What did you do to your TJ today?

[joniki]

Now what? What brand are/did you go with?

The heater core came from Extreme Terrain and the evaporator came from NAPA.

 

[kincaid.0678]

Cleaned and sanded the intake manifold and it still looked like shit so i decided to prime it up and paint it OD green. Looks better than it did and will match the timing cover if the paint holds up

 

[DIYMechanic]

The heater core came from Extreme Terrain and the evaporator came from NAPA.

Curious how bad a job this is...I think a heater core is in my future on my (new to me) '05 LJ.

New to the site here, but I've been busy since buying it a couple weeks ago. So far, I've removed the crusty, rusty spare tire carrier and 3rd brake light (don't have a spare tire anyway), replaced the valve cover gasket, swapped on new door handles, straightened the bent grill, tightened the loose exhaust connector bolts, cleaned out 47.2 pounds of dog hair from the interior, reconnected the dome light switches, swapped to a different (factory) cd/radio from my old WJ, replaced the side marker light sockets (junk yards are great!), replaced the hood prop rod retainer clip, used a needle scaler on the entire underbody, patched 3 rusty sections of the frame, polished the aluminum wheels (more like resurfaced, as bad as they were), undercoated the whole thing with 1 and 1/2 gallons of Woolwax, replaced the brake master cylinder, and rebuilt the emergency brakes. Yeah, it's been a busy couple weeks!

Looking forward to having this thing as a reliable DD and enjoying some warmer weather. It's sure nice to be behind the wheel of a flat fender Jeep again!

 

[Kiwi TJ]

pulled an ice house off the lake and found out i have a bad fueling issue was losing fuel like crazy rough idle and eyes burning in the cab. ordered some ntk upstream o2 sensors and few other things.

Sounds like you should buy one of these too

 

[TheBoogieman]

pulled an ice house off the lake

Leave the Icehouse at the lake.

 

[Boojadean]

Pulled the tow hitch and front bumper off. Not going to be using the tow hitch, but will repaint the bumper. I think I'll get end caps for it too and leave off the milk jugs.

 

[SAWB]

Curious how bad a job this is...I think a heater core is in my future on my (new to me) '05 LJ.

New to the site here, but I've been busy since buying it a couple weeks ago. So far, I've removed the crusty, rusty spare tire carrier and 3rd brake light (don't have a spare tire anyway), replaced the valve cover gasket, swapped on new door handles, straightened the bent grill, tightened the loose exhaust connector bolts, cleaned out 47.2 pounds of dog hair from the interior, reconnected the dome light switches, swapped to a different (factory) cd/radio from my old WJ, replaced the side marker light sockets (junk yards are great!), replaced the hood prop rod retainer clip, used a needle scaler on the entire underbody, patched 3 rusty sections of the frame, polished the aluminum wheels (more like resurfaced, as bad as they were), undercoated the whole thing with 1 and 1/2 gallons of Woolwax, replaced the brake master cylinder, and rebuilt the emergency brakes. Yeah, it's been a busy couple weeks!

Looking forward to having this thing as a reliable DD and enjoying some warmer weather. It's sure nice to be behind the wheel of a flat fender Jeep again!

View attachment 390642

Ah ! I see you have an LJ . If the spare tire carrier was all rusty, how does the frame look , a point of concern on these ! Being Ohio rust belt country .
And welcome , you will find much help here without much drama ! Just be expecting a bunch of fun kidding !

 

[TheBoogieman]

Curious how bad a job this is...I think a heater core is in my future on my (new to me) '05 LJ.
cleaned out 47.2 pounds of dog hair from the interior

I cleaned out 47.3 lbs of dog hair on my old 03' Sahara. The owners brought their 3 large dogs everywhere they went and apparently didn't own a vacuum cleaner. I spent hours with a power washer at the carwash (pulled the carpet) and a brush. I'm glad my "dogs" are hairless. They do shed skin though.

 

[DIYMechanic]

I cleaned out 47.3 lbs of dog hair on my old 03' Sahara. The owners brought their 3 large dogs everywhere they went and apparently didn't own a vacuum cleaner. I spent hours with a power washer at the carwash (pulled the carpet) and a brush. I'm glad my "dogs" are hairless. They do shed skin though.
View attachment 390776

View attachment 390775

Hah! I bet the "shedding" from your dog's is a lot easier to clean out of the Jeep!

I may remove the carpet and give it a good power washing at some point as well. I've done that in the past with good success. It's an investment of time, but it's the only way to get the carpet really clean. I'll just need to wait for some warmer weather before that's an option for me here. It'd never get dry here in this weather.

My next project was delivered by FedEx about an hour ago. New nerf bars to replace the ratty, rusted out ones that are on the Jeep now. I'd have rather put rock rails with steps on it, but I need the Nerf bars for now to hide the (hideous) gap created by the 3" BL somebody put on this thing at some point. Saving for a suspension lift and short BL is on the horizon. I'm tempted to strip the 3" BL off of it, but I think the proportions on stock height with 31s would bother me more. The nerf bars are an "intermediate, incremental step" in the right direction. Eventually, I'd like to put it on a 2.5 - lift and reduce the BL to 1 - 1.5" of lift.

Can't do it all at once so making it a reliable, respectable, fun daily driver (in that order) comes before improving off-road prowess. It still remains to be seen how much trail time it will see...

 

[TheBoogieman]

Hah! I bet the "shedding" from your dog's is a lot easier to clean out of the Jeep!

I may remove the carpet and give it a good power washing at some point as well. I've done that in the past with good success. It's an investment of time, but it's the only way to get the carpet really clean. I'll just need to wait for some warmer weather before that's an option for me here. It'd never get dry here in this weather.

My next project was delivered by FedEx about an hour ago. New nerf bars to replace the ratty, rusted out ones that are on the Jeep now. I'd have rather put rock rails with steps on it, but I need the Nerf bars for now to hide the (hideous) gap created by the 3" BL somebody put on this thing at some point. Saving for a suspension lift and short BL is on the horizon. I'm tempted to strip the 3" BL off of it, but I think the proportions on stock height with 31s would bother me more. The nerf bars are an "intermediate, incremental step" in the right direction. Eventually, I'd like to put it on a 2.5 - lift and reduce the BL to 1 - 1.5" of lift.

Can't do it all at once so making it a reliable, respectable, fun daily driver (in that order) comes before improving off-road prowess. It still remains to be seen how much trail time it will see...

My Jeep when it had a 1.25" BL and 31s. Looks about right for 31s. My 98' with 31s and a 2" BB.

 

[DIYMechanic]

Ah ! I see you have an LJ . If the pair tire carrier was all rusty, how does the frame look , a point of concern on these ! Being Ohio rust belt country .
And welcome , you will find much help here without much drama ! Just be expecting a bunch of fun kidding !

It was bad.

2 places at the rear dogleg ahead of the control arm mounts, and one aft of the front were soft and have been cut out, cleaned up, temporarily patched and thoroughly coated with Woolwax. It's not a cherry ride, but I need it to be a WINTER ready DD and I didn't pay a ton for it because of those issues, so I got into it right. At some point, I'll buy the replacement frame sections (safety cap?) and make the repair permanent. The Jeep lived in FL until 2017 so it's cleaner than most that "grew up" here in the rust belt, but it's no showpiece. It's serviceable condition and a great DD, which is what I wanted.

I've stopped the downalwars spiral for now, and we're moving toward improving its condition. I will need to do a windshield frame at some point, though as well.

I'm thankful there's a lot of aftermarket support for these vehicles. It's one of the things that draws me to them.

 

[DIYMechanic]

My Jeep when it had a 1.25" BL and 31s. Looks about right for 31s.
View attachment 390777

View attachment 390778

Yeah, that does look good! I think the added length of the LJ requires a little more lift to keep it from looking oddly proportioned (stretched out) though.

I really like the proportions on about 4" lift and 35s but I don't know that I'll use it enough off-road to justify the cost of going that far. I'm targeting 2.5" of suspension lift, 1-1.5" of body lift and likely 33s. That gets me close to how I think it should look, remains reasonably practical in terms of build investment, and should maintain good road manners. I've been eyeing up the kits from DPG Offroad and I'm thinking that's probably the way I'll go when the time comes.

Then there's auxiliary lighting, and a winch, and a spare tire, and, and, and! The good thing is it'll make gift buying for special occasions reasonably easy (but not inexpensive) for my family!

 

[TheBoogieman]

Yeah, that does look good! I think the added length of the LJ requires a little more lift to keep it from looking oddly proportioned (stretched out) though.

I really like the proportions on about 4" lift and 35s but I don't know that I'll use it enough off-road to justify the cost of going that far. I'm targeting 2.5" of suspension lift, 1-1.5" of body lift and likely 33s. That gets me close to how I think it should look, remains reasonably practical in terms of build investment, and should maintain good road manners. I've been eyeing up the kits from DPG Offroad and I'm thinking that's probably the way I'll go when the time comes.

Then there's auxiliary lighting, and a winch, and a spare tire, and, and, and! The good thing is it'll make gift buying for special occasions reasonably easy (but not inexpensive) for my family!

Sounds like you have a good plan with the 33s.

 

[DIYMechanic]

What's the prevailing wisdom on BB?

Is it wasted money if I intend to go with a full SL in the future?

I assume I'd have to do shocks with a 2" BL, but I suppose I could use that as a step toward a full lift and sell the spacers later on if I wanted to.

 

[TheBoogieman]

What's the prevailing wisdom on BB?

Is it wasted money if I intend to go with a full SL in the future?

I assume I'd have to do shocks with a 2" BL, but I suppose I could use that as a step toward a full lift and sell the spacers later on if I wanted to.

Your plan is much better. Doing a BB, just to replace the springs later on is a waste of money. I did a BB and it lasted 6 months before I did a suspension lift and BL. Stick to your plan and more importantly, POST PICS when you do.

 

[DIYMechanic]

I appreciate the reinforcement!

 

[Kiwi TJ]

Weather has turned to crap again just waiting for the brake shop to open ( New brake pads and rotors plus brake fluid flush and anything else they might find under there) …..I don’t trust doing it myself and running out of time ….Bonus is I’m getting it done at trade price so why not.

 

[joniki]

Curious how bad a job this is...I think a heater core is in my future on my (new to me) '05 LJ.

Forty years ago this could have been done in one day. Now, this is a two day job. If you have A/C, spend the money and replace the evaporator as well.

I also vacuumed two labs and a Shepherd put of my TJ when I bought it...

 

[InOmaha]

Blood sacrifice to the Jeep gods. Everything seems to be smooth sailing after.

 

[Kiwi TJ]

I also vacuumed two labs and a Sepherd put of my TJ when I bought it...

That must be a velly sucky motor...