RED02TJ 2.0

[red02tj]

The perks of working from home. You can listen to conferences calls while putting in real work. Today was productive.

• Passed emissions test
• Mechanic agreed Jeep was in good shape (aside from known shock, brakes, and steering leak ) moving my lift up the priority list and an excuse to get some Black Magic
• Wire wheel and rust reformer the passenger floor pan
• Pulled and sold the old winch and bumper
• Wire wheel and rust reformer the frame mounts under the old bumper and the sway bar clamps
• Installed new sway bar bushings and original bumper
• Removed front and rear milk jugs
• Replaced HVAC knob
• Pulled all the PO wiring from the light bar and fogs. Thanks to this site I learned relays for lights are good but a single wrap of electrical tape on the hot side of wiring is bad.
• Swapped the floor board and dome light with led.
• Pulled the cowl and cleaned the cowl drain.
• Ordered 6ton jack stands

Next on the list.
Flush steering fluid + try leak stop
Change the plugs
replace the high beam indicator bulb
Order BMB brakes and rotors
Learn how to wire a relay for the fogs
New washers for the bumper bolts
New sway bar bolts
Vacuum while carpet it out
Put back carpet + outside and inside wash
Put back Bartacts and order new top

 

[red02tj]

Bartacts back in. I miss my spice interior but the Black and Tan is growing in me.

 

[SSTJ]

Lucked into this divorce find as a replacement for my wrecked 02. PO is a master mechanic in a small town between GA/SC (No rust or salt) In 2006 while going through a divorce he titled it to his father where aside from maintenance it's essentially been garged since then. 2002 Flame Red, 4.0 5psd, 3.73, and 33k on the clock. Bone Stock with the exception of front bumper, rear hitch, newer soft top, radio, and new tires as of this week. Pics as it is today and looking forward to documenting its build.

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Ha, what a find! How did you come across it? Pretty happy ending to your other TJ story.

 

[red02tj]

Ha, what a find! How did you come across it? Pretty happy ending to your other TJ story.

Yeah the past month has been wild. It’s the only good thing to come from Facebook. I don’t have an account but use my wife’s for Jeep parts and her uncle lives in the same small town as the PO so he was able to check it out and front the purchase until I could get up there.

 

[red02tj]

• Pulled the rear hitch
• Painted the back bumper
• Painted the license plate holder
• Painted the Fog light cases
• Heat gun the fender flares (not impressed). Adding new flares to the list.
• Got jackstands delivered

Tomorrow
Flush power steering
Change plugs
Add wrap for #3 injector

 

[red02tj]

Done:
Flush power steering add bottle of leak stop
Change plugs
Add wrap for #3 injector
Ordered BMB pads and rotors.

 

[red02tj]

Wash, clay bar, and wax
So far so good on PS stop leak
Got Bluetooth running via the Aux port
Wired the switch for the fogs (Need to take pics)
LED for dash and havc arrived, need to pull console tomorrow
Installed daystar dash
Installed new gear shift knob

 

[red02tj]

P/S leak stop still holding strong
Replaced gauge and hvac lights with LED. Wasn’t really a priority item but needed to fix the high beam indicator and was a good project todo in the cab while it was raining.

 

[red02tj]

noticed some seeping at the RMS so yesterday did an oil change, used Orileys full conventional high mileage, one of the only conventional ones I could find. Its only got 33k miles but not sure when the PO did it, so it was a good excuse to set a benchmark. Also checked the valve cover and oil pan bolts and most seemed loose so snugged them down. One of the bolts by the bell housing holding the rubber oil pan strap was either way loose or its now stripped...gave the block, pan, and bell housing a good spray down with SimpleGreen, ran the Jeep for 30 in the driveway, no drips overnight and I'll find out in about 8hrs if I've marked my office parking spot. In positive news, PS Stop leak seems to have done the job.

 

[red02tj]

So far so good with no oil or PS leaks.
Finished driving light install
FB oem tow hook find
Picked up NIB pro comp steels 17x8 with the 5x4.5 lugs to go with the new tires and not need adapters
Picked up lift kit and shop agreed to hold the tires until the lift was done

 

[red02tj]

put back OEM mirror
Installed new Seatbelt plant seatbelts and carseats for the kids. Pulling the seats and replacing the belts is still a pain in the ass the second time but atleast I had all the tools and knew i had to pull the seats to start with.

 

[red02tj]

BMB pads and rotors installed. Unexpectedly did need new calipers (also got new hoses)
brake flush
Coolant flush

 

[red02tj]

The bad…I definitely over torqued all my oil pan bolts by doing ft instead of in lbs. so far no leaks so I’m not gonna touch it.

The mediocre, saw one oil drop last week at the bottom bell hosing bolt, drive it today for the first time since Monday and it seems to be dry. Hopefully the switch to high mileage conventional will prevent the need for a RMS replacement.

The good…found a pre-tramp stamp Bestop Dark Tan top on facepage for $175

 

[red02tj]

This Jeep is a lesson in patience…
Lift kit and wheels still sitting in garage because my buddy can’t help with the install until Jan.

New kickers got delivered over the weekend but still waiting on new Sony headunit.

Turns out my wrecked Jeep is still on the auction lot so I’m heading down tomorrow to swap out anything else I can now that I’ve got the stock from this Jeep. Hopefully I can pull my bedrug, weathertecs, hitch, and windows. Maybe the amp is still useable but not sure I’d trust much other electronics after sitting exposed with a damaged top and windshield for 2 months.

 

[red02tj]

Operation repo was a success and I’m very glad I live in the south where I can still work outside in a sweatshirt and my hitch bolts were rust free. Gave everything a good bath in Simple Green and will install once it dries.

I was able to recover.

• Grill inserts
• KCs
• Led headlights
• Knee bolster screws
• Front, rear, cargo weathertech
• Front and rear bedrug (I did forget the tailgate cover)
• Tailgate bar and clips
• Hitch
• Hard case and locks
• Amp
• Fancy phone charger
• And swapped the black slider windows that came with the new Jeep with my old Dark Tan to match my new to me top.

 

[Wildman]

What are knee booster screws?

 

[red02tj]

What are knee booster screws?

My poor typing…the screws that hold on the trim panel below the steering wheel. Obviously not a high dollar item but saved me a trip to Ace getting replacements.

 

[Wildman]

My poor typing…the screws that hold on the trim panel below the steering wheel. Obviously not a high dollar item but saved me a trip to Ace getting replacements.

Got it. Yes missing screws and bolts are a PITA. I can't tell you how much I've spent at Ace.

 

[red02tj]

• Got the bedrug, weathertechs installed after a good cleaning.
• Fixed my damaged slider window.
  • Used some JB Epoxy on the top part of the window frame to secure it to the metal external frame
  • JB Putty to resecure the external side of the window frame clips back into the interior side
  • JB Expoxy to secure the external fabric back to the plastic frame
• Correctly wired the sub this time (no wires under the tub)
• Installed the Front and Rear Kicker CS speakers
• Installed the Sony HU which I don't like. Can't stand the UI, the beeping when powered off can't be disabled and its only get 2v pre-outs and 17RMS per channel so everything is sounding tinny. This is going back to Crutchfield.
• Have a new JVC with 22RMS per channel and 2v pre outs, so hoping that addresses the sound issues, if not, I'll need to put back the old 120 watt amp to boost the front speakers but the old jeep had the same specs with a Pioneer so I think this will do the trick.

TO DO:

• Need to figure out where the door/window seals are bad since I had water on both floorboards this week. I cleaned the Cowl when I got it so I dont think its the issue. Its probably a mis-alignment of 20 year old door, window and frame seals. 1in weatherstipping on its way and hopefully will seal it up
• Still seeing occasional drips at the bottom of the bellhousing. Not sure if its still runoff from when I did the last oil change, valve cover, or RMS...in any event, I don't see any drips on the driveway so it looks to be an open item but not urgent.

 

[red02tj]

RMS - back to looking like a non issue. I used a can of brake cleaner, lots of simple green and cleaned every inch of the engine I could reach, front to back and up and down. It's been two weeks and nothing on the bellhousing of the bottom bolt. Fingers crossed. I think the initial cause was a combination of when I did the oil change and my 3yr old helper "helped" me pour in the oil, and may have missed the funnel and when I removed the oil filter, no matter what I do, I always drip it down the side + opening the hood when wet dumps water on the backside of the engine.

A few feet of foam weather stripping has sealed all the gaps between the top, half doors, and slider windows.

Got the sub and amp wired up correctly. Tried to shortcut and use the Amp power to drive the 120 watt amp but it kept cutting out, eventually I'll learn to do things the right way the first time. Still need to run the wireloom for the cables against the trans tunnel.

I've been noticing longer starts. Batt reads 12.6 on the multimeter and the fuel pressure test had pressure dropping from the high 40s to low 20s in under 30min so new fuel pump is on the way.

Finally got confirmation my buddy is coming the first week in Jan to help me with the lift install. ProComp and Ranchos are sitting in the garage ready to go, and it will be nice to have an extra set of hands to remount the winch and the hitch. Depending on our beer consumption, I may convince him to help me drop the tank and do the fuel pump.

Snapped the passenger fold and tumble cable and ordered a replacement. Not looking forward to pulling the seat again, but with taking the kids to school everyday, I need it working.

It's been a busy (and expensive) three months and I'm ready to just drive the Jeep and be ready for some fun in the spring.