2003 TJ Build Help

[03wranglerbuild]

Good day all,

New guy here so if this is the wrong thread please excuse my ignorance.

I will start this off by saying that I know that Jeep people are arguably the most passionate vehicle owners out there and I've finally managed to realize that dream for myself. Well, sort of. Since this jeep is for my daughter who is 12 and the plan is for me to teach her and get her working away.

I am a mechanic by trade and this will be my first jeep build but not my first build.

Now all that;s done, here's the facts:

2003 TJ with a 4.0. Runs, drives, stops and the body is in good shape. Interior is good, minus floors. Frame is swiss cheese, but this came with a new used frame.

Looking to you guys to see what are the common snags for frame swaps, and what is best practice in the order of swapping everything over. I will be rebuilding the engine, trans and the rest of the drivetrain so it'll be more reliable than what it currently is.

Any tips and tricks are greatly appreciated, if you guys have had to make your own weird tools for certain jobs, or good brands for floor pans and body stuff (I hate body work).

Appreciate any and all input!

Cheers

 

[hosejockey61]

Welcome to this forum, Jeep looks good from here!

My first 2 cents would be to label the parts as you take them off if you aren't 100% sure what they go to. Being a mechanic, I'm sure you have a good idea. The other thing is to take LOTS of pictures when you take it apart so you can reference them later if you run into a snag on how something should or shouldn't go together.

I'll beat everyone to the punch...we all want to see pics of the total Jeep including interior, under the hood, frame axles, etc. Start with that.

 

[TheBoogieman]

Calling @macleanflood.

 

[macleanflood]

I don't need to say anything. Just watch the videos...

But seriously make a plan and stick too it and don't chase rabbits. There were plenty of things I could have and probably should have done in my 8 day swap but in order to get it done in time for my 1600 mile road trip I had to focus.

Personally I'd wait on the drivetrain refresh. It's easy to pull out again. Get it running. KISS. Otherwise you'll have a troubleshooting nightmare.

-Mac

 

[hear]

Looking to you guys to see what are the common snags for frame swaps

Measure the motor mount locations, make sure you have a 4.0L frame and not a 2.5L frame. The motor mounts are the only difference I'm aware of, there may be others. Not super hard to deal with but you'd probably rather find out early rather than late.

 

[03wranglerbuild]

Honestly gents I appreciate the advice and the video links! I'm away for work for the next few months and I apparently didn't take any pictures of it other than that, but when I'm back I will add some more pictures and then the real fun will begin! Thank you all for your input, it's greatly appreciated!
Happy trails!

 

[glowell222]

I swapped an '06 frame under my '98 over winter of '19/'20. Here is a link to the swap that also includes an excel of my costs + links to some suppliers for difficult to find items like clips and tabs to hold brake and fuel lines to the frame, etc. Not sure if the links are still good and hope it helps a little. Good luck with everything.

https://wranglertjforum.com/threads...-frame-under-a-1998-sahara.31144/#post-502148

 

[GoldenGorilla]

If you going to drive this on road and are really going to pull the engine and rebuild, there is minimal additional cost for a basic 4.6L stroker kit over a standard 4.0L rebuild. There are a few more things that need to be addressed, but this will make it easier to keep up with modern traffic while not making it dangerously fast for a young driver IMO.