wanted 30).

(I did not use the accordion-like rubber piece to the left)
I won't go too in-depth into the mod as there are plenty of write-ups. The general idea is that you cut a hole in the firewall, and mount the box up against it so it draws cold air in from the cowl area. You also cut down the non-filter holding section of the air box and re-assemble the shorter pieces with bolts or rivets, and sensor-safe silicon to make it airtight again.

(Shortening it helps it fit into the engine bay better)
Lastly, you cut down the stock airtube and use an elbow to connect it to your new box.

The elbow i used was the cheapest 4" to 3" 90 degree elbow i could find on Ebay. I paid about 13 bucks for it. Technically, the stock air tube is smaller than 3". So, the easiest way around this is to cut off the cuff that attaches the tube to the stock airbox, and making a reducer ring out of it to fit on the stock airtube. This brings the size up enough to squeeze the 3" end of the elbow over it. I also took my dremel with a heavy grit sanding drum and reamed out a bevel on the inside of the stock air tube. It's a surprisingly thick tube, and i didn't want it to hinder airflow too much. Especially with the reducer ring stacked on it.

My next issue was my valve cover breather. The one in my 05 extends all the way to the stock airbox. I fixed this by stealing the breather tube from my 2000, which is just a short L that connect right into a nipple on the stock air tube. Which means i needed to make a nipple for the air tube from my 05.
I picked up a 1/2" nylon hose barb from lowes, and put a 3/4" hole in the side of my air tube with a spade bit. I widened out the hole a bit with my dremel until the threaded end of the barb fit snug into the hole. I cut about a 1/4" of the rear of the threaded end so it didn't create too much air resistance in the tube. I then siliconed it in place with the same sensor-safe silicon.

My LAST issue with my intake setup was the box wanting to back out of the horn that is set in the fire wall. This is thanks to the stock wiring harness, my MESS of aftermarket wires, and the 42RLE's dipstick tube all in the way. The stock harness plugs i was able to move over in their metal bracket on the firewall to allow some room. My aftermarket wiring i simply stuffed out of the way above the box. The dipstick tube requires some bending to get it out of the way.
Even after all this the box still squeaks it's way out of the firewall and sucks in hot engine bay air. I finally put a hose clamp on the cowl side of the intake horn. This holds the box in place, finally.


All assembled, i experience NO increase in gas mileage, as expected. However my engine is sucking in cooler temps, and i also get a satisfying intake hiss on cold startups and when i floor the throttle. I also have an excuse to get one of these cowl scoops:

I mostly have wanted one to keep snow and ice out of my cowl during winter. But, i also think they look nice opened forward(I know a lot suggest having them open to the rear. I may try both setups. I prefer the front though).
However the ultimate reason for this mod was to free up bay space for a proper aux fuse block close to the battery.

I've also felt like my braking has been lack-luster in my 05 for a while now. A few posts back, i mentioned swapping premium front brake pads i had put on my 2000 onto my 05 while doing my ball joints. Well, braking had not improved so i had thought i needed new front rotors. Me in my ignorance did not realize that the worn, grooved, and pitted pads would begin to ruin my new rotors. Before the damage got too bad, i got ALL new pads front and rear, and did my best to smooth out the slight ridges my old pads began wearing in my new rotors. It took me a while with a 80 grit flap disc, but i smoothed out the ridges pretty well and managed to NOT throw my rotors off balance. After i bedded-in the new pads into my hillbilly-resurfaced rotors and ran them normally for about 1k miles, my braking is back to optimal performance.
Another thing i learned during my brake job is that my parking brake shoes are absolutely desecrated. So those have now made it onto the replacement list.

I also finally put on those rims i picked up a couple months ago. I have to say i couldn't be happier with the new, fresh aftermarket look.

I stripped the pin striping off with a wire wheel, and hit them with some Krylon gloss black. I ordered the 4-pack of generic Gorilla 3.3" center caps from summit for 12 bucks plus shipping. I also ordered a cheap spare cover in a damaged box for 9 bucks off Amazon. Gotta' love amazon warehouse deals!
I'm not a big fan of wheel covers, however i'd rather run one than not run a spare, or run an ugly miss-matched spare tire & rim.

As you can tell from the picture, my hard top is also on for the season. My issue of bottoming-out rear bumpstops is rearing it's ugly head again. I also noticed my front end has started to sag more in the last few weeks. It may be related to a loud POP i heard come from my front suspension when i braked and locked up my front wheels a couple weeks ago.

As if on cue, rockridge4x4 here on the forum was running a promotion on their 3" BDS lifts. On a whim, i asked them about JUST coil springs from their BDS 2" lifts. They came back to me with a price of 215 shipped. I jumped on the deal as the cheapest previous price i could find was 245. I also ordered a new stock front track bar(I plan on just drilling and reinforcing the stock bracket), some bumpstop extensions, and picked up some washers and longer bolts for my transfer case(Just in case). I'm waiting on a lot of the parts to show up, but i hope to have that lift installed in a couple weeks.

On an end-note, I've also been on a kick about lighting lately. I've been thinking about switching to LED for my aftermarket lights. However with LEDs not putting out any heat, and the snow and ice we get here, i do not know how effective they would be. I may pick up a set to try, or i may not.
I also experimented with Sylvania Silverstar Ultra bulbs and was less-than impressed.

You can definitely tell a difference in light output, however it's less-than desirable for a $50 price tag and a shorter life expectancy. I also read that the blue coating they put on the bulbs to give it the whiter light reduces light output significantly. I'm all-for a whiter light so i can somewhat-match the temperature of LED lighting, however i'm not sure i'm willing to pay that much for a bulb that has it's efficiency intentionally choked. So i boxed them back up and took them back.

However in my reading i found out Hella makes cheap 80W/100W H4 bulbs. People who run them say it's not a good idea to run them on stock wiring, but i just-so-happened to have beefed up my headlight harness with 10GA wiring. The bulbs suffer from the same increased burn-out rate, however at a MUCH cheaper price than the silverstars i'm willing to pick up a couple spares and keep them in the jeep's toolbox. I found a couple at 7 bucks a pop and put them on order. I'm excited to see their performance.

This concludes yet another long addition to my build. My TJ finally is starting to look like it's going somewhere between the new rims, and the lift that will be happening VERY soon.
I'll see ya' in a couple weeks! :happyyes:
 
#10 ·
Thanks! With the rims it finally looks like it's starting to take an "aftermarket" shape. Even more-so with the lift installed, speaking of which...

2" BDS coil lift install, Rancho RS5000X shocks, relocating front track bar, misc. other things

Finally finished my 2" lift a couple weeks ago. The process took longer than i initially anticipated, plus after i was done i got busy and wasn't able to update the thread immediately. So, forgive me but some of the details on the installs are fuzzy.

My new coils came in, and a few days later my new front stock track bar came in as well. I was considering an adjustable. However after reading that the Metalcloak is one of the only ones without interference issues and that it requires at least 3" of lift, i opted for the cheapest OEM replacement i could find. Which turned out to be a 25$ ACDelco replacement from Amazon warehouse deals.

Replacing the coils went fairly well except for the common problem of broken rear shock bolts. An issue i thought i was prepared for, but apparently was not.
An air chisel or pry bar & hammer did not work in my case. And i didn't want to drill and tap the bolts. I ended up unbolting the body from the frame and jacking it up to get my grinder with a cut-off wheel in there. This worked well for the passenger side, as the bolt that broke was the farthest one from the frame rail. For the other(driver) side, it was a little more complicated. The bolt that broke was the one CLOSEST to the frame rail, and my grinder was too bulky to fit close up to the rail. I was also afraid of throwing sparks, as the gas filler neck is right there, and had come disconnected from me jacking up the body.
Enter stage left, my Dremel. After fighting and brainstorming with this bolt for a day, i finally broke down and paid 8 bucks for a few fiberglass reinforced cut-off wheels for my Dremel(P/N:426). With my 90 degree attachment, i was able to fit the Dremel in there with room to spare.
To address the spark issue, i soaked a few rags in water and completely covered the gas tank, and wrapped the filler neck. I also wrapped a rolled up soaked rag around where the sparks would fly to catch them. I admit i had gotten pretty desperate at this point, and i would advise not following in my footsteps with this method.
However, it worked and i was able to finally cut the bolt off. I bought a new set of bolts, and some washers, lock washers, and nuts to secure the shocks back in place.

As far as compressing the coils, i used a spring/strut compressor rental from Advanced Auto. These ones seem to be built of decent quality, and have retaining pins for the coils. Note it NEEDS to be a spring/strut compressor, as a normal coil spring compressor goes on the INSIDE of the coil which will not work. Our coils require the two threaded rods that go on the OUTSIDE of the coil. That miss-step cost me a trip back to the parts store.
Note that with my 2" coils, the rear did not even need a spring compressor once i disconnected the rear track bar. The axle drooped all the way to the ground, allowing me to slip the coils in.
The front does require the springs to be compressed, even with the track bar disconnected.

With the coils installed, i buttoned the Jeep back up. From my measurements, i ended up getting 3.5 inches of lift over my old, worn coils. I measured from the bottom of both front and rear bumpers, immediately before installing the coils, and after about 100 miles on the new coils. I imagine there is a break-in period with new coils, however i don't see myself getting any less lift than 3" from these coils. I believe that's a testament to how bad my old coils were worn.

Half way through installing my coils, i decided i would need new shocks regardless. With the coils installed, this was VERY obvious. Any decent bump would hyper extend my stock rear shocks and give the jeep a good THUNK. I read before that you can swing stock shocks with a 2" lift. I believe this to be true if you are settling for coil spacers, which would take into account your already-worn stock coils. However, brand new 2" coils will REQUIRE new shocks.
I also had to drop my skid plate about 1/2". I did not have a problem with this, as i know it's temporary until i get a belly-up skid plate, rear adjustable control arms, DC shaft and a SYE. I happen to like a little bit of skid plate drop anyways to prevent rust between the skid and frame. I'll even run a small drop when i do get a belly-up skid.

The Jeep handled like garbage after installing just the coils. No death-wobble, however it tracked terribly and the added rough stock-shock ride didn't help. I checked the track bar in a dry steering test a few weeks prior and the bushing-end was wiggling a bit. I was hoping this, combined with a bad toe-in was the culprit.
I planned on re-drilling for the new track bar. So with it bolted up we bounced the front end, drove it back and forth several times, and it wouldn't budge more than 1/4" away from the stock hole. And yet, my front axle still looked uncentered. So, we hooked a ratchet strap to the axle on the passenger side, and the frame on the driver side and started reefing on it. We took a piece of angle aluminum with a level on it, and measured from a centermark on the fender flare, to the tread on the tire and got the closest we could on both sides. The track bar hole definitely needed relocated, however the amount of metal between the new and stock hole was not even 1/4". We drilled the hole and moved onto the next step...

This definitely called for re-enforcing the bracket.

I cut a piece of scrap steel to fit over the front of the bracket. And with my sub-par welding skills, welded it in place. I didn't think i did a half-bad job, however time will tell.

I am a little concerned about the rear-portion of the bracket. No writeups on reinforcing the bracket that i saw mentioned needing to reinforce the hole behind the track bar. So i'm going to let it go for now, but keep an eye on it.

With my purdy' new track bar installed, i did a front-end alignment to find out that my toe-in was definitely off by about 5/16. With the bar installed and the toe-in back in spec, the jeep's handling DEFINITELY tightened up. All that was left to complete my lift was shocks...

After a bit of research and not wanting to spend too much, i settled on Rancho RS5000X shocks. These are much different vs their regular RS5000 non-X versions, which are reported to make your jeep ride like a 1-ton dually pickup due to improper valving. A lot of people seem to have picked them up and ran them, Rancho even had Jerry Bransford test a set and he is happy with them. That, combined with Rancho's Shocktober promotion was all the convincing i needed.
As far as sizing, i read over and over again to measure for shocks instead of using the manufacturer's "this shock is for X amount of lift etc etc". However, EVERY write-up i found for finding what length shock you need, said to measure around your bumpstops... Well, i had skipped installing bumpstops until i purchased shocks so i could set up my bumpstops around my SHOCKS. But every bumpstop guide i read said to measure around your SHOCKS. So, with the buy-3-get-the-4th-free promotion deadline closing in i just ordered the shocks designed for 2.5" of lift, figuring they had to be close and if they were a little long, they'll be the right size when i got to a 3" lift for 33s.

They finally came in, and while i didn't know what to expect, i was a little disappointed with the finishing work on them. They are painted, not powder coated and it scratches off at the slightest graze of a wrench. This leads me to believe that i'll be dealing with rusty shocks at the end of the winter.
The stickers on them were wrinkled in some places, so i feel like water and mud will get under them and make them look trashy. They're also randomly-placed so on one shock it'll be facing outwards and look nice, while on the opposing shock it'll be facing rear-words.
I also don't like shock boots. While the front two came with optional rubber boots, the rear came with these weird hard plastic boots, somewhat akin to the stock shock boots.

While i had no problem cutting them off, i was worried that in the event that the shocks needed returned for some reason, the manufacturer would give me crap for it. I cut them anyways.

Install went smoothly as i was already through the suspension entirely. I also installed my bumpstops, and my new front track bar at this time. The front shocks gave me guff coming off at the top, however a sawzall took care of that in a jiffy.
I ordered a 2" bumpstop kit from a seller called Rox suspension on Ebay. It was advertised to work with the TJ, however the bolts they sent me were the wrong kind for the rear. So, i went to lowes and dropped 30 bucks on an assortment of bolts for the front and rear so i was guaranteed to have ones that fit regardless of how much of the bumpstop i would cut off.
The rear bumpstops you simply put above the jounce bumper cups and bolt them down. For the fronts you can theoretically do the same, however the BEST spot for them is bolted to the pad on the axle. This requires you to drill and tap the pad. I read some reports of the axle pads being up to 1/2" thick, however i believe this may be on Rubi Dana 44 models. My pads were only about 1/4" thick. I ended up compressing the coil and installing it, with the bumpstop loose inside of it. This was easier(and safer!) than compressing the coil that extra ~2" to clear the bolted-down bumpstop. Once all the pressure was released off the coil, i was able to easily thread the bolt into the hole in the pad and tighten it down through the coils.

all bolted up.

I didn't gain much suspension travel with these shocks. My bumpstops equaled out to 1.5" in the rear, and 1.75" in the front. However i can at least say my suspension is still properly set-up and will not damage any components at full flex. Once i'm running flat fenders, 33s, and a 3" lift, i will go through my suspension again and set it up to fully stuff the tires into the fenderwells. Which may not be possible without outboarding the rears and doing the ford shock tower mod in the front. That's a thought for another day, though.
As far as the ride quality, I've never felt new aftermarket shocks before but i'll say these feel pretty great. Not too hard, not too soft. They feel "taut" to repeat Jerry's review on them. They make the jeep feel stable and controlled at highway speeds, however when you hit that big pothole you don't feel it nearly as bad as you expect. So, with the cheap finishing on them aside, the price paid to performance gained ratio is satisfactory.

My Jeep now sits at a grand total of 3.5" of lift over stock. It's probably my personal preference, but i have to say, even 31" do not look bad with that much lift.


In hindsight, i probably wouldn't have minded getting 3" coils instead and being done with my suspension. My theory behind getting the 2" coils was not needing to upgrade my shocks and saving that coin until i decided to go all-out and do a 3" lift, shocks, SYE, DC shaft, belly-up skid, and control arms at the same time. Obviously thanks to my stock shocks already not being long enough, i should have just bought 3" coils and dropped the skid plate some more. However, my current shocks should work well with a 3" lift. So when it comes time for 33s, i will probably just order a cheap set of 1" coil spacers and run those until i decide to go with a dedicated 3" coil.

I did a few other small things to the jeep as well. To accommodate the new lift, i ordered a set of paracord grab handles.


I ordered them from Georgia Mountain Cord on Ebay(Go check em' out!). They cost me $41 shipped to my door. The quality is superb, and i had been looking exclusively for handles that use metal shackles instead of plastic buckles that can fatigue and crack/come undone. These fit the bill and you can get them made in just about any color you want!
I should have probably just gotten off my ass and made my own set. However to practice the weave and get the right colors, i feel like i would have spent a comparable amount in paracord(The shackles that i found that look similar & have a 900lb rating cost about 7 a piece at Lowes).
Having used these for a little while now, i definitely prefer more solid handles that normal vehicles have. And these handles hang pretty low so it's awkward to use them sometimes. However, these are what my options are limited to without taking off the roll-bar padding and grabbing onto the bar, or installing an aftermarket cage with built-in handles. And for that, i am happy with them.

You may also notice in an earlier picture in this post that i got my cowl scoop.

Having it installed, i now see how many pine needles, leaves, and probably snow and ice it scoops up. If it gets to be too much of a headache cleaning it out, i'll probably eat my words and turn it around. I however, do like the black accent it gives.

I've also been playing around with my very-own gopro 3.

My girlfriend's dad reeled this in while fishing on a camping trip, completely water tight in it's housing(No card or footage though!). He had no use for it, so i decided to buy it off him.
I promptly bought a tripod mount for it, and mounted it on my bumper with a bolt. While catching some suspension shots back in the woods, a log kicked up and broke it off my bumper, and i ran over it with both tires... And i found it, smooshed in the mud still recording, still intact(Except for the mounting tabs on the housing). These are tough little buggers! However i learned the valuable lesson to keep it out of the way of where debris can hit it, and keep a cable lanyard on it. I picked up a 64GB card for it, and a suction cup mount for it. However the suction cup mount will probably be going back in favor of the cheaper and more versatile RAM mounting system for it.

I've always been a techie, and while this will be great for trail rides, it won't make a good dash cam like i was kinda' hoping. It lacks auto on/off, and automatic-overwriting. Someday i hope to run both a front and rear facing dash cam for evidence in the event of an accident. And for the "You should have seen this 10 point i saw on the way home" moments.

After being lost in the mail, my Hella 100W bulbs finally came in. While i haven't taken any picture comparisons, the light is definitely better than stock AND the silverstars. For the price of about $30 in beefing up the stock harness, $100 enclosures, and $30 in bulbs it's probably the best cost-to-benefit ratio for lighting without making the jump to HIDs.
However, having experienced the KC enclosure kit, i probably would have gotten the Hella E-code 7" enclosures instead had i done it again. I am not fond of the plastic lens that the KC enclosures have. I prefer the glass lenses of the E-codes, and from what pictures i see, i think the E-codes have a better beam pattern.

That just about wraps up this update! I'm pretty happy with how my Jeep sits now, and i'll probably be slowing down on the mods from here-on out and restricting it to just required maintenance. I'm looking at buying a Kayak for next summer this black friday, and i'm considering a new TV and Xbox One to catch up on my gaming this winter. I am, however still planning on putting winter tires on the TJ, so that'll most likely come next.
Oh, and i need to address this issue very soon...

Looking at the flat fenders on my 2000, it becomes more and more tempting to rip them off and put them on my new jeep before the existing rust gets any worse. However, if i do that the bill to get that jeep road-worthy again jumps from around 200 to around 400. And at that point, i feel like it'll sit and rot in the side yard forever. I considered parting it out, however i refuse to sell the motor out of it for any less than 2k knowing it has less than 10k miles and i paid 2.5k and a ton of blood, sweat and tears getting that thing in there and running like a top. But i know 2k is well-above what anyone would pay for it. I'd love to swap it into my 05 to have a 100% fresh motor, and just sell that one but i don't have the time nor a second vehicle to drive while doing that.
As far as the rocker rust, i think i'll just cut it out, and form a new piece of steel myself and try to weld it in. Any imperfections will be covered by an eventual rocker panel, however i just want to stop the rust before it gets worse.

Until next time, thanks for reading!
 
#11 ·
Very nice and detailed build thread, Josh. Rig is looking good.

Not sure if the u-joints are the same, but I had Moog super strength greasable u-joints on my 07. Lost a cap on one and sheared an ear off the other one (and bent the ear of the shaft) wheeling, on 2 different occasions.

Put in some chromoly shafts that came with Spicer sealed u-joints. The Spicers are noticeably heavier and seem to be much better made than the Moogs. Time will tell if they really are better.
 
#13 ·
Thanks for the info! When I got the moog joints, I honestly was unsure about how "waterproof" they actually are. The gasket to keep grease in, and water out are just a rubber ring that snap over the cap. Some of them were pretty loose too.

However on the spicer joints, I see it's like a 4 part seal. If they really are that unreliable, I'm unfortunate enough to have them all throughout my jeep. I'll probably have to grab some spicer spares in case I have to do a trail repair.
I'll eventually have to do my unit bearings, so I'll inspect the axle u joints at that time. If they're wearing unsatisfactory i'll press in the Spicers.

Looking good man. I had a comment about your gopro, I made a magnetic mount for mine using a magnet hook (claims 20lbs of force) from home depot and the gopro brand tripod base (with 1/4" threaded hole) and just bolted them together and added a tether in case it fell off. Came out really well for taking jeep shots! Only costed like $25 including the $20 gopro tripod base kit.


Example video from this mount
Thanks for the idea! I like the magnet, i'll have to make one and add it to my list of mounting solutions.
I made a quick paracord lanyard for it but of course I didn't have it on at the time. However I don't think that would have helped much. I looped it around where the housing screws together to the tripod base, and that's where the camera snapped off.
I think the best lanyard system is a thin metal cable that loops around the metal rod that the housing's door hinges on.
Those are some awesome shots too, I'm hoping to test some similar ones out soon!
 
#12 ·
Looking good man. I had a comment about your gopro, I made a magnetic mount for mine using a magnet hook (claims 20lbs of force) from home depot and the gopro brand tripod base (with 1/4" threaded hole) and just bolted them together and added a tether in case it fell off. Came out really well for taking jeep shots! Only costed like $25 including the $20 gopro tripod base kit.



Example video from this mount
 
#14 ·
Winter tires, lighting & quelling problems


It's been a while since my last post! Well, lately there hasn't been too much to post about. I went on vacation so cash has been a little tight to do big mods. Especially since winter tires ain't exactly cheap(hint, hint).

but before the snow hit, i got to take my jeep (and gopro) out on a romp though the fire roads in Allegheny National Forest. While probably a Prius could have went down the majority of the unmarked dirt roads we did, we did manage to find some muddier, windier, and more jeep-suited areas to go. But ultimately, i just enjoy taking any road deep into the woods, taking in the scenery.

This was the only picture i managed to snap with my gopro, the rest is video i may put up someday.

Oh, and i got to flex out my new suspension.

Moving along, i did quite a bit of research all year and was hard-pressed to find a good snow tire in a larger (31"+) size that wasn't ungodly expensive. I finally decided on Firestone winterforces. While we haven't had a terrible winter this year, the few storms we did have i am very glad i dropped the coin on on them. I had them for about $390 shipped from Discount Tire.

I'm not a winter tire expert, but from my experiences the best winter tires have a lot of smaller thread blocks with generous grooves(sipping). Also, the rubber compound should be soft enough for you to be able to bend it with your finger tips. This ensures that the rubber will grip the road & ice, and dig it's own foothold in snow. I opted to stud my tires, and while I've never compared studded and non-studded tires side-by-side, i think them most important part is simply a dedicated snow tires, studded or not. Though in my honest opinion the ATs that are coming out now with a snowflake logo on the sidewall and pinned for studs do not suffice if you want nothing but the best.

As for rims, i finally got to paint up a set of steelies i picked up for 20 bucks back when i was still DD'ing my old TJ. A few cans of duplicolor wheel paint netted me a nice, durable finish that is still holding up today.



Moving away from wheels, I've continued my lighting tangent. I've moved away from the idea of LED lighting that i mentioned in an earlier post. Simply based on cost vs benefit, and performance. Some of the ok-quality LEDs online are comparable to the price of a good set of KCs, and i'm not satisfied with the performance of my current LEDs. In one of my reverse light bars, 3 of the LEDs have died. I'll most likely be switching back to incandescent bulbs.
Speaking of KCs, while browsing amazon i found that they had 100w KC daylighters listed for 26 bucks a piece. They were genuine, and normally sell for around 68 - 75 bucks so a scooped up a pair. Since then, the price has skyrocketed back up to around 70 bucks. I have no idea if this was an error or on purpose to clear stock.

Only problem is that they were chrome. I painted them black with some engine enamel and the coat hasn't held up very well. I'll probably touch them up again at some point.
I replaced my fog lights with these. They light up the sides of the road, where deer like to hide, pretty well. However, due to the mounting style putting them in the factory spots would not work. So i busted out some angle steel and my welder. I'm beginning to enjoy fabricating.


It seems that every couple months something about my jeep makes me just about sh*t myself thinking that the engine is going to blow. This past month, it was a bad knock/clanking sound that got progressively worse over the course of a few days. I pulled my new OPDA and found no unusual wear on the new unit. I also took a closer look at my camshaft and while it does have premature wear that'll definitely cause early engine failure, it's not there yet.
Finally, browsing youtube videos i stumbled upon a Cherokee 4.0 with a similar sound. The culprit, was lose flywheel bolts. Me and my buddy went out that night and found my flywheel bolts were finger-tight. Tightened down, my 4.0 has been purring like a kitten since. Obviously when i dealt with my lose bellhousing-engine block bolts, the movement between the two loosened the flywheel bolts.

Lastly, something minor however VERY useful to anyone who struggles with the wipers on their TJ. I've tried brand new, high dollar, low dollar, molded beam, steel bows, etc etc and all of them after days or weeks leave a GIANT dead-zone where only the edges of the wiper seem to meet the windshield. This was a VERY dangerous issue for me with a few storms we got; i could hardly see out of my windshield at all on the interstate in white-out conditions. And i avoided using washer fluid, because believe it or not there was better visibility through the road salt and grime on my windshield than through the wiper fluid that my wipers would NOT wipe off. If you have similar issues, the issue is NOT the wipers themselves; it's your wiper arms.

I tried my local hardware store for better springs, but i couldn't quite find anything stronger that would fit without modification. I also tried those wiper snuggies that Napa sells. And while it looks cool having a beam-doohickey thing on your wiper arms, they did absolutely nothing.
Fed up, i finally did the most simple thing; i took the arms and put them in a vice. I bent the thinner-arm part towards what would be the windshield. This makes the wiper's resting point on the windshield put more tension on the spring, and in turn puts more tension on the wiper blade. Instantly my deadzones are fixed and i haven't had that issue for a month and several snow storms since.

On a side-note, I've been at a personal battle as to what to do with my old TJ. I never mentioned it in the build thread, however it needs a radiator and batter to even be moved at this point. Well recently i got a hold of a free battery, and i found the receipt for the Advance Auto radiator that blew up in it(upper tank split). Luckily it had a lifetime warranty, so you can't beat free. I have all the components to hobble it together and get it moving again. I've considered doing that, welding up the frame and getting it inspected. I also considered selling it, which did draw some interest on a few off-road and car facebook pages i'm a part of. I wouldn't mind parting it out, either and putting the flat fenders on my new TJ.
I'll eventually decide what to do to it, but for now i'll slowly be working on getting it moving again when i have the time.

That concludes my jeep activity in the past months. Mostly I've been trying to stay away from spending money after putting on a lift, shocks, tires, and going on vacation all in a short span of time. Right now, i'm looking forward to summer and taking the top and doors off again.
 
#15 ·
More small projects

Hey all, a few updates on the TJ. Actually, a few of them are updates i forgot to list last post. Christmas came coupled with both new front speakers and a dash cam.

To match my 6.5 Polks i put into the sound bar, i got a set of Polk DB521 5.25s with aftermarket adapter brackets to put in the front. Truthfully, i was sorely disappointed with the difference in sound. For $70 speakers, the sound difference was marginal at best. I played with the wiring, switched them around a couple times to make sure i had the positive and negative leads correct with no real change. I just feel like the sound pod speakers are positioned properly to put out most of the sound you hear.

Additionally i got a Black Box G1W-C model dash cam as well. This was an off-the-cuff idea i threw on my Christmas list and actually ended up getting. I don't necessarily need one, however i may thank myself for having one if i get into an accident one day.

It came with a 10' power cable that plugs into a traditional cig lighter/power outlet. I plugged it into my switched power outlet, and ran the wires behind the dash, kickplate, and up the A-pillar to the top of the window frame where the dash cam is.
It turned out my power outlet was corroded and faulty. I popped it out, soaked it in vinegar and went at it with a toothbrush. The socket works flawlessly afterwords.

The last thing i forgot to bring up in my last update was the fact that i upgraded to an aftermarket cat-back system. By nature, the i6 is a meh sounding engine. It doesn't create those deep rhythmic tones that the v8 does. So, very few exhaust systems are capable of giving it a nice, deep, powerful tone. So, most stick to exhausts that don't deviate too far from the stock tone; Flowmaster super turbos, Thrush welded, etc, etc tend to sound the best. However, my favorite so far had been the Banks Monster. I had been keeping an eye on them and Amazon had a warehouse deal for a full cat-back system, about 60 bucks off the normal price so i couldn't resist snagging it.

Installation was pretty routine. With jacking up the frame, dropping the skidplate and unbolting the shock i managed to get my stock muffler & tailpipe out in one piece for resale.

I was a *tad* disappointed with the sound at first. It was a little quite, however after being broken in for a couple thousand miles it's gotten louder and deeper.
There is a noticeable highway drone however i'm not one to care about this. With loud A/Ts, my carpets removed and a flappy soft top, a little exhaust drone is the least of my worries. I just turn the music up.

Onto what I've done since my last post;

I made a post over in general discussion about the importance of not heating up your Jeep with the defroster on full blast heat. I did so on a 26 degree night, and it spider webbed my windshield. Unfortunately i have one of the few insurance companies that don't waive the deductible for incidental windshield breakage, so $100 bucks later i have a new windshield. The shop that put it in told me that my windshield frame had significant surface rust, and that they ground it down and primered it but it'll need attention in a couple years. Looks like i'll be pulling the windshield myself sometime.

I adjusted my KC floods. The brackets i put on my brush guard felt too spaced apart. I welded a bar across them and mounted the lights closer together. They look just how i like them now; however due to how thin the bar is, they vibrate a lot when hitting bumps. I'll have to think of a more permanent solution.


I've also been weary of my 30" spare on the carrier. I know that barebones TJs came with donut spares, and running a smaller tire for a short period of time with open diffs is fine. However given that my TJ is my DD, it's possible that i would have to run my spare for a little while before getting my main tire fixed. That, coupled with the fact that i found an alright used 31" on a rim that would complete a set of 5 i have, i decided to pick it up for $20.

Despite that the tire is cut up, it holds air fine and has no cracks, plugs or dry rot. I separated the tire and rim at work, painted the rim to match my other 4 snow tire rims, and mounted it on the back of the jeep.

That's pretty much all that has happened to the TJ lately. If it's not obvious by the lack of decent mods, i'm still in penny pinching mode right now. Hopefully that'll be at an end sometime soon and i can tackle some of the summer jobs i have planned for it. Right now though, i'm working on a couple more low-dollar mods. I'm working on retrofitting a PDC pulled from a 97 TJ to clean up the rat's nest of wires under my hood. I also, as stated before, am planning on eating my words & turning around my hood scoop and bolting it down to the cowl, as i'm having trouble getting the body tape to hold.
I never really plan on doing any deep water crossings with my TJ, but i am thinking about extending all my breather hoses up the A-pillar into the cab just so i'm never worrying about them.

As far as the summer goes, i think i'll be planning on swapping the flat fenders from my '00 onto my '05 to eliminate my fender rot that is getting worse by the month. I would have loved to hold out until i can afford MCE fenders, but i don't think that's realistic; the rust would be eating away at my inner fenders by then.
I also need to work on my sheet steel welding skills. I finally have a quart of POR-15, so it's just about time to start cutting the bad parts of my body out and rust-proofing them once and for all.
Besides Jeeping, i'm hoping to get a lot of kayaking and fishing done this year! I test fitted my kayak on top of the jeep, and it seems it'll fit just fine. Enough room to fit two side by side as well!


I think that's it for now!
 
#16 ·
October update

Nearly 7 months later! Jeep is still running good, though i haven't done too much to it since my last update. Thankfully the jeep has been running fine for the most part, which has allowed me to reallocate money to other places. I have done a few small things, though.

-One of the brand new Moog joints i put in the front driveshaft dried up and started chirping. So i put all new Spicer sealed units in it. On a similar note my inspection mechanic told my there's already play in the brand new front axle u joints i put in last year. I myself do not notice it, but either way it'll probably be the last time a Moog joint ever finds it's way under my jeep.

-Relocated tweeters from my front speakers up onto the dash. You can hear the highs much better now.

-Picked up a set of 2 10" kickers in a box for cheap. I'm a fan of hard-hitting lows, so these sound great with my music. they are a VERY clunky setup; the wiring isn't ran the way i want it ultimately, and having a sub box sitting in the back seat is not practical. I'm going to go through this setup eventually and revise it, but for now i'm just enjoying the music.

-I finally have gone through and POR-15ed the frame. It was a long process but i'm confident i have covered at least 85% of the frame. The remaining spots; the back sides of the frame rails by the rear coil buckets, and the back side of the frame rails in the engine bay, i will only be able to hit during certain jobs. I made the mistake of over-estimating the paint's adherence to bare, shiny metal. Which some sections of my frame are. I taped over the frame holes with duct tape to seal out any debris and while removing a piece of tape to access my tow bar bolt, it started peeling the por-15. I feel like this is something i'm just going to have to deal with and over-coat anytime this happens.

-I also cut out the rot on the front driver side floor board and welded new steel in. It doesn't look pretty, but it should hold for years to come. I also coated the floorboards in por-15. This will be a great rust sealant to exist under the eventual bed lined tub.

While working on the floors in this area, i noticed my driver side middle body mount is already collapsed.

It seems even this jeep was in the process of the same fate as my old one; however it's not too far gone. I can still save it if i cut out all the rot and replace it. This body mount is a project for next summer; until then i'm going coat the mounting channels with paint and oil them to slow the process so it does not spread to the body itself.

I let the old 2000 TJ go as well.

I ripped out the engine, transmission, t-case, and a few other things and let it go as a titled rolling chassis for $850. I feel like i got a good deal as the more i tore into it, the more i realized that the rust was so far spread that it was unsalvageable short of a frame-up restoration where most parts would have to be replaced. This money, unfortunately couldn't go towards mods as i had some tools for work i had to pay off.

Finally, i got into a(literal) fender-bender with my TJ.

Driving through a parking lot, i slammed into a car that was cutting across the lot. This simply bent my fender in a little, tweaked one of my tow hook's nutserts in the frame, but messed up the other car pretty bad. The other driver was at fault for cutting across the lot, so for damage that i literally fixed with by hand, a 1/2 ratchet, and a hammer, i got a very sizable insurance payout. Some of which, i used to buy a beater truck. A 97' Ranger, with a 4 cyl, 5 speed.

I payed a mere $600 for it, and all it needed at the time was front brake lines and a patch welded onto the frame to pass PA inspection. Both of which i have done already. It's hard shifting into 1st and reverse sometimes, and has a stock clutch. So i may need to address the transmission soon but for right now, it gets me back and forth to work spending nearly half the gas money i did driving my jeep. It also lets me keep mileage off the jeep, and has taught me how to drive stick.

Another portion of the money i made off of my insurance claim will be going to getting the jeep 100% winter ready. I do not plan on driving the truck during the winter, so i fall back on my jeep for this. It handled tremendous with the studded tires, and will only be better with some weight in it.
I plan on pulling the Jeep into a garage and doing a complete tear-down restoration on the front end. I'm finally going to be installing the flat fenders from my old TJ, along with new stock inner fenders. The fender rust had already spread to the inner fender lip inside the hood. It was just covered up with bondo very well. I'm just going to start with a new fresh set of cheap Ebay inner fenders and cut them for my flat fenders. LED turn signals will also be going back into the front grill, much like the style of my old 2000 TJ. The heater core also blew it in while was driving it back and forth to work while fixing my truck up, so the dash will have to come out and the A/C disconnected to remove that. I'll be removing the A/C system and reinstalling it come summertime with a new dryer, and o-rings in the system.
I'm also pulling the engine out and putting in the fresh rebuilt one that came out of my 2000. The camshaft and OPDA have been concerning me A LOT recently in the TJ. It got thrown out of timing again, and while re-setting the timing worked, it shows me that the play in the OPDA and cam gear is too great. Also while i had the dorman replacement OPDA out of the jeep, i noticed a considerable amount of up-and-down movement in the shaft. I have read about the dorman OPDA units failing in this manner, so i will be putting yet another replacement in the new engine; this time a Crown unit which i hear has the best track record. I'll also be replacing the motor mounts with brown dog 1" lifts while the motor is out. This will also give me a chance to start with a fresh coolant flush, fresh power steering fluid flush, and i'll also be flushing the transmission, adding the temp gauge and cooler from my old TJ, and an aux filter. I'll also be tackling a few other smaller projects during.

As of right now, i'm working on drilling the flat fenders for drainage holes, and side marker lights.

I'm then going to paint them. Pretty much all the parts are ordered and arriving daily. Once i get the flat fenders painted, i will be pulling the Jeep in to start tearing it down.

That's it for now! I'll be updating very soon as i start the tear-down process on the TJ.
 
#19 ·
I haven't had any transmission problems with the 42RLE. I hear it isn't the most robust transmission which was a concern when i bought it. But roughly 30k miles later and no slipping or anything thus far.
Just as a precaution though, my current garage session with the jeep includes a trans. temp sensor so i can keep an eye on it, an external filter, cooler, and a new filter and fluid. Heat is a transmission's main killer. Keep the temp under control and don't beat on it too hard, and it should be fine.

With my 2000 i hit a patch of black ice on the interstate and lost control. This was my second season on my duratracs and they had about 20k miles on them, so their performance wasn't as good as when i first got them. That was my primary reason for a designated set of studded snows.

My 05 ran me 12.5k, that was a financed price from a dealer. In hindsight after finding rust on the body, etc. it wasn't as good of a deal as i first thought.
Given the credit history and time, i would have taken out a cash loan and bought from a private party. Prices on vehicles in general are MUCH better in a private sale, especially if you have time to watch for a good deal. That's how i got my truck.
Hope that answers your questions!

Well a good portion of today was spent prepping the garage for the jeep. But i did manage to make good headway on getting the front end torn down, too. The fenders are off and most of the wiring is disconnected. Grill, radiator and condenser are all out. The front clip is completely open to pull the engine. I just need to work on unbolting all of the accessories, and the actual block itself.

I managed to only snap two bolts, too. Both fender bolts that realistically i can probably do without.
I also got the grill cut for my CJ-style turn signals that will be required with the flat fenders. I did this with my old TJ and liked it, however something i didn't like was the use of the JK turn signal housing, which is what a lot of people do when going this route. They're hard plastic and were never made to set in a drilled-out hole, so mine would often pop out. This time around, i went with flush-mount LEDs. I work in a truck shop so the replacement trailer and marker lights we use were perfect. And better yet i get them for pennies on the dollar. I'm extremely satisfied with the look

I mentioned a few posts ago that i had plans on blacking out the grill. This is still the plan, so i believe they'll look even more slick against black than silver.
Measuring where to drill for the lights is quick and painless thanks to templates made by a kind fellow who did an instructional video on installing turn signals in the grill. The links to the templates are in the video's description, but i'll also link them here:
LEFT side
RIGHT side
I can't guarantee that these template links will be up for years to come, however i have them saved should anyone want to PM me and ask me for them.
As far as drilling the holes, i bought a set of Warrior hole saws from Habor Freight. Even though they're cheapos, they cut better than any of the used hole saws i had been borrowing from my dad.
The lights i used are 2" with a grommet that thickens them up a bit. I ended up using a 2 1/8" hole saw and this gives me a VERY satisfying snug fit. However different brands of LEDs and grommets have different thicknesses, so YMMV.

When i pulled my radiator i found a suspicious dark spot at the bottom. A spot that looks similar to the one that sprung a leak in my factory radiator in my old TJ.

I have no idea if this has any correlation with the aluminum rotting, but I think i'll be replacing the radiator while i have it out. I mention a couple posts earlier that i got a free warranty replaced radiator when i took the one back that exploded in my old TJ. I never let that radiator go when i sold the old TJ, so i'll be putting it in this one.
I am NOT a fan of parts store radiators, especially when the tank literally split and exploded in my old TJ when it was 18 months young. However since i'll need to pull the radiator next summer when i re-install my AC components, i'll just replace it with another factory mopar one then.

Tomorrow i'm going to start disconnecting components from the engine, and if things move extremely swiftly, maybe i'll even get it pulled before the night's end. After the engine is out, i'm gonna switch gears and work on getting the dash out and heater core replaced. While i'm in there, i'm going to run all my wiring for my transmission temp gauge, and tinker with the flasher to get it to work with the LED lights.

More updates to come soon!
 
#20 ·
Regarding the radiator, you may have an electrolysis problem. I had a ford that had the problem and I put in 2 $400 radiators in before I realized the problem. It will eat out the radiator on the edge.

You can youtube the problem and get a full explanation.....
 
#22 ·
Sorry if i'm replying too late; been too busy with both work and the jeep to make an update. Seems every time i sit down to make a post i get half way through it, run out of time, then have to rewrite it due to new progress!

I'm pretty much done with the heater core. As i was disconnecting harnesses, i recorded video on my phone of where they all came from and plugged into, just to make sure i wouldn't forget anything. I'd recommend following the write ups on STU's site, they're very well written, however the main write up leaves out a couple harnesses so be sure you keep a close eye on the dash as you pull it away from the firewall.

I personally did not end up taking the dash completely out. The main firewall harness was zip tied all the way across the bottom of the dash, and i was not snipping every one of those zipties, so i just went with one of the suggestions in the writeup and tied the dash up to the sport bars. Be careful if you use the center hole in the dash, though. It's thin and it'll bend.

The HVAC unit was a bear to get out. I fought it for a while before i managed to angle it in a way that i could get it out. It probably would have been a little easier had the dash been removed, but not by much.

The two halves of the unit itself are held together by about 50,000 screws(actually around 30), many of which were hidden in inconvenient spots. 2 of them were in deep pockets towards the middle of the unit, which i could only see with a flashlight. Then 2 more were under the cover for the blower motor, which at first glance looks like you could get away without removing it but there are screws hiding underneath. Mind you i have a 05 so my blower motor is set into the unit differently than the earlier years, though. You can speed up taking apart the unit A LOT if you have an impact driver like i do.

The foam gaskets that press up to the firewall and the ducts also need to be removed partially because they're attached to both the upper and lower side. I just picked a corner and started peeling them from one half as cleanly as i could. Some elmer's glue, RTV or whatever you have handy will work for putting them back on. The pressure when it's all installed should be enough to hold them in place.

Reinstallation is even more of a pain than removal. The only real suggestion i have is that MAKE SURE you remove the floor board blower duct piece like they mention in the writeup or else the unit will not go back in. I didn't and had to fight it back out of the jeep, take the duct off, and reinstall the unit. BE CAREFUL of your door jam switches and the wiring. I accidentally broke my passenger side and had to visit the local pick n' pull for a new one. The only other advice I can give is that when you're lowering the dash back onto the firewall, take your time and make sure all wiring is plugged in, and not pinched or tight if it's not where it's supposed to be. I have 3 aftermarket switches with 3 or 4 leads each in addition to aftermarket wiring running from one side of the dash to the other. So I made sure this was all clear as it had a tenancy to fall in front of the HVAC opening that leads to the ducts on the dash.

The column and dash are in save for a few trim panels i need off for later.

As for the rest of the jeep, the old engine is out, components swapped over to the new engine, and it is now installed. I was gradually taking parts to work as they came off to run them through the parts washer. My intake manifold in particular was fun to clean out. Night and day difference.

Most of the accessories are bolted on. I started on my transmission flush by dropping the pan, which I've now painted and drilled for a drain plug.

Speaking of painting, that's another part that took some time. I mentioned recently por-15ing my frame. Well shortly after i duct-taped over my frame holes to prevent mud/crap getting in. Well i planned on peeling them to drain out water when i occasionally wash out the frame. Only problem is that doing this ripped the por clean off!! Almost like peeling off plasti-dip. And it most-definitely did not "fuse" to the rusty parts of the frame like it's advertised to. I'll be sending an email to por-15 to see what's up, because i followed the application procedure to the T.

So, some time was spent re-doing the parts of the frame where the paint tore off. I also did the engine bay rails while the engine was out.
Some other spots i noticed were the fender mounting brackets that bolt to the firewall on the lower sides. There was a considerable amount of rust around this area so i took them off, cleaned them up the best i could and rattle canned them. I also rattle canned the bottom of the rockers & body mounting channels to buy myself a little more time before i replace them.


I also decided to just jump the gun and go full-LEDs with my marker lighting. I bought 4" round red LEDs, along with some smaller red side-markers from work.

I've mostly finished converting the rear end of the jeep to LEDs. So that took up some extra time too. I also had to modify my EVAP canister to fit them by cutting off a piece of bracketing. This is mentioned in STU's writeup on LED tail lights. The lights are all wired now, i just need to touch up some cut edges with paint and pop them in!


I think I've mostly covered in broad-terms what i have done right now. Obviously there's much more detail to be had as I've been busy with the jeep 24/7. But i'm trying to keep this post short and mildly interesting.

Right now, the next step is getting the rest of the accessories bolted to the engine and getting it to the point where it's turn-key ready. I forget if i mentioned this earlier in the thread, but i'm going to try to get it started and warmed up before i even install the fenders. Reason being is because I've had issues on multiple 4.0s with the intake leaking due to the bolts loosening up, even when properly torqued. You're technically supposed to torque these again after a few full heat up/cool down cycles but i see it to be incredibly difficult/impossible with the fenders on. We shall see how that goes.



Until next post!
 
#23 ·
Just wanted to make a quick post to say i hit a milestone tonight. I got the engine started! It fired right up without any hesitation. No clanks or pings, just a smooth idle! The computer did come back with a couple codes, one being an evap leak(P0499) which makes sense since i don't have the canister hooked back up yet. And another for a hot battery(p0517), which i may have forgot to connect the battery temp sensor or it's because the battery isn't sitting straight in the tray.
Getting it to fire on the first try definitely is the best payoff i could have gotten from this project. I also have already finished piping most of my transmission cooler/filter/temp gauge lines, and the fenders are on the jeep. I decided to not wait on putting them on because as i looked at it more, it looked like i could wiggle extensions in there to torque those manifold bolts.

Pretty much the only thing left is tying up loose ends. Finishing my front markers and tail lights, finish wiring the trans. temp gauge, finishing the piping for the transmission cooler, putting dash and body panels back together, putting the center skid plate back up, finishing the coolant flush, transmission flush, power steering flush, E brake shoes, and a few nuts and bolts i'm probably forgetting.

Next update will probably be rolling the jeep out of the garage!
 
#24 ·
Another quick update!
2 weeks later and I've driven the jeep back and forth to work several times so far. For a complete front end revamp, i'd say it runs great. The 1" brown dog MML has completely eliminated any need for a t-case drop with my 2" lift. I do have some slight vibes at idle but i believe this is because i do not have the thru-bolts torqued properly. I'm going to re-visit them before returning the jeep to full service.
I have some idling/throttle problems that were pre-existing but have gotten worse since the swap so i'm trying to sort those out now. I made a thread about them in detail here.

Other than that, my transmission cooler and gauge are working great after some working out some troubleshooting with the sensor not grounding in the rubber lines i installed it in(Duh!). I dare say the cooler may be keeping my transmission too cool if there is such a thing? Normal 60mph driving with OD on keeps the trans around 115-125 degrees. It takes some heavier highway driving with steeper grades to push the transmission to the normal operating temp of around 150. And this is just all based on the output line which should show the hottest the temps get. This is something i will be asking about in the tech forum later.

My heater core was blowing intermittently between luke-warm and boiling hot water since i installed it. The past 2 times i drove the TJ though it's been that typical jeep super-heated air so i'm hoping it's just an air bubble that took a while to work itself out due to everything being void of coolant. The coolant reservoir is also probably about 1 qt below where i filled it, so this thankfully reinforces this theory. Both top and lower heater hoses were super hot as well so i believe that rules out a clog. Which i find unlikely in the first place due to the block only being 10k miles old, and all the other cooling components being new.

My modded LED flasher using STU's write up apparently wasn't rated low enough to still flash my full-led conversion. So i ordered a new one from GCD offroad as suggested in mentioned write up. This works flawlessly flashing my full LED conversion. I also ordered a new multi-function switch to go with it, as my fog light indicator lamp kept lighting up every time i used my turn signal(even though i have the fog light circuit disconnected). Very annoying, but a common-place problem with the later TJ multi-function switches.

I still have some small stupid stuff to sort out. I never installed my new e-brake pads and adjusted them. So i'll be doing that in the coming weeks. I still need to put on the hardtop and put away the soft top for the winter. And i think i will be re-installing the carpets for winter. And i need to loom up some wiring, and install my brush guard and flood lights. Though i plan on welding my custom light bar on the brush guard a little more to stiffen it up. The lights will wobble going down my bumpy dirt road.

Also something i learned about myself is that while i'm crunching trying to get stuff done, i get lazy with the pictures. I don't have nearly as many pictures as i'd like of my transmission gauge, cooler, filter, nor the engine or the jeep itself. Right now a picture of the jeep itself will have to do. Though a bit outdated, I've since cut the flare extensions and rear flares flat to match the flat fenders in front.


Addressing the reason to my late post:
I've been busy working on my girlfriend's new 2006 5.7 hemi WK. It pretty much was a jump right out of working on the TJ into the WK so I've been pretty busy. She got a good deal on it so obviously it's been a long 2 weeks of fixing small, stupid little the-PO-was-too-lazy-to-do-basic-maintenance things that made it the good deal it was. Even though it's kinda cheating because this a wrangler forum, i can't resist posting a picture of the WK!


I hope to make another update post soon with more pictures of what i have done!
 
#25 ·
Happy 2017!

It's been a few months since my last post! Work, the jeep, and my girlfriend's WK have kept me busy through the holidays. But progress has been made, even if i've been too lazy to report.

I've put the new 4.0 through most of it's trials by driving it though all of the rough snow we've had in NW PA this winter. Pretty much all of the issues i talked about previously have worked themselves out. Heat is staying hot, transmission gauge is working great, even the engine vibes I had during idle are gone. Perhaps the new motor mounts needed a break in period?

The glaring issue I have not figured out yet is my jeep wanting to Rev itself and stall out with you suddenly release the throttle in reverse. As I mentioned before, this was a small issue before the swap but has gotten worse. I've ruled out possible throttle body or vacuum leaks, replaced the TPS and the IAC, with no luck. The only conclusion I've drawn is that some sensor(or the computer) is telling the IAC to feed the engine pulses of air when the butterfly plate suddenly closes. I'll need to do more research to figure out what's going on.

Even though the holidays *should* have made me buckle down on my spending, i(somehow) managed to pick up 3 new mods for the jeep. Spoiler, only one of them was a gift(Still in denial that i have a problem).

First off, i found a set of 100w KC apollo driving lights for 50 bucks. They were in pretty good condition, and I've secretly been wanting to replace the Hella Optiluxes that were on my windshield. Reason number 1 is that i have found i very much dislike KC's classic metal light design that everyone copies. Reason being; the huge 1/2" bolt that the lights use to mount is prone to rusting(Even KC does not use a stainless bolt on their design!) and when it does, upon removal it strips out the housing rendering the light non-mountable. This is a picture of what happens

This happened with BOTH the Hellas, and the KCs. The KCs, i was able to warranty and received a replacement pair. I will not be re-installing my brush guard, so i do not know if i will be re-mounting them. I may go the way of 100w fog lights instead of the floods, because the white-out conditions of these past 2 winters have been brutal.

Continuing on the trend of lighting(How has it come to me being a complete lighting fanatic?), for Christmas i was given a set of United Pacific 7" LED enclosures.

They are a glass H4 halogen bulb enclosure, with 2 sets of +/- leads for the curve of LEDs on the right and left sides. They come in amber or white, so with the amber they could be wired as turn signals. I have mine wired as daytime running lights. That is one thing i envy about newer cars; the LED daytime running lights are a huge safety feature. They make you much more noticeable going down the road.
I grew increasingly dissatisfied with my KC 7" enclosures the longer i had them. They are about 4 years old, and the plastic lens already has plenty of scratches and pitting. I prefer glass lenses that do not have these issues. Combining both these reasons made these lights a no-brainer on my "want" list. My only complaint is that while the LEDs are wired into my marker lights, they stay on when i turn my headlights on. I would prefer them to turn off with the headlights, but i need to figure out a way to do this without incorporating too many relays.

Lastly on the list, one of my weaknesses is looking on craigslist occasionally for good deals on things i really shouldn't be buying. One of those are Warn winches. That's how i picked up this Warn M8000.

Winch, controller, cable(no hook), and wiring(too short for my application) all included. I bought it in non-working condition when it was advertised as working. So i chewed the guy down from his 250 asking to 150. He guessed it did not work because the pins for the controller plug were hot-glued into the solenoid cover and had broken loose. While the plug did need replaced, it ultimately was not the issue. Some troubleshooting later, i found out how to short and activate the motor to find it was not working. Due to my limited experience with electric motors(I really only know how to check if the brushes are good) i took it to an alternator shop. 30 bucks later, they repaired a broken solder joint on one of the studs(Feel stupid for not having seen it when i had it apart) and the motor worked!

I took apart the endhousing and found the moly grease to be smooth with no grit. No water, and all of the planetary gears in great condition with no chips or funny wear. I elected to put it back together as-is for now and get it on the front of the jeep for as little invested as possible. Sometime this year i plan to strip down the entire thing and re-build it with fresh grease, paint and a few new parts.

I never had mentioned this in my build, but when i owned my old TJ, i picked up a Warn 9.5ti for 50 bucks. The motor worked, however it had no cable, and had broken mounts. It also was in great condition inside. No water, smooth grease. Guess i get lucky on deals with rebuildable winches. I planned on rebuilding it, but after finding out how much it would cost with the cable and winch plate, i put it on the back burner and kinda' forgot about it.

That winch came in handy, because when i got the M8000 mounted onto the front of the jeep, the power spool out did not work. Turned out being a bad solenoid, which i just took one of the good ones from my 9.5ti and the winch worked great! I'll keep the other 3 solenoids with me as spares.

Including the Winch itself, mounting plate, fairlead, wiring, hook, and other misc. expenditures to get it to work, i'm at about $375 invested for a working Warn M8000 on the front of the jeep. I don't think that's too shabby!

I already put it to good use pulling a poor guy and his ranger out of the ditch after he hit a snow drift and lost control. I preemptively picked up a cluster of wrecker rigging hooks for when things like this happen.

They are designed to hook into the frame holes of vehicles that do not have tow attachments. They are not rated for heavy duty recovery(5,400lbs working load), however it's what towing services like AAA use when they're doing recoveries from ditches and embankments. So it should be enough for the occasional good samaritan act.
While pulling him out, though my voltage gauge dropped and the check gauges light came on while idling. I raised the RPMs to make the alternator work harder, however it's probably the fact that my 4 year old Everstart isn't up to full-time winch usage. This year will probably see a new battery and upgraded wiring.

This year i also have a lot of welding and painting planned. Rust is starting to show though on the rear corners of the jeep, below the tail lights. Right where the boxed-in body mount nuts are. Hopefully it isn't too far gone that i can't clean it and treat it with POR-15. If worse comes to worse, i'll have to cut it all out and either install corner armor to cover it, or weld in new steel.

I also am going to repair my rockers, and replace my body mount torque boxes, treating all the surfaces as i go. My windshield frame is rotted out in spots, so i'll be fixing that as well. The frame on the jeep is in great shape, so i'll be damned if i let the body rot out above it.

Besides that, i plan on putting in a mopar radiator and re-installing the AC this year. And most importantly, i plan on WHEELING the jeep this year. I'm finally comfortable that i can beat on it a bit without it breaking. And even if it does, i have my truck as a backup DD. My only issue is that i don't have anyone to wheel with! So, if you're in the NW PA/NE OH area and want to get out on some trails this spring/summer, hit me up and maybe we can arrange something!

I believe that's it for this post! Happy Jeeping!
 
#26 ·
February 2017; build summary
Having owned my TJ for a little over 2 years, i wanted to make a concise mid-build update post kinda' summarizing all my mods so far. None of my remove & replace or general maintenance is on here unless i consider it an upgrade. Nor will i include any recovery gear or anything else i keep in the jeep. So you'll have to dig through the thread if you want those!

2005 Jeep TJ Sport
Specs:
-123k miles on body, trans and TC. 17k miles on engine
-4.0L
-42RLE transmission
-D44 rear/D30 front. stock 3.73 gearing

Suspension/tires/steering:
-2" BDS lift springs
-Rancho RS5000X shocks
-Adjusted bumpstop extentions
-Rough Country 1.25" body lift
-31" Goodyear duratracs on 15x7 Cragar D window steel wheels
-265/75 studded Firestone winterforces on 15x7 stock SE steel wheels
-Spicer HD ball joints
-ZJ tie rod upgrade
-Front custom HD sway bar disconnects


Exterior/body modifications
-CCFabs tube fenders
-Trimmed rear stock fenders
-Bestop Trektop NX
-Stock hardtop from a 2000 TJ
-Warn M8000 winch mounted on a Rough Country plate
-10k tow hooks
-Curt Class 3 2" receiver w/ shackle attachment

Lighting:
-Complete LED marker/turning light conversion w/GCD LED flasher
-United Pacific 7" H4 headlight conversion w/ LED halo rings
-Custom 10GA relayed headlight harness
-80/100w Hella H4 headlight bulbs
-KC Apollo 100w driving lights on the windshield w/ KC brackets
-LED rock lights & reverse lights

Performance/under the hood stuff:
-Ford windstar cowl intake mod with rugged ridge cowl vent cover
-Banks monster cat-back exhaust system
-Axles, trans, TC breathers extended to top of engine bay
-Advanced Adapters TC linkage isolation bracket
-Brown Dog 1" lifted motor mounts
-Autometer Trans temp sensor piped after torque converter
-Aux finned transmission cooler
-B&M aux transmission filter kit
-Spicer HD u-joints in front driveshaft, Moog u joints in rear & axle shafts


Interior/convenience/other faffy things:
-Black box G1WC dash cam
-Quadratec floor mats
-Ebay paracord grab handles
-Custom wired GM compass/temperature rear view mirror
-Polk 6.5" soundbar speakers
-Front speaker adapter plates & Polk 5.25" speakers
-6.5" pyramid replacement subwoofer in center console
-JVC head unit
-2 10" kicker CompVR subs in a probox rocks non-ported box
-Dual amp

It's come a long way since i first got it, but it still has a long way to go before i'll consider it done. And what remains probably will be a slower haul. Simply because coming up are things like running 33s, suspension and axle modifications. All of which are much higher-dollar mods which will take saving and part collecting. However as stated in my original post, a lot of convenience/smaller mods still apply so i'll be throwing those on as i go.
 
#27 ·
July 2017 check-in

Hey all! Just wanted to drop in and update the thread. Jeep and I are still around; however most of my money is being invested into tools for work at the moment, and what's left over is going into my girlfriend's vehicles as I've taken over the maintenance accounts while she focuses on college. I haven't gotten a chance to take the Jeep out this summer yet, unfortunately. It's been harder than i thought to find groups to wheel with around where i live. I still have a couple solo trips i want to tackle before summer is up, though.

I still have managed to put some work into the Jeep, though. Though i won't go into detail now due to time constraints, i put in a new RMS into the reman engine as the one that was in there started leaking. I also put in a new battery, and completely new cables.

Right now, i'm working on wiring up my Warn's solenoid box into the engine bay, this way i can re-install my grille guard and KC floodlights. I'm also putting in a new aux grounding bar and finally looming up all the loose wiring running around my engine bay. I think i'll post up a complete detailed post on all this at once when it's done. For right now though, here's a couple teaser images of the bracket i fabbed up and how my solenoid box will mount in the engine bay.



After that it's time for replacement rockers, and i'm also getting rust showing through under the tail lights in the back that needs fixed before winter. My windshield frame is completely rotted out at the bottom, so i'm debating if i want to just go with a new one or try to fix it. Either way i'll have to either have a shop move the glass, or learn to install it myself. I'm trying to get this rust completely quelled so it can be managed with regular oilings and spray-paint touch-ups.

Lastly i noticed photobucket did something pretty awful. They've been holding their 3rd party image hosting hostage and breaking everyone's embedded pictures here on the forum(and everywhere) unless they upgrade to a $400/year account. From what i can see, my pictures look alright still, but i'll be finding another hosting service soon. If my pictures break i might have to get with an admin and see if they can help me fix them.

Cheers! Hope to be posting back soon!
 
#28 ·
July 2017 check-in

Hey all! Just wanted to drop in and update the thread. Jeep and I are still around; however most of my money is being invested into tools for work at the moment, and what's left over is going into my girlfriend's vehicles as I've taken over the maintenance accounts while she focuses on college. I haven't gotten a chance to take the Jeep out this summer yet, unfortunately. It's been harder than i thought to find groups to wheel with around where i live. I still have a couple solo trips i want to tackle before summer is up, though.

I still have managed to put some work into the Jeep, though. Though i won't go into detail now due to time constraints, i put in a new RMS into the reman engine as the one that was in there started leaking. I also put in a new battery, and completely new cables.



Right now, i'm working on wiring up my Warn's solenoid box into the engine bay, this way i can re-install my grille guard and KC floodlights. I'm also putting in a new aux grounding bar and finally looming up all the loose wiring running around my engine bay. I think i'll post up a complete detailed post on all this at once when it's done. For right now though, here's a couple teaser images of the bracket i fabbed up and how my solenoid box will mount in the engine bay.



After that it's time for replacement rockers, and i'm also getting rust showing through under the tail lights in the back that needs fixed before winter. My windshield frame is completely rotted out at the bottom, so i'm debating if i want to just go with a new one or try to fix it. Either way i'll have to either have a shop move the glass, or learn to install it myself. I'm trying to get this rust completely quelled so it can be managed with regular oilings and spray-paint touch-ups.

Lastly i noticed photobucket did something pretty awful. They've been holding their 3rd party image hosting hostage and breaking everyone's embedded pictures here on the forum(and everywhere) unless they upgrade to a $400/year account. From what i can see, my pictures look alright still, but i'll be finding another hosting service soon. If my pictures break i might have to get with an admin and see if they can help me fix them.

Cheers! Hope to be posting back soon!

You probably are much better going with a whole different wind shield frame. If you have someone good with a mig welder, you can rebuild that frame.

Photo buck has lost it's marbles. Go from $0 to $400. Im sure this will work for them. Try these guys, they are great....Cubeupload dot com
 
#30 ·
Early 2017 projects; engine bay wiring progress

Managed to chip away at the engine bay wiring a little more today.

But before that, i'll go over everything i did to the jeep in the first half of 2017. Starting with upgrading my stock alternator/battery/starter wiring, and my new battery.


I covered before in my build thread about my voltage dropping significantly with winch operation. I believed the culprit to be my 3 year old ever start battery. So i tossed it in favor of a Napa Legend AGM battery. Along with it, i upgraded the chintzy stamped copper terminals to some military style lead terminals. I also tore out the stock charging, starting, and ground harnesses and replaced them with 2 AWG welding cables, copper terminal lugs, and finished off with glue-lined heat shrink tubing.


For folks wanting to do something similar, i loosely followed this guide[link].
However i did do some things differently:

-I ordered an assortment of copper lugs in 1/4", 5/16", and 3/8". Reason being is that i planned on relocating my winch solenoid box at the same time, and there are an assortment of different stud sizes in the engine bay and on the parts i was using. So i wanted to make sure i had the correct sizes to ensure a snug fit on every stud. Ordering ~40 copper lugs in different sizes can get pricey($50-$60), however the extras will go in my wiring kit and will be used, eventually.

-I did not use a hammer clamp style crimper as shown in the above write up i linked. Given how much i was spending on this mod, i decided to go a little farther and pick up a cheap hydraulic crimper off Ebay.

Ebay items like this are sometimes hit-or-miss, but this one worked great and made a rock solid mechanical connection on every terminal i used it on. I didn't even waste one terminal.

-Someone in the comments of the above write up mentioned the stock fusible link wired in between the alternator and fuse box and how the person writing the guide left it out. This link is to protect the electrical system in the event that the alternator fails and begins over-charging the system; the fusible link acts as a slow-blow fuse that melts and breaks the charging circuit.
I did not want to leave this out of my system, so the best thing i could do was get a bunch of 4 6" lengths of 10 AWG fusible link wire, and connected it inline with a copper barrel butt connector. I used GM part #12077140, it was the larges gauge fusible link i could find for an affordable price. This roughly equals out to a gauge or 2 below 2 AWG. This is about the size you want your fusible link.


I measured the correct lengths for all the power and ground wires, cut, stripped, crimped, and heat-shrunk every connection. I then wrapped all my power wires in wire looming; you don't want these rubbing on something and shorting out!

No pictures of the engine bay just yet; i need to clean up my rat's nest of aftermarket wiring first!

This all took place slowly over February - March. Around the same time i had a rear brake caliper lock up, so i did rear pads, calipers, and rotors. Not much to say about this except that the Wearever premium pads i got are extremely squeaky. It'll probably be my last set of pads from Advance Auto. Also i cannot get my parking brakes to work properly; even with completely cleaning and freeing the lever set in the backing plate. I believe i'll have to replace my parking brake cables to get them to work properly, so i removed the pads and hardware for now.
I also changed out the gear oil in both diffs as well.

A couple weeks i also did the Rear main seal in my Spartan re-manufactured engine with only about 22k on it. Not too bad of a job; you just have to drop a lot of parts. I personally dropped the center skid and exhaust down pipes to make it as easy as possible to get the pan out. All of this was pretty easy as I've had all these parts out before. I followed my copy of the factory service manual, the instructions of the write up i was following[link], and the directions on the rear main seal very carefully and got it all installed properly.
While i had the pan out, i did a little research on a part i removed while swapping this engine into my first jeep(couldn't find the proper orientation for it so i just didn't put it back on). It was a strap-looking bracket that mounted over the rear of the oil pan using the rear 2 bolts.

I found out that this is installed to help support the rear of the oil pan. Me removing this very well could have caused the rear main seal, or the rear of the oil pan to leak. Needless to say, i picked a new one from the dealer and installed it with the new oil pan gasket. With about 100 miles on the new seal, absolutely no leaks yet.

Flash forward to today; i got a chance to work on cleaning up my engine bay wiring. I'm a couple steps closer to looming it all up and being done with it.

I picked up a Blue Sea Systems grounding bus bar. My previous grounding bar was stamped ~20 gauge tin and needless to say i probably ran 3 sets of 100W lights on it a little longer than i should have.

My new bar is built extremely solid, however to get all the terminals to align properly on it, i picked up a piece of aluminum L channel and built a bracket for it so it is orientated sideways. This way all the wiring will run straight up to the grill supports where i will have the main looms zip tied. I have it positioned right next to the alternator, mounted to a flat spot on the fender. There is just enough room to fit a stubby Philips screwdriver in there to get at the terminals

I'll have to keep one in the jeep's tool box at all times!

I have some of my aftermarket grounds transferred over, however i have a few more to go. I'm using glue-lined heat shrink ring terminals; so the seal should be solid, and decently waterproof.

My next update will probably be when my grounding bar is done, solenoid box relocated, and hopefully all my wiring loomed up! Until then, happy jeeping!
 
#31 ·
Wooah, 35s!

So, somewhat of a mid-progress update on the jeep...

The wiring and looming i mentioned in my last post is 95% done. The Warn's solenoid box is relocated, it just needs a new 2ga power wire crimped and ran to it. All of my aftermarket grounds are relocated to the new buss bar, all aftermarket wiring in the engine bay and under the fenders is now loomed up and looking all nice and black.

Can't see the wiring? Good! That means the looming is doing it's job :)

This will also allow me to reinstall my grille guard and my KC flood lights on it. However i think i'm going to rework my mounting design; the current bar stock welded onto it wobbles on bumpy roads.

Now, a sudden and kinda spur of the moment development with the TJ...

I was looking on Facebook jeep pages and found someone selling a set of 5 35" Goodyear MTRs on cragar soft 8s for $750. He claimed there was only about 3800 miles on 4, and the 5th hadn't even touched the ground.
Now, the TJ is due for new tires next year... While 35s weren't even in my original build plans, it became a faint idea as a possibility when i got another vehicle to DD.

Well me, the girlfriend and my buddy loaded up in his truck and traveled 2 hours down into Ohio to take look at them and make sure they were what the guy said they were. A few minutes after looking at them they were loaded up in the truck and mounted later that night.

And boy do they fill out the jeep.



The bad: After about 40 miles on them, i started to get serious death wobble that i'm still trying to diagnose. At first i thought it was the fact that i had the unbalanced spare on the front. Swapped them around and still no dice. With a dry steering test, i couldn't find much movement in the steering besides what i thought was a little movement in my not-too-old track bar. So i replaced it with a brand new Moog unit; death wobble is still there.

So after some research and asking around on the forums, I've decided to take them into work and check the balance on them. There's really no damage on them besides a little rock rash on the outside of the tread blocks. But no cuts or chunked tread blocks. But that possibly might be enough to throw off the balance.

The bad further: My Jeep really isn't set up for 35s. I have a ZJ tie rod upgrade and a 44 in the rear, but that's pretty much the bare minimal i would consider acceptable for street and light trail use 35s. Not to mention stock brakes, my glass cannon 42RLE and the 3.73 gearing. Which, by the way, wasn't nearly as bad as i thought it would be at highway speeds(For the small amount i drove before the DW set in). I have to keep OD off at any kind of highway speed; or else the tranny starts heating up pretty quickly; even with the cooler on it. So the engine is working a little harder, but i can keep 65 up on the interstate so i'm happy.

Also there's some issues with offset in PA.

The tires are mounted on 10" wide rims with 4" of backspacing. So, this equals out to them exceeding my flares by about ~4". My solution for this, i believe will be to cut up mudflaps from work and make my own jerry-rigged flare extensions. It might look a little hill-billy-ie, but it'll keep my clearances legal until i move somewhere where it's a non-issue or think of something better...

I'll be addressing my other weak points as i go. The ZJ steering should get me by for a while. But i'll eventually want to upgrade to something stronger, but also something greasable for longevity... That kinda' rules out any heim steering kits. I'm looking at the Currie correctlync, however it's designed for higher lifts so i might wait until later and stick with the ZJ set up for now.
As far as braking and gearing, i think braking is probably more important from a safety standpoint. So i'm trying to decide if i should go with just black magic pads + centric rotors or bite the bullet and go with a big brake kit.

Gearing will be done when i can afford it and can't stand the mileage and speeds of stock gearing... I'll also probably do some aftermarket shafts in the front, then the rear for good measure eventually.

So, as i close this i have a lot to think about... Right now i'm just going to focus on getting the Jeep streetable again and then return my energy to fixing my rust. My new 35s give me a lot to think about long-term, however i just want to get them turning properly first.

Until next time!
 
#32 ·
Build redirection; tub swap

So, this is going to be a bit odd coming right after my update of getting 35s. But, i plan to completely re-direct my build. I feel like I've gotten pretty off-track with my original image for my TJ, and need to backpedal a bit. Last month i found myself typing up plans for "another" TJ build to take place in future years. One with a simpler, more TJ look. And something a little bit more comfortable.
The deeper i got into these plans, the more i realized that if i continued my current build, and built this second TJ later, i would unnecessarily be repeating a lot of work. That's when i decided it would be less work and time to backpedal on my current build.


First off, the 35s, flat fenders and a few other things are going to go. For now, my plans are to go with 33" tires MAX, and over-build the jeep to maybe run a larger tires in years to come.


The 35s are awesome, but truthfully the TJ as under-build as it is, cannot handle them comfortably on the road. And if i do get into heavier offroading, i'll fear for breaking things. You can definitely feel the weight of the 35s and the strain it's putting on the drive train.

Furthermore, when it comes down to it the TJ is my fall-back if anything ever happens to my truck. So it needs to be reliable, and at the ready at any point. I also want the jeep to be a pretty comfortable ride(Go ahead, scoff at the words "jeep" and "comfortable" in the same sentence). Me and the girlfriend used to always take the jeep cruising down dirt back roads some evenings. I noticed as the exhaust, intake, tires and road noise got louder, that started happening less as it gets hard to even talk above 30 MPH.
Some of these reasons may seem trivial, but it's what made me love my first jeep in the first place. And i always seemed to enjoy my jeep more the way it was before i got lift n' tires fever. And life is about change, right?



So, with these happy thoughts in mind i redirected my efforts and money from building the jeep to handle bigger tires, to cutting into the body to fix the body rust.


Well, sparing all the details that would make this a book of a post, it went from me thinking i could patch some spots with some sheet metal, to realizing i need entire repair sections, to realizing i need a whole entire tub.

I already expected needing all new side body "torque boxes", and after cutting into the rear tailgate support i found out that a new one of those would need to be installed. But after i cut into the body toque boxes is when i realized the rear floorboards are completely compromised.

There is a gummy, tar-line sealant on some of the lower parts of the tubs to seal the lapjoints. And that sealant was covering some pretty cancerous rust. Discovering this, combined with the costs i originally expected to put out on repairing the body mount sections, it pushed the project over the edge to where a tub swap would be a more economical solution. Here's some pictures of the damage:

(Left side tailgate support, after cutting out a spot of rust in the rear corner)



(Left side tailgate support underside, completely rotted out)



(Right side tailgate support, after cutting out section of rusted rear corner)



(Right side "body pocket" under door; after cutting out rusted rocker)



(Left side "body pocket" under door, after cutting out rusted rocker. Before i started to cut out the "torque box")



(Left side rear floor pan, after i started cutting out the "torque box", half of the floor started to come with it)



Looking back at the beginning of my post, i scoff at how clean i thought this jeep was. Goes to show, even when i thought i knew everything about the TJ, it still ended up surprising me; In a very unpleasant way.

So, where i stand now. I plan on swapping on another tub(Covered further in the next post...) and essentially doing a frame-up restoration. The new tub i plan on color matching(obviously), bedlining the underside & firewall, cutting drainholes in the body channels, spraying eastwood internal frame coating, and soundproofing the interior with sound deadening mat.
I had the jeep partly ripped apart over the past couple weeks, but i hillbilly rigged it back together so i have a reliable 4x4 for bad snow days. This will also allow me to work on a tub in the garage over winter.


As far as the jeep as a whole, I'm looking at 33x10.50r15 BFG all terrains as my next tire choice. quieter, but also bigger than 31s and off-road capable. The Jeep is due for new summer tires next year so that'll probably be happening sooner than later.
Other minor points are that i plan on going back to stock fenders, lights, etc etc to maintain that TJ look that swooned me as a teen.


I'm always doing jeep-related stuff in some capacity. So rest assured, even if you don't see a post here for a few months, it just means the next post is getting longer... Or, perhaps split up into two posts.
 
#34 ·
Thanks! I know that's the right time to do it, but i might wait a bit. I plan on an eventual 3" of suspension lift plus high clearance skids, so there will be a fair amount of axle/suspension geometry modifications after the frame is off. I'll probably wait until after i have fully adjustable control arms, and have them 100% dialed in.
 
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