DropTop TJ to LJ build

Picked up an LJ last Saturday. 2004 Light Khaki Metallic unlimited with 135k on the clock I already have a 2004 Rock Mountain Edition TJ which has the ultimate kit from DPG offroad and a few other mods that I have done. I plan on swapping all the parts from the TJ to the LJ and from the LJ to the TJ, and then I will sell the TJ. I already started the work but it is raining here for the next few days so I decided I would start a build thread on it.

the day i brought it back

Mods on TJ:
-JKS 1.25 body lift

-Old man Emu 2.5 HD coils

-OME nitrocharger sports shocks

-JKS adjustable track bar front and rear

-JKS quick disconnects

-Brown Dog Motor sports motor mount lift 1 inch

-Metal cloak front lower control arms and upper rear

-walker evans racing streetlock wheels

-33 inch bf Goodrich km3

-ZJ tie rod and drag link
-G2 Chromoly rear axle shafts

-Poison Spyder BFH trail stinger

-Old Man Emu steering stabilizer
-LED taillight conversion

-Speakers and sub

-Shifter cable

-upgraded battery cables

I may be missing something but you get the gist.

Lj is bone stock other than new soft top and 31’s with rubicon wheels.

I started by swapping the suspension lift. I though it would be best if I did the front halves first, and then the back halves second.

Taking the OEM shocks out of the Lj just wasn’t happening, so I broke them out and bought some cheapo shocks from the auto store because i don’t care what goes into the TJ now.

Shocks and springs out


Next I drilled holes for the bump stops in the spring perch and got the front springs and coils in.


Swapped the stock suspension back into the TJ and have a raked stance

Drag TJ

Anyways at this point the front shocks coils and tires have been swapped

Probably gonna leave the ZJ steering in the TJ and stock steering in LJ because the ZJ steering had a blown out ball joint boot so any day now some dirt might get in there and mess something up. Plus I don’t want to have to mess with allignment etc since this is my first time installing a lift. (My dad installed the lift on the TJ years ago).

The only steering components im swapping are the track bars and the steering stabilizers. I need to go get a 9/16 drill bit so i can ream the existing track bar mount hole to fit the new bolt for the JKS track bar for the LJ.

So that leaves me with the back coils and shocks, sway bar links, track bar, body lift, MML, shifter cable, control arms, and axle shafts.

Really hoping I can reuse the stock linkage from the LJ to put back in the TJ without hassle.

Also not sure if I want to put the body lift and MML in since I won’t have vibes without them anymore (LJ activities ). I do want proper clearance for my 33’s though so I am leaning towards yes. JKS body lift pucks sag over time though and are punching dents in my rear tub

Once rain stops and I can keep working I’ll update thread

If anyone sees me doing something wrong or has any advice let me know

Having some trouble putting the tapered end of the stock track bar back into the TJ. Does it just need more force?

Claytone said:

It should just pop in there most of the way. Is the sleeve from the JKS bar still in there?

Click to expand...

That was it. Problem now is I can’t get the sleeve out

Got the head units and tail lights swapped quickly today.
(look behind the anti seize and you’ll see where an idiot PO got black spray paint on the body trying to paint the bumper)

Gonna see if I can get the battery cables swapped too in between the rain.

Get this though

31 inch next to my “33”. I know BFG run small but damn it’s just about 31 in reality

Rear end work has begun. Started out with loosening the track bar bolts and disconnecting sway bar links. Need to swap the end links and track bar from the tj to the lj. Surprisingly, none of the bolts on the TJ fought with me probably since they had been swapped 6-7 years ago.

LJ was a different story though. Snapped a lower shock bolt and two of the upper bolts. After reading on several methods the members of this forum use to remedy this, I decided to go my own route which no one really discussed before and I felt was easiest for me. I simply drilled a hole beneath the existing snapped bolt hole far enough to clear a nut on top. From there I threaded the hole and when installing i will throw a locknut on top and boom good as new. Anyways, I lost daylight and have the stock coils back in the TJ and the adjustable track bar out and ready to go into the LJ.

Suspension lifts are complete!

Overall it was more tedious than challenging but for my first time I think I did alright.

I got everything in the LJ torqued and ready to go and it drives amazing so far. Will do a bolt check after 100 miles. Only issue is my driveshaft is rubbing against my Y pipe for some reason when taking sharp turns. I think once I install the body lift it will go away but either way I need to replace the chop shop exhaust the PO installed at some point.

Really wish I could keep the rubicon wheels but I don’t have enough money to mount and balance 10 tires right now and I need to sell the TJ asap.

Also got my speakers swapped today and my battery cables. So this leaves me with the shifter cable, rear axle shafts, and the MML/body lift left to do.