OP
Whitney's Back to Stock Build: A Tribute to my first Jeep (04 Wrangler Sport, Light Khaki Metallic)
- Thread starter wborisenok
- Start date
OP
Made some awesome progress on the tailgate rust stains. Applied Adam’s Polishes Iron Remover and let it sit for 3-5 min before rubbing with a microfiber cloth. Did 3 rounds of this before hitting it with the Turtle Wax rubbing compound. Didn’t get the results I was hoping for after trying twice, so I went with my next step: Griot’s Garage Complete Compound. Slightly more aggressive but still safe. Did two rounds of this alternating with a round of iron remover and it came out great. Note for anyone else doing this: the iron remover STINKS. Literally. It smells like it’s actively burning a hole in your paint and turns the rusty area purple as it works. Don’t be alarmed. Before/after:
All that’s left are a couple of metal on paint scuffs that I think I could probably buff out with a slightly more aggressive compound, but I’m not worried about it. At some point I’m going to have the whole thing paint corrected and/or painted, so I’ll deal with it then.
In other news, I found a company that will sandblast my front bumper, rear bumper, hitch receiver, and spare tire bracket for $125. Pretty pumped about this! Should set me up nicely to hit them with a couple of coats of SEM. Planning to spray the spare tire bracket with some Rustoleum rust preventative before it gets the paint. My current rear bumper has a dent in it, so tomorrow or Sunday I’m picking up a new one (dent-free) from some dude for $10. Going to try to get these dropped off to the sandblaster Monday or Tuesday.
Still haven’t gotten to painting the third brake light as this week has been a scheduling shitshow, but hoping for some time on Sunday afternoon/night. Also, seeking suggestions for safely removing this gunk from the door sill:
It’s the clear protector that came on them from the factory, but now it’s old and cracked and really stuck on there. Obviously don’t want to use something sharp, so I’m gong to have to figure out a less abrasive way to remove it. Some sort of chemical? Goo Gone comes to mind but I feel like it could be too light duty.
All that’s left are a couple of metal on paint scuffs that I think I could probably buff out with a slightly more aggressive compound, but I’m not worried about it. At some point I’m going to have the whole thing paint corrected and/or painted, so I’ll deal with it then.
In other news, I found a company that will sandblast my front bumper, rear bumper, hitch receiver, and spare tire bracket for $125. Pretty pumped about this! Should set me up nicely to hit them with a couple of coats of SEM. Planning to spray the spare tire bracket with some Rustoleum rust preventative before it gets the paint. My current rear bumper has a dent in it, so tomorrow or Sunday I’m picking up a new one (dent-free) from some dude for $10. Going to try to get these dropped off to the sandblaster Monday or Tuesday.
Still haven’t gotten to painting the third brake light as this week has been a scheduling shitshow, but hoping for some time on Sunday afternoon/night. Also, seeking suggestions for safely removing this gunk from the door sill:
It’s the clear protector that came on them from the factory, but now it’s old and cracked and really stuck on there. Obviously don’t want to use something sharp, so I’m gong to have to figure out a less abrasive way to remove it. Some sort of chemical? Goo Gone comes to mind but I feel like it could be too light duty.
fyi zippo lighter fluid is good for sticky stuff.
I had the same issue with my door seals in my build thread. I used a heat gun, goo gone, and a plastic razor blade. A plastic razor blade works wonders around auto/body task. Just don't go too aggressive with it, as it can dig into clear coat/paint
OP
Awesome. Heat gun and plastic razor blades will be here tomorrow. Thanks!
OP
My Bulletpoint Mounting Solutions phone mount came today and I had to get going on install. I want to keep the rubber mat in the center dash, so I only got as far as this:
The screws are 1/2” and don’t intend for the mat to stay in, so the nuts don’t grab. Gotta run out tomorrow and get some black 5/8 pan heads so I can finish up. Gotta give it to this company though, the hardware is super high quality and feels great. This is definitely the best solution for me. I opted for the shorter arm so it wasn’t as intrusive feeling and it’s going to look great. Will post the finished product tomorrow.
Also snagged a dent-free rear bumper for $10 today. A lot cheaper than paying my paintless dent repair guy to make a trip here. Hopefully it cleans up nicely at the sandblaster this week!
The screws are 1/2” and don’t intend for the mat to stay in, so the nuts don’t grab. Gotta run out tomorrow and get some black 5/8 pan heads so I can finish up. Gotta give it to this company though, the hardware is super high quality and feels great. This is definitely the best solution for me. I opted for the shorter arm so it wasn’t as intrusive feeling and it’s going to look great. Will post the finished product tomorrow.
Also snagged a dent-free rear bumper for $10 today. A lot cheaper than paying my paintless dent repair guy to make a trip here. Hopefully it cleans up nicely at the sandblaster this week!
OP
Finished up the mount today and I’m thrilled with it. Pics:
Super clean and straightforward install aside from needing to grab longer screws to accommodate for the rubber mat. 5/8 worked just fine. Seems sturdy as can be and should last forever, but I do like that the base itself is a standard 20mm mounting ball in case I need to figure something else out. Glad I went with Bulletpoint instead of 67 designs, probably saved $50.
Super clean and straightforward install aside from needing to grab longer screws to accommodate for the rubber mat. 5/8 worked just fine. Seems sturdy as can be and should last forever, but I do like that the base itself is a standard 20mm mounting ball in case I need to figure something else out. Glad I went with Bulletpoint instead of 67 designs, probably saved $50.
OP
Updates, updates, updates! Switching around the order of some things because, despite plenty of Free All, it seems the rear bumper and receiver hitch bolts don’t want to come loose. Therefore, Jeep is heading to O’Handley’s on the 31st! Mike is a Jeep maniac and one of the most trusted Jeep dudes in Massachusetts. While it’s there:
— New coils: dropping to stock height, leveling rake
— Replace shocks w/ Bilstein B8 5100s
— Remove existing body mounts and replacing with all-in-one 1” lift kit — one piece accommodates height for original mount and additional 1” (can’t remember the brand
)
— Add RT Off Road hub-centric/wheel-centric spacer kit for 1.5” backspacing
— Remove oxidized tailgate hinges and replace w/ another set of intact light khaki hinges
— Install wiring harness and turn signal switch for fogs
— Sand and paint area on rear bumper with visible surface rust that I shared in original post
Going to have him leave the bumper and hitch bolts ”hand tool tight” so I can remove them for sandblasting and painting once it gets back. In the next 3 weeks before it goes in, I hope to:
— Install new exterior door handles
— Install new exterior tailgate handle
— Clean up fogs that were gifted to me by @txbemis69 (THANK YOU!)
— Remove rear wheel liners and power wash to remove old mud
When it gets back from Mike:
— Prep + paint factory fender flares
— Prep + paint third brake light
— Sandblast and paint front bumper, rear bumper, receiver hitch, and spare tire bracket
— Install new factory front frame cover
— Install factory tow hooks
Hope to bang all of this out before May 1. Will I? Probably not, but a girl can aim high.
— New coils: dropping to stock height, leveling rake
— Replace shocks w/ Bilstein B8 5100s
— Remove existing body mounts and replacing with all-in-one 1” lift kit — one piece accommodates height for original mount and additional 1” (can’t remember the brand
)— Add RT Off Road hub-centric/wheel-centric spacer kit for 1.5” backspacing
— Remove oxidized tailgate hinges and replace w/ another set of intact light khaki hinges
— Install wiring harness and turn signal switch for fogs
— Sand and paint area on rear bumper with visible surface rust that I shared in original post
Going to have him leave the bumper and hitch bolts ”hand tool tight” so I can remove them for sandblasting and painting once it gets back. In the next 3 weeks before it goes in, I hope to:
— Install new exterior door handles
— Install new exterior tailgate handle
— Clean up fogs that were gifted to me by @txbemis69 (THANK YOU!)
— Remove rear wheel liners and power wash to remove old mud
When it gets back from Mike:
— Prep + paint factory fender flares
— Prep + paint third brake light
— Sandblast and paint front bumper, rear bumper, receiver hitch, and spare tire bracket
— Install new factory front frame cover
— Install factory tow hooks
Hope to bang all of this out before May 1. Will I? Probably not, but a girl can aim high.
OP
Took me an hour’s worth of work spread across all day yesterday to get my driver’s side exterior door handle replaced, but I did it. Well, WE did it:
Pack and play clearly wasn’t gonna fly, so I had to go with plan number two. He’s my kid, so I knew he’d be happy with food and a better seat:
Nailed it. This setup allowed us to finish the job:
Crazy what a door handle does for a Jeep. I was expecting this job to be a way bigger PITA than it was, but I think the video I used and the fact that I have very small hands worked in my favor. For anyone wanting to tackle this, here’s the video:
My wife took our daughter to a friend’s house for a few hours, so I’m about to put my guy down for a nap and start the passenger side. If I can get the whole thing done in 90 minutes, I’m going to do the tailgate handle during his third nap. I can’t find a single video on how to do that, so I have to assume it’s similar to the door handles? We’ll see!
Also, I ordered the Rough Country seat riser kit from Amazon. It’ll be here between 7-11am tomorrow and I hope to get it in right away.
Pack and play clearly wasn’t gonna fly, so I had to go with plan number two. He’s my kid, so I knew he’d be happy with food and a better seat:
Nailed it. This setup allowed us to finish the job:
Crazy what a door handle does for a Jeep. I was expecting this job to be a way bigger PITA than it was, but I think the video I used and the fact that I have very small hands worked in my favor. For anyone wanting to tackle this, here’s the video:
My wife took our daughter to a friend’s house for a few hours, so I’m about to put my guy down for a nap and start the passenger side. If I can get the whole thing done in 90 minutes, I’m going to do the tailgate handle during his third nap. I can’t find a single video on how to do that, so I have to assume it’s similar to the door handles? We’ll see!
Also, I ordered the Rough Country seat riser kit from Amazon. It’ll be here between 7-11am tomorrow and I hope to get it in right away.
Tailgate handle should he easier than the door. Pop off the access panel on the tailgate and I believe everything is easy to get to.
OP
Both door handles and the tailgate handle are installed. Didn’t run into any issues but I do have some pointers/how-tos:
Door handle install:
— Remove the window crank, screws, and panel with the door still on the Jeep THEN remove it and do the rest
— Putting the window crank clip back on is harder than getting it off; don’t be like me and waste 20 minutes fiddling with it while the crank is on the door - put the clip on the crank partially before you press it onto the door and it’s much easier to then stick a flathead in there and push it on so it fully seats
— Don’t tap the gator clips in all the way at first; tap them in just enough to snug up the handle to the door a bit so you can make any minor adjustments before it’s in there for good (mine was a little off kilter before I locked it in)
Tailgate handle install:
1. Remove plate; 03-06 are held on by two pressure clips at the bottom and TJs before that have screws
2. Slide the lock mechanism bar out of the yellow handle clip; if you’re careful, you can do this without breaking it (which probably doesn’t matter to most, but mine is functionally intact and just needs paint..so I may reinstall it down the road)
3. Remove all 3 torx screws on the right side of the lock mechanism; let it hang
4. Remove both torx screws on the handle and gently pop it out
5. Keep the plastic trim piece! Maybe wipe it down with Cerakote like I did then it’ll pop with your new handle
6. Reverse steps taking note to carefully slide the lock mechanism bar into the new yellow handle clip
One thing that is bugging me since I realized is that my tailgate handle has a kinda glossy finish; the door handles are more matte. The tailgate handle is Dorman for some reason — I think because when I stopped into Crown they were out of them that day so I ordered the Dorman online. Either way, I’m going to call Crown on Monday morning and head over to grab one if they’re back in stock.
I also got going on the door jamb protector removal. Heat gun is a life saver. I also now understand why the plastic razor blade I bought comes with 100 blades. Haha. Tedious task, but I’ll get it done.
I’d love to get the seat riser kit installed tomorrow if we don’t hit a brewery, so may have to wait til Monday.
Door handle install:
— Remove the window crank, screws, and panel with the door still on the Jeep THEN remove it and do the rest
— Putting the window crank clip back on is harder than getting it off; don’t be like me and waste 20 minutes fiddling with it while the crank is on the door - put the clip on the crank partially before you press it onto the door and it’s much easier to then stick a flathead in there and push it on so it fully seats
— Don’t tap the gator clips in all the way at first; tap them in just enough to snug up the handle to the door a bit so you can make any minor adjustments before it’s in there for good (mine was a little off kilter before I locked it in)
Tailgate handle install:
1. Remove plate; 03-06 are held on by two pressure clips at the bottom and TJs before that have screws
2. Slide the lock mechanism bar out of the yellow handle clip; if you’re careful, you can do this without breaking it (which probably doesn’t matter to most, but mine is functionally intact and just needs paint..so I may reinstall it down the road)
3. Remove all 3 torx screws on the right side of the lock mechanism; let it hang
4. Remove both torx screws on the handle and gently pop it out
5. Keep the plastic trim piece! Maybe wipe it down with Cerakote like I did then it’ll pop with your new handle
6. Reverse steps taking note to carefully slide the lock mechanism bar into the new yellow handle clip
One thing that is bugging me since I realized is that my tailgate handle has a kinda glossy finish; the door handles are more matte. The tailgate handle is Dorman for some reason — I think because when I stopped into Crown they were out of them that day so I ordered the Dorman online. Either way, I’m going to call Crown on Monday morning and head over to grab one if they’re back in stock.
I also got going on the door jamb protector removal. Heat gun is a life saver. I also now understand why the plastic razor blade I bought comes with 100 blades. Haha. Tedious task, but I’ll get it done.
I’d love to get the seat riser kit installed tomorrow if we don’t hit a brewery, so may have to wait til Monday.
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OP
Got the seat riser kit 87.5% installed today. I swear, the simplest projects always end up being the biggest PITA. Driver’s side went in no problem. Undo the bolts, get the risers in place, put in new bolts. Easy. Went to the passenger’s side to do the same but for some reason the two rear bolts were DIFFICULT to come out and the new ones were DIFFICULT to go in. But that wasn’t the problem. The problem came when the smaller of the two bolts snapped perfectly flush with the tub floor.
Excellent. So I’ve got the riser in place with no bolt at the moment. Probably going to have Mike address this when it goes to the shop in a few weeks. I assume he’ll have to drill it out and install a nutsert. This has been aggravating me since it happened. Blah.
Cleaned up the fogs tonight as well. Used a scrub brush and a bowl of warm soapy water, being careful around the wiring connections. Once they were clean I hit the backs with some Cerakote. I’ll do the sides and the lip on the front in the morning. So far they look excellent.
I’m going to do the same thing to my third brake light tomorrow and depending on how they both look I might consider doing my OEM fender flares. I was going to paint them to freshen the black, but I may just Cerakote until I can afford to have them painted professionally or until I‘ve got a little less going on. We’ll see.
Gotta keep working the door jamb gunk and I’m also putting some thought into anti-theft solutions. Liking the idea of a kill switch. Gonna do some more reading up on it tonight!
EDIT: Forgot to mention, the seat riser makes a MASSIVE difference. I felt so low in the seat and now it’s perfect.
Excellent. So I’ve got the riser in place with no bolt at the moment. Probably going to have Mike address this when it goes to the shop in a few weeks. I assume he’ll have to drill it out and install a nutsert. This has been aggravating me since it happened. Blah.
Cleaned up the fogs tonight as well. Used a scrub brush and a bowl of warm soapy water, being careful around the wiring connections. Once they were clean I hit the backs with some Cerakote. I’ll do the sides and the lip on the front in the morning. So far they look excellent.
I’m going to do the same thing to my third brake light tomorrow and depending on how they both look I might consider doing my OEM fender flares. I was going to paint them to freshen the black, but I may just Cerakote until I can afford to have them painted professionally or until I‘ve got a little less going on. We’ll see.
Gotta keep working the door jamb gunk and I’m also putting some thought into anti-theft solutions. Liking the idea of a kill switch. Gonna do some more reading up on it tonight!
EDIT: Forgot to mention, the seat riser makes a MASSIVE difference. I felt so low in the seat and now it’s perfect.
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Seat riser is of interest to me, I'm 5'11 and I feel like the seat in my LJ is too low. However, my wife is like 5'3" so I'm reluctant to tinker with it to her detriment.
OP
I’m 5’5” and have no issues! I have to imagine she’d be just fine
EDIT: I installed a 1.25” kit; you could do a 1” kit if you wanted
The newer TJ seats are lower than the earlier years. I added risers in my LJ.
My Mastercraft seats sit higher so I need to remove the risers and drop them back down.
OP
Cerakote update. As I mentioned, I did the fogs last night and let them dry overnight. They’re a little shinier than I’d like, but I’m not concerned about it. I imagine it’ll fade a bit. They still look great and the Cerakote absolutely made the black pop. One thing I was curious about, though, is if I could control the gloss factor by throttling back on the amount of Cerakote that gets applied. I DID use a brand new wipe on the fogs, so it was a lot of product for only a little bit of surface area.
Tested it out on my third brake light and it worked great. I used the same wipe as the fogs and covered all the black. Then I took a clean lint free cloth and lightly grazed over the top. The black still pops but the gloss is significantly less. I wish they made this stuff in a spray, because then you could really do a more fine-tuned job in controlling how much goes on. I’m real tempted to hit my fender flares while they’re off but wonder if it would prevent painting if I wanted to do that a year or two down the road? I might hit up their customer service tomorrow to find out.
I also bought a kill switch setup from Kill Switch Central on eBay. They’ve been selling them since 2002 and have awesome reviews. $38 + $5 shipping and apparently it installs in 10 minutes. Comes with custom instructions for your vehicle. Pretty pumped about this, my Jeep carries a ton of sentimental value and I’m not sure I’d ever find one like it again. I know I can’t stop someone from towing it away, but this is already giving me some peace of mind. Should have it Friday and we’ll see about that 10 minute install
Tested it out on my third brake light and it worked great. I used the same wipe as the fogs and covered all the black. Then I took a clean lint free cloth and lightly grazed over the top. The black still pops but the gloss is significantly less. I wish they made this stuff in a spray, because then you could really do a more fine-tuned job in controlling how much goes on. I’m real tempted to hit my fender flares while they’re off but wonder if it would prevent painting if I wanted to do that a year or two down the road? I might hit up their customer service tomorrow to find out.
I also bought a kill switch setup from Kill Switch Central on eBay. They’ve been selling them since 2002 and have awesome reviews. $38 + $5 shipping and apparently it installs in 10 minutes. Comes with custom instructions for your vehicle. Pretty pumped about this, my Jeep carries a ton of sentimental value and I’m not sure I’d ever find one like it again. I know I can’t stop someone from towing it away, but this is already giving me some peace of mind. Should have it Friday and we’ll see about that 10 minute install
Cerakote update. As I mentioned, I did the fogs last night and let them dry overnight. They’re a little shinier than I’d like, but I’m not concerned about it. I imagine it’ll fade a bit. They still look great and the Cerakote absolutely made the black pop. One thing I was curious about, though, is if I could control the gloss factor by throttling back on the amount of Cerakote that gets applied. I DID use a brand new wipe on the fogs, so it was a lot of product for only a little bit of surface area.
Tested it out on my third brake light and it worked great. I used the same wipe as the fogs and covered all the black. Then I took a clean lint free cloth and lightly grazed over the top. The black still pops but the gloss is significantly less. I wish they made this stuff in a spray, because then you could really do a more fine-tuned job in controlling how much goes on. I’m real tempted to hit my fender flares while they’re off but wonder if it would prevent painting if I wanted to do that a year or two down the road? I might hit up their customer service tomorrow to find out.
I also bought a kill switch setup from Kill Switch Central on eBay. They’ve been selling them since 2002 and have awesome reviews. $38 + $5 shipping and apparently it installs in 10 minutes. Comes with custom instructions for your vehicle. Pretty pumped about this, my Jeep carries a ton of sentimental value and I’m not sure I’d ever find one like it again. I know I can’t stop someone from towing it away, but this is already giving me some peace of mind. Should have it Friday and we’ll see about that 10 minute install
Does the kill switch kill everything, or just keep the jeep from starting? I’m mainly thinking about the head unit.
OP
Keeps the Jeep from starting — even if someone has the keys or they try to hot wire it. Switch has to be engaged in order to start the vehicle.
OP
Got the kill switch kit today and right off the bat I’m not convinced of the “no automotive knowledge required” 10-minute install. Haha. I thought the custom instructions would be Jeep specific but apparently not. It still seems like an awesome product, I just need a bit of help with getting it in. (That’s what she said?) Here’s what the kit came with:
Here are the instructions:
You guys know these engines the best, so I figured I should post here first and see if anyone had any additional guidance before I go poking around.
Here are the instructions:
You guys know these engines the best, so I figured I should post here first and see if anyone had any additional guidance before I go poking around.
OP
Anyone here think I can manage this in 10 minutes? 
I’m mostly concerned with getting the wire through the firewall. Hoping it’s something that sounds harder than it actually is
I’m mostly concerned with getting the wire through the firewall. Hoping it’s something that sounds harder than it actually is