[FingerTight]

Starting a thread for my new project. Just purchased a 2006 Rubicon Unlimited at auction. It?s a hurricane Harvey survivor, had flood waters up to about the fenders.

 

[FingerTight]

Day 1
Battery charged, fresh oil, new plugs. Draining the pan I found about 3qts of water settled to the bottom before any oil cane out. Replacing the plugs uncovered water in the cylinders. Blew the water out, filled with WD40, let it sit for a while, blew it out.

Pleaseant surprise of the day - Jeep has only 33k miles

 

[FingerTight]

Day 2
With fresh oil and plugs, attempted to fire it. First try it cranked for a while belching water out the tailpipe. Second try it fired up, ran for a couple seconds then shut down. Third, fourth, and fifth try same thing. Sixth try it won?t respond to the ?start? position. All else seems fine, just no crank. I believe the key and the SKIM module are not communicating. Stuck for the moment while I try to figure that one out

 

[Kvuppala]

subscribed. Seems like you got the gem. Hoping it's fired up

 

[FingerTight]

Getting there! Should have it on the road tomorrow

 

[Nickedtk]

Please post your solution!

 

[Nickedtk]

And if you don't mind sharing what did something like this run you? Such a Gem

 

[FingerTight]

Well - ended up having to replace the SKIM module and have it programmed at a local shop. While it was there I had them go ahead and flush the trans and change out all the fluids in the t case, axles, etc. got about halfway home and the transmission puked. Looking into 42RLE options now.

I picked it up for $8k at auction. We?ll see if I got a good deal once it?s all said and done

 

[IamTheH]

Most definitely a good deal. A Rubicon LJ with that low of mileage goes for $20k and up. So spend a few bucks to get it back to where it was and you have probably saved near $10k. Plenty of room to start modding

 

[FingerTight]

Most definitely a good deal. A Rubicon LJ with that low of mileage goes for $20k and up. So spend a few bucks to get it back to where it was and you have probably saved near $10k. Plenty of room to start modding

Heck yea! This one gets passed down to the kids

 

[FingerTight]

Found a 70k mile 42RLE to swap in. Going to tear down the original and see if I can’t learn about auto trans building. First time for everything! I suspect the torque converter wasn’t elecro locking up so it overheated.

Other mods on the list:
- high clearance t case skid
- novak shift cable
- control arms
- woods driveshaft
- 1” mml
- 1/2” bl
- winch

That ought to take a chunk out of that 10k I saved

 

[KCwheeln]

Good luck. One reason the insurance co. totals flood vehicles is the electrical gremlins that may surface over time due to corrosion setting in w sensors/wiring etc. especially evil salt water. Problems may not show initially. Hope you are not chasing issues for years.

Looks like a fun project.

 

[Buck3]

I ended up getting rid of my last 98 wrangler because it was dunked in saltwater. The water just got up to the doors, but it was enough.

It ran fine for 6 months or so, then it was one thing after another. I don't think it ran for more then a week between breakdowns.

So if you haven't already I'd pull all the connectors and wd-40 them, then use some corrosion inhibitor. Then wd-40 the computers and all other electronics.

 

[Apparition]

Tagging in to follow. Looking forward to the progress.

 

[FingerTight]

Appreciate the thoughts on n electrical gremlins. I pulled every plug I could find and cleaned / dialectic greased em. If it gets too be too big of a pain I’ll likely start researching motor swaps.

Progress has been slow with the holidays, will get some updates posted soon!

 

[FingerTight]

Shakedown Run

Took the rig out last weekend for its first shakedown run. Did great, only issue was the locker switch failing about halfway through. Working on the individual toggle switches for the lockers now.

Picked up some half doors, every Jeep needs half doors right?
Mounted up a winch too.

Also did a little more scraping than I would have liked. Ordered up a MORE 1" body lift along with the Brown Dog 1" MML. Going to get started on that belly up...

 

[GrumpySmiles]

I remember seeing this one on the auction website. Congrats on grabbing that one!

 

[Dustdevil]

Nice find! There is a lot of room in that budget for fixes and mods. It will give you fits for a while, but once worked out, it should be a nice ride. Mine was $16k with a case of death wobble and very minimal rust. Amazingly intact for a vehicle that spent its early life in Philly. Have fun with the mods and enjoy driving it.

 

[Ohio_Jeep_Jack]

Congrats on the find! I would not think twice about buying a flood salvage Jeep.
Even if you had to replace the entire wiring harness from salt corrosion It's a heck of a lot easier than a newer loaded vehicle.
I would however oil spray every nook and cranny of the body and frame, inside the rockers, and behind the rubber plugs in the foot well (behind the "Jeep" stamp on lower fenders) etc. Hydraulic oil is a favorite up here in salt country.
Protect your investment & enjoy. I'm jealous...

 

[FingerTight]

Thanks everyone!
....found some water hiding in the sub box