The "9th Jeep's a charm" Build

KCNoDots

TJ Enthusiast
Joined
Jan 8, 2019
Messages
215
Location
Phoenix, AZ
Hello all!

I have loved Jeeps since my first vehicle back in 2006 when I turned 16 and got my first TJ. I have had 9 Jeeps total since then, and 6 of them have been Wranglers! I have learned a ton from each and every one of them, and finally aquired my “ideal” Jeep. I am ready to build it up to be my “last” Jeep.
I will update this forum as I add, build, and adventure with my TJ! :)

Some specs as I bought it...
2002, TJ Sport, Dana 30/Dana 44, 4.0, 5spd, 31” tires, 3.73s, all stock, No rust at all, 157k miles. Flame red exterior and tan interior with tan soft top. Super clean!

What I've done...
-3" Lift (BDS Springs, Rancho RS5000x Shocks, MetalCloak Front Trackbar, Zone Links, Teraflex Rear Trackbar Bracket)
-1.5" Wheel Spacers, Aluminum, Hub-Centric
-Magnaflow Muffler and Tailpipe

Time for pics! Here is the Jeep as I bought it...

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A few poser shots after I had driven the TJ for about a week, loving every minute! I was beginning to decide the direction I wanted to take my TJ in. The stock Canyon wheels really grew on me, mixed with the red body and tan top. It just looked classy to me and I really wanted to keep the Canyons around. I decided I wanted to build a simply-built rig that kept a lot of the original Jeep look to it. More to come.

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Nothing wrong with sticking with the stock wheels. Hell, some of my favorite wheels ever made are the factory Moab wheels found on TJ Rubicons, and the Ravine wheels found on the TJs as well.
 
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I have a dumb, newbie question for all. The shackle brackets (is that that they are?) on the front bumper, are those for recovery, or towing behind an RV? Would those work for D rings?
 
First official “mod”! Removed the front and rear milk jugs. Free is always good. I also removed some rubber door protectors that were on the edges of the doors too. The previous owner also had a could doodads stuck inside the cabin I removed too to clean it up. This was back in mid November. More updates soon. :)
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I have a dumb, newbie question for all. The shackle brackets (is that that they are?) on the front bumper, are those for recovery, or towing behind an RV? Would those work for D rings?
The Jeep was used behind an RV by the previous owner. I sold the tow bar to a person on Craigslist for $100 and they didn’t want the brackets so I kept them on. I’m not sure if I could mount some kind of recovery point on them... interesting idea :) they’ve got grade 8 hardware holding them on but not sure how strong they’d be... hmm.
 
Thanks for the response. Sometime if you look under the Jeep and can remember, let us know if they're bolted into the frame or just into the bumper.
 
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I hope for everyone's sake they are bolted to the frame.
I went out and poked around and yeah they are bolted to the frame. I don’t plan on keeping this bumper too long anyways... but yeah. That bumper would definitely not be strong enough on its own!
 
Next update, from 12/2.
I cut off my stock muffler and got a Magnaflow 10415 welded on, as well as a tail pipe. I’ve had this muffler on a couple of my past 4.0s and I’ve loved the deep and throaty sound.

I also installed 1.5” spacers in preparation for me going to 35s. Some of the before and after of the spacers on 31s for any of those interested on the 1.5” of backspacing they provide on stock 15x8 Jeep Canyons :)

The muffler vs stock
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Welded up
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Before the 1.5” spacers
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After the 1.5” spacers
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From the front
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Lift kit time!
(I am way behind! This was from 12/16/2018)

I went with 3” BDS springs, Rancho RS5000x, Zone links, Metalcloak Teraflex rear bracket. I also went and replaced all of the steering with V8 ZJ parts (tie rod, drag link and their ends) and I also have a Rubicon Express steering stabilizer too.

Here it is all laid out!

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Old (stock) vs new shocks
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Stock trackbar vs BEEFY Metalcloak trackbar!
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Stock vs 3” BDS Springs
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Got the front lifted the first night, had to finish up the rear the next day!
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All done!
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A few random final shots. Had to drop the transfer case a bit in order to get rid of some vibes!
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Sorry they’re all on pavement! Again these are 31” tires on stock Canyon wheels with 3” BDS spring Lift. More to come soon.
:)
 
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