2004 Jeep Rubicon Built by a Toyota Guy

[Accelerometer]

So admittedly I've been a Toyota 4WD enthusiast all of my life. They perform great, are extremely durable, reliable and easy to work on. After spending the last seven years building my 2012 5th Gen 4runner I wanted a new project and a new challenge. I've always admired Jeeps and how well they perform on tough trails. Even though I like doing those same trails in my 4runner I've never had a 4x4 with a front solid axle before and wanted to try it out and learn a new platform. So here I am.

I was lucky enough to stumble onto this forum and found a member who was selling his 2004 Rubicon 5MT that was in great shape. Picked it up a few weeks ago and this is how she sat on day 1. Notable mods on it:

• 4" Rubicon Express Lift
• 33" Goodyear Duratrac Tires
• Tom Wood rear driveshaft
• Posion Spider front bumper w/ Warn M8000 winch
• Poison Spider Hood Vents
• Smittybilt rear bumper with tire carrier

I bought this Jeep to tackle some of the harder trails that we have here in CA. So the build will be tailored for that use case, I also would like to keep things more on the OEM side of things because I love how these things look from the factory. Lets get on with it shall we!

View attachment 427018

 

[Wildman]

So admittedly I've been a Toyota 4WD enthusiast all of my life. They perform great, are extremely durable, reliable and easy to work on. After spending the last seven years building my 2012 5th Gen 4runner I wanted a new project and a new challenge. I've always admired Jeeps and how well they perform on tough trails. Even though I like doing those same trails in my 4runner I've never had a 4x4 with a front solid axle before and wanted to try it out and learn a new platform. So here I am.

View attachment 427034

I was lucky enough to stumble onto this forum and found a member who was selling his 2004 Rubicon 5MT that was in great shape. Picked it up a few weeks ago and this is how she sat on day 1. Notable mods on it:

• 4" Rubicon Express Lift
• 33" Goodyear Duratrac Tires
• Tom Wood rear driveshaft
• Posion Spider front bumper w/ Warn M8000 winch
• Poison Spider Hood Vents
• Smittybilt rear bumper with tire carrier

View attachment 427027

I bought this Jeep to tackle some of the harder trails that we have here in CA. So the build will be tailored for that use case, I also would like to keep things more on the OEM side of things because I love how these things look from the factory. Lets get on with it shall we!

View attachment 427018

Welcome to the forum. Nice platform to start a build with.
What are your ultimate goals for it? Do you plan on staying with the 33" tires? Or move up to 35" tires at some point?
Does the RE lift have control arms? If so do you possibly know which ones?

 

[Irun]

Welcome from another Toyota 4WD enthusiast. In the '90s it was FJ40s and FJ60s for me. Then I built a 350 GM powered '85 solid axle Toyota pickup. While I enjoyed the Toyota's, they didn't compare to the Wrangler in versatility. You'll have fun with your new build!

 

[Accelerometer]

Welcome to the forum. Nice platform to start a build with.
What are your ultimate goals for it? Do you plan on staying with the 33" tires? Or move up to 35" tires at some point?
Does the RE lift have control arms? If so do you possibly know which ones?

That's a good question, I think I will be staying at 33s for now because quite honestly the amount of clearance it already has is impressive (At least to me). I want to get it on some rocks to see how it performs before making any judgements. While I love big tires (My 4runner is on 35s) I don't like the decrease in reliability on the trail. I'm a huge fan of getting deep into the backcountry and the last thing I want is a critical non repairable component to fail while im out there.

I'm not entirely sure what Rubicon Express kit is on this thing. My best guess is that it's the 3.5" Superflex Short Arm Kit since it has lower and upper control arms, trackbars, swaybar end links. I've heard RE stuff is equivalent to Rough Country so I'm sure Ill be replacing it soon but I want to get a good baseline and see how it performs. I have a custom valved King suspension on my 4runner right now which I really love so it's going to be hard for me to ride on mediocre suspension. My main goal is maximum articulation vs. ride comfort though.

 

[Accelerometer]

Welcome from another Toyota 4WD enthusiast. In the '90s it was FJ40s and FJ60s for me. Then I built a 350 GM powered '85 solid axle Toyota pickup. While I enjoyed the Toyota's, they didn't compare to the Wrangler in versatility. You'll have fun with your new build!

Good to know there are other Yota enthusiasts here If I didn't pick up this TJ I was most likely going to get an FJ80 to build but I felt it was too similar to my 4runner and I couldn't get it in a manual. So TJ it was!

 

[Wildman]

I owned a 1984 pickup when the new body style had come out. Never got a chance to really build it as I came down on orders to go back to Germany.

 

[RINC]

Good to know there are other Yota enthusiasts here If I didn't pick up this TJ I was most likely going to get an FJ80 to build but I felt it was too similar to my 4runner and I couldn't get it in a manual. So TJ it was!

Drive it like you are sponsored. Then see what you like/don't like.

 

[Accelerometer]

Drive it like you are sponsored. Then see what you like/don't like.

Oh trust me I intend to , I almost feel bad because it's in pristine condition. None of the body panels are scratched and the skids aren't even touched. This thing clearly didn't see a ton of hard off road use.

 

[RINC]

Oh trust me I intend to , I almost feel bad because it's in pristine condition. None of the body panels are scratched and the skids aren't even touched. This thing clearly didn't see a ton of hard off road use.

I know where you could get it pinstriped for free.

 

[Wildman]

Oh trust me I intend to , I almost feel bad because it's in pristine condition. None of the body panels are scratched and the skids aren't even touched. This thing clearly didn't see a ton of hard off road use.

When I bought my TJ it had never been off-road either. I got the first dent before the first payment had hit the bank.

Enjoy it and see where you want to go with it. I'm sure you'll really enjoy it once you have a chance to play with it.
One suggestion is to get some half door or trail doors for 4 wheeling. I like how much better you can see with them. If you can't find any reasonably priced half doors Gen Right & Savvy & JCR all sell aluminum trail doors.

 

[JMT]

So admittedly I've been a Toyota 4WD enthusiast all of my life. They perform great, are extremely durable, reliable and easy to work on. After spending the last seven years building my 2012 5th Gen 4runner I wanted a new project and a new challenge. I've always admired Jeeps and how well they perform on tough trails. Even though I like doing those same trails in my 4runner I've never had a 4x4 with a front solid axle before and wanted to try it out and learn a new platform. So here I am.

View attachment 427034

I was lucky enough to stumble onto this forum and found a member who was selling his 2004 Rubicon 5MT that was in great shape. Picked it up a few weeks ago and this is how she sat on day 1. Notable mods on it:

• 4" Rubicon Express Lift
• 33" Goodyear Duratrac Tires
• Tom Wood rear driveshaft
• Posion Spider front bumper w/ Warn M8000 winch
• Poison Spider Hood Vents
• Smittybilt rear bumper with tire carrier

View attachment 427027

I bought this Jeep to tackle some of the harder trails that we have here in CA. So the build will be tailored for that use case, I also would like to keep things more on the OEM side of things because I love how these things look from the factory. Lets get on with it shall we!

View attachment 427018

Well, Blaine is the guy to listen to. 33’s built properly will take you a lot of places. 35’s will take you about 5-10% more places. Lockers are a must. At least you left overlanding mode. Enjoy.

 

[Longwhitejeep]

Another toyota enthusiast here! Came from mini trucks and first gen 4runners. I wanted an fj40 but they were too rusty and expensive for non-rusty ones. I ended up and an lj. I still have a tundra though! I even put toyota headlights in my Jeep lol.

Fair warning, you will hate switching from standard to metric wrenches and back and forth. I know I do!

Welcome to the forum!

 

[freedom_in_4low]

If Toyota had made a soft-topped, solid front axle, coil sprung, body on frame vehicle with similar wheelbase, in the time period after EFI but before having two dozen "modules", I might own that instead.

We have a 5th gen 4R as well. It sees mostly family hauling and camping type duties and has 193k miles still running strong. It replaced a 4th gen that we sold with 250k.

 

[Longwhitejeep]

If Toyota had made a soft-topped, solid front axle, coil sprung, body on frame vehicle with similar wheelbase, in the time period after EFI but before having two dozen "modules", I might own that instead.

That's an lj70 sir but never sold Here Have to play the import game now.

 

[freedom_in_4low]

That's an lj70 sir but never sold Here Have to play the import game now.

Yeah, I should have said "sold in the US" cause I'm not playing that game.

I wonder if there are people in Japan that lament US models not being offered there.

 

[B00mb00m]

You’ll be at a disadvantage wheeling with a manual. It works on Toyotas with long wheelbases and double transfer cases but gets hard to go slow enough on a tj even with 4:1.

 

[PNW_LJ]

If Toyota had made a soft-topped, solid front axle, coil sprung, body on frame vehicle with similar wheelbase, in the time period after EFI but before having two dozen "modules", I might own that instead

1985 Toyota fits that, minus the coil springs.

 

[inkedrose]

Never understood the Jeep/Toyota rivalry? Both have their place. My girl has a 4th Gen I've done a bunch of work to. Has almost 300k miles and I pulled a boat with it the other day. Jeep is funner to wheel but camping with two large dogs, ice chests and gear, its all fits a lot nicer into a 4Runner. Welcome to the group.

 

[Accelerometer]

When I bought my TJ it had never been off-road either. I got the first dent before the first payment had hit the bank.

Enjoy it and see where you want to go with it. I'm sure you'll really enjoy it once you have a chance to play with it.
One suggestion is to get some half door or trail doors for 4 wheeling. I like how much better you can see with them. If you can't find any reasonably priced half doors Gen Right & Savvy & JCR all sell aluminum trail doors.

Love this, Im taking her to a local OHV this weekend to test out the suspension setup and make sure everything works as expected. I'm most likely going to be taking the doors off but yeah I would love the extra security of trail doors in case of a rollover. Ill start looking

 

[Accelerometer]

Another toyota enthusiast here! Came from mini trucks and first gen 4runners. I wanted an fj40 but they were too rusty and expensive for non-rusty ones. I ended up and an lj. I still have a tundra though! I even put toyota headlights in my Jeep lol.

Fair warning, you will hate switching from standard to metric wrenches and back and forth. I know I do!

Welcome to the forum!

Haha I already feel the pain, although I would say Chrysler's love of Torx bolts is the real problem! Luckily my offroad toolbox has a full SAE and Metric setup given my 4runner has a good amount of US built aftermarket parts on it. So I'm already used to it.