Absolutely, sounds like a fun project and I'm sure people would enjoy seeing the progress.
What did you do to your TJ today?
- Thread starter LJRubiconGuy
- Start date
Technically Monday, but I got a size matching spare tire finally and had it mounted on one of my steelies. Thought I’d put it on to see how it’s gonna look both on the axle and as a spare. Gotta make some spacers for the bumpers though.
DustyRhodes03
TJ Enthusiast
04solartj
TJ Enthusiast
hey i got a twin to that solar windshield frame and will be using a solar replacement from a 2000 as well
it is my next project on my 04
hardtailpan
TJ Enthusiast
Seems we are all doing this fix this month
hardtailpan
TJ Enthusiast
I got my ground straps in and installed the other day which did not resolve my TPS code P0123. I tested the tps and it appears the signal out is staying at 5.13ish volts no matter where the throttle is. Mopar one is on order and will be here next week. Hopefully this resolves it. If not, I have a feeling it's a clock spring problem as my horn locked on at the end of last year for no apparent reason.
Anyway, I'll guess I'll find out next week.
Anyway, I'll guess I'll find out next week.
The fender flares were dry from the 2 coats of That Black Stuff, so i put them back on. They look factory new again!if I remember I'll post a picture in the daylight tomorrow. View attachment 183480
This is them in better light. I highly recommend this black trim restorer to anyone that has the "old gray" flares. It's called, That Black Stuff. I got it on Amazon.
That Black Stuff | Black Trim Restorer | Do Once and Done | Restore to Black Factory OEM Look
Kiwi TJ
I don't suffer from insanity I enjoy every minute
Supporting Member
Ride of the Month Winner
Sooooo not this one then ???I really want to find a bad ass looking Unicorn decal to put on mine. Something more along the lines of a Nightmare with a horn.
Finished swapping out door hinge bushings. I am sure everyone has door hinge bushing nightmare tales so I will side with Billy Shakes on brevity and simply say this was the 2nd easiest...
I'd say so. Give you a chance to ruminate on what you did at the end of the day.
Looks sharp! I did the same with my Jeep! Bedrug in the front and rear, black/red Bartact front and rear seats, and WeatherTech floor mats in the front, rear, and cargo!
Not gonna lie, I’m afraid to drop my windshield because of what I might find, but I’m probably going to do it this weekend
it looks pretty solid, and I don’t see any rust spots, but I’d almost rather not do it so I can live in blissful ignorance for a Little bit longer 
Probably worth checking in case you can cut any rust off at the passNot gonna lie, I’m afraid to drop my windshield because of what I might find, but I’m probably going to do it this weekend
but, from what I've seen (and personally experienced), the pre-DC (before 2003) windshields are much less prone to doing the "oops, I think I just rusted my diaper " thing.Gather ‘round, kids, and let me tell you a brief story about how changing my fender flares proper fucked me:
So I decide that I want a bit more tire coverage, but not full coverage, and I decide to buy a set of Rugged Ridge 4.75 in fender flares. They were on sale, I was already on a spending spree upgrading my lift kit, and had a little extra money to burn, so I figured, why not? A few days later, they arrive, along with some Rugged Ridge thermoplastic rocker panels, which were also on sale (I like the look, but I was trying to avoid putting more holes in my tub than necessary... Lol to that idea!) So on my next day off I start the install. The first 3 Mopar fenders come off with pretty much no issue (I broke a bolt in a nutsert while removing one of the rear fender flares, but I could access the nutsert from the wheel well to cut it off, so no real concern there). Things are still going pretty well.
Then I get to the last bolt of the last fender flare, on the drivers side: That sucker started to come out, but then stopped, and the nutsert started spinning. Fuck. So I take a closer look at the area, and I realise that there’s a bit of rust in the panel. I do my trusty screwdriver test, and low and behold, it’s rusted through. Decent size hole (I posted pics a while back, if anyone needs a refresher). Double fuck. So I bite the bullet, and just yank on the bastard until the whole nutsert comes out. I call up my mechanic, ask him if he knows a welder. $100 I’ve got a patched panel, and can finish the install. Yippee, right? Wrong.
Now I’m paranoid, so I go looking for other rusty spots. I find 3, with one rusted through, but it’s a small hole, maybe the width of a pencil. Ok... fuck it, I’ll try Bondo. Worse come to worse, I take it into a shop and get it professionally fixed. What’s the harm?
So I grind out all of the rust until I get to good metal in all 3 spots, slather on some Bondo, hit those suckers with filler/primer, paint them, polish them, then wax them (apparently I shouldn’t have done this last part, shout out to @TJ Hunnicutt for the heads up!
). I wait a few days, for my next day off, and then I finish my fender install. Yeaahhhh buddy! Right? Nah.
On another day off, I decide to put the rocker panels on. They’re supposed to be secured using double-sided rape and 3 screws. I decide to just use the double-sided tape that comes with them. That proves to be a joke and a half. Ok, no biggie, I’ll replace the shitty tape with stronger tape, and I’ll use the screws. Now, I have the Body Armor 4x4 steps, which are secured by the 3 middle body mounts. I put them on last summer, and made sure to use antiseize when I reinstalled them, because before last summer they hadn’t been touched in 20 years, and this is a rust belt Jeep.
So I start on the driver’s side, righty tighty, lefty loosey, or as I like to think about it, counter-clockwise to loosen, clockwise to tighten. Which would have been fine if I was under the Jeep staring directly at them. But I wasn’t. I was looking at them from the wrong direction. So I stripped not one, not two, but all THREE of the internal nuts. Of course, I didn’t realise this until I went to reinstall the step. Fuck. My. Life
I removed the step completely and managed to snug the body mounts up enough so that if I hit a bump I don’t have to worry about losing anything. Then I went inside, poured myself a tall few glasses of (mostly) rum, and coke, and then went online and ordered a new torque box. Which, of course, was backordered. So I’m waiting for that to arrive, hopefully in the next week or two.
Sorry for the long post, but I needed to vent about my stupidity....
...The rocker panels and fender flares do look good tho
So I decide that I want a bit more tire coverage, but not full coverage, and I decide to buy a set of Rugged Ridge 4.75 in fender flares. They were on sale, I was already on a spending spree upgrading my lift kit, and had a little extra money to burn, so I figured, why not? A few days later, they arrive, along with some Rugged Ridge thermoplastic rocker panels, which were also on sale (I like the look, but I was trying to avoid putting more holes in my tub than necessary... Lol to that idea!) So on my next day off I start the install. The first 3 Mopar fenders come off with pretty much no issue (I broke a bolt in a nutsert while removing one of the rear fender flares, but I could access the nutsert from the wheel well to cut it off, so no real concern there). Things are still going pretty well.
Then I get to the last bolt of the last fender flare, on the drivers side: That sucker started to come out, but then stopped, and the nutsert started spinning. Fuck. So I take a closer look at the area, and I realise that there’s a bit of rust in the panel. I do my trusty screwdriver test, and low and behold, it’s rusted through. Decent size hole (I posted pics a while back, if anyone needs a refresher). Double fuck. So I bite the bullet, and just yank on the bastard until the whole nutsert comes out. I call up my mechanic, ask him if he knows a welder. $100 I’ve got a patched panel, and can finish the install. Yippee, right? Wrong.
Now I’m paranoid, so I go looking for other rusty spots. I find 3, with one rusted through, but it’s a small hole, maybe the width of a pencil. Ok... fuck it, I’ll try Bondo. Worse come to worse, I take it into a shop and get it professionally fixed. What’s the harm?
So I grind out all of the rust until I get to good metal in all 3 spots, slather on some Bondo, hit those suckers with filler/primer, paint them, polish them, then wax them (apparently I shouldn’t have done this last part, shout out to @TJ Hunnicutt for the heads up!
). I wait a few days, for my next day off, and then I finish my fender install. Yeaahhhh buddy! Right? Nah.On another day off, I decide to put the rocker panels on. They’re supposed to be secured using double-sided rape and 3 screws. I decide to just use the double-sided tape that comes with them. That proves to be a joke and a half. Ok, no biggie, I’ll replace the shitty tape with stronger tape, and I’ll use the screws. Now, I have the Body Armor 4x4 steps, which are secured by the 3 middle body mounts. I put them on last summer, and made sure to use antiseize when I reinstalled them, because before last summer they hadn’t been touched in 20 years, and this is a rust belt Jeep.
So I start on the driver’s side, righty tighty, lefty loosey, or as I like to think about it, counter-clockwise to loosen, clockwise to tighten. Which would have been fine if I was under the Jeep staring directly at them. But I wasn’t. I was looking at them from the wrong direction. So I stripped not one, not two, but all THREE of the internal nuts. Of course, I didn’t realise this until I went to reinstall the step. Fuck. My. Life
I removed the step completely and managed to snug the body mounts up enough so that if I hit a bump I don’t have to worry about losing anything. Then I went inside, poured myself a tall few glasses of (mostly) rum, and coke, and then went online and ordered a new torque box. Which, of course, was backordered. So I’m waiting for that to arrive, hopefully in the next week or two.
Sorry for the long post, but I needed to vent about my stupidity....
...The rocker panels and fender flares do look good tho
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Probably worth checking in case you can cut any rust off at the pass
Yeah, I know it has to be done. I think it’ll be ok. I at least know that I won’t have any issues with the bolts thanks to the recent Grabar install, and having recently removed some light mounts I had installed years ago.
I used Wipe New on mine 2 years ago. It made them shiny, but streaked if you weren't careful.
I picked up a set of the Hella 500 Value Fit LED Driving Lights and Quadratec '05-'06 fog light harness adapters. I haven't seen them around at all, and have only seen a few pics of them on JKs, but they seem like a really good option for the money. I've been looking for months for a pair of OEM fogs locally, and decided enough was enough.
I cut the ends off the main Hella harness and the Quadratec harness, spliced them together, soldered and added heat shrink the connections to make mini adapters.
Then I drilled out the OE fog light holds on the bumper and mounted them up.
The whole exercise took about 20 minutes from when I opened the box to when I was turning them on.
I still need to swap the tow hooks since the PO had them on the wrong sides with the plow, and I didn't realize when I put them back on. And I do need to aim them, but they look good... Build quality is excellent for $125, and they put out a lot of light. I definitely won’t be keeping the halogen headlights. The color difference is too much got me to put up with, so I’m on the hunt for some LED headlights that will look OK with the chrome grill. I'm strongly considering these, though I'm admittedly not loving the halo DRL. I think the WHDZ Truck Lite knockoffs are too dark for the chrome grill.
I cut the ends off the main Hella harness and the Quadratec harness, spliced them together, soldered and added heat shrink the connections to make mini adapters.
Then I drilled out the OE fog light holds on the bumper and mounted them up.
The whole exercise took about 20 minutes from when I opened the box to when I was turning them on.
I still need to swap the tow hooks since the PO had them on the wrong sides with the plow, and I didn't realize when I put them back on. And I do need to aim them, but they look good... Build quality is excellent for $125, and they put out a lot of light. I definitely won’t be keeping the halogen headlights. The color difference is too much got me to put up with, so I’m on the hunt for some LED headlights that will look OK with the chrome grill. I'm strongly considering these, though I'm admittedly not loving the halo DRL. I think the WHDZ Truck Lite knockoffs are too dark for the chrome grill.
hardtailpan
TJ Enthusiast
Probably worth checking in case you can cut any rust off at the pass
This certainly seems to be the case but I haven't identified any design differences that would make it so, unless it has something to do with the steel used in the newer ones vs old ones.
Probably worth checking in case you can cut any rust off at the pass
I bit the bullet and dropped the windshield this morning. Thankfully, it looks good!
I broke the very tip of the windshield plastic tab maneuvering it away from the roll cage. I’ll probably use epoxy to fix it, or see if Davey’s has a replacement. Either way, I won’t be super concerned about it as long as there’s no leaking 
Elyse8743
TJ Enthusiast
Went to go take the old dented bumper off last night, and someone before had stripped the two bottom torx bolts. Took a dremel and a chisel to try to make a spot for a flathead insert to get in there, but it was late and since I live in a 3 family I felt bad being loud, so I'll have to finish that project tonight. However, ALL the top bolts came out super easily, which was surprising. I attribute it to the kroil, 'cause they were NOT moving last week when I tried just to see.
I may end up just cutting the bottom bolt heads off entirely next week when I have access to an angle grinder.
I may end up just cutting the bottom bolt heads off entirely next week when I have access to an angle grinder.