Ole Rusty's 05 Unlimited Grocery Getter and Summertime Convertible

Ole Rusty

Shadetree Mechanic
Lifetime Supporting Member
Joined
Oct 8, 2022
Messages
114
Location
Kentucky
Wanted to start this thread to document the piddling I do along the way. Pops owns an independent repair garage so i grew up a car guy and love to wrench on whatever i get my hands on. I've drug home some clunkers that just needed some love, hence the name Ole Rusty, an ode to a previous 1985 CJ 6 cylinder, 3 speed automatic that drove exactly like it sounds. 60 mph downhill is about all you could get and sometimes more than you'd want anyways. Of course once I sold it i realized how bad i missed cruising around with the top off and began the search for something a little newer for a better cruising experience.

I was actually looking at 94 and 95 YJs because i liked the more vintage look of the interior with the improved 4.0 but ultimately settled on the TJ. Still a newer appearance on the inside than I wanted but the coil suspension over the spring leaf was the real selling point. After searching and looking at every rusted out junk that central KY has to offer I saw the future money pit I was looking for surface on Facebook marketplace. It was a short ad reading something like "do you want to build a rock crawler", which I didn't, for a 2005 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited with three or four pictures of the Jeep at a gas station. It didn't look bad other than the rocker under the driver door had been rattle canned in primer. The price was too cheap so I didn't immediately call him thinking it had to be rusted out and continued looking at other TJs.

After almost two weeks of looking at the ad I thought what the hell, it cant be worse than some of the other junk I've looked at. Turns out the guy just needed cash and a better vehicle for a long daily commute. The frame was solid, engine was quiet, brand new Bestop TrekTop, shifted good, and it actually steered straight down the road at 65 mph without any wobble. For the price he wanted what else could i ask for. It was high mileage, 198k. Guy had bought it at 85k in 2015 and put the majority of the miles on it, so it was in need of some obvious maintenance items but I planned to hang onto this one so a solid, non-rusted base was really all I was after. So we shook on it and agreed to meet at the courthouse the next morning.

On to the photo dump and I'll update as I go.
 
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How it started. It ran fine but without a second driver I popped it on the trailer and made the hour drive to the house.

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PO had loaded the back with extra parts like a used radiator, chrome grill, and a used Patagonia for a spare since the mounted spare had a gash in the sidewall. So first up was to empty it out.

Within an hour so I had it empty and stripped off the top and doors to get a good look at what I had bought. At this point I was feeling pretty good about the purchase.

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First up was some quick maintenance items like changing the oil, toping off fluids, and flushing the brown mud that used to be coolant from the cooling system.

Removed the thermostat to flush the block as well as the radiator. Also flushed the heater core. Filled the system back with Thermocure and distilled water and drive it for a week to remove the scale. For those that have a need, it's worth every penny. Link to Amazon below.

Thermocure

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Next up was a thorough cleaning and inspection. When I initially looked over the truck prior to purchase I couldn't get a good look under the carpets because PO used this as his work truck and the cargo area was full of tools. So I was a little concerned there may be some surprise tub rust I missed. Stripped all the carpets and was happy when that wasn't the case.

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Used a small electric power sprayer on the carpets. I kept a good distance from the carpet while spraying and it worked out well. Also gave em a good scrub and reinstalled. At this point it's shaping up nice and I'm feeling good about what I've bought.

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It's a manual transmission so the e-brake not working was a no-go for me. Plus new rear brakes was a good excuse to pull the wheels and poke around. I knew there were wheel spacers just from looking at the stance but was sorta surprised to find 2" spacers.

Can't expect much from the e-brake if there's no shoes on it. New rotors, pads, e-brake shoes, and hardware kit. A little PB Blaster and adjustment to the cables and I'm back in business.

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I was never able to get the seats as clean as I wanted so I went with a set of RC neoprene seat covers. Front fit really well but the back lower portion doesn't wrap all the way under. When I pulled all the carpet I found the rear seat cables that provide the fold and tumble function were broken. Thanks to this forum I found some folks making the repair from bicycle brake cables so I picked up a set and went to work.
Pretty straight forward repair.
1. Pull the seat
2. Remove plastic pins holding the fabric to the seat back to gain access to the cables.
3. Remove the old cables
4. Cable ends with the ball or cylinder type attachment fit nicely at the seat latch pivot point so start there.

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5. Run the cables from the latch to the release handle on top of the seat back and secure them so they pull. I reused the factory clips and some zip ties. Depending on how ambitious you get, you could trim the cables to length but it was going well and I didn't want to mess them up and start over so I just coiled them up and tied them to the cushion supports with zip ties.

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6. The latch/handle end is where it's tricky and you have to get creative to make the attachment point secure. I used some rivet heads from a $5 HF assortment I already had in the garage. Drive the head off the rivet with a socket and then crimp the head the open cable end. I used some wire crimpers but whatever you have will work. Insert you're newly made cable end into the latch and check the pull. Pics are hard to see but you get the idea.


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7. Reinstall the rear seat and check the function. If it folds and tumbles, have a beer and celebrate. If not, have a beer and try again tomorrow.

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When I purchased the Jeep the PO was upfront and told me the transfer case was leaking and he thought it might need a rebuild. It was definitely leaking. Had to keep a stack of cardboard underneath to catch it all. Was hoping for an easy input/output seal or speedo seal replacement but no luck. Removed the skid and cleaning the case with brake cleaner and a wire brush revealed a crack in the case.

Since the case isn't pressurized I decided to give it a JB weld temp fix. Drained the case, cleaned the area well, scuffed it with some 80 grit sandpaper and brushed on the epoxy. Let it sit for a couple days before refilling. It's been 3 months and haven't seen a drop. That'll hold for now until I find a decent used 231.

Got my number one employee on the job.

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Replaced the passenger outer door handle. Was dreading dealing with the clips. Not one of Chryslers better designs. Turns out a PO had been in there before and made it easy on me with an access panel cutout. The stuff people do...

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Pulled the fender flare and sanded down the PO's primer coverup on the rocker to see what I'm dealing with. Not as bad as I had feared. PO just went to town with the primer. Bought some Mopar touch up rattle cans in hope of blending over the primer for now until I get around to having it repaired correctly. No such luck. Match is awful but at least it's not primer, right?

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New shoes to replace the mismatched Patagonia and Americus tires and corroded Ravine wheels. Picked a great set of like new Ravine wheels and 31x10.5 General Grabber ATX tires of this forum thanks to @tweezer. Thanks again!

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Just for fun set the Tundra tires next to the Jeep to see what to it would like with Titanium wheels and 35s. Tires are 285/75/17 (34x11.5). Maybe someday.

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I gave it to a guy at work. Otherwise it would have been a freebie for you

No, I was actually asking for a friend. You see, @Apparition DM'd me and asked me to check as he was too embarrassed to do so himself....

And he only needs one - @Mrs.Apparition would never run one on her rig.

:)
 
New shoes to replace the mismatched Patagonia and Americus tires and corroded Ravine wheels. Picked a great set of like new Ravine wheels and 31x10.5 General Grabber ATX tires of this forum thanks to @tweezer. Thanks again!

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Just for fun set the Tundra tires next to the Jeep to see what to it would like with Titanium wheels and 35s. Tires are 285/75/17 (34x11.5). Maybe someday.

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Looks good! I am glad you got them on the Jeep.