2002 Jeep TJ “Ocho”

[RiverDawg24]

I’ve own 8 jeeps total. In order:

1975 CJ 5 stock with 31’s (bought in 1997:for. Time line reference)
1984 CJ 7 stock with 31’s
1980 CJ 5 stock with 32’s and 25k original miles
1997 TJ stock with 31’s, then 33’s then Dana 44’s 100 inch wheelbase and 35’s Then 36’s, then Dana 60’s and 42’s and 110 inch wheelbase
1987 YJ Dana 44/60 with 36’s
1993 YJ Dana 44/Ford 9 SOA 35’s ( Should have kept it)
2001 Tj DIY 3 link/4 link Dana 44/ Ford 9 and 35’s.....Traded it for a 2012 RZR 4 seater with only 200 miles
Mix in a 1964 Scout 80 with a 327 and a 1970 Scout 800A with a 354

Last year I hit a tree going 40mph in the RZR. No seatbelt. I’m an idiot who is completely blessed to be alive. The pictures are awful.
So here I am, terrified of RZR’s, lucky to be alive and back in a TJ

New Jeep:

2002 Tj 4.0L. 140,000 miles
Skyjacker 4” that is awful
33” Toyo Open Country
Dana 30 with spartan locker, Dana 44 with full spool 4.56 gears
SYE w/CV driveshaft
Hardtop/full doors
And a basket case of complete have ass-ed-ness

Plans for Jeep:

I’ve had my fill of Rockcrawling. I trailered from Arkansas to the Rubicon in 2003, I trailered to Colorado and Carnage Canyon in 2012, I’ve rolled in Disney and blown up Axles in Clayton. I’ve spent days on end at Superlift ORV park in Hot Springs and I live 30 minutes from Byrd’s Adventure center. I don’t say this to sound arrogant... at all but Just to say I’ve done that and I am not interested anymore.

This is a Mallcrawler/Dirt Road/Creek Runner/ look the part Jeep.

I want it to have good parts and be mechanically sound. I want it to ride well on the road. And IF I ever need it to be extreme I want it to perform. So a classic Mallcrawler but more of a sleeper that could get it done if it so desired.

Things to do/ upgrade:

Remove the rear spool for an open diff. Maybe an Aussie locker in the future if I think I need it
Get rid of the Skyjacker front track bar set up And replace wallowed out axle bracket. It’s awful
Upper and lower adjustable control arms...I’m prolly going with JKS parts. I know Currie and Savvy are the best. But does a Mallcrawler need them?
Rancho 5000 shocks. These skyjackers are ROUGH
Full size 33” spare
Speedo correction gear
Somethings up with passenger motor mount?....
Repaint hood, fenders, windshield frame. Clear coat is gone
Build a hardtop hoist/storage
Other things i’m Sure

Pics of Jeep when I bought it. I paid $7250 and feel like I got a deal.

I’ve already done some work so I’m gonna make several posts

 

[RiverDawg24]

First thing I did was join this forum. I checked in with the New members section but unfortunately my intro post got deleted in a software upgrade. No big deal. I used to frequent Pirate4x4 and Jeeps Unlimited a lot before I got the RZR4. My name on those sites was Cisco. I’m enjoying this site very much.

I searched on here and found a lot of great ideas! I stole from several to make a Hardtop hoist. Nothing fancy and less than $50.

I’ll let the pics explain

 

[Jpodell]

Nice Jeep. You did get a good deal.

 

[RiverDawg24]

The Full spool was WAY too troublesome and not road friendly. I ran welded carriers in my 60’s during my Rockcrawling days. But for an on road Jeep it had to go. I spent this passed Saturday and Sunday swapping it out for an open carrier. If I feel I need it later I will drop in an Aussie locker.

I was frustrated with the gear pattern I was getting. The contact patch kept saying my pinion wasn’t deep enough. I shouldn’t have to adjust the pinion IF it was correct to start with. Which the more I delve into this Jeep the more I question if anything is correct. I played with the backlash until I got an “acceptable “ pattern. I wasn’t real please with it but time will tell if it’s ok.

My “shop” is about half finished meaning it has a roof and concrete. No walls yet and no electricity. So I am still working out of my 2 car garage and laying on the floor.

Pics from the Carrier swap

 

[RiverDawg24]

After swapping out the spool for an open carrier my wife and I went for a test ride. The open carrier made the Jeep SO MUCH BETTER to drive on the pavement. It was awesome!

What wasn’t awesome? The freaking sh*t ( is cussing allowed?) your pants death wobble we got! Holy scrare the crap out of me! Literally! I almost had to call for the jaws of life to get the seat fabric removed from my butthole I was clinched so tight!

So the next day I did a dry steer test and found nothing loose. Then I started looking at toe-in. OMG! This thing was toed In A FULL 1.5 INCHES! I was shocked.

I knew that the front Spartan was locking in and out like crazy. I knew that the thing drove like a skid steer BobCat. But I never expected that.

So I adjusted the toe, with the help of my bride, to toed in 1/8th an inch. WOW what a difference. Not only did it cure the death wobble but the Jeep drove SO much better!

It wasn’t fighting itself. The spartan up front no longer pops and engages randomly. It really is amazing how much better it drives.

So I learned two things: correct toe is extremely important. And that I can’t assume anything is correct or “right” on this Jeep.

No “toe” pics. But here’s one of my lovely helper.

 

[RiverDawg24]

Today I decided to see what was up with the drivers side motor mount. I’ll let the pics speak for themselves

Even our French Bulldog, Pig (that’s her real name), thought this was unbelievable! I could blow snot in a tissue and make prettier welds than this! And I am a terrible welder!

So I bought a stock bracket to replace this with. But when I removed this abomination I realized that one of the bosses on the engine block was broken so only 2 bolts would be holding the bracket to the block.

Therefore, I order up this left side bracket from Brown Dog Industries.

I just ordered the left side for now. Funds are tight and an engine bracket wasn’t in the plans. If I ever need right side bracket I can get it. Buying them separately is not much more expensive than buying the pair.

So I am all caught up. The Jeep is taking up garage space until Brown Santa shows up.

Next up....JKS track bar and a Barnes 4wd front track bar bracket.

Thanks for reading

 

[RiverDawg24]

Nice Jeep. You did get a good deal.

Where in Arkansas are you? I’m in western Ark on I-40

 

[Jpodell]

Where in Arkansas are you? I’m in western Ark on I-40

Little Rock

 

[RiverDawg24]

Yesterday saw me installing the new drivers side engine block mount from Brown Dog Industries. These things are absolute beef and well worth the asking price.

I didn't get any pics due to running into some ( a lot of) issues. The stock brackets mounts to the engine block in 3 locations... The Brown Dog bracket mounts to the block in 7 locations. That's if all of your mounting bosses are in good working order. Mine were not.

See above pics to make note of the previous owners attempts at welding and fabricating a engine mount and you will understand why i ran into problems.

My mounting bosses had issues to say the least.

Here's a pic of the mount from Brown dogs website.

The three un-circled mounting holes worked fine with zero issues.

The red circled hole represents where the cast had failed and the boss was broken off the block.

The green represents a boss that had the shank of a sheared bolt stuck in it.

The blue represent bosses that had been stripped out.

So I torqued the 3 good bosses to spec.

On the the red circle, I was able to capture the last 3-4 threads that were still present in the broken boss. Red loctite and torque to spec but will it hold?

The green circle I left empty due to the broken off bolt.

The inside blue circle, the stripped threads would almost hold torque before "releasing". I think the previous owner had too long a bolt and bottomed it out, thereby stripping the threads. I used a ton of red loctite and tightened it to the point of just before it released.

The outside blue circle, I did the same but it wasn't really near torque so I think its close to useless.

Brown dog says you can just use 4 mounting holes and you'll be good. But I think they mean using the 4 new holes which are spread out and not the 3 originals.

I don't know if this will hold or not. The plan right now is to drive it and check it after every trip.

If it loosens then i am going to try this thread repair kit from loctite

https://www.grainger.com/product/LOCTITE-12-9mL-Gray-Stripped-Thread-1YDZ5

Last resort and one I'll do anything to avoid is pull the engine and tap/re-thread or helicoil the 2 stripped bosses and remove the broken bolt from the 3rd.

There's no way to do it with the engine in the vehicle. But I'd hate top have to go this route.

Anyone have any other ideas?

 

[K0LCB]

Congratulations! Welcome to our group!

 

[Chris]

Yesterday saw me installing the new drivers side engine block mount from Brown Dog Industries. These things are absolute beef and well worth the asking price.

I didn't get any pics due to running into some ( a lot of) issues. The stock brackets mounts to the engine block in 3 locations... The Brown Dog bracket mounts to the block in 7 locations. That's if all of your mounting bosses are in good working order. Mine were not.

See above pics to make note of the previous owners attempts at welding and fabricating a engine mount and you will understand why i ran into problems.

My mounting bosses had issues to say the least.

Here's a pic of the mount from Brown dogs website.
View attachment 114273

The three un-circled mounting holes worked fine with zero issues.

The red circled hole represents where the cast had failed and the boss was broken off the block.

The green represents a boss that had the shank of a sheared bolt stuck in it.

The blue represent bosses that had been stripped out.

So I torqued the 3 good bosses to spec.

On the the red circle, I was able to capture the last 3-4 threads that were still present in the broken boss. Red loctite and torque to spec but will it hold?

The green circle I left empty due to the broken off bolt.

The inside blue circle, the stripped threads would almost hold torque before "releasing". I think the previous owner had too long a bolt and bottomed it out, thereby stripping the threads. I used a ton of red loctite and tightened it to the point of just before it released.

The outside blue circle, I did the same but it wasn't really near torque so I think its close to useless.

Brown dog says you can just use 4 mounting holes and you'll be good. But I think they mean using the 4 new holes which are spread out and not the 3 originals.

I don't know if this will hold or not. The plan right now is to drive it and check it after every trip.

If it loosens then i am going to try this thread repair kit from loctite

https://www.grainger.com/product/LOCTITE-12-9mL-Gray-Stripped-Thread-1YDZ5

Last resort and one I'll do anything to avoid is pull the engine and tap/re-thread or helicoil the 2 stripped bosses and remove the broken bolt from the 3rd.

There's no way to do it with the engine in the vehicle. But I'd hate top have to go this route.

Anyone have any other ideas?

I'd post this in a new thread. It's going to get lost in a build thread and not as many people will see it or think to look here. Just a suggestion

 

[RiverDawg24]

A very boring update-

Spent Saturday doing some much need TLC.

Oil change with Castroil GTX 10w/30 and Fram TG filter.
6 new platinum Champion 7034 spark plugs.
Pulled and cleaned the throttle body and IAC.

I’m going to say the spark plugs were original to the Jeep and the throttle body had never been cleaned. I should have gotten pics but I didn’t.

Plugs looked good but well worn after 140,000 miles. The Throttle body looked like a fry cooks grill after rush hour on a Saturday

The end result is a much better starting and running TJ.

I still have a CEL and a “miss” after the engine is warm.
The codes are P0122 and P0123. I have a genuine Mopar TPS ordered. I’m hopeful that will fix the CEL

Overall, I’ve taken another step in the right direction on this rig. Oil, sensors, and plugs aren’t sexy ways to spend money. But I’ve promised myself I won’t cut corners nor will I get in a hurry with refurbishing this Jeep.

Thanks for reading

 

[Vasq]

Really looking forward to following this build. You really seem to know some stuff

 

[RiverDawg24]

Small update-

Mopar TPS sensor installed today. Man what a difference this sensor and new plugs have made. I didn’t realize how bad the Jeep was running.

I put about 70 miles on it today and it ran perfectly. No CEL and I’m very glad.

I also scored a spare tire. A like new Pro Comp XTerrain for $50. Heck of a deal

 

[JMT]

The Full spool was WAY too troublesome and not road friendly. I ran welded carriers in my 60’s during my Rockcrawling days. But for an on road Jeep it had to go. I spent this passed Saturday and Sunday swapping it out for an open carrier. If I feel I need it later I will drop in an Aussie locker.

I was frustrated with the gear pattern I was getting. The contact patch kept saying my pinion wasn’t deep enough. I shouldn’t have to adjust the pinion IF it was correct to start with. Which the more I delve into this Jeep the more I question if anything is correct. I played with the backlash until I got an “acceptable “ pattern. I wasn’t real please with it but time will tell if it’s ok.

My “shop” is about half finished meaning it has a roof and concrete. No walls yet and no electricity. So I am still working out of my 2 car garage and laying on the floor.

Pics from the Carrier swapView attachment 113051View attachment 113052View attachment 113053

Thanks for close ups of carrier swap.

After swapping out the spool for an open carrier my wife and I went for a test ride. The open carrier made the Jeep SO MUCH BETTER to drive on the pavement. It was awesome!

What wasn’t awesome? The freaking sh*t ( is cussing allowed?) your pants death wobble we got! Holy scrare the crap out of me! Literally! I almost had to call for the jaws of life to get the seat fabric removed from my butthole I was clinched so tight!

So the next day I did a dry steer test and found nothing loose. Then I started looking at toe-in. OMG! This thing was toed In A FULL 1.5 INCHES! I was shocked.

I knew that the front Spartan was locking in and out like crazy. I knew that the thing drove like a skid steer BobCat. But I never expected that.

So I adjusted the toe, with the help of my bride, to toed in 1/8th an inch. WOW what a difference. Not only did it cure the death wobble but the Jeep drove SO much better!

It wasn’t fighting itself. The spartan up front no longer pops and engages randomly. It really is amazing how much better it drives.

So I learned two things: correct toe is extremely important. And that I can’t assume anything is correct or “right” on this Jeep.

No “toe” pics. But here’s one of my lovely helper.

View attachment 113055

Wife after 8 Jeeps.

Nice work man! Coming along nicely. Not cutting any corners. Can’t wait to see it done.

Oh wait...they’re never done, are they!?

 

[RiverDawg24]

Thanks for close ups of carrier swap.


Wife after 8 Jeeps.

Nice work man! Coming along nicely. Not cutting any corners. Can’t wait to see it done.

Oh wait...they’re never done, are they!?

Ha! I’ve never been good at build threads!

Plus I didn’t want anyone seeing the AWFUL gear pattern I got! That way when the gears eat themselves I can be all

And yes. My wife is awesome!! Extremely understanding and all in on most Jeep decisions I’ve made.

 

[RiverDawg24]

I refuse to pay $10-$15 for a hood prop catch. So I bent, drilled and mounted my diy version

Works pretty good

 

[RiverDawg24]

When I bought my Jeep I knew it would require a long list of upgrades and redos. Towards the top of that list was replacing the track bar. My Jeep came with a 4 inch Skyjacker lift and this particular lift came with a track bar that actually mounted in the steering stabilizer mount!

Needless to say it was less than impressive. Bump steer, Vibration, Unresponsive steering, etc.

So I debated about which bar to use. I was torn between the more economical JKS bar or the top dollar Currie bar. Well buy once, cry once! Right? I went with the Currie.

And man I’m glad I did!

I forgot just how beefy Johnny Joints are. My southern beverage of choice for scale.

Here’s a pic of the Skyjacker and Currie side by side.

The hardest part of the install was drilling the frame side mount out to 5/8”. Make sure you keep the drill square to the hole or this happens.

That’s a $30 mistake!

Here’s a couple of pics of it all buttoned up.

Proper front end geometry is no joke. This Jeep drives like a new vehicle! I am amazed at the difference. No bumpsteer. No darting. Everything feels very tight and responsive. I’m just floored at the difference in driveability!

Finally here’s a pic of her snuggled up under my Shop-port/batting cage.

Up next.. fixing the bowed stock tie rod. A ZJ Tie rod is ordered and in the mail. Should be here mid next week.

Thanks for ready.

 

[RiverDawg24]

During a deep creek crossing last week I hit a submerged rock squarely with my stock tie rod. The resulting vibrations on the trip home told me I’d knocked the toe out.

Upon further inspection I realized I’d put a significant bow in the stock tie rod as you can see in the pic below.

I hope to one day afford the Currie Currectlync but right now that isn’t in the budget. So I researched the ZJ tie rod conversion. It seemed like a good upgrade and for less than $75 shipped I didn’t feel I could go wrong. So I placed an order and Amazon said it’d be here Mid next week.

Well I was shocked to hear my mailwoman pull in the driveway today and drop off my new tie rod, sleeve, and tie rod end.

Install is pretty straight forward so no pics of that. But here’s a pic of the stock TJ tie rod along side the new ZJ tie rod. Hard to see in the pic but the size difference is substantial and the weight difference isn’t even close. The ZJ bar is a solid 1” rod where the TJ bar is hollow and .65” in diameter.

Since my wife was out Christmas shopping today I was by myself and I needed to set the toe with the new tie rod. I did some searching and came across a post by @jerrybransford. He used aluminum tube clamped to the rotors to set toe. I thought it looked like a great idea!

I didn’t have any aluminum tube and being it’s a 40 min round trip into town I improvised!

Luckily my cheap harbor freight press is easily disassembled/assembled. I guess it’s as they say... “necessity is the mother of all invention”!

I was able to get the toe exactly 1/8 toed in. Probably the most accurate toe adjustment I’ve ever done. Thanks Jerry!

And finally a few pics of the front end.

I probably should rotate the tie rod clamps 180 degrees but in the moment when everything was set to speck I just didn’t want to mess with it. If I find the clamp bolts are taking shots on the trail I’ll flip them.

I’m also excited to report that the work I’ve done this week while on Thanksgiving break has completely transformed how this Jeep drives. The new track bar and tie rod have been GREAT upgrades.

 

[Whitetrash]

Nice job on the alignment! Mine is in desperate need of one after I did the same ZJ front steering upgrade, and now I'm going to use your idea on aligning it. Thanks! Good job so far on the build.