I've been wanting to do this for a while and finally got all my photos sorted out. I've had this jeep a while, and drove it stock up until last spring. Finally got some $$$ to do some of the things I've been wanting to do for a long time. On top of that, I was looking for a project to do with my daughter. Thought I'd share!
I don't have a lot of "before" pics, but basic stock TJ on 31's, fenders were rusted through and clear coat was gone on the hood, real good bones though!
I started with some basic stuff. replaced the multi-function switch that didn't work right, the blower motor resister so I had options besides no heat and full blast roll down the windows in the winter heat!, and oils, fluids, break pads, etc.
Then the fun stuff!
First my daughter and I did a 4" Zone Lift with most of the add-ons, 35" Duratrac tires, and American Racing wheels. We did a RC adjustable tie rod and JKS adjustable track bar while we were at it. And changed the speedo gear which took a whole lot of messing around (I figured out a trick if anyone is having issues!)
After this we took her to the trails, I got a little over confident and smoked my clutch, we replaced that. Did the Novak Tcase shift cable while we were at it
I looked for a rear bumper/tire carrier for a while to hold the 35" spare, ended up passing on that and going with the Exogate setup. Still haven't found a rear bumper that I like. And haven't purchased a third light height extension, so I'm just running without it, but I haven't been pulled over... yet.
After burning up that clutch in the middle of a huge mud puddle (learned some things from that one), I wanted to make sure I could get myself out of a situation like that next time (I'm pretty certain there will be a next time). So Rock Hard front bumper and Warn M8000 winch with synthetic rope!! That's how I sold it to the wife anyway!
The winch came in handy almost right away!
Put in a CB and Firestik antennae too so I can chat with my fellow Jeepers. Used RC Mounts for the CB and antennae. I'll have to add pics later, but pretty basic setup. (Found a pic)
I saw the in-cab winch controls from 12voltguy.com on this forum and thought it was pretty cool, so we did that too.
The bumper came with light mounts, couldn't leave them empty! Did KC Hylites on the bumper and window columns, this used up my only two blanks spots for switches. I went with Halogens over LED's because I thought it made sense on a 15 year old jeep, I don't regret it.
That's when tragedy struck... We got really heavy rain and I hydro-locked my engine going through a flooded road... ended up blowing a rod cap apart and put a hole in my block... :Insert sad face here:
This isn't the end of the story for this jeep though. Allstate gave me some cash to replace the engine, I decided to do the swap myself and I added a little of my own $$, and was able to get a 4.7L Stroker!!! :Insert happy face here:
Put a Banks header on it.
Then I had a local muffler shop put a Flowmaster muffler and custom high clearance tailpipe on it. This is the first thing we didn't do ourselves, I don't mess with mufflers after many failed attempts. This is the first mod that I'm not 100% happy with. I didn't want anything too loud as it's just not my style, but I cannot say that I am completely satisfied with the sound. It's better than stock, but doesn't have the "throaty" sound I was looking for. It'll do for now. I don't have a good pic of the muffler, but here's the tailpipe, it's raised even with the bottom of the rear bumper.
All this time I was spending with my jeep I couldn't ignore the hood and fender rust any longer, so I dropped it off at a local body shop and they fixed her up for me. I was really happy that they agreed to repair the fenders rather than replace them with foreign aftermarket ones like all the other shops I checked out wanted to do. They also gave me a great price so I'm not going to be weary about running her through the woods and potentially scratching my new paint job!!
Remember when I mentioned that I used up my only blank spots for switches on the trail lights? Well, I want to get on-board air, some lockers, and who knows what else down the road. I wasn't crazy about the A-pillar or in-vent switch options for the TJ, so I splurged on the SPod with air gauge, very happy with this setup
Was able to get rid of all this wire, relays, switches, and fuses. Engine bay looks much cleaner, and accessories are so easy to hook up!
Finally this week I took her into a local shop and had it regeared from 3.73 to 4.88. I've got the jeep in storage for the winter so I haven't really been able to drive it besides moving it from the shop back to storage when it was done. I don't have any photos of this work as I didn't do it (thought about giving it a go, but chickened out). Hopefully I'll get it out on the road if we have a surprise nice weekend during this Michigan winter, otherwise I'm looking forward to driving the heck out of it this spring/summer/fall and getting back to the trails!
Thanks for checking out my Jeep! I've still got big plans and will post as things happen!
3-2-19 Update
Added on-board-air for tire fill up and eventually going to do ARB lockers. Purchased the kit from Mountain Off-Road, with their compressor mount.
Some notes on this kit, I do not recommend this product if you have an SPod (specifically the compressor mount)
The kit was specific for the TJ and said "NOTE: This bracket will work with the SPOD! " in the description, but it doesn't fit between the SPod and break booster. I had to modify the SPod mounting bracket and move it over to the side a half inch, but it's still really tight and now difficult to open the latch for the SPod. I will likely try and find a different mounting location. This mount would work fine without the SPod though.
I also purchased the SPod wiring harness that gets rid of a bunch of switch wiring. The compressor kept blowing the switch fuse and I narrowed it down to that harness, I cut the end off the compressor wiring and wired it directly to the SPod and no more issues.
Haven't mounted or plumbed the 1 gallon tank that came with the kit yet because I will probably get a 2 or 3 gallon one, also still need to decide where to mount the air chuck, any suggestions?
But, It's in, it's solid, it's running, and it's putting out a bunch of air! Can't wait to try it out!!
I don't have a lot of "before" pics, but basic stock TJ on 31's, fenders were rusted through and clear coat was gone on the hood, real good bones though!
I started with some basic stuff. replaced the multi-function switch that didn't work right, the blower motor resister so I had options besides no heat and full blast roll down the windows in the winter heat!, and oils, fluids, break pads, etc.
Then the fun stuff!
First my daughter and I did a 4" Zone Lift with most of the add-ons, 35" Duratrac tires, and American Racing wheels. We did a RC adjustable tie rod and JKS adjustable track bar while we were at it. And changed the speedo gear which took a whole lot of messing around (I figured out a trick if anyone is having issues!)
After this we took her to the trails, I got a little over confident and smoked my clutch, we replaced that. Did the Novak Tcase shift cable while we were at it
I looked for a rear bumper/tire carrier for a while to hold the 35" spare, ended up passing on that and going with the Exogate setup. Still haven't found a rear bumper that I like. And haven't purchased a third light height extension, so I'm just running without it, but I haven't been pulled over... yet.
After burning up that clutch in the middle of a huge mud puddle (learned some things from that one), I wanted to make sure I could get myself out of a situation like that next time (I'm pretty certain there will be a next time). So Rock Hard front bumper and Warn M8000 winch with synthetic rope!! That's how I sold it to the wife anyway!
The winch came in handy almost right away!
Put in a CB and Firestik antennae too so I can chat with my fellow Jeepers. Used RC Mounts for the CB and antennae. I'll have to add pics later, but pretty basic setup. (Found a pic)
I saw the in-cab winch controls from 12voltguy.com on this forum and thought it was pretty cool, so we did that too.
The bumper came with light mounts, couldn't leave them empty! Did KC Hylites on the bumper and window columns, this used up my only two blanks spots for switches. I went with Halogens over LED's because I thought it made sense on a 15 year old jeep, I don't regret it.
That's when tragedy struck... We got really heavy rain and I hydro-locked my engine going through a flooded road... ended up blowing a rod cap apart and put a hole in my block... :Insert sad face here:
This isn't the end of the story for this jeep though. Allstate gave me some cash to replace the engine, I decided to do the swap myself and I added a little of my own $$, and was able to get a 4.7L Stroker!!! :Insert happy face here:
Put a Banks header on it.
Then I had a local muffler shop put a Flowmaster muffler and custom high clearance tailpipe on it. This is the first thing we didn't do ourselves, I don't mess with mufflers after many failed attempts. This is the first mod that I'm not 100% happy with. I didn't want anything too loud as it's just not my style, but I cannot say that I am completely satisfied with the sound. It's better than stock, but doesn't have the "throaty" sound I was looking for. It'll do for now. I don't have a good pic of the muffler, but here's the tailpipe, it's raised even with the bottom of the rear bumper.
All this time I was spending with my jeep I couldn't ignore the hood and fender rust any longer, so I dropped it off at a local body shop and they fixed her up for me. I was really happy that they agreed to repair the fenders rather than replace them with foreign aftermarket ones like all the other shops I checked out wanted to do. They also gave me a great price so I'm not going to be weary about running her through the woods and potentially scratching my new paint job!!
Remember when I mentioned that I used up my only blank spots for switches on the trail lights? Well, I want to get on-board air, some lockers, and who knows what else down the road. I wasn't crazy about the A-pillar or in-vent switch options for the TJ, so I splurged on the SPod with air gauge, very happy with this setup
Was able to get rid of all this wire, relays, switches, and fuses. Engine bay looks much cleaner, and accessories are so easy to hook up!
Finally this week I took her into a local shop and had it regeared from 3.73 to 4.88. I've got the jeep in storage for the winter so I haven't really been able to drive it besides moving it from the shop back to storage when it was done. I don't have any photos of this work as I didn't do it (thought about giving it a go, but chickened out). Hopefully I'll get it out on the road if we have a surprise nice weekend during this Michigan winter, otherwise I'm looking forward to driving the heck out of it this spring/summer/fall and getting back to the trails!
Thanks for checking out my Jeep! I've still got big plans and will post as things happen!
3-2-19 Update
Added on-board-air for tire fill up and eventually going to do ARB lockers. Purchased the kit from Mountain Off-Road, with their compressor mount.
Some notes on this kit, I do not recommend this product if you have an SPod (specifically the compressor mount)
The kit was specific for the TJ and said "NOTE: This bracket will work with the SPOD! " in the description, but it doesn't fit between the SPod and break booster. I had to modify the SPod mounting bracket and move it over to the side a half inch, but it's still really tight and now difficult to open the latch for the SPod. I will likely try and find a different mounting location. This mount would work fine without the SPod though.
I also purchased the SPod wiring harness that gets rid of a bunch of switch wiring. The compressor kept blowing the switch fuse and I narrowed it down to that harness, I cut the end off the compressor wiring and wired it directly to the SPod and no more issues.
Haven't mounted or plumbed the 1 gallon tank that came with the kit yet because I will probably get a 2 or 3 gallon one, also still need to decide where to mount the air chuck, any suggestions?
But, It's in, it's solid, it's running, and it's putting out a bunch of air! Can't wait to try it out!!
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