SirJames LJ

#1

Copying all this over from my old build thread to the new forum.

July 2015, my Subaru was on its last legs, and after years of wanting a jeep but it not being practical, I made the jump. I didn’t know it at the time but finding an LJ was/is something of a collector’s item. After weeks of searching and riding my bike for awhile, I finally found one with a salvage title in Leesburg. I was wary of the title at first, and it made financing it a pain, but I’ve never sold/traded in a car in my life, I drive them into the ground and junk it. So as long as it was mechanically sound, I was fine. I gotta give a shout out to the guys at Leesburg Auto Finance too, I no joke had a 40+ long email chain going with them, and a couple phone calls before I even set foot on the lot to look at it. They were very upfront about the jeep, and even sent me pictures of the damage before they fixed it.

Damage:

Day 1 at home, don’t think it’s been that clean since:

I wasn’t quick into the whole mod scene, at the time the Jeep could do everything I wanted it to. I was happy running Flagpole and riding around with the top and doors off. I took the philosophy of wheel it till it breaks, then upgrade. I did paint the grill black because I liked the look.

And after sliding on some ice and jacking up my bumper, I got that replaced too. The was my first experience with rust and broken bolts (I broke 2), which I was freaking out about. In hindsight, it was nothing.

I did some various other work that spring and summer as I learned more about the jeep. New radio with a USB input, rebuilt the rear brakes, new oil pan, rear main seal, motor mount lift, body lift, bartact seat covers, ODPA, and swapped out the interior lights for LEDs.

After owning the jeep for a year, I really started thinking about getting a lift. My driving skill had improved and I was tired of rattling my teeth out on 10+ year old suspension. After months of research, and really pushing the stock set up as far as it could go at the Cove, I finally settled on the Old Man Emu kit.

Knowing what a PITA it would be to install, I took it to Full Awn Fab, which turned into a bigger PITA than doing it myself. 3 months later, I finally had the jeep back and lifted. I was also broke, so I kept rolling on 30s until I could afford bigger tires. I wheeled the snot out of those 30s though, even if I looked like an idiot doing it.

After spending the rest of the spring fixing random shit that Full Awn messed up, and cleaning up rust everywhere I could, I finally had the cash to buy 33s and got them ordered just in time for Camp Heep.

Rust clean up efforts:



Shock bolts fell out shortly after install, either weren’t tighten to spec, or just plain forgot.

Front drive shaft rubbed on the exhaust because the front axle was shifted 1 inch towards the passenger side

33s, FINALLY


Somewhere along the line in here I added a full set of Metalcloak control arms too.

Regeared to 4.88 and swapped a hpd30!

Steps are on, and I’m happy with the results!

Ok, post Texas update. Blew a radiator hose shortly after the move, not a hard thing to fix, just at a bad time. Flushed the whole system in the process and took out the universal stuff a shop put in with factory spec g-05.

Then today I started on replacing the heater core because that has been leaking for awhile. Thankfully it’s not that cold in Austin so I’ve been able to tough it out.

Had a DIY shop remove the AC refrigerant for $100 (includes the refill too). But of course nothing goes to plan with this jeep and the stupid hvac box won’t come out. The 3 of the 5 bolts and nuts just spin. This is because they are anchored in plastic so that strips out easily. I was told by a couple folks online I could still pull the box out since the threads were stripped. Yeah that didn’t happen. Tried pulling on the box while spinning the bolts, and sheer strength to just rip them out, nothing worked.

So I had to put the whole dash back in and take it to a shop. At least I saved a couple bucks by buying the Mopar part on my own from eBay for half the quoted cost from the shop.

Dash removal really isn’t that hard though, easily a day job. On par with ball joints I’d say.

Couple months later I developed death wobble and wasted way to much money on alignments and tire balancing checks. Finally took it back to the local jeep shop and they went over everything and confirmed my trackbar was no good. Ordered a new one from metalcloak and waited for shipping.

So after all that, I find my frame has rusted through on the passenger side by the rear control arm mount. FML.

Also, my radiator sprung a leak. Cracked right on the top plastic. Thankfully this time I noticed while it was parked in my driveway instead of miles from home. It’s a pretty well-known issue for TJ/LJs this age. Replacement ordered, along with a new water pump, and explorer 9 blade fan + fan clutch. Already replaced the thermostat last summer when I blew a hose. Shouldn’t have any issues keeping it cool in the Texas heat now.

Then of course because it’s only money, and Moab is coming up, I ordered the undercover fab tummy tuck and engine skid. Figured if I’m swapping the frame I might as well do everything else all at once and be done for a while.

Radiator and water pump replaced over the weekend. Between blowing a radiator hose at the end of last summer, heater core over the winter, and now; I’ve totally replaced the entire cooling system.

Also, have the Explorer fan in and running. It moves some serious air and is much quieter than the stock jeep fan. Just idling the temp goes a touch over 210, but if I rev it the needle moves a touch under 210. Very happy with that upgrade, and will be much needed in the Texas summer. If you haven’t done this on a TJ it’s super simple and cost under $100.

No turning back.

We’re back! Clean new frame is ready to roll. I’ve got a couple drive line vibrations over 60mph from installing the tummy tuck which I’ll iron out in the morning. Approximately 4 degrees off from pinion to tcase.

Couldn’t be happy to have the Jeep back.

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#2

Post Moab update about 3 months late. After breaking the stock gas tank skid loose and then snapping a fuel line I ordered the Savvy gas tank skid when I got home. Finally got around to installing it this weekend. Really wasn’t that hard of a job, took about 3 hours. Savvy sent everything I needed right down to hardware and those stupid plastic clips, but no instructions. Had to stop and think about things a couple times but it all worked out. Gained over an inch of clearence, much thicker skid and only added 4lbs!

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