Yota Guy Gets a Jeep LJR

GDean

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Supporting Member
Joined
Oct 11, 2020
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37
Location
California
So, I've never owned a Jeep, until a few months ago. I've had Toyota 4x4s of the '84, '85, '86, '88, '89, and 2000 vintage. I nearly purchased LJ Rubicon off the lot back in '06, but knowing that I was about to go back on deployment and it was going to sit and I'd probably have to move it to long term storage if I got orders to Oki afterwards I opted not to.

I've always regretted it and for years I've casually watched and looked for the Jeep I should have bought.

Well now that I'm retired from the Marines, and semi retired in general the universe handed me the Jeep I wanted. An '06 LJR popped up on Craigslist with the exact options I'd have specified from the dealer if I could order one new today. Stone white exterior, black interior, the automatic transmission. Even better it was less than 20 miles from my house, and it only had 43k on the clock.

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When I agreed on the 22k purchase price I thought I was buying a Jeep. I was, but I got an entire 8 foot truck bed full of Jeep parts to go with it.

A short list of some of the things that came along with the Jeep were:

3 soft tops
An extra (5) original '06 Rubicon wheels and tires
An extra set of Rubicon fender flares
JKS quick disconnects (in the box)
Powerstop Rotors and Calipers (in the box)
4 adjustable Teraflex lower control arms (in the box)
Teraflex adjustable upper control arms for the front and rear (in the box)
3" Teraflex Springs, front and rear (in the box)
Currie CURRECTLYNC steering system (in the box)
A set of matching Stone White Half Doors with mirrors in the Mopar storage bags
The original 4.10 gears
Another set of floor mats
Superchips Flashpaq programmer
Extra Bumper Ends (the milk jugs)
And even more stuff I can't remember

The Jeep itself had 33" BFG A/Ts on it that were in good shape. I later figured out that there was a 3.5" Rubicon Express lift kit installed along with Bilstein 5100 shocks, factory control arms, RE adjustable track bars and a set of 4.56 gears in the differentials. Along with a tow hitch and what I later learned was a Bestop tire carrier the jeep was otherwise stock and unmolested for the moment.

The Jeep drove... okay.
 
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I didn't immediately dive into making modifications to the Jeep. I spent a lot of time reading up on this forum and trying to learn what was out there and what was what. Too much time obsessing about Jeeps if you listen to my wife.

One of the things I heard from many sources was "TJ / LJ axles aren't the thing to use on anything bigger than a 35" tire". While I do love going against the grain even I can listen occasionally so, 35s it would be.

Another thing that I've seen posted about a lot was the horrid "shovel" of a skid these things have and the value of a "tummy tuck". That's going to happen.

I wanted my Jeep to drive well enough that I could hand the keys to anyone (my wife included).

I wanted my wife to complain less about getting into the Jeep than she does my other trucks.

I wanted to be able to enjoy Big Bear, Ocotillo, Moab, etc. To me enjoying trails means some challenge, but not likely to cause the Jeep to break or otherwise be really damaged (pin stripes aren't damage, they are just character).

To top all that off I wanted someone who was somewhat uninformed to wonder if the jeep came that way from the factory after I had modified it.
 
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No, I wasn't going to go hack this nice LJR to pieces and I didn't like the look of that, but I didn't want to lift the Jeep much over stock height. I did want some more wheel travel though. I saw a lot of guys discussing bump stop additions and how much was required and was kind of thinking to myself, "That is not something I want". If I can avoid that, I'm going to.
 
If I could buy another LJ, as you originally bought it, would be the exact one I'd want. $At 22K, that's actually a very, very good price, given the mileage and all the goodies you have. Nice find!
 
Definitely looks good and you got a heck of a deal on it as well! How are you liking the Geolanders?
 
Nice rig! Hard to find. Love the HiLines!
 
I'll give a quick run down of the parts that are on the jeep currently and try to give any of my impressions of them as well. That may stretch to several separate posts which I'll try to link to the product when I figure that out. You may notice that there is a general theme right away. My father in law just retired from GenRight. Before he did I made liberal use of his employee discount to outfit this Jeep.

Body Related:
Varozza Heat Reduction Hood (Hi-Fenders) for the Jeep TJ or LJ (Sold by GenRight)
Kentrol Stainless Steel Hood Hinge Set for 97-06 Jeep Wrangler TJ & Unlimited
GenRight Jeep TJ/LJ 4" Flare Front Hi Fenders - Aluminum
GenRight TJ/LJ Hi-Fender Inner Fender Kit
GenRight TJ/LJ Hi-Fender Inner Fender Mounting Kit (GR Inner Fenders Only)
GenRight Jeep TJ/LJ/YJ/CJ 4" Flare Rear Tube Fenders - Aluminum
GenRight LJ Corner Guard Set (Standard) - Aluminum
GenRight Corner Guard Backing Plates
GenRight Jeep LJ Rocker Guards w/ Bars - Steel (Standard Wheelbase)
GenRight TJ/YJ/CJ/LJ Rocker Guard Backing Plates
OEM Half Doors
OEM Full Doors
Spyderweb Sun Shade
OEM Hard Top

Bumpers:
Stock front bumper with MOPAR stubby ends
Stock rear bumper

Drivetrain:
Revolution Axle and Gear 5.38 Gears with Master Install Kit
Revolution Gear and Axle Dana 44, 4140 Chromoly US Made 30 Spline Rear Axle Kit for 03-06 Jeep Wrangler TJ/LJ Rubicon and Non- Rubicon With Disc Brakes
Ultimate Dana 44 CV Axle Set for Jeep Wrangler Rubicon TJ & LJ ('03-'06) CVJ44
CV Rear Driveshaft - (Came installed on Jeep unknown mfg)

Exhaust:
3rd Cat eliminated
Custom pipe with band clamps to splice in tube replacing 3rd Cat.
Quadratec Competition Cat Back Exhaust System by MagnaFlow for 04-06 Jeep Wrangler TJ Unlimited with 4.0L (on order)

Lighting:
Quadratec Premium Heated LED Projector Beam Headlights
Quadratec LED Tail Lights for 01-06 Jeep Wrangler TJ
Quadratec 4" LED Fog Light 30 degree flood pattern (not yet installed, factory still in place)
GenRight LED Stealth Marker & Blinker Light Kit, 4 light
Novita Technologies 37487 LED Compatible Flasher for 01-06 Jeep Wrangler TJ
Kentrol Headlight Bezels for 97-06 Jeep Wrangler TJ & Unlimited - Black

Radio / Electronics:
Insane Audio TJ1002 Perfect Factory Fit Multimedia Bluetooth Receiver & Navigation for 2003 to 2006 Jeep Wrangler & other Select Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge Vehicles
Insane Audio IACAM2 Universal Front or Rear-Facing Waterproof Backup Camera, Flush Mounted for Bumper Installation X 2
Custom fabricated front facing camera mount
Custom fabricated rear facing camera mount
Jeep Wrangler TJ/LJ 98-06 Incl. Rubicon Healtech Speedohealer Speedo Calibrator (On order)
Superchips Flashpaq F4 (Came with Jeep)

Skid Plates:
GenRight TJ Belly Up Skid Plate - Aluminum
Stock Rubicon Locker Pump Skid cut and moved up / back to remount compressors
Fabricated Transmission Crossmember
Modified Factory Transmission Mount and Exhaust Hanger
Currie Rock Jock Control Arm Bracket Mini-Skids CE-9085MS

Suspension:
Teraflex TJ / ZJ: Short Control Arm Kit – 8-Arm (0-4” Lift) SKU 1615000 (Came NIB with the Jeep)
H&R 52107 Springs 1" approx lift (powder coated semi gloss black)
Bilstein B8 5160 w/ Remote Reservoir Shocks Set for 1997-2006 Jeep Wrangler 4WD w/0-2.5" lift TJ LJ (25-193138 x2) (25-193145 x2)
JKS Manufacturing OGS126 Front Adjustable Trackbar
JKS Manufacturing OGS151 Rear Adjustable Trackbar
JKS Manufacturing 2000 JKS Front Quicker Disconnects (Came with Jeep NIB)
OMIX 18724.06 Rear Sway Bar End Link for 97-06 Jeep Wrangler TJ & Unlimited
Rock Jock CE-9102K - TJ/LJ/XJ/MJ/ZJ FRONT AXLE HOUSING JOHNNY JOINT® KIT (7/16" BOLTS)
Energy Suspension Front Bump Stops for 97-06 Jeep Wrangler TJ & Unlimited (going away in favor of stock style)
New 9/16", 1/2", and 7/16" bolts / nuts / washers all around from McMaster-Carr

Wheels / Tires:
Stock Moab Rubicon Wheels (powder coated Semi-Gloss Black) extra set of 5 came with Jeep
Yokohama Geolandar M/T G003LT315/75R16
Spidertrax Wheel Spacer Kit for Jeep Wrangler YJ, TJ, Unlimited, with 5x4.5" Bolt Pattern WHS-002 X 2
24 Black 1/2-20 Closed End Bulge Acorn Lug Nuts - Cone Seat - 3/4" Hex Brand: DPAccessories (via Amazon)
Steel Hawk Precision CNC Machined Stainless Steel Tire Air Valve Caps Black Divoti (via Amazon)

I will go back and clean up and add amplifying remarks shortly. Just trying to get everything listed. I'm sure I missed some things even with this list. My wallet hurts thinking about all this now...
 
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Fiberglass or AEV hood? Looks great
It is the Varozza Highline hood —> Varozza Highline Hood
Genright is the retailer. They have a fiberglass and carbon fiber version. Mine is the fiberglass version. It is fantastic. It was very easy to paint with little to no prep which isn't normally found in fiberglass parts. I had it painted by Collisions plus Performance in Escondido. The fit is fantastic. Andrew (one of the salesmen at Genright) replaced his fiberglass hood that they previously sold and his sold me on this one. I really like it.
 
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Thank you for your service, and nice looking LJ! My favorite color!
Thanks! I don't know what else I would have been doing for the last 20 years.

I concur on the White. I kind of have a thing for white vehicles that I inherited from my Dad. My Jeep, my Tacoma, and my dually are all white... as is my trailer.

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