My 1997 Jeep Wrangler

ars5147

ars5147

New Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2017
Messages
11
Location
Oakdale, PA, United States
Hi,

I'm new here, just bought this 97 and found this forum. I figured I'd share. I'm on a few diesel forums and came here for any usable info.

This is the second Jeep I have owned. The previous was a 97 Cherokee, which was hit and totaled.

The new one is going to be used for getting around at work and a "beater" vehicle to keep the wear and tear off of my trucks.

New one:

97 TJ
2.5, 4 cyl, manual
AC
Zone lift??, that's what the shocks say on them, 33x10.50r15s
supposedly a new reman engine and new clutch

Overall good condition for a 97 in PA with over 200,000 miles. Its around 211,xxx I think.

First thing I did was put the new soft top on that came with it, completely ripped the whole zipper off the back window, any ideas how to attach it, please share.

I'm in the process of getting new front ball joints, axle shaft u joints, unit bearings, all new steering tie rods put on.

I've noticed a sticky lifter the other day but I haven't driven it enough to know if it will go away or how I'll address it.

Bought it in SW PA and it is rust free besides surface rust. The frame and body are completely solid. It is supposed to have come from the south.

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Reactions: Chris and Kathy
I might be a bit late to the party but welcome to the forum....great rig to just have fun with (once you have the wheels all pointing in the same direction that is hehe)
Loving that rear window tint too lol...Craigs list should help you find another one to replace the broken one...failing that and if its just the zipper a car upholsterer should be able to stich the zipper back on for you I'm sure .
 
It's a brand new top and just the zipper is tore of....so a new zipper stitched on is plan A. I'm waiting for the arctic tundra to leave PA for now. I'm sure it might be warm again in about 6 months haha.

I hate winter.
 
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Reactions: Kiwi TJ
Still a work in progress.

New parts installed recently:

Rad hoses, spark plugs, plug wires, cap, rotor, coil, water pump, thermostat and housing, belt, cooling system flush (it was full of crud)

I have new u joints for the rear drive shaft, a trans mount, an oil pressure sender, and a shifter bushing kit waiting to be installed.

One weird issue is the gas gauge. The previous owner said it was the wrong sending unit installed when a new pump was put in. So do I have a 15 or 19 gallon tank? Any advice info in this is appreciated!! My gauge reads 3/4 tanks when the gas pump says its full.

I've found info on the tank mod and cutting off the vent tube inside but most info on tanks and gauges is vague and not consistent. I want to be sure if I'm gonna mess with the tank, I'd like to have the correct sender sitting there waiting to go in when I drop the tank.

Thanks
 
So I have made some more progress on this thing. It has a ton of new parts now and I have pretty much redone everything that could wear out.

New stuff: rear brakes (drums, shoes, lines, wheels cylinders, hardware), trans mount, rear drive shaft u joints, front drive shaft

The front shaft is a combo of a brand new shaft, a wrong one (4.0 manual trans shaft amazon can't get their stuff right). I used the CV joint and front yoke from the brand new one and put them on the old main part of the shorter shaft. I didn't have time to wait (time off of work and I'm impatient) for the correct shaft and the correct ones I could find were way too much money. For some reason the shaft I got new was cheap, and the next time I looked at it, it was about 200 dollars more, listed for the same thing.

The front pinion was loose too. It need a pinion seal so I took it apart. I was gonna remove some shims to tighten it up but I found a crush sleeve in there instead. Shouldn't a dana 30 have shims? Anyways, the crush sleeve worked to my benefit. I just cranked it down until the slop was gone. To me that's better than having to mess with shims. Of course some might say whooooaaaaaa pre load pre load the front end is gonna blow up. To me, my hand and feel calibration to the right amount of play is way better than the almost 8th inch of slop in it. The bearing looked fine and so did the race, so a long ratchet and pipe wrench fixed my pinion slop.

I've put a couple hundred miles on the thing so far and it has been good for work. It needs gears, the 4.10s aren't enough but the amount of money to throw gears in the 30 and 35 I have been quoted is way too much. I'll deal with no power being slower than crap.

heres some photos
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I think I like this jeep more than I thought I would. The next step is to try and get it aligned bette. It is all over the road, back and forth, on the highway. It's bordering on being dangerous how it wanders, beside being annoying as @#$%.
 
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