I just purchased my first TJ and it’s frame
Is in GREAT shape. No rust anywhere. It’s a great project car.
I drove to AR to pick her up. She has a rebuilt motor and seems to have been kept up for the most part. I bought her from an elderly gentleman who says he’s basically just started her up every few weeks to keep her going but not put anymore than 500 mi on the new motor. And it wouldn’t be a jeep story if we didn’t end up at O’Rileys immediately after the purchase for a new battery
don’t worry, I put it on the seller’s tab.
But it doesn’t end there. We hadn’t made it out of the state before the check engine came on! Luckily it was just an O2 sensor. I mean she is 22 years old.
This was the absolute worst weekend to buy a TJ because the weather has been complete shit. Sub zero temps. So I’m dying to get out and clean her up. The most action she saw this weekend was my husband sliding into a ditch
Don’t worry, another jeep came along and pulled us out!
If you’re still reading, thanks!
What I would love your advice on, is maintenance. The motor was rebuilt in 2021. She has 171000 mi on her and 500 on the new motor. I don’t have any info on last transmission fluid change or alignment. But the owner prior to the seller put a 2” (I think) lift and definitely had her off road. I have suspicions that we may be experiencing the beginning stages of death wobble and I see bushings and steering and suspension components that definitely need replaced. I have read through this amazing thread https://www.wranglerforum.com/threa...non-dw-shimmies-and-wobbles-tj-version.78090/
And am planning on using it to properly diagnose and prioritize my repairs. She does really well at lower speeds but on the freeway I am getting some intermittent instability and sudden pulling to the right or left that is hard to control.
I don’t have enough cash on hand to tackle everything at once. So I picked up a steering stabilizer (Yes, a bandaid and thats what I am using it for) When the weather warms up a tad I will do my diagnosis and plan out my repairs and general maintenance.
1. Should I get an alignment now? And should I align after every steering/suspension component I change? I want to do as many updates at once so I m not just cycling through wear but if I have to do it in sprints do I need an adjustment each time?
2. I am planning on an oil and transmission fluid change quickly. Though I don’t know the history. Good plan?
3. I have very light surface rust in the tub and plan to clean and treat everything as soon as I can. What’s recommended for interior rust treatment? I don't know why but I don’t love the look of the rhino liner or black spray paint. But I don’t like the idea of something wet/oily as a rust treatment inside since I’m there’s carpet. Just seems gross.
4. She’s kind of sluggish but I think that’s because she has 33’s and doubt she was re-geared to compensate for that. Should I decrease wheel size? Would 31’s give me better power and not look strange? Or should I just plan on re-gearing in the future? This is my daily driver and I don’t plan on doing off-roading. So I want it to be comfy and fun but I do like the lift and think it looks good.
5. Without a full service history, what other preventative maintenance do you recommend for her age?
6. Exterior paint looks good in pictures but does have some wear. I would love to repaint in the future (a new color) so what can I do to preserve what she’s got now and avoid any rust formation where I have wear, cracking, and chips?
Thanks for your pennies!
Is in GREAT shape. No rust anywhere. It’s a great project car.
I drove to AR to pick her up. She has a rebuilt motor and seems to have been kept up for the most part. I bought her from an elderly gentleman who says he’s basically just started her up every few weeks to keep her going but not put anymore than 500 mi on the new motor. And it wouldn’t be a jeep story if we didn’t end up at O’Rileys immediately after the purchase for a new battery

But it doesn’t end there. We hadn’t made it out of the state before the check engine came on! Luckily it was just an O2 sensor. I mean she is 22 years old.
This was the absolute worst weekend to buy a TJ because the weather has been complete shit. Sub zero temps. So I’m dying to get out and clean her up. The most action she saw this weekend was my husband sliding into a ditch


If you’re still reading, thanks!

What I would love your advice on, is maintenance. The motor was rebuilt in 2021. She has 171000 mi on her and 500 on the new motor. I don’t have any info on last transmission fluid change or alignment. But the owner prior to the seller put a 2” (I think) lift and definitely had her off road. I have suspicions that we may be experiencing the beginning stages of death wobble and I see bushings and steering and suspension components that definitely need replaced. I have read through this amazing thread https://www.wranglerforum.com/threa...non-dw-shimmies-and-wobbles-tj-version.78090/
And am planning on using it to properly diagnose and prioritize my repairs. She does really well at lower speeds but on the freeway I am getting some intermittent instability and sudden pulling to the right or left that is hard to control.
I don’t have enough cash on hand to tackle everything at once. So I picked up a steering stabilizer (Yes, a bandaid and thats what I am using it for) When the weather warms up a tad I will do my diagnosis and plan out my repairs and general maintenance.
1. Should I get an alignment now? And should I align after every steering/suspension component I change? I want to do as many updates at once so I m not just cycling through wear but if I have to do it in sprints do I need an adjustment each time?
2. I am planning on an oil and transmission fluid change quickly. Though I don’t know the history. Good plan?
3. I have very light surface rust in the tub and plan to clean and treat everything as soon as I can. What’s recommended for interior rust treatment? I don't know why but I don’t love the look of the rhino liner or black spray paint. But I don’t like the idea of something wet/oily as a rust treatment inside since I’m there’s carpet. Just seems gross.
4. She’s kind of sluggish but I think that’s because she has 33’s and doubt she was re-geared to compensate for that. Should I decrease wheel size? Would 31’s give me better power and not look strange? Or should I just plan on re-gearing in the future? This is my daily driver and I don’t plan on doing off-roading. So I want it to be comfy and fun but I do like the lift and think it looks good.
5. Without a full service history, what other preventative maintenance do you recommend for her age?
6. Exterior paint looks good in pictures but does have some wear. I would love to repaint in the future (a new color) so what can I do to preserve what she’s got now and avoid any rust formation where I have wear, cracking, and chips?
Thanks for your pennies!