my 03 wrangler X build

[oldschoolsdime92]

This is going to be a mild TJ build. Its my family fun toy, and mild woods toy..

The build is going to consist of the following.
03 wrangler X.
4.0 5 speed
Bestop trektop NX(delivered a few days ago)
dirtwerx bumpers(ordered)
old man emu 2 inch lift
winch of some sort(TBD)
new 31s of some sort( TBD)
4.0 to get rebuilt. Has a nasty intermittent lifter tick, and with 203k on the clock, seems silly to just replace lifters.

Heres the ol girl..



This past weekend, I did the full eastwood treatment on the frame. Internal frame , rust encapsulator on the outside, and topped it off with the chassis black. Hopefully this stuff holds up as well as everyone claims.

internal coating. Did two coats, using four cans. I think I could use one more coat.


Heres the outside...








=

 

[oldschoolsdime92]

I apologize for the bad lighting...

 

[Chris]

Damn, nice job on the frame! It looks almost like new.

 

[oldschoolsdime92]

Fresh door handles. Soft top has arrived. Willing to make a good deal for someone on a hard top.





Bumpers should be here in a week or two!

 

[AOR]

Winch ideas for you. << click

Have a fantastic day!

Allen

 

[oldschoolsdime92]

Bumpers were delayed a bit due to some issues with the builders steel supplier. Fit and finish was great. They come raw, so I painted them with some left over Eastwood goodies



Love the integrated hitch

 

[Chris]

Looks great! That's a really cool color blue as well. Definitely don't see it too often.

 

[oldschoolsdime92]

Well, to install the rear bumper properly, I had to drop the fuel tank down, in order to get the extra bolts in. In the process of that, My fuel tank strap on the right side broke. One step forward. Two steps back. Tank is pulled. New straps will be here monday. On a side note, it really opened up the underside of the rear of the jeep. This will allow me to spray more eastwood goodies. It also makes it very easy to address my seeping rear differential cover. So I guess its a "Win win" .

 

[Chris]

Hey... Might as well do a fuel tank skid while you're at it... right?

 

[oldschoolsdime92]

Skids pretty solid. Ill clean it up and Eastwood it while it's out. I am going to get new carriage bolts that bolt the skid to the frame.

 

[Chris]

Looks pretty clean! Definitely could be far worse in regards to rust.

 

[oldschoolsdime92]

Well a random impromtu update... Fresh rubber. 31x10.5 bfg ko2s. Found a good price on brand newb tires at a local tire shop and couldn't pass them up

Rubs rear flair just a tiny bit. Going to trim 1.75 off the flairs. Should clear things up.

 

[UpperMI]

Well a random impromtu update... Fresh rubber. 31x10.5 bfg ko2s. Found a good price on brand newb tires at a local tire shop and couldn't pass them up
View attachment 5247
Rubs rear flair just a tiny bit. Going to trim 1.75 off the flairs. Should clear things up.

View attachment 5248

I've always like the BFG all terrain tires. The raised white solid lettering always looked good on a jeep. I had them on a 1967 Chevy 4x4 truck that I used to own. They were one of my finalists for the new tires I just bought for my TJ. This time I went with Goodyear duratracs in 245/75/R16 due to the deal I got on them. The price made the decision for me. You've got a good looking jeep, love that color of blue.

 

[oldschoolsdime92]

Thank you. Now I'm on to shocks, and steering parts replacement. I'm hoping to get this thing driving as well as it did, when she was brand new. I probably should have held off on tires, but I just couldn't help myself. Thankfully its not a daily thats going to be getting a bunch of miles racked up.

Does anyone have any suggestions on where to get the front end parts? Quadratec can get me everything for about 240$. Rockauto's website is kind of hard to navigate. I'm not sure I'd get what I intended.

 

[Chris]

Does anyone have any suggestions on where to get the front end parts? Quadratec can get me everything for about 240$. Rockauto's website is kind of hard to navigate. I'm not sure I'd get what I intended.

What front end parts are you after?

BTW, it looks sharp!

 

[oldschoolsdime92]

I'd like to replace everything and start fresh. In talking with the PO of the jeep, it's got original ball joints and all, along with shocks. At 204k, it's time for a refresh

 

[oldschoolsdime92]

I see quite a few different brands available on steering parts. Anyone have any suggestions? I'm going to everything. Ball joints to track bar, to tie rod ends ect.

 

[Chris]

As far as ball joints go, I wouldn't bother using anything other than these:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B014OGCP7Q/?tag=wranglerorg-20

As for track bar and steering, are you wanting to upgrade or stay with stock stuff?

 

[oldschoolsdime92]

I'll just go stock. It's worked for 204k and for my plans , I think it will continue to work fine.

 

[Chris]

If you're going to refresh the suspension you should need the following:

I gave you a link to the stock ball joints above, which are highly recommended (they're even better than any of the aftermarket 'upgrade' ones out there).

Here's links to both the right and left tie rod ends.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B8X4NU6/?tag=wranglerorg-20
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008VPZ5PQ/?tag=wranglerorg-20

Here's the replacement drag link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B8X4GOY/?tag=wranglerorg-20

Here's a replacement steering stabilizer:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005OY9V16/?tag=wranglerorg-20

For shocks I would go with the Bilstein 4600s which are stock height, but will ride better than stock without a doubt.

Here's upper and lower control arm bushing kits:
http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-5...0001&campid=5337789113&icep_item=152084932168

Other than that, I'm not sure there's much else to replace.