Finally bought a TJ

[KillerIsMe]

After months of searching ads, driving all over the Northeast, and climbing under I-don't-know-how-many Jeeps trying to find the right one I finally gave up, took a very big chance, and bought a Southern Jeep. I had it shipped to me last week - a not-uneventful experience - and I've been driving it around for a week now.

It's a 2006 Rubicon, 98,000 miles, completely stock. There is not a drop of rust anywhere on it and the interior is pretty much as new. It starts right up, idles smoothly, and runs strong. Going down the road it's steady and solid with no nervousness at all. My only other experience in a Wrangler was with a 2000 Sport I bought new and drove for 10 years - the difference between the 3.07 and 4.11 is pretty stark. Everybody knows this but I didn't until now. Everything works as it should, it's fun to drive, and I'm really happy with it.

Of course there is pain:

1. The headlights are awful. I have a set of Hella E-codes in the garage I'll be putting in as soon as I get around to it.

2. When feathering the clutch out, as in pulling into my parking space, there is chattering. It goes away when the clutch is depressed so I'm thinking maybe the pilot bearing has some wear.

3. I have an annoying rotational squeak at low speed that goes away when I press the brake pedal. It's intermittent though and I can't pinpoint it to a specific wheel. I thought worn pads but they appear to be new. As soon as I get cooperative weather I'll pull tires and see what I can find.

Anyway, that's my story.

Tom

 

[DetroitTJ]

Looks great. I'm jealous that you had the foresight to ship a Jeep up from the south. I got impatient and bought a rusty Jeep in Michigan - still a work in progress.

 

[tworley]

Check this thread, a lot of positive reviews on these headlights.
https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/replaced-headlights-with-truck-lite-knockoffs.6239/
If its not a loud growl and if its only when your clutch is out, what I believe you are hearing is the input shaft spinning within the bearing. Keep listening as time goes on, if it gets louder then its time to investigate.

Check the calipers, you have one that is low on pads or may be starting to seize. Mrblaine is the brake guru here

 

[lowranger]

After months of searching ads, driving all over the Northeast, and climbing under I-don't-know-how-many Jeeps trying to find the right one I finally gave up, took a very big chance, and bought a Southern Jeep. I had it shipped to me last week - a not-uneventful experience - and I've been driving it around for a week now.

It's a 2006 Rubicon, 98,000 miles, completely stock. There is not a drop of rust anywhere on it and the interior is pretty much as new. It starts right up, idles smoothly, and runs strong. Going down the road it's steady and solid with no nervousness at all. My only other experience in a Wrangler was with a 2000 Sport I bought new and drove for 10 years - the difference between the 3.07 and 4.11 is pretty stark. Everybody knows this but I didn't until now. Everything works as it should, it's fun to drive, and I'm really happy with it.

Of course there is pain:

1. The headlights are awful. I have a set of Hella E-codes in the garage I'll be putting in as soon as I get around to it.

2. When feathering the clutch out, as in pulling into my parking space, there is chattering. It goes away when the clutch is depressed so I'm thinking maybe the pilot bearing has some wear.

3. I have an annoying rotational squeak at low speed that goes away when I press the brake pedal. It's intermittent though and I can't pinpoint it to a specific wheel. I thought worn pads but they appear to be new. As soon as I get cooperative weather I'll pull tires and see what I can find.

Anyway, that's my story.

TomView attachment 118259

Nice clean looking Rubicon.....good score!

 

[Chris]

Welcome to the forum and nice looking TJ!

As @tworley said, check out that thread on those headlights. They're a great headlight for the price. Far superior to the halogens in every way.

As for that chattering sound with the clutch, that's something I've only experienced on past vehicles that had aftermarket "performance" clutches in them. I wonder if someone could have put a performance clutch in it at some point?

 

[Equilibrium31]

Looks like you got a pretty damn nice TJ. If I was to do it all over again, I would have definitely aimed for a Recon since having some lockers is really nice.

 

[Bofa-Deez]

The first thing I always do with bikes, trucks and cars bought second hand is to bleed the brakes. Then after the first bleed, every other year. This could help with a sticking caliper if it isn't too far gone already.

Very nice looking TJ

 

[The shuggs]

I like to replace all the fluids, spark plugs, wires, pads, etc with a new used vehicle. I would especially if there's some noise, but that squeak might not be the brakes.
But since Blaine has already been mentioned; if you're gonna replace the pads now, you might as well get his big brake kit (assuming you'll be running larger tires eventually).

 

[KillerIsMe]

Thanks for all the kind comments my friends.

I stayed patient for a good while when looking but I wasted a lot of time and gas driving around. We're in a remote area up here so everything I looked at was far away. My wife was actually who put the bug in my ear about rolling the dice on an out-of-state Jeep, and I would do the same thing again. Really had to put a lot of trust in the dealer and as I had mentioned the shipping part was "interesting".

I've read a lot about the 6-speed being noisy so it might just be that. It shifts great, nice and tight, no grinding, no popping out of gear. I'll just keep an eye and an ear on it.

I managed to get a pretty good look at the pads with a flashlight and they look new. I never thought of a sticky caliper. If the weather ever improves I'll start pulling the tires off and giving the wheels a spin.

I know everybody loves LED headlights. My wife has them on her company car and they sure are bright but we get lots of fog and mist around here and sometimes it's just a bright white wall in front of us. I'll try the Hellas - $80 as opposed to $530 for heated Trucklites. I can always change them out.

I appreciate all your suggestions. It's been almost 10 years since my Sport was killed and I have a lot to re-learn.

Tom

 

[Goatman]

Redline brand fluid for the tranny. My God what a difference! Within 100 feet my trans got at least 10 years newer.
Get like 8-10 cans of Fluid Film and get everything underneath sprayed down. Especially inside the frame and torque box. One drive on salty roads and you'll never be rust free again.
Welcome! Great bunch of guys and gals here. Their knowledge is invaluable to a new TJ owner. Wish I had gotten a southern Jeep. Maybe next time. Cheers!

 

[q8ieng]

After months of searching ads, driving all over the Northeast, and climbing under I-don't-know-how-many Jeeps trying to find the right one I finally gave up, took a very big chance, and bought a Southern Jeep. I had it shipped to me last week - a not-uneventful experience - and I've been driving it around for a week now.

It's a 2006 Rubicon, 98,000 miles, completely stock. There is not a drop of rust anywhere on it and the interior is pretty much as new. It starts right up, idles smoothly, and runs strong. Going down the road it's steady and solid with no nervousness at all. My only other experience in a Wrangler was with a 2000 Sport I bought new and drove for 10 years - the difference between the 3.07 and 4.11 is pretty stark. Everybody knows this but I didn't until now. Everything works as it should, it's fun to drive, and I'm really happy with it.

Of course there is pain:

1. The headlights are awful. I have a set of Hella E-codes in the garage I'll be putting in as soon as I get around to it.

2. When feathering the clutch out, as in pulling into my parking space, there is chattering. It goes away when the clutch is depressed so I'm thinking maybe the pilot bearing has some wear.

3. I have an annoying rotational squeak at low speed that goes away when I press the brake pedal. It's intermittent though and I can't pinpoint it to a specific wheel. I thought worn pads but they appear to be new. As soon as I get cooperative weather I'll pull tires and see what I can find.

Anyway, that's my story.

TomView attachment 118259

Great looking!
Congratulation, and welcome to the TJ world ;D

 

[bobthetj03]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NMEEOV2/?tag=wranglerorg-20

These bulbs, along with the E-code housings, makes a definitely improvement. Clean rig you got there!

 

[AndyG]

#3 was a bent axle flange on mine . I’d suspect a sticky pad or caliper slider on one that stock and clean more than an axle flange , but don’t rule out the flange .

Excellent purchase .