My Holy Grail LJ Rubicon Sahara (needs some work)

There’s is a link floating around that can help you obtain a replacement.

Well yes and no. The old instructions were "If you are trying to locate your number, call Trish at Imperial Marketing - (248) 353-0950 and provide her your vin#." Trish retired.. :( and rumor has it so has the chance to get your replacement dash sticker. Its worth a try, and if it works report back.

So I'm technically a few years into my refurbishment, but yeah.. I talked to Trish a couple of years ago and got shot down. She told me that there was some/but-not-all data loss when they updated their system and some of the VINs got lost for confirmation. Long story short, I know I have a Rubihara (wheels, grill, decals, seats) but I can't get a copy of the dash placard.

I'll live..
 
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Same as you, 51k on the odometer and 2nd owner, but had a bunch of issues. Fought me every step of the way for the first few years of ownership but damn I love her.

That's where I am now. Been a few years and we went off and had a kiddo the first year I got her. Been chasing nagging stuff this whole time.

This build thread ain't gonna be fun for the first few pages (I rarely took any pictures and rarely did anything sexy to Lucille). Mostly cussing and breaking stuff. But.. I'm gonna hand this down to my daughter and kind of want this thread to be a record to her as to all of the love I put into our Jeep.
 
Aight... So I get the Jeep home after getting the front differential rebuilt and all of the u-bolts replaced...

Everything was hunky dory for the first week.

Headed over to discount tire to get some 265x75/R16 BFGoodrich All-Terrains, and then headed straight to Firestone to get Lucille started with their lifetime alignment services.

I took her home and replaced all of the fluids, replaced the spark plugs, & new wiper blades. Super excited to get her up to daily-driver status, I grabbed a bottle of Sea Foam Motor Treatment.

This would soon turn into my first screw up.

I figured that the gas in the tank was a bit old, so I added the Sea Foam and filled her up w/ a 1/4 tank of gas to let Lucille idle in the driveway for an hour or so.

I come back out, and she had overheated and split her radiator.

So... the build plan now went straight to her first fix...
 
Progress...

  1. Had Front Differential Rebuilt
  2. Had U-Joints Replaced
  3. OEM Locker repaired
  4. New Tires
  5. Alignment
  6. Replaced Fluids
  7. Replaced Spark Plugs
I cracked the Radiator........
 
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(So a bit of backstory. I had already noticed that the A/C wasn't blowing cold, so I knew that she would at least need a recharge)

So, I'm down inspecting the radiator while kicking myself in the a$$. I knew better than to let a TJ sit in the driveway for an hour or so idling. This is my third one.. I should've remembered that they notoriously have a poor radiator fan design that leads to overheating when sitting still.

So I'm taking a look and I see that the radiator coils are beat to crap from the previous owner's four wheeling (I'm pretty sure that offloading to him meant bushwhacking without trails). And frankly, the A/C condenser looks about the same. At this point, I feel as if they're both compromised and or perforated.

I figured.. what the hell.. while I'm in there, I might as well replace all of it.

New Radiator & Hoses
New Thermostat and Thermostat Housing
New Water Pump
Water Pump Heater Return Tube
Heater Supply Hose
Heater Return Hoses
New Drive Belt
New A/C Condensor
 
(So a bit of backstory. I had already noticed that the A/C wasn't blowing cold, so I knew that she would at least need a recharge)

So, I'm down inspecting the radiator while kicking myself in the a$$. I knew better than to let a TJ sit in the driveway for an hour or so idling. This is my third one.. I should've remembered that they notoriously have a poor radiator fan design that leads to overheating when sitting still.

So I'm taking a look and I see that the radiator coils are beat to crap from the previous owner's four wheeling (I'm pretty sure that offloading to him meant bushwhacking without trails). And frankly, the A/C condenser looks about the same. At this point, I feel as if they're both compromised and or perforated.

I figured.. what the hell.. while I'm in there, I might as well replace all of it.

New Radiator & Hoses
New Thermostat and Thermostat Housing
New Water Pump
Water Pump Heater Return Tube
Heater Supply Hose
Heater Return Hoses
New Drive Belt
New A/C Condensor
Make sure your fan clutch is gtg
 
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Make sure your fan clutch is gtg

Thanks for the advice. I did not check that when I did the radiator.

Looked it up...
  • On an engine that has not been started that day, spin the fan as hard as you can.
  • You should feel some resistance and the fan may spin up to three times
  • If the fan rotates more than five times, the clutch may be bad.
 
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So I borrowed a manifold gauge set to handle the freon... but had no idea how to use it.. Had to run up to the auto store and took a picture of the back of a box. Literally read like stereo instructions.

IMG_0737.jpg
 
At this point.. I'm feeling pretty accomplished. I knocked out the below items without a hitch.

Replaced Radiator & Hoses
Replaced Thermostat and Thermostat Housing
Replaced Water Pump Heater Return Tube
Replaced Heater Supply Hose
Replaced Heater Return Hoses
Replaced Drive Belt
Replaced A/C Condensor

But... I committed a deadly sin when I was attaching the new Water Pump. Grabbed the damn ft/lb torque wrench instead of the in/lb wrench.

First mistake was that I was on the 2.4L's water pump installation page (called for 105 in/lb of torque). Grabbed the ft/lb torque wrench and went right to work.

Needless to say I almost broke my hand when that bolt head sheared the hell off. In retrospect, had I been on the 4.0L's Water Pump page (it calls for 200 in/lb), I would have immediately noticed, since my torque wrench only goes up to 150 ft/lb.

What an imbicile!
 
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  • Wow
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Progress...

  1. Had Front Differential Rebuilt
  2. Had U-Joints Replaced
  3. OEM Locker repaired
  4. New Tires
  5. Alignment
  6. Replaced Fluids
  7. Replaced Spark Plugs
I cracked the Radiator........
Officially Off Script
  • Replaced Radiator & Hoses
  • Replaced Thermostat and Thermostat Housing
  • Replaced Water Pump Heater Return Tube
  • Replaced Heater Supply Hose
  • Replaced Heater Return Hoses
  • Replaced Drive Belt
  • Replaced A/C Condensor
Sheared Water Pump Bolt off into the Engine Block

Officially Further Off Script
 
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For small diameter bolts such as water pump, T-stat housing, valve covers and the like, think small ratchet. I use a 6" flex head 3/8 drive ratchet and snug them. I use a torque wrench on bearings and the like. Breaking shit is part of learning. Breaking the same things twice would call IQ into question. This is my "go to" ratchet for when I don't want to break shit.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EE6EX6I/?tag=wranglerorg-20
 
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So I feel as if it took me several weeks to get the water pump bolt out of the engine block. I tried everything but welding a bolt onto the head... Heat.. drill it out.. etc. etc. Unfortunately, I don't have welding equipment or skill.

Finally got it backed out enough to get a pair of needle nosed vice grips onto a little nubbin that was sticking out. I was able to work it out a enough to get a full sized pair of vice grips onto the remaining bolt shaft.

Back on track to being off script. Installed the new Water Pump and was all wrapped up with the A/C Condensor and Cooling System overall.
 
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Progress...

  1. Had Front Differential Rebuilt
  2. Had U-Joints Replaced
  3. OEM Locker repaired
  4. New Tires
  5. Alignment
  6. Replaced Fluids
  7. Replaced Spark Plugs
  8. I cracked the Radiator........
  9. Replaced Radiator & Hoses
  10. Replaced Thermostat and Thermostat Housing
  11. Replaced Water Pump Heater Return Tube
  12. Replaced Heater Supply Hose
  13. Replaced Heater Return Hoses
  14. Replaced Drive Belt
  15. Replaced A/C Condensor
  16. Sheared Water Pump Bolt off into the Engine Block
  17. Replaced Water Pump
 
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So, I start a series of minor fixes.

The driver's side Wiper Arm must've stripped the linkage, because the previous owner drilled a hole through both and inserted a bolt to keep the wiper from flying off. So, I replaced the entire Wiper Linkage Assembly under the cowl, and then installed new wiper blades front & rear.

Replaced the battery with an Interstate AGM.

The A/C fan speed actuator in the cab would only work on the highest and 2nd highest settings. I did a little research and learned that the Blower Motor Resistor was the likely culprit. Replaced it and sure enough, was working like normal again. Per others on the forum, could be that the HVAC Motor itself may need to be replaced since that's what's probably shorting out the resistor.

Had the A/C system refilled with freon.

Hood prop clip was broken (POS piece of plastic, my 2000 TJ had a metal clip). Replaced it with the older style, added a dab of JB Weld to get it to stay.

Hard Top was missing half of the tub bolts, plus there was leaking like a sieve when it rained. Added OEM bolts, and a DIY weather stripping b/w the tub and top to keep water out.


Progress...
  1. Had Front Differential Rebuilt
  2. Had U-Joints Replaced
  3. OEM Locker repaired
  4. New Tires
  5. Alignment
  6. Replaced Fluids
  7. Replaced Spark Plugs
  8. I cracked the Radiator........
  9. Replaced Radiator & Hoses
  10. Replaced Thermostat and Thermostat Housing
  11. Replaced Water Pump Heater Return Tube
  12. Replaced Heater Supply Hose
  13. Replaced Heater Return Hoses
  14. Replaced Drive Belt
  15. Replaced A/C Condensor
  16. Sheared Water Pump Bolt off into the Engine Block
  17. Replaced Water Pump
  18. Replaced Wiper Arm Linkage
  19. Replaced Battery
  20. Replaced HVAC Blower Motor Resistor
  21. Refilled A/C with freon
  22. Replaced Hood Rod Clip
  23. New Bolts and Weather Stripping for Hard Top
 
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Started ordering parts.. unfortunately, I would've made slightly different selections since there are some new products on the market that didn't exist last time I worked on Jeeps.

  • 2.5" Old Man Emu Springs
  • Old Man Emu Shocks
  • JKS Front & Rear Adjustable Track Bars
  • JKS Quick Disconnect Front Sway Bar Ends
  • JKS Adjustable Rear Sway Bar Ends
 
Here is my build philosophy...
  • I'm a Hunter and Outdoorsman, there won't be any rock crawling.
  • I like a classy, uncluttered, and stock look = keeping stock fender flares
  • I have a relatively addictive personality, I don't want mission creep
    • i.e. I don't want to accidentally turn into @jjvw
  • Maximum tires = 33" with zero rubbing
  • Tummy Tuck
  • Overall relatively lightweight build
 
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