Hello everyone! I am new to the forum and thought I would begin by sharing my experiences as I restore a 2000 TJ Sahara.
Background: I bought this as a birthday present for my 15 yr old son last fall as something we could work together on so I could teach him automotive / mechanical skills. (that's how I sold it to my wife, anyway). When it is done, it is his, so I want everything to be done safely and well enough that he can enjoy it.
The Jeep: 2000 TJ Sahara, 165k, hard and soft tops. 3.25 Rough Country lift, 33" Dick Cepek Extreme Country tires.
The Good: Its a JEEP, nothing more to add. Seriously, aside from the below floor rust issues, the frame is solid and was painted with POR15. No engine noises and good oil pressure.
The Bad: It had typical maintenance needs. Leaking valve cover gasket, transmission cooler lines were rusted / leaking, oil pan was rusty, drivetrain shudder under acceleration.
The Ugly: Sometime during its life, the previous owner decided to "fix" the floor boards, which only made matters much, much worse.
Our goal was to get it safe and driving first, knowing we would have the winter to work on the bigger things. We did the following:
1- Replaced transmission cooler lines, gasket, filter and did full flush of tranny / torque converter
2- Replaced oil pan (it was almost rusted through in spots), did rear main seal while I had everything off because it was starting to seep
3- Added adjustable rear control arms to set pinion angle correctly - fixed shudder
4- Replaced all brakes, mostly because I wanted a baseline for how they felt when "new"
5- Replaced valve cover gasket and serpentine belt
6- Replaced radiator because I am an idiot. It started leaking right after I did the transmission lines so unless it is a coincidence, I must have did something to it when I was wrench in the lines.
Now that the temps have risen and it doesn't cost me a fortune to heat the garage, we are starting with the floors. I will put that in the following posts in this thread.
Background: I bought this as a birthday present for my 15 yr old son last fall as something we could work together on so I could teach him automotive / mechanical skills. (that's how I sold it to my wife, anyway). When it is done, it is his, so I want everything to be done safely and well enough that he can enjoy it.
The Jeep: 2000 TJ Sahara, 165k, hard and soft tops. 3.25 Rough Country lift, 33" Dick Cepek Extreme Country tires.
The Good: Its a JEEP, nothing more to add. Seriously, aside from the below floor rust issues, the frame is solid and was painted with POR15. No engine noises and good oil pressure.
The Bad: It had typical maintenance needs. Leaking valve cover gasket, transmission cooler lines were rusted / leaking, oil pan was rusty, drivetrain shudder under acceleration.
The Ugly: Sometime during its life, the previous owner decided to "fix" the floor boards, which only made matters much, much worse.
Our goal was to get it safe and driving first, knowing we would have the winter to work on the bigger things. We did the following:
1- Replaced transmission cooler lines, gasket, filter and did full flush of tranny / torque converter
2- Replaced oil pan (it was almost rusted through in spots), did rear main seal while I had everything off because it was starting to seep
3- Added adjustable rear control arms to set pinion angle correctly - fixed shudder
4- Replaced all brakes, mostly because I wanted a baseline for how they felt when "new"
5- Replaced valve cover gasket and serpentine belt
6- Replaced radiator because I am an idiot. It started leaking right after I did the transmission lines so unless it is a coincidence, I must have did something to it when I was wrench in the lines.
Now that the temps have risen and it doesn't cost me a fortune to heat the garage, we are starting with the floors. I will put that in the following posts in this thread.