Hello Everyone,
About a month ago I purchased my very first Jeep. Ever since I was a kid I knew I wanted a Wrangler. Due to funds and circumstance, I have driven Toyota Corollas my entire life. Once my 2004 Corolla needed a new catalytic converter, I decided that the time to drive a jeep was now. I looked A LOT. I was looking for a stock project that was reliable enough to daily drive. Being from Rhode Island, most of the Jeeps I looked at were rusty in all the worst places (a product of New England winters and salty ocean air). If they weren't rotted through on the frame, people wanted an arm and a leg.
I really wanted a TJ. To me, there was something about the little traces of American Motors here and there, the straight 6 (even though I ended up with the 2.5L , same idea though) and the smaller size that appealed to me. I wanted a Jeep with character and soul, but one I could drive to and from work everyday.
After a while of searching, I ended up buying a 99 Wrangler SE with the 2.5L. I drove it (keeping in mind the warnings of many who said how under powered the 4 cylinder was) and decided to buy it. It was really love at first drive. Yes, there was some rust, however it is mostly on the fenders and hood. The frame and floors are in really good shape and the interior was SPOTLESS (something I hadn't really seen in the other jeeps I looked at). This jeep also came with a fat folder full of maintenance records and it only had 130K on the Odometer (many of which were tow miles as the previous owner used to tow the jeep behind his RV).
First thing I did once it was home was give it a tune up. My friend and I changed all the fluids, new plugs and wires, distributor cap and rotor. We ordered up a new (all aluminum) radiator to replace the old one, and saved the coolant change/flush for when we installed that. It was running great until a few days later when the ignition coil went. In the process of fixing that problem, a new Camshaft position sensor and crankshaft position sensor was installed as well.
As of right now, the jeep has been running tip top. The exhaust rattles a bit at idle, but otherwise it's been smooth (knock on wood). I've been pushing my luck with the amount of jeep parts sitting in the living room, I have a 2.5" lift (shocks and springs), adjustable front track bar, rear track bar relocator, aluminum radiator, new sway bar disconnects, and a partridge in a pair tree waiting to be installed once I get a moment and once my buddies garage is free.
I've attached a few photos of it as it sits stock. I will update the progress as it comes along. If feels pretty good living the dream!
-Neil
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