It's official, I'm a TJ owner!!

[DizJeep]

That orange (Amber Fire) 2001 I was asking opinions on in the Tell me I'm not an idiot and this is a good deal thread will be mine Tuesday or Wednesday.:b1::aaaaa: :b1:
At the end of negotiations, we settled at $5200 so, I'm hopin' that will leave me enough to get it fully operational without breaking the bank.

Of course, now I'm going to be bothering you guys for all sorts of info :worship2:

For those that didn't see the pics, here's the link.


Aaaaand, a few questions right off...
The seller has transferred his winch to his new JK so, Imma need a winch. I know Warns are almighty but yeesh they cost like it. Anyone have any experience with the Traveller brand (Tractor supply sells them), Smittybuilt, or the ones Harbor Freight currently sells? Any other brands you might suggest? Also, what weight rating should I be looking at...is 8000LB good or is more needed?

Any other "must haves" I should be looking at right away?

Anyone have any experience patching a vinyl soft top? The Pavement Ends Sprint top on it has some splits where it folds and I would much prefer to patch these small areas rather than buy a whole new top.

Thanks!
Diz

 

[Chris]

8000 lbs. is what you want for the winch weight. More won't hurt, but 8000 is all you need.

Warn is undoubtedly the best, but there's many who don't want to pay the price (which I get) and opt for a cheaper brand such as Smittybilt, Engo, etc. Most of the guys who use those winches have never had any issues with them.

You may have seen this thread I wrote on winches here: What is the best winch for my Jeep Wrangler TJ?

It's got a lot of good choices if you don't want to drop the money for a Warn. Some of those options being:

• Egno 77-09000S (9000 lbs.)
• Smittybilt 97495 XRC
• Superwinch 1595200 Tiger Shark
• Badlands (9000 lbs.)

A winch would be the first "must have" on my list. The next one would be a sunshade to keep you from getting absolutely roasted by the sun. I run the Alien sunshade sunshade and absolutely love it. It lets in just enough light, but not enough to burn you or roast you alive when the sun is right above you. Honestly, you don't want to go without one of these when you're topless.

BTW, congrats on the purchase. I bet you're going to be happy as hell to get this thing! $5200 sounds like a good price to me!

 

[StG58]

Go Engo on the winch if Warn doesn't make sense right now. Congratulations on joining the craziness, you'll love it!

 

[Rob5589]

Congrats! I was in the same boat as you when it came to a winch. After a bunch of reading I went with the Engo SR9S. Of the china made winches it seems the most reliable. I actually only found one bad review of the solenoid dying but they took care of it right away. @AOR set me up, great price and fast shipping.

 

[bobthetj03]

Congrats and welcome to empty wallet club. As said above, Engo is Warn doesn't fit your budget. Patching the soft top is a tough dealio. You could try a boat shop that patches sails or makes canvas goodies. I have had no luck successfully patching them.

 

[The Real Lxxtsy]

Congrats, nice rig....I'd get rid of the cone filter and put back the stock intake box and filter. I ran a cone for a while and it was the worst idea ever.

There is little to nothing at all to be gained from a cold air intake on these engines. Even one of the engineers who designed the Jeep Wrangler TJ said this:

"As with any "system" on the vehicle, such as the air induction system, there is a certain amount of compromise that needs to be designed into it. What I mean is that you could maximize flow, but at what cost to filtration and protection of the engine? Essentially we design the stock intake system to meet the airflow requirements of the engine while still protecting it from fine particle ingestion. Will a cold air intake possibly flow a little more? Perhaps, but it may potentially allow larger particles through that the stock paper element would not.

In the case of the TJ, the 4.0L is an engine optimized for low RPM power and torque - the potential increase in airflow that a cold air intake might offer would not really play into the typical RPM range that a 4.0L generally operates in."
So really and realistically, you have nothing to gain from a cold air intake unless you're getting it for free. Not to mention that most of the air filters (i.e. K&N) that come with cold air intakes can actually do more harm than good for your engine, due to the fact that a lot of particles bypass those filters.

 

[UpperMI]

Congrats. I would replace the sprint top as opposed the patching it as well. Patching tops looks like crap and they don't always seal. Matching the sun faded color is impossible.

 

[StoneCold]

Love the color. Just remember its supposed to be fun! So enjoy the journey.

You are going to love it. Finding the time to get more "Jeep time" gets interesting too!

One thing I will say is don't rush anything that is gonna cost money. Take your time, look at options, then decide. You may not realize if you do one mod it means you have to do several more to make it all work. This awesome site explains most of all that if you look around, search enough etc.

Congrats again!

 

[DizJeep]

Thanks guys! I'm super excited!!!

@lxxtsy Thanks for the cold air intake info. Makes sense and, maybe next time I'm salvage yard hopping, I'll look for an OEM air box and tube.
Lots of good info on the winches. While looking, I ran across the Smittybuilt X20 which is waterproof and I do like the sound of that since I have seen plenty of ATV winches die from repeated water infiltration but then, the Smittybilt 97495 XRC is also IP67 waterproof (so don't sit in the water for more than 30 min) and has a lifetime mechanical warranty (better than Badland) and a 3 year electrical warranty (2 years longer than everyone else except Badland, where it 2 years and 9 months longer).
I hear what you guys are saying about the Engo but, Just have a hard time ignoring that electrical warranty.

 

[DizJeep]

@StoneCold Thanks, I dig the orange too :cbiggrin2:

 

[Phungki]

congrats!! i like the color. i dont know squat about winches so ill leave that to those that do

 

[jeepXcore]

I bought the Rough Country RS9500 winch; its treated me well so far. Pulled myself out of a deep puddle that I underestimated without issue and pulled my gf's Kia Sorrento out of the snow with it.

 

[Shwane]

I have the Badlands winch. No problems so far. I've had it almost a year and I use it 3 to 4 times a week on various things. Pulling bushes out, other jeeps, my jeep, 4 wheelers, etc...

I also keep my shackles on the bumper for quick access usually slathered with neverseaze, so I cant be trusted :roto2lol:

 

[Bill D]

A winch was the first thing I added to my first Jeep, a CJ-5. If you go with others out into the bush, a winch is probably not necessary. Since I did the unimaginable and went off by myself, (admittedly, not the best course of action) I felt a winch should be pretty far up my list of necessities. I did a lot of winch shopping and asked a lot of questions before I took the plunge and bought an entry level 8000 pound Warn. I'm glad I did and I'll bet you would be too. My TJ, a 2003 Rubicon, was purchased used and already had a 9,000 pound Quadratec mounted. I have had to use it a couple of times and quite frankly can't see any difference between it and the Warn.

Nice looking TJ, by the way.

Bill

 

[glwood]

My TJ, a 1903 Rubicon, was purchased used.
Bill

1903 Rubicon:

 

[DizJeep]

1903 Rubicon:

:risunis:

 

[Bill D]

It's hell to get old and start loosing a grip on reality. Actually mine looks just like that one except it's all black.

 

[DizJeep]

Well, it's totally official now; brought it home tonight. It was a looooong trip back home (30 minutes to get there and 2.5 hours to get home) because it was overheating big time and I had to stop every few miles to let it chill. I've been trying to find that thread I saw recently where someone asked "is this normal" and had a pic of their temp gauge...seems like it was just a bit above 210 and that's where mine climbs up to, sits around there for a while, and then BOOM, blasts up to red line as the radiator cap blows its top, spraying coolant everywhere. In fact, I'm thinking it might be as simple as a bad rad cap.
Now the fun begins. First, get the overheating figured out then, on to the nasty tapping. I'm hoping it's an exhaust leak but I've budgeted for a salvage or rebuilt engine.
Hears the new baby in the driveway, sitting next to my 2016 Cherokee (nice vehicle but no off-roader).

You can see the signs of coolant vomit on the a/c condenser.
Hear's our love, Siri...not sure yet but it could be cool.

Siri's goofy boyfriend/housmate, Rufus looking like he just got back from Borg space.

It's kind of a Jeep thing at our house. The wife's silver Cherokee chillin' behind the Wrangler.

 

[DizJeep]

This baby is FILTHY inside from playing on dusty dirt roads so, while I'm thinking about it, can you rinse out a wrangler (after removing the carpet of course) and would that require a wet vac to suck it all out afterwards? I figure if I park so it's leaning pretty heavily to the passenger side and a bit down in the front, most of the water would run out the door. Also, will the carpet hold up to being hosed down and then sun-dried?
EDIT: Reading this again, I guess I should specify that i'd be keeping the water below dash level ...though I wish I could blast all the dust from the air vents too

'Nuther thing, has anyone ever used a passenger seat or seat skin/cover on the driver's side? I know the opening for the seat back release strap would be on the wrong side but I think making a hole on the correct side wouldn't be a biggie. Was thinking of getting a good used one from a salvage yard but the drivers side are almost always as trashed as mine and the passenger's are more often in very good condition.

 

[DizJeep]

Oh yeah, one last thing before I hit the sack (just all wound up). Almost every time I had to pull over and let the TJ cool its heals, I had one or more Wrangler owners stop to make sure I was OK...and I was giving thumbs-up signals to a bunch more that were looking my way with questioning looks.
Made me happy :applaudit::Saeufer:

P.S. Yeah, Wranglers are very popular 'round here.:emoji_thumbsup: