2001 Sahara

[Serbonze]

Even though I've had this Jeep for six years, I decided to start a build thread to document what I've done.

My parents bought a new TJ back in 1999, and every time that I would go back up north to visit my parents I would have an opportunity to drive it. It was always a great time, and in 2002 I actually drove it to a location in Maine where I asked my wife to marry me. Over the years, my wife and I had talked about getting our own Wrangler, but the timing was just never right. Fast forward to 2012 and my wife and I made the decision that we would not have children. We decided that we would take some of the money that we had been saving and finally buy ourselves a Jeep. It took a few months of looking, but one day my boss came up to me and told me that he had seen a nice looking Jeep just down the road at a mom and pop used car dealer. We hopped in my car and drove right over there to check it. A few days later we ended up buying a 2001 auto Sienna Pearl Sahara with 101,000 miles and a clean Carfax for $10,500. Not knowing anything about Jeeps at the time, I had no idea how lucky we were that it had a Dana 44 and absolutely ZERO rust. It had a cheap no name 3" lift and only a few small issues that we knew that we would could deal with.

 

[Serbonze]

So the first thing that we did was go to our local tire shop and buy 33” tires along with wheels.

*Mistake number one - We had no clue what we were doing. My wife wanted big wheels (17s) and I wanted 15s. We compromised on 16s which limited the tire choice to load range E.

At the same time we had a valve cover leak fixed. The mechanic, who was supposed to be a Jeep guy, told us that the steering issues that we had was due to the lift and that we needed adjustable lower control arms. We ordered up a pair from Rusty’s and had them installed (they were fine for the three years that they were on the Jeep). I also replaced the chrome gas cap with a black one, and at some point shortly after I swapped out the chrome hood latches for black.

The top was in horrible shape with rips and holes all over it, so it had to go. We decided on a Quadratec branded one in black.

 

[Serbonze]

I had started to read about issues with hanging a 33” spare on the tail gate, so I came up with a threaded brace that you can see in the pic in the above post. I decided to buy myself a birthday present and order a Groundpounder Fab swing away tire carrier and bumper.

The driving lights didn’t work, so I picked up some replacements. Unfortunately, they still didn’t work and after some research found out that it was actually the multi-function switch. After replacing that, we had light! I also painted the headlight bezels black.

The next addition to the Jeep a Dirty Dog 4x4 net to help contain our dogs.

We had talked about getting a winch, but I didn’t want to get one with the tube bumper. Another call to Eddie at Groundpounder Fab netted me a new front bumper. He came up with this design shortly before he sold the company, so I don’t think that there are many of these out there.

My in-laws were nice enough to buy us a winch for Christmas (at some point I swapped out the steel cable for synthetic line). It was around this time that the RMS started leaking, and you can see my leak stop sitting there on the floor.

 

[Serbonze]

At some point I started getting more active on the Jeep forums, and I was able to identify some problems with the Jeep that I never new that I had. For example, the jounce bumpers were rotted away and had to be replaced.

The brake lines were a little tight, so I installed JKS extension brackets.

The clunking from the front end was from the sway bar disconnects, so I replaced them with Metalcloak.

There was a little surface rust on the skid plate and the frame, so I took care of both with some fresh paint.

 

[Serbonze]

Next up was the installation of a Metalcloak front trackbar, shocks, replacement of the dropped pitman arm, and a new transmission mount.

*Mistake number two - Installation of Bilstein 5100 shocks.

A few months later I replaced all of thr control arms with fully adjustable arms from Metalcloak, along with the rear trackbar.

Shortly after that I added a set of Dropkick Slyders.

Next up was an Advanced Adapeters SYE and Adams rear driveshaft.

My in-laws once again came through and got me a Savvy shifter cable.

 

[Serbonze]

The SYE immediately took away the vibrations that I wasn’t even aware that I had. It made the Jeep SO much smoother. I also added some Black Magic brake pads along with new Centric rotors and calipers. At the same time I completely replaced the rear brakes.

I had been wanting some additional underside protection, and unfortunately Savvy doesn't make an engine skid for my year and transmission. After quite a bit of research, I opted to use the Skid Row Engine Skid because it cover the oil pan, transmission pan, and connects back to the transfer case skit plate effectively removing the "shovel". At the same time I added their gas tank skid plate.

A short while later my 32rh transmission needed a rebuild. While it was being rebuilt I went ahead and had them add a Hayden 679 auxiliary cooler and relocate the vent on the transmission and transfer case.

I started to get a little bored, so decided to swap out my stock tie rod for a ZJ one. I was just fitting it up here, I painted it with POR-15. That was a pain in the ass, I should have just used Krylon.

 

[Serbonze]

It had been long enough with my stock 3.73 gears, so after saving up the funds I decided that it was time to regear and went with Revolution 4.10s. At the same time, I added front and rear ARB lockers.

What an amazing difference!! As soon as I hopped in the Jeep it was evident that even though it was a small jump, it was definitely worth it.

 

[Serbonze]

My wife had been kind of complaining about our seats, so as a Christmas gift to "us" from our dogs, I bought some Corbeau Sport Seats. I went with the cloth inserts to try and avoid burned legs in our Florida sun. A couple things about these seats...they definitely increased the height. I wasn't so sure about this at first, but now that I've had them for awhile I'm really happy with the height. I can easily see over the hood and down in front of the Jeep (while maintaining plenty of headroom) and my short wife can now easily see as well.

They were quite firm to start, but they have softened up over the months and I'm happy with them.

I had a lady at work have her six year old draw a “to/from tag” and kept the box at a neighbor’s house. It worked out well and my wife was completely surprised.

 

[Serbonze]

After years of a rough ride, I decided that I would finally give in and try some different shocks. I decided to try the Metalcloak Rocksport shocks, mainly because I hadn't read about anyone that had them and they are supposed to be similar to OME Nitrosports. I drove about three hours to a friend's shop to install them. I can tell you that I was not disappointed! The difference in small event harshness (gone!) was evident as soon as we took it out of the shop and into the parking lot. The three hour drive home was better, and they just got better and better as I put more miles on them.

I decided to remove the hard plastic cover, as they are known to scratch the body leading to premature rusting of the can. As a bonus, I shortened the rear arms a bit to gain additional clearance between the gas tank skid and the diff cover and adjusted my bump stops to allow for the most travel possible.

 

[skrelnik]

Great story, read and pics. I have to imagine that a bunch of us followed your footsteps in a variety of ways, and I would be one of them.

 

[Serbonze]

Great story, read and pics. I have to imagine that a bunch of us followed your footsteps in a variety of ways, and I would be one of them.

Thanks. I don't mind admitting when I make a mistake, nor do I mind admitting when I don't know something. I want to know that I've built my Jeep the best that I can, for *my needs* and not what someone else thinks that I may need. That doesn't mean that I won’t take advice or constructive criticism though!

 

[ShaunSweeney]

I’m in the market for new seats and the Corbeau Sport is on the short list. After having them for a bit, what are your impressions? For reference I’m 66” and 175lbs with a pretty muscular build.

Finding seats that are supportive and also fit in the TJ is tough. I need a seat with a proper adjustable headrest as I have neck issues. If the seat has some semblance of lumbar support that would be a bonus. However, I can always add the lumbar bladder they offer.

I look forward to and appreciate your input.

 

[Serbonze]

After nine months, I’m happy with them. I was a little concerned at first because they were pretty stiff, but after breaking in they are great. For reference, I’m 6’ and 205.

They do have adjustable headrests, but they aren’t great.

If I were you, having neck issues, I would ask around to see if anyone in your area has them.

 

[ShaunSweeney]

Thanks for the input. I have some Toyota Celica seats I’m going to try to adapt.

 

[Serbonze]

You may want to check out this thread.

https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/how-to-install-hyundai-tiburon-seats-in-a-jeep-wrangler-tj.2997/

 

[Serbonze]

So I don’t really remember the timeframe on the following items so I’m just going to lump them together.

LED Taillights

LED Headlights, Driving lights, Synthetic winch line

GraBars

New head unit

 

[bobthetj03]

Good to hear some feedback on the Rocksport shocks. Don't see too many TJ guys trying them. I almost pulled the trigger on a set, but went with the Rancho RS5000X shocks.

 

[Chris]

I didn't even know about the Rocksports until I saw that Metalcloak sells them in one of their lift kits. Nice to hear that they perform well!

 

[Serbonze]

Good to hear some feedback on the Rocksport shocks. Don't see too many TJ guys trying them. I almost pulled the trigger on a set, but went with the Rancho RS5000X shocks.

I hadn’t read a single review on them for a long time, so it was a shot in the dark. I managed to get a great deal on them ($237 shipped to the house) so I thought it was worth trying.

Now that the rear spring perches are trimmed, I could easily swap a set of the Ranchos for a good head to head comparison. Everyone seems to love them, and they could be even better than the Rocksports. I have no idea.

If a Rancho rep reads this and wants to get a comparison, drop me a DM and send me a set to try.

Does Rancho offer a front shock that matches the travel of the Rocksport?

 

[bobthetj03]

With them being priced about the same as the Ranchos, the only thing that swayed me to the Ranchos was the $50 mail in rebate.