Jeep Green LJ 6-speed. Help a newbie turn this mall-built Jeep into an off roader.

BCB75

BCB75

TJ Enthusiast
Joined
Jun 29, 2020
Messages
321
Location
York, PA
After years of searching on and off for a 6 speed LJ in Jeep Green, I finally stumbled across this one back in August. Clean tub and frame, under 100k miles (barely), good carfax and maintenance records, and built a bit further than I ever planned to. After a couple of long phone calls, dozens of picture requests, a 16 hour round trip, and a huge dent in my bank account, I had it in my driveway just a week later. I reached inside every hole in the fender, and it was perfectly smooth. I think the discoloration on the frame is from beach sand. There were a few cosmetic surprises when I got there, but nothing worth making the 7+ hour trip back home empty handed only to continue my already exhaustive search. Passenger fender and hood appear to have been replaced or at least repainted at some point, for example. A few areas where things were mounted/removed and left some scuffs, chips, scratches, etc, and a couple areas hit with touchup. No big deal.

Before I get into the history and mods list, here is a picture as it sits now.

IMG_4639.JPG


The guy I bought from was the third owner, and had it for about 6 months. He had $9k in receipts from his ownership time. He got a job offer and had to move away from the beach, so he had no use for it anymore. The previous owner did some mods too, but not the good ones...

1st/2nd owner mods:
Unknown front/rear bumpers
Unknown winch
Gearing believed to be 4.56 made by G2, but have no receipts
Unknown body lift
Teraflex shocks
Synergy HD sterring. (y-style, not their crossover setup)
PS Hood Vent
MBRP Catback
Grabars
Some maintenance, interior, and stereo stuff. (I think the OPDA was included in this)
(REMOVED) 33s and 3" lift
(REMOVED) stupid light bars that left paint issues on my windshield frame and brackets

3rd owner mods (all with receipts):
Replaced 3" lift with Currie 4" setup. Spring and 8 adjustable control arms. (Set up by reputable shop)
AntiRock sway bar
(REMOVED) Bronze Method Wheels with 35" KO2
Bedrug carpeting
Fox Steering Stabilizer
Mopar Radiator, Thermostat, and all fluids
SOLID Diff covers
Other small stuff. (KC Headlights, K&N Cold air, Flowmaster OEM Replacement Cats, Cargo Net, Sunshade, Inner Shift Boot, Transmission mount)
Tons of maintenance. (Ball joints, axle seals, NGK Spark Plugs, All NTK 02 sensors, Felpro Rear Main, Oil Pan Gasket and Valve cover gasket, bushings, belts, all fluids flushed)

Things I have done since August:
Mammoth Boulder 15x8 Wheels with DC Trail Country EXP 35x12.50R15
Khaki hardtop off Marketplace, clean for $750!
Steering box skid plate
Found my kikbax in the basement
Dumb fender flares to get it through PA inspection
Removed side steps and broken fog lights

This is what it looked like when I brought it home. I sold the 4 methods for more than the new Boulders cost. I still have the Spidertrax adapters to sell too, which will put me ahead even further. I also sold the Trektop to a friend, since I have a garage and don't daily it. I'll do hardtop in the cold months and no top (or bikini top) in the warm months.
 
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My plans in the short term are to bring it off road more and get some experience. The things I want to spend money on are mostly about protection, prevention, convenience, and aesthetics. I also want to take stock on all the things that have been done, and identify weak points, or things I want to change.

Identification:
Identify bumpers and winch. Really don't love the way these look. I also need to test the winch to see if it works.
Identify body lift, and check for MML. Maybe don't need to know brand, but want to know how much body lift I have.
Confirm gear ratio in diffs. Again, maybe don't need to know brand.
Determine if OPDA has been swapped already.
Evaluate driveline angles to see what options I have for the future.
The 6 speed grinds a bit going into 2nd if I shift too fast from 1st. Not sure how big of a deal this is, or how long it can live like this.

Protection:
Improve off road driving abilities
All the skids
Rocker guards
Axle shafts
Recovery gear
Need to determine when these are needed, and how crazy to go once the timing is right.

Aesthetics/lifestyle?:
Some other flares. All the wide ones are ugly, but we live in PA... I don't like the flats. I also have an OEM style 6" set, and a silver Sahara set in my basement.
Some kind of summer top. I don't need full coverage, I can just not drive it in the rain.
Some kind of third brake light. I like the one that mounts to the tire carrier location and goes way up, but they're over $100. Also like that it will hide some nasty touch up work from where the old carrier was.

Convenience stuff:
Deflators
Compressor maybe
CB Radio solution. I have the stuff, but not sure I want to drill the tub for the CB mount, and need to find a way to mount my uniden.

That's all I can think of for now. Looking forward to sharing with everyone.
 
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Very nice Jeep. Green with a khaki hard top might be my favorite combo. It sounds like you’ve done your homework with what you want to do with it. You are correct about those bumpers being horrible (well at least with the rear tire carrier bumper) . They are probably smittybuilt. A lot of folks here are big fans of the exogate hinge/tailgate reinforcement tire carrier paired with a nice high clearance bumper like from Savvy or Next Venture. For you body lift check to see if the pucks are aluminum or polyurethane. If they are poly, you’ll want to replace them with an aluminum body lift since the poly ones squish down and deform over time.
 
That's a great looking LJ and very capable as it sits! Absolutely love the green and the khaki top puts it over the top in my opinion! Have fun wheeling that thing and keep us posted. 👍
 
Try Redline MTL in the transmission and see if that helps with that 1st to 2nd gear shifting.

For deflators the best option is coyote auto deflators. Does all 4 tires at once.

Obviously you’ll need a compressor as well. I use viair 400p portable compressor and it works well.

Grab an oil pan skid and your set to have fun. I like Savvy or UCF engine skids.
 
Thank you all for the comments!

HornedToad, I will be looking into bumpers and tire carrier at some point, but will be addressing weak points first. Maybe next fall or so. The body lift looks like what I am seeing from Daystar. The upper bushing is replaced with what looks like a black stack of 4 rings (really just one piece though). I'm also not sure what has been done to accommodate the shifters or anything else. I also really need to confirm if I have the MML too.

starkey, I am pretty sure the previous owner used syncromesh in the trans, but I can try the redline stuff too. For now, I just pause for a second, and it works fine that way. He definitely did his research and told me each fluid he picked and why, for the entire jeep. He is also a nuclear engineer, so I just kinda went with it.
I will look into those deflators. The parks here (and my friends) have compressors, so its not the highest thing on my list.
The oil pan skid is on my extremely short list for next mod. I was looking at those two options, mainly for the aluminum option. It's right up there with rocker guards. Do you think I should spring for those now too, or hold off for other priorities?
 
BCB75 said:
It's right up there with rocker guards. Do you think I should spring for those now too, or hold off for other priorities?
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If you plan on rock crawling at all then yes. I hit mine every time I wheel. That would be the 2nd piece of armor I would get for sure. Nothing worse than the crunch of sheet metal landing on a Boulder
 
Its cool to see this ride here! I almost purchased your Jeep before you snagged it. :LOL: I hope its treating you well
 
It is. Life is getting a bit wacky though, and I'm hoping I'm able to hang on to it. No updates at the moment really.
 
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Uh oh, hopefully you don’t have go let it go. One like this is a rare find.
 
Agreed. Its all good problems though. I was laid off, and found a great opportunity in a new location. A location that costs a lot more money for a decent home, and where having 3 stupid vehicles, instead of one actually useful one would be a bit silly. Ill try to make it work, but its a total first world problem situation.
 
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