I'm new here from North Carolina

CandiNClint

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Joined
Jun 15, 2020
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15
Location
North carolina
Hiya I’m Clint and I’m a new Jeep owner(yes I bought it myself) and attached is Candi my 05 6 speed manual wrangler TJ with 33.5 inch tires and a 2.5” lift. Heard that the jeep community was big and welcoming so here I am. I’m also wondering if anyone has any engine recommendations to trade out my V-4 to a V-8 so I can get above 65 miles per hour, any help would be greatly appreciated!

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Welcome Clint. You'll find lots of help and info here. I certainly have. And never a dull moment :)
No doubt someone will chime in about your motor swap question. I run a little 4 banger and it suits me just fine for what i do.
 
Welcome Clint. You'll find lots of help and info here. I certainly have. And never a dull moment :)
No doubt someone will chime in about your motor swap question. I run a little 4 banger and it suits me just fine for what i do.
I wish I could relate but because of the tires that were thrown on by the previous owner, I can’t make it into 6th gear or take any of the 70mph roads! Thank you for the welcoming though!
 
Welcome to the forum!

All I can say is that if you plan on swapping in a V8, I hope you have seriously deep pockets, as it will cost about 15k plus to do it right.

As your your current engine, it's not a V4, it's an inline 4 :)

Welcome to the forum though, your TJ looks great!
 
I wish I could relate but because of the tires that were thrown on by the previous owner, I can’t make it into 6th gear or take any of the 70mph roads! Thank you for the welcoming though!

Welcome aboard and to the insanity known as owning a Wrangler. Your lack of 6th gear and ability to get moving may have more to do with your gears than the engine. Do you know if the previous owner re-geared the axles? You'd want to be at 4.88 gears with your setup, they would make a huge difference over the stock gears especially in a manual tranny Jeep.
Where in NC are you? I'm over in Apex.
 
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Welcome!

Just a thought until you decide what to do about the engine.

For cheap or next to nothing, you could find someone to swap out the wheels and tires for tires that are a little smaller and lighter. Then start cutting weight. Anything you don't need on it, store it for later or get rid of it. Back seat, spare tire, bumpers and so on. Even pulling the doors off is noticeable power increase for me.

Good luck!
 
Well if anyone from nc wants to help a brother out I’m in morehead city and I’m about ready to sell my jeep. My radiator exploded and I spent my 4th of July replacing it. Took 4 hours. Then my tachometer stopped working until I ran it for a minute revving, turned it off, then now all I get is rapid clicks when I try to turn it on. 6 speed manual 4 cylinder @rdu-jeep @1997JeepTJ
 
Well if anyone from nc wants to help a brother out I’m in morehead city and I’m about ready to sell my jeep. My radiator exploded and I spent my 4th of July replacing it. Took 4 hours. Then my tachometer stopped working until I ran it for a minute revving, turned it off, then now all I get is rapid clicks when I try to turn it on. 6 speed manual 4 cylinder @rdu-jeep @1997JeepTJ

I love Morehead, that's where I stay when I travel out to Cherry Point for work a few times a year. My family is in Jacksonville, so it always works out.

The rapid clicking sounds like a battery issue, do yourself a favor and start separate threads about the individual issues you're having, you'll get more views and better advice. Welcome!
 
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I love Morehead, that's where I stay when I travel out to Cherry Point for work a few times a year. My family is in Jacksonville, so it always works out.

The rapid clicking sounds like a battery issue, do yourself a favor and start separate threads about the individual issues you're having, you'll get more views and better advice. Welcome!
I appreciate the advice and I can’t wait to get out of morehead. Aside from how close it is to cherry point(father is vet navy so I have access) there is nothing to do here and I’m dying of boredom. Can’t wait to get back to school at ECU(go pirates)
 
I appreciate the advice and I can’t wait to get out of morehead. Aside from how close it is to cherry point(father is vet navy so I have access) there is nothing to do here and I’m dying of boredom. Can’t wait to get back to school at ECU(go pirates)
Yeah, I feel you. Like I said, my entire family is in that area, but I can only do a few trips a year lol. They always give me shit for not taking a job at CP and living there permanently, but it’s a lifestyle for some and for others not so much. Buy a boat and fish I guess? Fill little mason jars with sand & sell them to tourists with a free hermit crab?
 
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Yeah, I feel you. Like I said, my entire family is in that area, but I can only do a few trips a year lol. They always give me shit for not taking a job at CP and living there permanently, but it’s a lifestyle for some and for others not so much. Buy a boat and fish I guess? Fill little mason jars with sand & sell them to tourists with a free hermit crab?
Man I’m 19 in college and don’t have the money for a boat or gear to fish Ahha. I’d rather live in Jacksonville or Greenville full time so I’d actually have stuff to do. But the MCX is useful I give CP that much
 
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No the name “zedd” does not ring a bell actually. Should it?
Not to you , just a recent 4 cylinder owner we traumatized. He got discouraged with his Jeep kind of quick.

Here's the deal...these things are 14-23 years old , get off roaded and all need some parts probably.

The cool thing is you worked , earned the money and made it happen. I love that.

I had a vw baja bug when I was younger, it had constant problems ....and over time , I learned so much because I had it.

Smooth seas don't make skillful sailors.

Hang in there , welcome to TJ forum. You will find the best TJ knowledge right here.
 
Not to you , just a recent 4 cylinder owner we traumatized. He got discouraged with his Jeep kind of quick.

Here's the deal...these things are 14-23 years old , get off roaded and all need some parts probably.

The cool thing is you worked , earned the money and made it happen. I love that.

I had a vw baja bug when I was younger, it had constant problems ....and over time , I learned so much because I had it.

Smooth seas don't make skillful sailors.

Hang in there , welcome to TJ forum. You will find the best TJ knowledge right here.
Well shit all I know is how to do research and put that information to use and try to fix my cars myself so that I don’t have to spend 4 grand on someone else to install a 120$ radiator etc. I made the mistake of buying a 4 cylinder because I went on the FB marketplace and saw a 9 grand Jeep Wrangler with what seemed to be no problems. Now 3 weeks later I’m figuring out why it was only 9 grand and hours of work later it has another problem one after another. Hope I don’t get traumatized by you guys because so far everyone is pretty cool in the jeep community(except gladiator owners. Screw them) I didn’t have a father and grew up poor but my uncle raised me to know that fixing instead of replacing builds character if you can do it yourself and learn the skills. I enjoy the jeep community with a burning passion but hot damn I should’ve gotten a 6 or 8 cylinder
 
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Well shit all I know is how to do research and put that information to use and try to fix my cars myself so that I don’t have to spend 4 grand on someone else to install a 120$ radiator etc. I made the mistake of buying a 4 cylinder because I went on the FB marketplace and saw a 9 grand Jeep Wrangler with what seemed to be no problems. Now 3 weeks later I’m figuring out why it was only 9 grand and hours of work later it has another problem one after another. Hope I don’t get traumatized by you guys because so far everyone is pretty cool in the jeep community(except gladiator owners. Screw them) I didn’t have a father and grew up poor but my uncle raised me to know that fixing instead of replacing builds character if you can do it yourself and learn the skills. I enjoy the jeep community with a burning passion but hot damn I should’ve gotten a 6 or 8 cylinder
Man I know what you mean...I've seen beautiful jeeps over and over on Craigslist , never scratched up , 7-9 grand, get excited, and every time it's a 4 cylinder.

Don't feel bad , I worked my tail of for over 25 years to overcome my reckless twenties , dropped over $20,000 to get a low mileage Rubicon....and spent as much as your Jeep cost to straighten it out.

All education cost money.

There are a lot of satisfied 4 cylinder owners on here...run smaller tires, get better mileage probably, way more performance, or save up and trade it off on a 6cyl. beats throwing good money after bad by dumping more in it.

Pat yourself on the back, you got out there , worked , and got it. No one gave it to you ....that's they key...now you know the path guy. A lot of your friends don't. You should be very proud of yourself.

All your life you are going to find the best helping hand is at the end of your own arm.

Keep going for it. Don't let not having a dad or having a lot to start with matter. What matters is heart, character, getting things done, treating people well, and serving others. Money doesn't make you a better person, nor does it have to make you worse (but it can). What makes you is what you decide you are going to be.

Keep your head, keep learning and get in the habit of researching things a little. I was always impulsive..and man does that cost. I still have to make myself slow down , or I start moving faster than the speed of money.

Hang in there.
 
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AndyG with good words of wisdom for you.

Take your time. All car work is frustrating. That's when it's break time. Most of the time when I come back from taking a break (an hour or a week, sometimes) things start to come together.

Use this Jeep as a learning experience. You can always sell it down the road and get a 6cyl. You've already replaced the radiator which is something I haven't done yet!

What year is your TJ?