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I own a 2002 Jeep Wrangler, and it's the first vehicle that I've ever cared about enough to do more than oil changes on. The body has ~197,000 miles so far, but it's in relatively great shape. This is a project log that I'd like to keep going as I do more to and with the Jeep. I've already got 10 pages of posts in the Jeep thread  so I thought it was time for my own thing.Year & Model - 2002 TJ Wrangler Engine - 4.0l from a 2004, unknown mileage unfortunately, but this was swapped around 150k. The original motor siezed when a connecting rod chunked in half. Transmission - NV3550 Transfer Case - NP231 with slip yoke eliminator Front Axle - Dana 30 with cromoly shafts and lunchbox locker Rear Axle - Ford 8.8 with limited slip, Artec truss Gear Ratio - 3.73 (stock gearing) Suspension - Bilstein 5100 shocks, Currie 4" springs, Currie steering Wheels & Tires - Black steelies with Goodyear duratracs 33x12.5x15 Recovery - Smittybilt 8k winch Skid Plates - Radiator, steering box, oil pan, gas tank, side rock sliders Current Projects list: - Replace banged up farty muffler - Tighten the e-brake - Fix sticky driver door latch - Finish wiring 13" led bar - Mount front 6" KC spot lights - Mount rear 4" work/camp setup light - Mount side rock lights - Install ASD killswitch (probably...) - Put the wheel center caps back on - Re-paint flares, bumpers, sliders, mirrors, etc. - Clean up and oil the hi-lift jack - Finish putting together spare front axle shafts, parts of spare drive shaft I'll need new tires soon, so that's the next BIG purchase. Luckily I have some time to save up before I NEED new tires. I'm thinking of staying with 33" height, but perhaps going to a 10.5 width instead of 12.5. Might save me a gallon of gas every week. Here are some photos of/with the Jeep. I've had it for a few years but have already made a poo poo-load of good memories, which is what it's all about! This is how it sat when I first got the Jeep:  The rest of the photos are at various stages of my owning the Jeep. This is one of my favorites, taken by fellow-goon The Royal Nonesuch:      High-centered in a deep rut, high centered on some old wood, and stuck on a stump:    It hasn't only been good times, there have been a few bumps along the way. Like when I needed a new engine, or like the time I blew up the rear diff by bouncing too much trying to get up a ledge and had to be trailered home as seen below. The '66 El Camino was my loaner for a few weeks while we put together the 8.8. 
Astonishing Wang fucked around with this message at 22:02 on May 4, 2016 |
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May 3, 2016 23:11
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Last night I installed a 13" led bar between the winch plate and the bumper. It fit pretty perfectly and should throw some decent light. It's only 36w, and it's a spot beam, but it should help.  All that's left is wiring the thing, which should happen this week - I've had three switches installed in my Jeep for 2 years and still have zero stuff attached to them. I have 2 KC hilites that I'm going to mount again as well, perhaps with their original 130w bulbs, or perhaps with retrofitted LED or HID bulbs. Anyone swapped non-oem bulbs in driving light housings before? These use h3 bulbs. Astonishing Wang fucked around with this message at 17:14 on May 9, 2016 |
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May 3, 2016 23:22
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I am excited for a TJ thread. Since I was a child, I have always been TJ-curious but have never been able to screw up the courage to act on those shameful impulses.
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May 4, 2016 00:53
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That is the best license plate.
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May 4, 2016 02:20
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I've been really happy with 33x10.50 tires, you should do it.
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May 4, 2016 03:15
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Yeah Skinnies rule on rocks/sand.
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May 4, 2016 04:33
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Krakkles posted:I've been really happy with 33x10.50 tires, you should do it. cursedshitbox posted:Yeah Skinnies rule on rocks/sand. That's enough of an endorsement for me! Seat Safety Switch posted:I am excited for a TJ thread. Since I was a child, I have always been TJ-curious but have never been able to screw up the courage to act on those shameful impulses. If you need any 'special' photos just let me know  Shampoo posted:That is the best license plate. Thanks, I get a lot of comments on it. I also seem to get stuck more now. Last night I helped my buddy start the installation of a cage in his 5.9 ZJ (Grand Cherokee). This is the ROCK HARD 4X4 BOLT-IN ULTIMATE SPORT CAGE FOR JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE ZJ 1993 - 1998!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.We got three of the bars in place before we ran out of steam, tonight we should be able to finish the mock-up and then he's going to pull it out for powder coating (which is retarded IMO when you can just cover it in spray paint for like $20). I'm not looking forward to trying to reinstall it without scratching the powdercoat!  At lunch I took my door apart to try and figure out why the outside lever doesn't open the door easily while the inside lever does. It looks like the spring (torsion spring!) that is part of the outside handle broke and lost a piece that keeps it tight butthole. I'm going to pull the cover from the passenger side door to make sure the spring is supposed to look like what I think it is. Hopefully I'll be able to find a replacement spring easily enough, otherwise I'll be buying a new handle for about $30.  I love doing stuff like this that seems like it might be hard but then isn't. I did break a few of those little plastic christmas trees though, I need to get a bag of them at the parts store. Apparently they're called 'shield retainers'. There's a huge opening in the door where the current 'stuff catcher' is. It looks like I can cut a hole in the door cover and extend the storage space out by a few inches. I'll probably find a suitable plastic box to fit the hole and then use plastic weld to attach it to the door cover. It would be nice to be able to fit a few more things in that compartment. Astonishing Wang fucked around with this message at 22:12 on May 4, 2016 |
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May 4, 2016 21:53
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Before work today I replaced one of the burned out HVAC knob bulbs with an led - the backs of these little fuckers are made of the softest most delicious cheese.  I also pulled apart the passenger side door to get a look at the spring. I'm glad I did, because it's a little different than I thought. The bottom portion of the spring wraps around one of the lever points. I think I'm going to buy a semi-poorly reviewed cheapo handle that I saw yesterday for $12 to just replace the spring in mine. Hopefully it works that way.  We got a little more work done on the ZJ cage last night - but in the process we cracked the gawldang windshield and put a gnarly gouge in the 5.9 limited edition fancy plush dash. There's an "H-portion" of the cage that fits so snugly over the windshield and the dash that we had to put a ton of pressure on to line up the bolts correctly. We ended up getting 3 out of 4 bolts in perfectly but the 4th is somewhat cross threaded and will have to be dealt with later. It's hard to 'twist' the 3/8" plate as much as it seems like we needed to to get the holes all aligned. Really frustrating but a good learning experience. Astonishing Wang fucked around with this message at 18:08 on May 5, 2016 |
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May 5, 2016 16:25
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I started wiring the 36w led bar today. I have a wiring harness that came with a couple of wal mart fog lights and I'm following the wiring diagram that came with it. - Yellow wire connecting the light to the switch. - Red wire connecting the 12+ battery to the switch, with a 15a fuse. - Black wire connecting the switch to battery negative Does this look like an okay way to wire a small light like this? It currently has a 15a fuse in place, but I think I should down size that to about 5a, since the light only uses about 3a? 36w/12v=3a if I'm understanding that part correctly. Is a wire running from the switch to the battery negative an okay way to ground the switch? It's easier than finding a bolt under the dash to use. Final question - how do I identify where each of the three wires needs to attach to the switch pigtail? I don't have any info for the switches, but they are from here. They say to use a relay but they don't say anything else about wiring.  Do I need a relay?
Astonishing Wang fucked around with this message at 21:33 on May 6, 2016 |
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May 6, 2016 21:29
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I couldn't figure out which of the three wires on the switch pigtail was which, so for now I'm going to use a pre-made wiring harness with relay to run the led bar and the 2 kc hilites spotlights that will be on the front of the Jeep. I'll feel a little better about my jeep not burning to the ground. I replaced the driver side door handle, and am happy to report that I can now open my door without using "that one little trick!". I've been punching my door open for about 2 years and now I don't have to, but I still want to. I also took my hi-lift jack apart and cleaned it up a little, made sure it will still be able to save me if I get stuck on any ruts or rocks this weekend! We're doing an overnight trip to Pilot Rock truck trail with the Jeep club on this coming Saturday May 14th - anyone in San Diego or Riverside area is welcome to tag along!
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May 9, 2016 17:09
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A load like that would probably be fine without a relay, but... relays are cheap and let you keep the actual "load" part of the circuit as small as possible.
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May 9, 2016 19:34
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I added the spot lights to the winch roller today - the front end is looking pretty busy! It looks a little funny with the winch solenoid off to the right instead of dead center so I'm going to move it over to the middle. I added male spade ends to the pigtail - the wiring harness ends in female connections. I still need to add male ends to the light side of the harness as well, because apparently I added female ends on the lights when I installed them a couple of years ago. I used two sizes of heat shrink since I didn't have anything with the melting insulation.  See you after work beautiful! 
Astonishing Wang fucked around with this message at 16:06 on May 11, 2016 |
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May 10, 2016 21:20
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Witness and behold, the hillbilly big-bottle holder I usually have a nalgene bottle with me when I'm out and about and got tired of it rolling around on the passenger seat. I just used about a 4" piece of 4" pvc, epoxied some plexi to the bottom, and screwed it on. There are holes in the bottom so that any small items thrown into the top will find their way to the compartments below. The only piece that was permanently messed up was the plastic insert for the cup holders which is easily replaced. It's not my prettiest DIY but it's very functional. My phone fits in what's left of the front cup holder, and pens and stuff slip into the rear opening. I would like to clean it up a little, to at least remove some of the roughness from the lip, but it will never be pretty. Astonishing Wang fucked around with this message at 21:37 on May 11, 2016 |
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May 11, 2016 21:32
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I finished up the wiring harness last night and installed it on the Jeep - The only thing left to do is adding some wiring loom and electrical tape where the wires are exposed to the elements. I definitely want to clean up the engine bay electrical a little bit. I think the best way to do that would be to add a fuse box in another location. I'm also contemplating a second battery setup but it's probably overkill and I've seen it get pretty expensive. This switch finally has something attached to it after 2 years of patient waiting. Sorry it took so long little friend   And He saw that it was good.  I also switched my reverse bulbs to LEDs and that went easy. Light output is a little better.
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May 12, 2016 15:48
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Here's one of the scarier things I've done. I probably shouldn't have even tried this one because it could have gone badly so easily. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b70qIVQ_wOU And an easy one! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoZcx6LWeVw
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May 14, 2016 00:15
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This weekend was awesome - the weather was absolutely perfect. On day one we did the Pilot Rock truck trail through to Dishpan Springs. We had a TJ(me), two JKs, and Royal Nonesuch in his '88 XJ. Day two was me and a buddy in his TJ doing the Cleghorn trail.  Here's the Royal Nonesuch in his awesome XJ - it did great the whole time!  We came across Dishpan Springs - definitely a spot to come back to!   Day 2 morning started with us driving into and through the low hanging clouds, it was amazing.  My Jeep did really well, no terrible sounds coming from underneath which is always nice when thinking about the drive home. My tires don't seem to rub anywhere, and the only noise I seem to hear now is the springs torquing around while the axle is fully articulating. I'll have some gopro video up soon!
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May 16, 2016 18:23
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Astonishing Wang posted:This switch finally has something attached to it after 2 years of patient waiting. Sorry it took so long little friend Where did you poke through the firewall?
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May 16, 2016 22:25
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Safety Dance posted:Where did you poke through the firewall? There's a grommet on the firewall below the brake booster that you can cut a hole through and fit a buttload of wires. It's easy to get to from the hood side to push wires through, then you just need to run them so they aren't tangling in the pedals  If you stick your head under the dash in the footbox you'll see it up to the left.
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May 16, 2016 22:31
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Wang's TJ is Astonishing, and it sucked trying to keep up as I bounced my poor GF along the road. I had to explain to her the subtle nuances of leafs vs. coils and longarm kits  I'll dump more photos of the trip in the Jeep topic, but since this is the Astonishing Wang TJ thread here's photos of him:    lovely cellphone shots of the jaunt up to Pilot Rock:   Thanks for organizing it all Matt!
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May 17, 2016 02:56
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The Royal Nonesuch posted:Wang's TJ is Astonishing, and it sucked trying to keep up as I bounced my poor GF along the road. I had to explain to her the subtle nuances of leafs vs. coils and longarm kits Thanks for the awesome pictures! It was good hanging out with you guys, and I'm glad my girlfriend had another fun lady to talk to all day while we were dorking out. Hope to see you guys soon! Yesterday I hammered a new lug stud into my tire carrier so that the guy at discount tire doesn't need to get two wrenches out to remove my spare. I had to use a file to remove some rough metal at the lip of the hole that was probably messed up when they impact wrenched the lug nut on last time. Installing new wheel stud = easy Here's a video from the weekend: https://www.facebook.com/plugins/vi...ext=0&width=560 Astonishing Wang fucked around with this message at 22:16 on May 17, 2016 |
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May 17, 2016 18:31
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I spent a few minutes cleaning up my wheel caps - Made in USA! Oh wait, maybe not...  I also started cleaning up and painting my front diff skid plate. It's kind of a crummy design but it's better than nothing so I'm putting it back on. I'm working on a razzle dazzle black and red design, but I pulled the masking tape off this morning and didn't like it very much so I'll probably do another version. I might just make it black and sticker bomb it.   I'm heading to Mexico this weekend, driving 5 hours south to see my girlfriends dad. It should be a ton of fun. Lot's of cheap tacos and driving on the beach!
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May 24, 2016 21:59
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We spent the last few days in San Quintin Mexico, I got to drive a few miles on Baja 500/1000 track! We had a great time fishing, hiking a volcano, driving on the beach, and helping at a dog shelter. We're planning on going back ASAP to help at the shelter, under-funded puppies really bum me out. My buddies supercharged Tacoma - schralfing the gnar in baja! Fun fact - all of the red covering the landscape is a sort of succulent that took over when the English left their wheat fields a long time ago.  Behind the truck is my girlfriend's dad's '94 ZJ - I took down all new tie-rod ends for him and they got rid of the death wobble! Praise Allah!  Quail eggs on our hike, and a spider that we almost walked into (sitting on a hiking pole)    I need to go through and change the air filter after all that dusty driving, and I need to go through and tighten everything. I've got a front diff skid to install, also some lights, soon I hope!
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Jun 2, 2016 18:16
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^ More dirt makes it filter better. Sweet trip and trip report. 
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Jun 2, 2016 23:44
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Astonishing Wang posted:
That is why you see lots of offroad vehicles with snorkels, I wouldn't ford enough water to reach my intake top of the headlight), but I certainly am in such dusty places that it helps to put the intake up out of the dust cloud.
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Jun 3, 2016 02:39
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I spent Saturday at Corral Canyon OHV area with my Jeep club - we did the Gunslinger and Bronco Peak trails and had quite a fun time!       Red XJ climbing video 1966 Bronco video I love this truck! A little bit of damage - this is my first body damage and it worked out perfectly! The door still seals fine, so no real damage done. I'll probably spray this with clearcoat or something to protect it.  And also my muffler was ripped off on a rock so I'm driving around without one - it's pretty awesome but really drones. I have a Thrush muffler that I'm going to attempt to bolt on this week using the old flange and pipe. The muffler body ripped off the mounting flange, so I think I can just slide this one over the old flange and clamp it down. I'm going to cut the old pipe off about 8" after the muffler so that it ends at the hanger, that way I don't need to buy anything new AND there's less pipe to get tangled up. I was surprised at how sturdy the rest of the exhaust feels from the cats forward - I was worried that the forces required to rip a muffler off would've messed up the rest of it somehow.  And my rearview mirror fell off. Astonishing Wang fucked around with this message at 17:55 on Jun 13, 2016 |
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Jun 13, 2016 17:48
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Thrush is not only limited to the mouth area, it can spread and infect many parts of the system. I put on the $30 Thrush welded muffler and it barely made a difference vs. no muffler. I'm sure part of the problem is that it dumps right after the muffler under the jeep. I bought a turn-down but the muffler is currently too far back to use it, as it would either hit the drive shaft or a control arm. I'm going to have to pull the flange off and shorten it, that should bring the muffler at least 3-4" closer to the front and away from the shaft and control arm. e: NM, I just ordered a replacement tail pipe. No reason to have a redneck exhaust when a tailpipe is $40. Astonishing Wang fucked around with this message at 16:33 on Jun 15, 2016 |
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Jun 15, 2016 16:08
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Motherfuckin' smog guys are getting me for $30 for a cracked PCV hose, on top of the smog fee. It's been cracked and covered in electrical tape since I got the loving Jeep and has never caused a problem. I passed the OBD2 smog scan but they failed me on the visual. If I wanted to fix it myself with $8 of hose they'd charge me $50 to re-test, so I'm better off paying the $30. This really chaps my rear end, though it probably shouldn't. I just feel like they should know what is a problem and what isn't, and stop trying to make $20 off a lovely hose.
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Jun 21, 2016 22:01
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drat, you gotta find a cooler smog dude. If you fail don't you usually get a free retest? Mine let me know I was gonna fail visual for a missing preheater hose and ignored my own electrical tape pcv issues - told me come back and didn't charge me anything. Then when I came back and failed sniffer he retested me in test/offline mode two different times until I fixed the issue and my numbers were right. I always went at slow times of day though and I think he took pity on me because he could tell I really loved the jeep and wasn't trying to sneak anything by him. I  him.
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Jun 21, 2016 22:30
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I definitely won't go to this place again in 2 years when it's time for the next smog. It was $91 out the door - $22 of that was for the 8" rubber elbow. I know it was going to cost more for the test than the places near my house, but I figured the convenience of having it all done during my work day was worth the $20 extra. Bunch of buttholes over there  They were actually p. nice folks but I don't like getting raped with rubber hose.I went through the front end of the Jeep a bit yesterday, and I'm super glad I did. The nut holding the pitman arm onto the steering shaft was loose as heck, so I tightened the poo poo out of it and marked it so I can see if it's breaking loose again. I may take it back off and put some blue lock tight on it. If I didn't notice the loose nut I probably could have killed myself and anyone else in the Jeep in about a week. I also greased up the steering and ball joints, zip-tied the stainless brake lines to the shocks so they don't hit the tires at full turn, and got the steering wheel a little closer to straight. I still haven't installed the new tail pipe and I'm getting really tired of the droning of the muffler, so I might do that soon.
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Jun 27, 2016 23:15
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