2002 TJ Apex Edition

Allstar424

TJ Enthusiast
Supporting Member
Joined
Feb 15, 2019
Messages
163
Location
Central Point, OR
My Jeep obsession began in 2013 when I purchased my 2002 TJ. The Jeep was a little rough on the edges and had some beat up Westin steps on it, but being 15 all I could see was the miles of dirt roads I could drive and summer nights spend under the stars. As I dove deeper into fixing up the Jeep I discovered what a mess it truly was. The saving grace for the Jeep was that it had zero rust.
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I began by installing a cheap winch and bumper. Also added were Chinese LED offroad lights. The places the Jeep would go on near bald tires was impressive. About a year in things started to go south. I noticed the 4.0 was starting to burn oil, so a leak down test was administered. The 4.0 was toast… so a few more months and a new 4.0 was sourced. I added a Banks cat back exhaust and Airaid Intake once the new motor was in. A few months after the engine was replaced, the transmission lost a line and drained all of the fluid on to the freeway. The transmission was rebuilt and a SYE installed along with CV drive shafts and the transfer case was gone through. While pulling the transmission out, I noticed some fluid seeping out of the Dana 30… the tube was bent and the pumpkin was cracked. New G2 dana 44’s were installed with 4.10’s and Eaton lockers.

After all of the mechanical issues were sorted, I had gotten attached and couldn’t bring myself to sell the thing like a rational person would so next came a ProComp Stage-2 4” lift with BFGoodrich 33” KM2’s and Method Race Wheels. I drove the Jeep like this until 2017.

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I decided to get rid of the cheap winch and bumper and purchased a Poison Spyder Rock Brawler bumper along with a Warn 10k winch. I also got rid of the Chinese lights (that had failed at night deep into a trail) and upgraded my lighting with Rigid Industries 10” bar, Rigid Side Shooters, and LED headlights. Also purchased was a Factor55 Prolink and Poison Spyder hawse fairlead. A few months later I added 1 ton steering, a hardtop, a GoRhino SRM200 rack, and a few months later a 30” Rigid bar in the rack. During July, I purchased Fox 2.0 shocks. They helped the ride quality immensely! Also added was a custom Bedslide in the cargo area for added ease of access.

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The Jeep primarily sees road and logging road use. It’s our weekend warrior and most likely will never see anything like the Rubicon or Moab, but we love doing mild overland excursions in it!

Future upgrades will be Currie Springs, sound deadening the interior. Wishlist includes Poison Spyder rear bumper and tire carrier, tube fenders, roll cage, new mirrors, and new seats.
 
Just bought Method Double stadards for my TJ. I run them on our 2018 Ram 2500 for the last year and still think they are one of the best looking wheels on the market. Nice to see these on a TJ, I havnt mounted mine yet.
 
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I agree, the methods are great looking wheels! I haven't seen very many of them on Jeeps myself. They are ridiculously light and I have never had any issues with them.

Looking forward to seeing them on your LJ! @73Carlow
 
Finally took the time to replace the 1-ton steering with all new stock style steering components. Man the Jeep steers so much better! No more bump steer or dead spot in the wheel. Lesson learned! I elected not to do the ZJ swap at this time, I wanted to see how this setup did first.

So far it has been great. Now I just need to take the time to take it out and enjoy it.

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Very nice, the ZJ tie rod is an easy upgrade down the road should you feel the need. Factory steering set up is the way to go!
 
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