Project 2001 TJ Sport—Trail Ready

01TJ-Blues

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Project 2001 TJ Sport- Starting From Scratch The Hard Way



Here is my story for the build, mistakes and learnings of my 2001 TJ Sport. I suck at documenting and taking photos as I go and I just now and recapping the 14 month transition in my build. I’ll try and add with photos as I go forward.

To begin I have been following the TJ forum for just over a year, and honestly wish I would have researched prior to my build. This forum has been invaluable in the amount of knowledge you all have that can help save time, mistakes and money for a newbie like me to build a quality rig.

I owned a ‘79 CJ7 just out of high school and had it for many years before family and responsibilities forced it to go bye bye. I have always loved the Jeep CJ/YJ/TJ and on through but wanted my old CJ back but with today’s better technology yet still simple like the old and the TJ seemed like it for that bill.

After about a month of looking around for a “deal” that I could build up I thought I found the perfect specimen for my new project, a tired and worn 185,000 2001 TJ Sport in Patriot Blue by an original owner. This rig needed some love but in my ignorance I thought it had a good platform with the Rough Country 4” lift, Smittybilt front and rear bumpers, Smittybilt 9500 winch, Pro Comp 15X8 wheels, 33” MT2 tires and an array of LED lights.

I did my due diligence I checked the mechanicals over and had again, what I thought would be a good base for my start. The frame was superb, motor ran great, compression was good, transmission shifted good, and no odd noises other than the super warn tire howl and some slop in the front end. Picked the old girl up for $6,000 and off we went.

* 4.0 Engine
* 32RH Auto 3 Speed
* SYE Eliminator
* DC rear driveshaft
* Dana 30 Front
* Dana 35 Rear
* Air conditioning
* Cruise control
* Factory hard top
* Factory soft top
* Bestop duster, bikini and the half cab

After a nice 3 hour drive home topless, following the wife with a hardtop and various other items that came with the purchase strapped in the back of our truck we made it home and the journey of this build began and what a journey it has been so far and we aren’t close to finished yet.

The next day I ripped the disgusting carpet out, years of no top had taken its toll. Although the TJ was garaged all of it’s life it obviously encountered many days in the sun, some rain, kids, beer and who knows what else. Candy, kids Happy Meal toys, and pure gross was embedded in the carpet so it needed to go.

After ripping the carpet out, the seats come out and two days of scrubbing, scraping, washing and pressure washing got the tub and seats spiffy clean. Took my new project to the neighborhood body shop and had the tub scuffed and sprayed with bedliner. TJ is now ready for any weather and with the plugs out a quick spray down and dirt, dust, mud or beer is easily washed away. I also took out the seatbelt assemblies for the bed liner and some info on the forum told me how to reset the “ball lock” to get them reinstalled.

Next stop...the tire shop for some fresh 33s and an alignment and where the “I wish I had researched better begins”.

The front sway bar was digging into the frame and no matter how many times I pried it over it kept coming back. Researched and Currie Anti Rock was ordered and installed. My buddy who has a nicely equipped TJ running a long arm kit had the Anti Rock and he suggested removing the rear sway bar as well. So I did...amazed by the Anti Rocks performance yet also in fear for my life driving over 45 on ANY twisty roads I questioned my purchase slightly. MORE research and some Commentary from @Blaine and @JerryBransford regarding the importance of the rear sway bar I re-installed it and have been extremely happy since.

Ball joints and axle bearings are shot and need replacement. They estimate $1,200 which is meaningless as I would perform the work myself and when I decided to dive in head first. After MORE invaluable research debating whether to build a Super 30 and 35 or just bite the bullet for a small amount more I could upgrade to some D44s. So I located a pair of Rubicon Dana 44 axles and the compressor in San Diego on a work trip for a pretty good deal. The Rubicon they came off was present and they had installed a set of Currie D60s on it for his build. The rig had 45,000 miles so I was happy after a quick once over and loaded them up in my rental truck and headed out. Next day I strapped them to two motorcycle pallets at the office and had the warehouse guys arrange shipping to my house.

A week later I picked up my Dana 44 treasure and over a weekend a I swapped them in, installed the new rear discs and calipers then recruited my buddy who is an electronics wizard to help me wire them up. Compressor was mounted on the drivers side battery tray, and with the double switch panel modification I found on the forum we had a nice place to mount some switches. I opted for a couple of factory style switches from Amazon which now I wish I had done something different but I wanted it to look factory so some mods to the switches were needed to make the illuminated. Mr. Electronic wizard got the pumps wired up so when the lockers engaged the LED we soldered into the top of the switch housing lit to confirm engagement. Happy as a clam that was completed and the 4.10 gears made the 33s previous sluggishness was now gone. Speedo was reading wrong so an easy fix with a gear purchase thanks again to yet more research.

How to recalibrate your speedometer after changing tire sizes or gears

Steering gearbox leaking oil- pulled it and took it apart, all was fine but replaced and bearings/bushings and seals and reinstalled after putting a new u-joint in the steering shaft. Leak cured. Keep track of all the balls/pistons when rebuilding too. I don’t think you can buy them. I also felt a little play in the steering wheel and it wasn’t from the tie rods so I adjusted the steering box “bolt and lock nut”. Be careful with this folks, from previous experience with my old CJ you CAN get the tolerance too tight.

Time to put the Hard Top on as weather was getting a bit too winter like and we needed some shelter. So I dropped the top and and started working on some creature comforts. Also a bunch of the dash lights weren’t working so replaced all of them. Tip- use OEM bulbs, they lock in much better than the cheap aftermarket ones. During the dome light install I realized the drivers door switch that activates the courtesy lights was broken internally so that had to be replaced.

How to fix stiff lock / latch on TJ center console

How to fix a A/C vacuum leak under battery tray

HVAC blower motor resistor replacement

TJ Glovebox Light Install

Time for some better audio. The PO had a decent head unit in the rig but the speakers and console sub were toast. So I picked up a Bluetooth waterproof Alpine head unit, 2 new dash speakers, a kicker sub, small amp all from research AGAIN on the TJ forum and installed it all. MUCH better. However not enough so I found some newer factory sound pods and after some wiring, drilling and various modifications to make it sano I now have dome lights and 2 more speakers to make use of the other two channels on the Alpine head unit. The stock filament courtesy lights are pretty lame, swapped them all out for LEDs and now the interior is crisp.

2003-2006 Sound Pod / Bar Speaker Upgrade with Sound Deadening

How to upgrade your Jeep Wrangler TJ stereo (amps and speakers)

How to upgrade & replace your factory TJ Wrangler console subwoofer

Winter came and time for some snow fun!...until the first time I got stuck and the heep Smittybilt winch worked for about half a pull then locked up on me. Thank goodness for good buddies that pulled me out and went onward with the day much less daring than before. Ripped off the “Shittybilt” winch and tore it down ready to rebuild it. Water poured out of the winch, rust and crud all over inside it but even worse the solenoid panel was fried which was obviously the issue when the winch quit me. Priced out the parts and...again may as well upgrade so we went with a fresh new Warn Xeon 10-S.

Back out into the snow confident in my new winch and a couple more get stuck incidents, more added recovery items to the tool bag and the purchase of a Tuffy Security Box for the back to hold it all.

* long tow strap
* Tree trunk strap
* Tire chains
* Chains and hooks
* Shackles
* Snatch block
* Air down kit
* Powertank

Time for some lighting which is when I realized fully that the previous owner was a complete hack when it can to anything HE did personally on the rig. Said heck with it and just ripped out all his wiring to some cheap Kmart LED lights and garbage switches. More research on the forum and found an awesome write up on headlights, spot lights and lightbars. Picked up a new pair of LED headlights, a sweet lightbar and 6 LED cubes and even learned how to aim the headlights easily.

Jeep Wrangler TJ LED Headlight Upgrade Options

How to aim and align your headlights


The Official LED Light Bar Guide

Opted to go with the Painless Trail Rocker relay kit without the switch box as again I’m trying to keep the stock factory switch look. Installed a ground block and ran all the wiring for the Trail Rocker, installed the new factory style switches and tapped into the high beam wire for my “hot lead” to the switches. Now when blazing down the highway when oncoming traffic appears I simply shut off the brights and all the auxiliary lighting shuts off so I don’t blind anyone. I thought this might have sucked at first if I wanted to run lights without the headlights on and even on with brights but I have zero regrets now that I have ran it this way. Plus I don’t have to worry about the wife blinding some one or accidental engaging the lockers scrambling to shut OFF lights. That would be bad.

Lightbar harmonics now fixed too...and my first how to.

How to fix a noisy light bar

Clunk clunk...clunk clunk...one major pet peeve I have is I can’t stand rattles or clunking. Probably bad that I even own a Jeep but I do so it’s a constant search and fix of these annoyances which keeps me always working on improvements. Dash...torn out and all the hack work from the PO fixed, loomed wires, zip tied, bent ducts re-foamed and secured and dash is virtually rattle and squeak free now. Rear non adjustable RC track bar was hitting the fuel tank skid plate. Extremely annoying plus if it’s that far off how can it handle right. Rode in a buddies TJ with a Rubicon Express long arm kit. Impressed by the ride, flex and overall performance versus my RC kit that was on mine when purchased. His felt more free and NO clunking so back under my TJ to see what the issue was...which I already knew and the repeated remarks regarding the RC lift mine was probably the culprit. After placing the old girl on jack stands, a 6’ pry bar and my wife pointing out where I had some sloppy joints it was time to make a decision.

More research needed. @jjvw had an invaluable post below which helped my decision.


Daily Driver, Go Where I Want To Build

I looked at long arm suspensions which quickly I dismissed after MORE research on the forum, ALMOST went with the Savvy Mid Arm kit but @Blaine talked himself out of that sale as I don’t rock crawl like some of you, mostly mountain trails, roads, overlanding and snow play. I finally went with the Currie 4” full meal deal and a set of Rancho 5000 shocks, adjustable front and rear track bars, Teraflex belly up, Currie 1.25 body lift, Currie 1” MML, Currie Correctlink, extended braked lines and off we went with the previously installed AntiRock...questioning my original TJ purchase at this time, wife questioning my sanity, questioning my depleted bank account but it’s still cheaper than my old motocross racing days so it’s justified...kind of. Regardless you get what you pay for and the new Currie product is FAR and AWAY better quality that the RC lift I pulled off. For and finish and 2nd to none. I won’t bore you with the install as many other have already done this but the below How To and Builds made it much easier and I appreciate their efforts documenting to make it easier for me and many others.

How to align your Jeep Wrangler TJ


Savvy Under Armor / Skid Plate Install Write-Up


Bump Stop Check Walk-Thru with Pics


Extended Front Brake Lines


How-to install adjustable control arms on a Jeep Wrangler TJ / LJ


How-to align your axle with an adjustable track bar

Installed the lift and array of parts over a weekend, ALOT of work but the learning of how it all works together, how to adjust the bump stops properly was invaluable. Finished it up and using a tape measure, common sense and some of the tips in the links above I drove it to the shop for an actual alignment as I didn’t trust mine 100%...a waste of time and even the tire shop didn’t charge me because it was spot on and didn’t need anything. Great to have a an honest shop and also to know that you CAN align your own rig and trust the numbers. Again invaluable info on this forum. I did however need to change the exhaust, it wasn’t going to work with the belly up so I just unbolted the rear section (which was original equipment so for 185,000 miles again there is no replacement for OEM, good stuff) and orders a Flowmaster which was ridiculously loud so returned it and had the local muffler shop finish it up with a turbo which is the quietest I could find.

Maiden voyage with the new Currie full meal deal and holy crap I have a new rig. It feels amazing, cycles the suspension MUCH MUCH better but Houston we have a problem. When shifting into 4wd it dislocated the linkage and I’m stuck between gears. NOT good sounds coming from my transfer case. Luckily I’m quite familiar now with locations and how everything works so a quick crawl in the crud and mud and I have it clicked back in 2wd. Savvy transfer case shift cable ordered and installed...should have done this out of the gate. Such a nice positive engagement now.

Clunk clunk...clunk clunk...this JUNK Shittybilt rear bumper and tire carrier needs some help and I also need some additional storage for an upcoming trip across the MacGruder Corridor. Time to build a rack that attaches to the rear tire carrier. Some measuring and planning and came up with one that clears the spare, has an axe, shovel, chainsaw and fuel can carrier. Got it all done, pretty satisfied with it so double checked all the mounts and bolts and all looked tight. I also needed a CB for the trip so I routed the antenna cable from the dash down the drivers side through the wire loom and figured out that if you push it through the grommet for the tail light, feed it through the stock taillight housing, through the drain hole and back up, welded a little tab with a hole for the antenna to mount ON the rock guard it makes an awesome spot for an antenna. I also added the HD spring so if it gets hit it doesn’t tear off my taillight. Haha. Installed a couple of roll bar handholds and the Grabars which I really like so far.

Off we go on the trip which was awesome. However the tire carrier is still clunking and yet again the PO is an idiot and after some inspection I see he put the reinforcement plates that should go on the back side of the bumper BETWEEN the stock side and the new bumper. Not only does this space it out 1/4” but adds flex and stress. So, time to remove the entire assembly and do it right. While it’s off why not make some additional brackets that tie I to the frame and reinforce anything that needs it. Assembled it all and she’s solid and the clunkety clunk is gone. The fact that this was done half ass makes me wonder about the front so I tore it off and inspected it, added a push tube/stinger with LED mounts, wired 4 more lights to the Trail Rocker and reassembled. Happy. But what about the rocker sliders...better check those out. Good thing because the PO was too lazy to drill the holes for ALL of the mount bolts so what did he do you ask??? Cut the heads off and silicone them in! Unreal! The sliders were literally held on by two bolts per side, thank goodness the body mount bolts hold them too. Time to pull them, inspect and find a way to improve. We take our 2 Jack Russel terriers with us on must trips, Rudy and Rev love Jeeping as much as we do, if not more. One issue I’ve seen is when they bail out the doors they have slipped and caught their legs behind the tubes of the sliders and body. One of these days a broken leg is bound to happen. Also with the open “window” between the sliders and body when the road or trail turns mucky it flings mud up the side and all over the windows. Solution was to cut panels that fit in these “windows” to dog legs are safe and mud can’t be flung up on the windows. I also cut some reliefs in the bottom sides of these so water and debris can drain. End result is stronger and I’m happy with it.

Also during the MacGruder trip the transfer case started making some racket so that need some attention. Ripped it out, ordered a bearing kit and the JB conversions wife chain and gear kit. During the rebuild I found a bunch of black plastic in the filter screen. Seems that when I installed the speedo gear to correct the speedometer the indexing isn’t enough to keep the gear from pushing up the speedo gear shaft. Which peeled the black plastic from the housing off and into the fluid, to the pump screen, which starves the pump for oil thus the culprit of why the t-case needed rebuilt. Anyway, got it all back together, clearanced the gear and all is back together and re-installed with a fresh output shaft seal for the 32RH.

That all done...thinking of the next maintenance needing done.
U-joints! Yanked the front DS and replaced them all, the rears are good as the DC driveshaft has less than 20k miles on it and they all felt fine. Double checked the front axle unit u-joints and one was a little rough so why not fix those. Pulled those apart and one side was probably fine but now I know they are both fresh and new.

Winter coming again and some rust is appearing on the Shittybilt stuff but now improved so not as shitty so I’ll simply call them what they are now minus the name brand. Pulled front and rear bumpers, sliders and a few other items needing some fresh paint. Stripped, primed and Raptor Coated it all. Spraying the Raptor Coat is a little tricky as first but once I got the hang of it it was good and the finish looks as professional as the bed lined interior. Reinstalled all of it and it looks good and ready for a few more years of rust free life.

Decided to flush the tranny fluid so completed that with these instructions as well as a coolant flush with the thermostat housing replaced and a new thermostat. The one it had was a 170 and it wouldn’t ever come up to temp.

How to flush the cooling system on your Jeep Wrangler TJ

How to flush the automatic transmission on your Jeep Wrangler TJ

Motor...she’s got 195,000 miles on it now and developing a bit of a knock so she needs rebuilt. I was lucky and in my search/keeping as eye open for a spare engine I found one out of a 2005 Rubicon that was being pulled for a diesel conversion. I called the guy and was able to drive, hear and inspect compression etc prior to it being pulled. All looked good so I picked it up and it’s now on an engine stand in the shop ready for some freshening up just because. When I pull the stocker out I’ll rebuild it and keep I for a spare, maybe build it into a stroker. I think I’ll attempt to rebuild my 32RH and then when I swap engines the tranny and torque converter will be new too.

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Wheels all welded up and sprayed the last coat of paint on the wheels and the lock rings.

While waiting for them to dry I decided to swap the stick fender flares for the Xenon Flat 4s I picked up from @Lou. After the of these stock bolts were spinning in their inserts I had to. It them off and replace with some fresh new nutserts. I also got picky as I had some time and slotted the mount holes so I could get them to cover where the paint was etched from the stockers. All wrapped up and pretty happy with how they look, the marker lights that allegedly didn’t work even work. I cut the wires back and didn’t see any issues but after shortening a hair and re-soldering they are good to go.

Tomorrow I’ll mount up the fresh new 35s and get down the the tire shop for a quick balance then bolt em up and head for some fresh snow to play in and try them out.
 
Beadlocks welded, painted, tires mounted and installed. Cycled the suspension and being proactive I nailed it right on the head by setting it up ahead of time for 35s. The fender flares from @Lou complete the package. I will say this...the wheels and tires with beadlocks...HEAVY. Not sure I like that at the moment but we shall seee.

I am curious @Lou ...what’s with the purple paint inside the drivers side flairs? Some looks like wet sand residue but the purple...is Barney purple. Haha

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Had a bit of trouble getting the new Beadlocks and tires balanced today. Seriously debated going with balance beads but persistence paid off and I finally got the 4 Beadlocks balanced and the spare ended up with the trouble maker tire that wanted 15oz of weight to balance. What a pain in the butt but man I’m good at torquing Beadlocks now. All good though, we are headed for snow tomorrow and it should be fun.

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Had to scrap the old rack and start fresh. With the new 35s the old one wouldn’t work and also after some “learnings” I wanted to change it anyway.

This one is easily removable with 3, 1/2 inch bolts which are the same as the lug nuts to make it easy if I need to access the spare, it also clears the hard top now and is substantially lighter.

The “receivers” were the hardest part to french in to the bumper, keep them straight and spaced evenly. Got fancy TIG wedlongwith the upper mount but forgot to take pics of that so once the Raptor Coat dries I’ll snap one of it installed.

Here are some pics during the fabrication.

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Had to scrap the old rack and start fresh. With the new 35s the old one wouldn’t work and also after some “learnings” I wanted to change it anyway.

This one is easily removable with 3, 1/2 inch bolts which are the same as the lug nuts to make it easy if I need to access the spare, it also clears the hard top now and is substantially lighter.

The “receivers” were the hardest part to french in to the bumper, keep them straight and spaced evenly. Got fancy TIG wedlongwith the upper mount but forgot to take pics of that so once the Raptor Coat dries I’ll snap one of it installed.

Here are some pics during the fabrication.

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Very cool idea. Removable basket/cage? Can definitely serve dual purpose if the ability to remove is there
 
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Painted and with Roto Pax mounts added and fuel cans. The front side has a shovel and axe holder still in place from the last build but it’s part of the tire holder.

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Yes sir. Super easy to take on and off.
Perfect!. Not really wheeling any time soon, but gathering some ideas for multi purpose, or multi function parts. The limited space is not bad if you can maximize how and where you distribute your cargo
 
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Perfect!. Not really wheeling any time soon, but gathering some ideas for multi purpose, or multi function parts. The limited space is not bad if you can maximize how and where you distribute your cargo
I thought about doing a simple trailer receiver basket but then you can open the tire carrier which then doesn’t allow the rear gate or window to open. I also didn’t want to lose drop off clearance on the rear which is why I angled the bottom so the spare is still the limiting factor.
 
Had a bit of trouble getting the new Beadlocks and tires balanced today. Seriously debated going with balance beads but persistence paid off and I finally got the 4 Beadlocks balanced and the spare ended up with the trouble maker tire that wanted 15oz of weight to balance. What a pain in the butt but man I’m good at torquing Beadlocks now. All good though, we are headed for snow tomorrow and it should be fun.

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Take a look at centramatic balancers - @jjvw runs them and has had good luck.
 
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I had speed wobble problems that were pretty severe. Had the tires balanced, rebalance and than balanced again. Problem still persisted. Bough the 15" centramatic balancers and they solved the problem. After about 500 miles on them I had the tires balanced and they took about half the weight they needed before the balancers. (35" MTR'S with raceline 15x8 monster beadlocks).