1997 Sport (High School Build)

Chris S

Chris S

TJ Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 20, 2017
Messages
174
Location
Hanover, VA, United States
Okay so to start off, I have a clean 1997 Jeep Wrangler Sport in Citron Pearl (4.0L with 5spd manual). My mom bought it new in 97 and has babied it ever since. I started driving it around 87k and it is now nearing 92k and now that I have my license and a job I am able to start doing some mods to it, as she never did. Im not trying to do anything extreme but I do plan to do a little more than only overlanding.


Here is a fairly recent picture of it right after putting on the new bumper I got for christmas.
20171230_120237.jpg



So far the mods I've done are as follows
-New Front Bumper
-New sound system and head unit
-LED headlights
-various small things such as grab handles & fire extinguisher holder
(The KC lights were done through the dealer when my mom bought the car)

What I have planned for now:
-OME HD 2" Lift
- 31" tires
-Rear bumper w/ tire carrier
-Winch


I was able to pick up a set of 5 16" Moab rims and some Yokohama Geolander A/T-S tires for around $750

20180507_075958.jpg
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I also ordered and just recieved the OME 2" HD Lift kit (Will post pics later)
Any pointers on installing the kit/whats the best way to do it

Would also love to hear any other pointers no matter how big or small as I go through this build.
 
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Whats the Metric size of those tires on the 16 in wheels? You may need to add a washer to your steering stops if you get any rubbing once you install those. I had to add a washer on my old 285/75r16 Maxxis, and my newer Duratracs were a bit worse with the more aggressive side wall. Love the Moab wheels thought, still running those on my Jeep as well.
 
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JeepZilla380 said:
Whats the Metric size of those tires on the 16 in wheels? You may need to add a washer to your steering stops if you get any rubbing once you install those. I had to add a washer on my old 285/75r16 Maxxis, and my newer Duratracs were a bit worse with the more aggressive side wall. Love the Moab wheels thought, still running those on my Jeep as well.
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Theyre 265/75r16. I love the look of the moabs as well, and I figured if i ever wanted to go to different rims or back to 15s I could help foot the bill by selling them since they seem to be a hot commodity in the TJ community.
 
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Chris S said:
Okay so to start off, I have a clean 1997 Jeep Wrangler Sport in Citron Pearl (4.0L with 5spd manual). My mom bought it new in 97 and has babied it ever since. I started driving it around 87k and it is now nearing 92k and now that I have my license and a job I am able to start doing some mods to it, as she never did. Im not trying to do anything extreme but I do plan to do a little more than only overlanding.


Here is a fairly recent picture of it right after putting on the new bumper I got for christmas.
View attachment 41219


So far the mods I've done are as follows
-New Front Bumper
-New sound system and head unit
-LED headlights
-various small things such as grab handles & fire extinguisher holder
(The KC lights were done through the dealer when my mom bought the car)

What I have planned for now:
-OME HD 2" Lift
- 31" tires
-Rear bumper w/ tire carrier
-Winch


I was able to pick up a set of 5 16" Moab rims and some Yokohama Geolander A/T-S tires for around $750

View attachment 41221 View attachment 41220


I also ordered and just recieved the OME 2" HD Lift kit (Will post pics later)
Any pointers on installing the kit/whats the best way to do it

Would also love to hear any other pointers no matter how big or small as I go through this build.
Click to expand...
Nice Jeep - enjoy!
 
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Definitely one of the most cool and rare TJ colors, no doubt about that!

Can't wait to see it with the lift and tires. It's amazing how big even 31" tires are over stock!
 
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The early JKs had the green like that, it was called Rescue Green. It's pretty rare on a TJ.

Nice score on the wheels and tires. Once you get the lift on, the jury's out as to whether those will rub or not. My tires, the same size, 265/75-16, on the same wheels, barely rub sometimes at full steering lock. I did not make any steering stop adjustments.

There's plenty of YouTube videos on installing a suspension lift. As far as lifts go, OME is fairly straightforward, no real issues. Make sure to liberally spray PB Blaster or Kroil on all the bolts and nuts you will need to remove, a few days before removal.

FYI, the stock spare tire carrier will handle that size tire easily. You may need to use some washers on the mounting lugs, as the tire is wider, and may prevent the tailgate from closing when the tire hits the bottom body snubber beneath the tailgate on the body. I had to put a washer or two on my bottom lug. Problem solved. Consider a tire carrier separate from the bumper, i.e. an Exogate. Not only does it beef up the tailgate & hinges, you don't have to open the tire carrier and tailgate separately, which can be a PITA at times. Just an idea.
 
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glwood said:
The early JKs had the green like that, it was called Rescue Green. It's pretty rare on a TJ.

Nice score on the wheels and tires. Once you get the lift on, the jury's out as to whether those will rub or not. My tires, the same size, 265/75-16, on the same wheels, barely rub sometimes at full steering lock. I did not make any steering stop adjustments.

There's plenty of YouTube videos on installing a suspension lift. As far as lifts go, OME is fairly straightforward, no real issues. Make sure to liberally spray PB Blaster or Kroil on all the bolts and nuts you will need to remove, a few days before removal.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the correction on the color....that is what I meant, safety green is the color of the OSHA certified t-shirts I produce for the road crews and tree guys.
 
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I will probably be installing the kit saturday if the weather isnt too bad, I plan to Kroil up all the bolts before thursday go give it a good couple days to work itself in. Thanks for the pointers, I will try to post pictures while im installing
717c71d187cc90accd52f0b0f72471f5.jpg
 
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Installed the lift all day Saturday and finished up and tidied up sunday morning. Ran into a lot of issues with rusted bolts even after soaking them in tons of Kroil. Kroil is your friend haha! Was also able to get a much closer look at most of my frame and found a couple issues. Dont have any pictures for the time being but I will post soon to get some ideas for repair. Mostly surface rust except one part that may be a hole. Hopefully I get that solved but enough of the bad news, the good news is that the jeep is looking great.

20180519_112133.jpg

Started with the rear suspension components


20180519_122916.jpg

bump stops were practically gone, got some daystar replacements along with the ome spacers put on.


Trackbar mount and rear shocks went in pretty well, didnt have a spring compressor so rear coils kind of sucked, but i dont know where the pictures of all that went


20180519_213118.jpg


Next we did the front suspension, and we ended up just buying a spring compressor and got them in much easier.

20180520_102708.jpg


The yellow shocks looked really good with the Citron pearl green
20180520_125546.jpg


Finally the finished product, looks a lot more like a jeep with only a little bit of lift and bigger tires, can't wait to take her offroading. I will be putting on the spare sometime this week once i get some spacers for the rear brake light, need about an inch and a half more space. Also I have a little bit of rub at full lock so ill be putting on some washers to account for that soon. Other than that no vibes except for a little around 2nd gear going about 15, maybe thats a gearing thing? Should i lower the transfer case anyway? or should i just save up for a SYE and CV driveshaft to help with long term plans too? No vibes going above 50, so hopefully it will do fine on the interstate too. Any recommendations?

My list for future mods has changed a bit more, in order of what i think is importance
-rust management
-SYE and CV driveshaft?
-Front and rear adjustable trackbar
-lower control arms
-winch
-rear bumper w/ tire carrier
-fog lights

I also plan to repaint a lot of the faded plastics like the flares and step, would it be cool to do some sort of black bedliner? or should I just stick with straight black.
 
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If you do the fenders and trim with a light coat of bed liner, it looks pretty good!

Wow, those jounce bumpers are practically disintegrated!
 
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My speedo is off due to the bigger tires (265/75r16) but they are kind of in the middle of 31" and 32" tires. My gearing is 3.07, so should I go with a 27 tooth or 26 tooth gear for the speedo?
 
Chris S said:
My speedo is off due to the bigger tires (265/75r16) but they are kind of in the middle of 31" and 32" tires. My gearing is 3.07, so should I go with a 27 tooth or 26 tooth gear for the speedo?
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27 tooth. While a 265/75r16 is equal to 31.6", you'll find in the manufacturers spec for most tires, they are less than they claim. Yours will be closer to 31" than they are to 32".
 
I've been daily driving the jeep with the 3.07 gears with the 31s and its definitely not completely ideal. So, nothings going to change for a little bit, but just for future reference, If i was to regear what would be the best gearing to go to? I one day would like to go to 33s so would it be smart to save money in the long run and regear a little lower? i have a 5spd, 6cyl with Dana 30 and Dana 35.
 
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