2003 Black Wrangler X - Texas Jeep

BobK

TJ Enthusiast
Supporting Member
Joined
Apr 11, 2019
Messages
386
Location
Parker, TX
Well today is officially the first day of the TJ's life with a Jeep Lover. I have big plans for this little ride. Tomorrow we start with a cleaning, vacuuming, and inspection. I plan on replacing the valve cover and gasket later this week, which hopefully is the source of the driveway drips. If that isn't it, then its likely the rear main seal.

Here are my "Before Pics" more to come as the journey progresses.

Bob

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Day two included the following tasks:

Examine the drip. Not a drip was left overnight, apparently it on drips after it has been running
Remove the front and rear bumper end caps.
Removed the front and read fender flares and short running board/flares
Removed all interior carpeting
Vacuumed out the interior, lots of sand and leaves, top must have been down while parked under a tree
Removed the back seat for carpet removal and vacuuming, dusted it off and vacuumed too
Removed the aftermarket trailer hitch
Hosed off the first layer of dirt, exposing a millennia of bug guts. I'm going to need a paint safe solvent to removed thousands of bug guts.

Saving the carpet in case I need a template for the new rug. Not sure if I'm cleaning up the fender flares or biting the bullet and putting Bushwackers on.

Waiting on engine refurb parts to arrive, so in the meantime, more cosmetic tasks tomorrow. Wipe out interior, check all fluids, and inspect the brakes front and read.

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A pressure washer and some mutipurpose cleaner would bring that carpet back to life, provided they aren't all ripped up.
 
A pressure washer and some mutipurpose cleaner would bring that carpet back to life, provided they aren't all ripped up.

That may be decent idea, I hadn't thought of that given how dusty, dirty (ground in crushed leaves). I may give that a shot.

I'm wondering if I should do anything with the floors now that I have the carpet up (it needs wiped down) considering spraying them with bedliner. Thoughts?
 
That may be decent idea, I hadn't thought of that given how dusty, dirty (ground in crushed leaves). I may give that a shot.

I'm wondering if I should do anything with the floors now that I have the carpet up (it needs wiped down) considering spraying them with bedliner. Thoughts?

There's a few trains of thought. Some like the bedliner look, and run without carpet so they can just pull the drain plugs and hose out the tub. Others will use some type of sound deadening material and line the tub prior to putting carpet back in. Depends how much work you want to put yourself thru. If the paint is all good still after you clean it, just clean the carpet and put it back in.
 
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There's a few trains of thought. Some like the bedliner look, and run without carpet so they can just pull the drain plugs and hose out the tub. Others will use some type of sound deadening material and line the tub prior to putting carpet back in. Depends how much work you want to put yourself thru. If the paint is all good still after you clean it, just clean the carpet and put it back in.

On a 2012 JKUR, to deaden the sound I pulled the carpet and front and rear seats and laid in Hush Mats (1/8 thick rubber with an adhesive backing and aluminum foil type top layer. It was a pain in the butt to install and then re-install the carpeting, but it worked. However, I would never install it again.
 
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Either option is going to be work. I lined my tub with 157 mil Noico mat, then put my carpet over that. I run a hardtop during winter months, and it was a noticeable improvement.

https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/how-to-sound-deaden-the-interior-of-your-tj.16153/unread

That product is basically what I used too. I worked for sound deadening but it wasn't something that I wanted showing afterwards, thus the carpet back in. If I used bedliner, I can still hose it out and let it drain, just not sure how difficult that stuff is to use.

I'd have to lift out the front seats and the console too, I guess.
 
Yep everything has to come out. The roll on liner stuff isn't too bad. You still have to mask stuff off and then the cleanup can be messy. The Noico is water proof and mildew proof, so if it did get wet, you just pull the carpet and let it dry out.
 
Day 3

Mores cosmetic tasks, while waiting for my boatload of part to be delivered. Today I:

1) Used Formula 409 to wipe out cargo floor, passenger and drivers foot wells, interior body sides
2) Washed windshield three time to get all the grime and bugs off. Still a few streaks, but 99% better than it was
3) Took off all four wheels to inspect rotors, pads, drums and shoes. All I can say is, I won't be driving it on the street until they are all replaced!
4) While Jeep had its tires off I inspected a few bushings, and all I can say is "what bushings?"
5) Used the tire take off to replace all the lug nuts. The ones on there were nasty, partially rounded, a mixed set of locking lugs has been removed and an inexpensive set of chrome lugs ahs been put on until I replace all the tires and wheels. Tires look dry and cracked.


I'm headed to Walmart later today for a shopping list of fluids - diff, engine, tranny, power steering, brakes, anti-freeze, washer fluid. Next up, order the replacement brakes.

Ps. I'm seriously considering bedliner for the floors, but the prep, removal of the seats and console sounds a bit much, as well as removing all drain plugs and back seat/cargo brackets. Someone tell me it is worth the trouble by showing amazing pictures of theirs!!

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Modest progress today. The darn bolt is still broken but I'm waiting on new drill bits to attempt to drill it out. I couldn't wait to get on with my build so today I put the TJ up on four jack stands and started by replacing both front rotors and brake pads. It took a bit longer than I expected and I had to leave unfinished as I decided to also replace the bolts that hold the calipers to the spindle. So once they arrive, I will button up the front and start on the back drums and shoes (also being replaced).

Given that I already have removed the fender flares, I can see that I have good access to the front shocks and coils. Now my thinking cap is working in overdrive on what to do about all that. The bump stops are in bad shape and need replaced too.
 
Nice jeep!
Is your plan to lift it or keep it stock? That might help with the bushing and bump stop issue since most of those items would be replaced with a lift.

My vote is to keep it paint. It’s easier to work with if you would ever have to deal with rust or repairs. The liners can be hard on the knees and trap in dirt it seems.

I rolled on herculiner on my floor. You honestly are like 15 bolts away from removing everything to do a Bedliner. It’s not bad to do. Just time consuming. My floor looked really good for about 10 years and now could use a touch up.

Keep up the good work!
 
Nice jeep!
Is your plan to lift it or keep it stock? That might help with the bushing and bump stop issue since most of those items would be replaced with a lift.

My vote is to keep it paint. It’s easier to work with if you would ever have to deal with rust or repairs. The liners can be hard on the knees and trap in dirt it seems.

I rolled on herculiner on my floor. You honestly are like 15 bolts away from removing everything to do a Bedliner. It’s not bad to do. Just time consuming. My floor looked really good for about 10 years and now could use a touch up.

Keep up the good work!

You know, that is a good question. Originally, I planned on doing a full lift to get to 33 inch tires. However, I have been re-thinking the use case for this Jeep and I'm unsure how much I want to spend on a "full lift", I go back and forth.

Once I got the Jeep up and the front wheels off, while I see no signs of rust, I see all the rubber bushings are in bad shape and all need replaced. So I'm wondering how many of them would get replaced by doing a modest lift and killing two birds with one stone.

Right now I've got to concentrate on mechanical soundness, which means focusing on refreshing the engine compartment, replacing the front and rear brakes (rotors and drums too). I'd like to replace the exhaust but doing a cat back system looks challenging since the muffler bolts are under the skid plate that supports the transmission and transfer case. A full system replacement looks even more challenging given no lift and the bolts from the manifold to the cats looks tight from underneath.

Once mechanicals (and the oil drip) are dealt with, then I can start planning the fun things like lift kit, bumpers, etc.

Thanks for the comments!

Bob
 
As Gerald Ford said after pardoning Richard Nixon "At last our long national nightmare is over" my paraphrased version is "At last my long nightmare with the un-removable broken bolt (with extractor embedded) is over".

It was a multi-part process that involved using a cutting wheel to cut off most of the captive nut from underneath (only had room for a Dremel with a 1 1/2 inch cutting disk, but it did the job). The remaining 3/16 of threads still refused to come out, so I drilled a pilot hole with a 1/16 bit through the edge of the threads, then enlarged it with a 1/8 in bit. Then took out a punch and 2 1/2 pound Thor hammer and after two of three solid hits, the bolt shards exited the hole. I then used a 5/16 drill bit to open up the hole beyond the size of the original threads.

My plan is to get a similar but longer bolt and put a nut and washer on it from underneath. Should work just fine.


In the meantime, the build continued over the past several days with the removal of the front rotors and pads and removal of rear drums and shoes. All nice new shiny parts are installed. Now on to de-greasing the engine and engine bay prior to installing the new valve cover and gasket.

Thanks for everyone's support and constructive comments throughout the "bolt ordeal".

The snapped off top of bolt and the Dremeled off bottom portion, as compared to a full bolt.

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The underside of the Jeep after cutting off the bolt stub and the captive nut bracket.

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The final look at the top side after drilling out the hole.

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Day 16 of the Build

Roll bar covers removed, sound bar and wiring disconnected, passenger seat removed.

New seat belts and roll bar covers to be delivered this week.

Visited with local LineX, $800 for interior, $4500 for exterior (as long as its black) that is too rich for me, home spray of the interior is going to have to work.

If I didn't mention it earlier in the thread, front rotors and pads replaced over the weekend, read drums and shoes replaced too.

The plan is to replace the valve cover and gasket in the next day or so, then de-grease the engine and engine bay before replacing other engine components.

PS. Does anyone know the trick to removed the plate for the shifter (Park, Neutral, Reverse, Drive, Low) from the shift lever itself (as you can see in the pic below)?

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The project continues to move forward after the broken bolt situation.

Yesterday and today, I wrestled the valve cover and gasket out of the Jeep. There were two obvious spots where oil was clearly leaking from under the gasket, the back of the valve cover (as expected and predicted) and from the drivers side between the valves for the back two cylinders. Both locations have a lot of crud build up and the back of the engine was clearly oily and running down the backside of the engine/transmission. I'm hopeful, but not 100% certain, that I might not need a rear main seal job.

While losing the nut that holds the ground wire to the engine, I miraculously found one of the valve cover bolts that had apparently been lost the last time that gasket was replaced. When I removed the valve cover bolts I noticed that one of them looked slightly different, despite having the same threads. Turns out that little bolt was hidden on a bracket near the transmission. I eventually found the 18 mm nut that secures the ground wire to the engine. Of course that didn't stop me from dropping it three more times while trying to thread it back on at the end of the job.....LOL

Here are the during and after pics (forgot to take a before, but you can imagine).

Headed out of town for a few days to visit my 90 year old Mom for Mothers Day, but upon my return I'm headed to the quarter cash wash (been a long time since it cost a quarter) to spray engine degreaser and power wash the engine, transmission, transfer case, and both diff's before the next series of projects.

Does anyone know the name (or part number) for the honeycomb aluminum insulation stuff to the right of the valves? Mine is torn and nasty and would like to replace.
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I've been out of town for a few days visiting my 90 year old Mom for Mothers Day.

All I could think about while I was gone was the next few tasks on the TJ. Tomorrow, weather permitting, I am taking it to the car wash to powerwash the engine compartment, transmission, transfer case and both diffs.

While I was gone, my new diff covers from Alloy USA showed up, so I'm hoping to get them installed later in the week. Here is what they look like:
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Today was a messy day for the 2003 TJ. I took it out for a drive to the car wash and sprayed the engine compartment with de-greaser and foamy cleaner and then power washed, then engine bay, the oil pan, the transmission oil pan, transfer case, both differentials, and both axles. This took 80-90% of the heavy grease, I may take it back later this weekend for a second wash.

My fingers are crossed, as there hasn't been any oil drips after the de-grease and power wash, since I had replaced the valve cover and gasket last week.

When I brought it home, I installed new battery cables. Two to the block and the firewall (ground) and two positive ones to the starter and fuse block, along with a fused cable from the fuse block to the alternator. I bought the kit for the Jeep from CustomBatteryCables.com. It was a very nice kit, with pre-measured and crimped cables, top notch kit.

Next up on the to do list, is replacing the diff covers with the ones I bought from Alloy USA and then flush the radiator and replace all the hoses.
 
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This thing is going to be new when you get done with it? Maybe I missed it, but did you already replace the plugs? Great work.