'01 Aussie Wrangler Build

[Brucey69]

Thought I'd post my build here as I go, with inspiration from a lot of the members on here (TY!!!). Self-paced, slower build but hey, a build is a build at the end of the day! I am expecting my first child this year, so I definitely have to hold back (as much as I possibly can) on the upgrading, but my goal is to turn this thing into a beach / trail rig, while also noting it will be dads daily driver.

Back Story on the Jeep:
I bought this Jeep in October 2021, not really knowing a whole lot about Jeeps to begin with. I love the look and functionality of Jeeps and I've always wanted one. Getting a 4WD was non-negotiable, whether it was going to be a Jeep or not was a different story. In Australia, we have Suzuki Jimny's and Sierras for example, which are basically knockoff Jeeps but still cool looking little boxy rigs that are very capable. I lived in the US for 10 years for college / work, so going American just felt like the right thing to do.

Not doing as much research as I probably should have, I found my 2001 Wrangler 4.0 Auto for a pretty solid deal and just went for it. It had 2 previous owners, but I've got little to no history, other than the fact it had a 2" lift and 33" muddys, came with a hard AND soft top, and the 5 original wheels and tires. Looking back now, I probably should have had a little more patience and done a little more research before buying, but hey, we are a here now so who cares! I think it would have been cool to start completely from scratch / stock, however having the lift already done was a pretty good bonus, and I figured I would just tackle problems or issues as they arose.

I live 2 minutes from the beach, with beach access for 4WDing around the corner. Miles and miles of open beach for driving, camping, fishing, surfing, day trips etc. First day I bought the Jeep it was on the beach, and didn't miss a beat. There are a few good trails around my area as well, but I haven't taken advantage of those just yet....

Attached are the photos from the first day I bought it and the first day it was on the beach. First few (purely cosmetic) things I did were:

• Removed the 2 MASSIVE spotlights on the front.
• Painted the wheels matte black. (I love black, and black and red look better to me than black, red and silver)
• Painted the front bumper same color as the wheels
• Got the spare wheel bracket off, just until I get a wheel to put on there.

I also did an oil change, a radiator flush and switched the radiator fluid to the GOAT stuff, and just a general clean up and got the back seat out.

Excited to keep getting this thing built out, it's so much fun.

 

[Brucey69]

First issue I ran into within the first week of owning this Jeep, was the dreaded CEL P1391 intermittent loss CKP/CPS. I had a "ticking" that I didn't really notice at first until after another beach trip I stalled getting off the beach (stalled in an auto?!?!). Had no idea what to think, but eventually found the key dance trick, which is a absolute masterstroke for whoever invented that shit by the way.

Anyway I digress. P1391 Intermittent loss of CKP/CPS signal. I immediately reacted and got a new CKP which was of course aftermarket from somewhere in Australia. Thought the issue was over, reset the CEL, ticking didn’t go away. CEL came back on, thought it was odd, so decided to give the CPS a crack. I didn’t have a socket small enough to get the sensor off the synchronizer, and I couldn’t get a shifter in there to get it off either, so I took the synchronizer out to get better access and get the CPS off (without a toothpick, dumbass!). Found out that the magnet in the CPS had become loose from the glue, so I bought a new sensor and synchronizer as the old synchronizer also looked a bit weathered (again like a dumbass I went aftermarket).

The painful, oh so very painful lessons learned from this process is always ALWAYS get the right parts/sensors for our picky TJs, and thank god I found RockAuto or I would have gone fucking insane. Weeks and weeks of battling jerky driving, stalls, random misfire codes, shitty fuel economy etc, I finally got my house in order and got the correct sensors to fix the P1391 code. I learned from that point forward I will not ever change a thing until I thoroughly research and ask questions about shit on the Jeep. It was an absolute nightmare. I found videos on resetting the timing and TDC for getting the synchronizer back in, I went with NTK sensors on both the CKP and CPS and they have been great. I know they aren’t Mopar, but I had read some success stories from people using NTK so I went for it, fixed my issues immediately, knock on wood it stays that way.

While going through this issue, I got the double platinum Champion 7034 plugs to replace the shitty Bosch ones that were in there after reading a thread on here. While it was the CPS and my poor choices that was giving me all sorts of crazy codes and probably not the plugs, I thought that replacing the plugs would be a good thing to do anyway. I also switched out my O2 sensors with NTKs as well, thanks to a great thread on this forum as I pulled an O2 sensor code too.

So recap the changes up to this point:
Ignition

• Champion 7034 Spark Plugs
• NTK Crankshaft and Camshaft Position Sensors
• NTK O2 Sensors

 

[Brucey69]

Next up, I replaced my headlights to start going to a more blacked out look. I blacked out the headlight surrounds, repainted the flares, and sprayed the wheels matte black.

The Jeep also didn’t come with front sway bar end links, so I had to grab those and while doing so I got new rear sway bar end links and new rear sway bar bushings.

The winch that came with the Jeep was also completed faaaaarrrrked, so that needs to be replaced. I’m not sure if I’m a fan of the custom front bumper either, I’m a big fan of the little compact Smittybilt XRC, but in the spirit of not excessively spending money due to my baby arriving soon, I’ll hold off on that upgrade.

I seem to be having a u-joint problem at the moment which I have a different thread about. My goal is to just make sure this thing is reliable on the road and the beach before going too hard on cosmetic upgrades. Once I figure my u-joint issue out, I will start gearing up for a new rear bumper (still running the stock), and I am keen on getting new side steps.

Next immediate thing will be building some storage. I found a fellow Aussie Hammer24’s post on here about his DIY Storage set-up. Fucking loved it, want to do the same concept, but I will make a few changes to it due to having a pretty big fridge, and I want to get a full dual battery set up going in the back with inverter and plugs and all that cool shit.