My Dream Vehicle

Slade

New Member
Supporting Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2016
Messages
11
Location
Rhode Island, United States
Hello Everyone,

About a month ago I purchased my very first Jeep. Ever since I was a kid I knew I wanted a Wrangler. Due to funds and circumstance, I have driven Toyota Corollas my entire life. Once my 2004 Corolla needed a new catalytic converter, I decided that the time to drive a jeep was now. I looked A LOT. I was looking for a stock project that was reliable enough to daily drive. Being from Rhode Island, most of the Jeeps I looked at were rusty in all the worst places (a product of New England winters and salty ocean air). If they weren't rotted through on the frame, people wanted an arm and a leg.

I really wanted a TJ. To me, there was something about the little traces of American Motors here and there, the straight 6 (even though I ended up with the 2.5L , same idea though) and the smaller size that appealed to me. I wanted a Jeep with character and soul, but one I could drive to and from work everyday.

After a while of searching, I ended up buying a 99 Wrangler SE with the 2.5L. I drove it (keeping in mind the warnings of many who said how under powered the 4 cylinder was) and decided to buy it. It was really love at first drive. Yes, there was some rust, however it is mostly on the fenders and hood. The frame and floors are in really good shape and the interior was SPOTLESS (something I hadn't really seen in the other jeeps I looked at). This jeep also came with a fat folder full of maintenance records and it only had 130K on the Odometer (many of which were tow miles as the previous owner used to tow the jeep behind his RV).

First thing I did once it was home was give it a tune up. My friend and I changed all the fluids, new plugs and wires, distributor cap and rotor. We ordered up a new (all aluminum) radiator to replace the old one, and saved the coolant change/flush for when we installed that. It was running great until a few days later when the ignition coil went. In the process of fixing that problem, a new Camshaft position sensor and crankshaft position sensor was installed as well.

As of right now, the jeep has been running tip top. The exhaust rattles a bit at idle, but otherwise it's been smooth (knock on wood). I've been pushing my luck with the amount of jeep parts sitting in the living room, I have a 2.5" lift (shocks and springs), adjustable front track bar, rear track bar relocator, aluminum radiator, new sway bar disconnects, and a partridge in a pair tree waiting to be installed once I get a moment and once my buddies garage is free.

I've attached a few photos of it as it sits stock. I will update the progress as it comes along. If feels pretty good living the dream!

-Neil

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Welcome..Its good to see some more Green TJ's!
I have a "00 Sahara with 150k miles and i love it.
 
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Looks like a great TJ! You're probably asking yourself the same question I am: How have I gone most of my life without owning one of these!?
 
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I totally agree. Of all the cool cars I've ever owned, this one puts a smile on my face like no other.
 
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Nice Jeep! You're going to love your four angry squirrels. I'm a little jealous though, I was looking for a green TJ with tan interior and ended up with a blue one with charcoal interior.
 
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Nice Jeep! You're going to love your four angry squirrels. I'm a little jealous though, I was looking for a green TJ with tan interior and ended up with a blue one with charcoal interior.
It's funny, so did I (patriot blue with charcoal interior). I wanted a chili pepper red with tan interior or an impact orange one with grey interior. But I think most of us sacrifice colors for condition of the vehicle and no rust.

To the OP, nice looking green TJ. Green is one of the best colors on a jeep. A tribute to their military past.
 
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Thanks for all the welcomes everyone! Yet another reason owning a Wrangler is great; the community!

One thing I forgot to mention. When I bought it, the dash lights were mostly burnt out and the climate control wasn't lit up at all. That was a real pain in the rear when I couldn't see anything driving it home the first night. I ended up buying a set of LED replacements for both the gage cluster and the climate control. It made a huge difference!

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Thanks for all the welcomes everyone! Yet another reason owning a Wrangler is great; the community!

One thing I forgot to mention. When I bought it, the dash lights were mostly burnt out and the climate control wasn't lit up at all. That was a real pain in the rear when I couldn't see anything driving it home the first night. I ended up buying a set of LED replacements for both the gage cluster and the climate control. It made a huge difference!

Very cool! I've been meaning to do this myself!
 
Nice! Do you have the 2.5L as well? If so, how is it with the lift & tires?

No sir, I do not. But X2 to what Chris said - most people on here with the 2.5L and big tires say that there is much to be desired.

With that being said though, the whole point of the 2.5L is greater fuel efficiency! If it were me, I'd rock the factory setup of wheels and tires and cash in at the gas pump!


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I like the green a lot, especially with the spice top and interior. Nice Jeep @Slade! I origanlly wanted green, but settled for black & charcoal. I'm on the hunt for yellow, preferably of the LJ variety.
 
Thanks for all the welcomes everyone! Yet another reason owning a Wrangler is great; the community!

One thing I forgot to mention. When I bought it, the dash lights were mostly burnt out and the climate control wasn't lit up at all. That was a real pain in the rear when I couldn't see anything driving it home the first night. I ended up buying a set of LED replacements for both the gage cluster and the climate control. It made a huge difference!
Which kit did you buy? I need to replace mine as well, they get a bit more dim every day since it has gotten cold outside.
 
Thanks for the advice @Nashorn101 and @Tristan. My plan was to do a 2.5" Lift and run 31's. From what I've read, the 2.5" lift eventually settles and sits at around 2".

Depends on how much weight you add to it really. My OME heavy duty lift said it was 2", but it was more like 2.5" when I installed it. That's because the HD springs in that kit are meant for more weight, thus they are a little stiffer and tend to sit a bit higher.
 
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