Lax22’s 03 TJ Rubicon - East Coast Trail Rig

Lax22

TJ Enthusiast
Supporting Member
Joined
Jan 20, 2021
Messages
472
Location
Maryland
Just joined the forum from Maryland and figured I’d introduce myself and provide a backstory. Not really new to jeeps or forums, it’s just been awhile since I’ve been on one and I don’t deal with social media so here we are. Here is the story of how I came to own my current TJ.

Over the last few years my brother and I have been buying neglected jeeps and rebuilding them. A few years ago I came across this 03 TJ Rubicon that had been sitting for awhile and looked to be well past it’s glory days. Like always I saw potential it and thought it would be a fun project so I had a look and ended up bringing it home.

It was a one owner TJ that had been sitting at a shop for a few years and It needed a lot of work before it could even be used on the trails. Of course it needed the standard tune up, filter, and fluid changes; but since it sat so long it needed a lot more. The suspension was shot, the axle seals were leaking, and the brakes were frozen, so I replaced everything on the axles from the seals out and replaced all the suspension components.

It took a few months of working nights and weekends in the garage to get everything swapped out and working again. There was a lot of wench throwing and cursing along the way but in the end it was all worth it and I’ve been enjoying the Jeep ever since. Wheel mostly in the north east, Rauch Creek, AOAA, and The Cove in Gore VA. I attached a few pictures of the Jeep in action and how it currently sits as well as some details

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Details and Current Setup:

Front and rear axles/T-case: Solid Diff covers, 4.88 gears, RCV front axles, modified factory locker switch to run air lockers in all transfer case gears, Savvy transfer case cable shifter.

Underbody protection: Under cover fab 1/4 aluminum extra clearance transfer case and oil pan skid, Savvy Aluminum Gas Tank skid

Lift/Suspension: 1.25 JKS body lift, 2.5 inch heavy weight OME springs, custom adjustable front and rear control arms, Metalcloak front track bar, Rancho shocks, Antirock front sway bar, Currie steering

Recovery/Bumpers/Armor/protection: Genright Offroad Mercenary front bumper with Superwinch 9000lb winch, Barnes 4x4 Tail Plate rear bumper with integrated hitch and step, Smittybuilt fenders/sliders/rear corner guards, Rock Hard 4x4 bolt in cage.

Tires and Wheels: 16x8 Steel Wheels with 315x75r16 Milestar Patagonia Mud-Terrains
 
My TJ is almost your twin!

Great story and glad to have you here. Much like yourself, I don’t really do social media either.
 
My TJ is almost your twin!

Great story and glad to have you here. Much like yourself, I don’t really do social media either.
Yeah, I used to be on a few forums and they all sort of went belly up, glad to see this one is still going strong. I’ve been working on a few projects and have used it as a source for info. Figured I’d give back by sharing my experiences.
 
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Yeah, I used to be on a few forums and they all sort of went belly up, glad to see this one is still going strong. I’ve been working on a few projects and have used it as a source for info. Figured I’d give back by sharing my experiences.
Yes, that’s why I made this forum for that very reason. Coincidentally those forums all went belly up shortly after the big companies bought them out.

Those same companies have also tried to buy this one from me a number of times. Unfortunately for them I’ll never sell it. I love TJs too much to see it ruined.

I’m just happy to have to many great individuals here. TJ owners really are the best. The JL crowd just isn’t the same.
 
Thanks for the reply’s and welcomes!

My red neck ram tapped steering box and hydraulic lines should be here today so I can restart this hydro assist project and hopefully wrap it up this week. There is a wheeling trip in a few weeks down in Gore VA I hoping to make so fingers crossed the reassembly goes well.
 
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All hooked up and running. Just a few things left to button up. Need to modify the axle side reinforcement plate and plan to weld it on.
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Need to trim the steering box skid plate to clear the forward port.
 
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Went down to Gore for some snow wheeling. Good weekend all and all. Hydro assist worked great! The pump didn’t whine once so the cooler was also doing it’s job, plus it was cold hahaha. We did have one flop the day before but no Injuries.

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