Too Clean to Build 01 Sahara

[SCJeepTJ]

I haven't been involved in any of the forums for years, though I never left the jeep/off-road community. I just discovered this site by happenstance, and it certainly seems to have a pretty strong following, so I figured I'd jump back in and start documenting my build and hopefully get to know some new folks along the way.

I've got 3 young kids and a busy job, so I know I won't be able to keep the same update pace as some of the heavier trafficed build threads here, but I hope it provides some entertainment (and accountability for myself), all the same.

In the interest of getting the thread off to a reasonably concise start, I'll start with a current picture of my jeep and work backwards a bit as to how I arrived at this point. Here is how it sits today (black flares most recent visual change):

In it's current form, specs are as follows:

2001 TJ Sahara - 4.0 / 32RH Auto
Rock Krawler X-Factor Long Arm (3 link front, 4 link rear)
4" skyjacker springs up front, 2.5" OME with TNT upper perch relocators in the rear
1.25" BL/MML
35x12.5 Maxxis Razr
15x8 MT Classic II Wheels
HP44 Front (out of South American XJ - More on this later) - Yukon Air Locker, 4.56, alloys, Reid Knuckles, 1/2 ton Chevy outers (brakes, warn hubs, et.)
Clayton Crossover Steering
JK44 Rear (cut to TJ length) - 4.56, ARB, 35 spline alloys
Barricade Sliders
Smittybilt rear tire carrier (I know)
Barnes 4wd stubby front bumper (pending install)
Warn M8000
AA SYE / Adam's Driveshaft

 

[Irun]

Very nice looking rig. Welcome!

 

[SCJeepTJ]

A quick bit of history as to how I arrived at this particular TJ:

I bought my first TJ (an 04 Sport) back in 2006 about a year after graduating college, and dove in head first. It was my second Jeep (had a 92 YJ Sahara in High School). I went through a nearly embarrassing amount of iterations with that first TJ from suspension changes, to drivetrain, axle, and locker changes, and wayyy too many different sets of tires. That said, I learned a ton about what I did and didn't like and what did and didn't work well for my use. Also had a ton of great memories in that jeep and wheeled all over the southeast for 10 years. I regrettably sold that jeep in 2016 with the mindset that I would look for something with 4 doors and more space so I could take more wife and kids with me on the trail more often. Quick rundown of the build on that TJ:

4.0 / 42RLE
Nth Degree Long Arm
Dana 30 front/Dana 44 rear - 4.88/ARB/Alloys
4" Springs
35 KM2's
Smittybilt winch
PS sliders / corners
rubicrawler
warn bumpers
Anti-rock

A few pics with the last one being the day it sold and a guy came down to SC from TN to pick it up:

 

[SCJeepTJ]

First of 2017, I stumbled on a CHERRY 96 Jeep ZJ Limited with the 5.2 V8 and 65K original miles and felt like it was a good natural progression for a family friendly wheeler with similar underpinnings to the TJ platform I had come to love. I grabbed a ticket to Wisconsin and hopped a flight to pick it up. It was totally rust free as it belonged to a gentlemen that was storing it at his relatives farm, but the jeep had spend it's whole life in AZ. Given that the jeep itself was quite a bargain, I spent all the proceeds from the TJ on mods to the ZJ right out of the gates

- HP44 out of a South American XJ - rare find, but I lucked out and picked it up from an XJ guy that was parting out his XJ build on Pirate. Got an incredible deal and came with 4.88s, Yukon Air long, Reid Knuckles, Warn hubs, and 1/2 ton chevy outers already installed
- JK44 Rear - had this built by ECGS with 35 spline alloys, ARB, and setup to match the stock front width and 5x5.5 bolt pattern
- Clayton 5.5 Long Arm lift
- ARB bumper w/ Warn M8000
- JCR sliders
- Atlas 3.8
- Tom Woods shafts
- 35x12.5 MTZ and later 37x12.5 IROK Radials as well

Turned out to be an excellent and highly capable rig that was great on long trips and on most trails I ran. I even took it on a 16 hour trip from my home in SC up to Drummond Island in Michigan's UP for the Jeep Jamboree, where I was able to introduce my father in law to off-roading.

However, my assumptions around it increasing the frequency that my family wanted to come wheeling with me was a bit of a misfire. 2 of my daughters enjoy it very much, but my wife and other daughter were not as enthused. Flash forward to 2019, I continued wheeling the ZJ like it was a TJ on tight east coast trails and was starting to regularly find it's limitations in my hands...

 

[SCJeepTJ]

Bashed in body panels and glass (like below) started to become the norm as I kept trying to squeeze the larger ZJ into TJ sized trails and obstacles. I began to long again for the nimbleness and visibility that I had in my TJ. I also realized I wasn't the biggest fan of some of the unibody "quirks"....

 

[SCJeepTJ]

As destiny would have it, while I wasn't even actively in the market, I stumble on another gentleman in my literal same neighborhood one day that was driving one of the cleanest TJ's I'd ever seen. We ended up striking up a conversation where he informed me he was getting ready to put it on the market as he had just purchased a replacement JK. I was in love and couldn't resist. The white TJ Sahara Trim has long been my unicorn (or Elenore for Gone in 60 Seconds fans).

A deal was made the next day and I was back in the seat of a TJ and all felt right with the world. At the time I bought it (March 2019), the Jeep had under 77K miles and was absolutely pristine:

 

[SCJeepTJ]

Fortunately for me, nearly ALL the money I had in the ZJ was in the parts, and many of those parts would work on my new TJ platform. Only issue was I was completely covered up with work and family obligations during this time and couldn't do all the work myself as I'd often done in the past. I ended up working with a local off-road shop owner and doing some horse trading in the form of the V8/Trans/Atlas out of my ZJ in exchange for all the labor to install the RockKrawler suspension, regear the axles (to 4.56 due to 3 speed auto), SYE, and exhaust work. After that, the ZJ "shell" was parted the rest of the way out and then the remaining shell was sent to the scrap yard. All in all, these parts have been transferred over to the TJ from the ZJ build, and the remaining parts were sold individually to offset cost:

- Front and Rear Axles (this was a huge advantage since the TJ came with Dana 30/Dana 35 combo)
- Clayton Steering Setup
- ARB compressor
- 35" Tires (sold the 37 Iroks)
- Winch

Since that initial build, I've added some minor parts, like front and rear bumpers, sliders, oil pan skid, and different 35's, but the meat and potatoes remains.

 

[DrDmoney]

Nice rig welcome to the forum from Nor-Cal.

 

[SCJeepTJ]

Very nice looking rig. Welcome!

Thank you!

 

[SCJeepTJ]

Nice rig welcome to the forum from Nor-Cal.

Thanks for the welcome!

 

[NDSpeed]

Very nice rig. Welcome to the forum.

 

[SCJeepTJ]

Following the completion of the initial build phase, I headed out to the "Gateway to the Cumberlands" Jeep Jamboree in KY with a few buddies from VA. Had a great time there and it proved to be a decent shakedown run to provide insight to what my next modifications needed to be (1" BL, bumpstop adjustments, and a flat pitman arm to go with the crossover setup, and fix some rear coil alignment issues)

 

[SCJeepTJ]

After the above mentioned tweaks and changes, I took my oldest daughter on a fairly mild shakedown run to my local park, Gulches OHV. Great park but we didn't bring anyone else with us and we only had a couple hours before I had to get her to a friends birthday party, so nothing crazy here, mainly just cruising the park and finding some twisty spots to further validate clearances with adjusted bumpstops/1" BL and changes made to rear coil and retainer setup.

 

[SCJeepTJ]

Picked up a stubby bumper from Barnes 4wd during their black Friday sale, and got it painted and installed over the weekend. Happy with the fit and finish as well as the cleaner look. Just need to grab a hawse fairlead to replace my roller setup since I changed to synthetic line.

 

[Rubicon John]

Welcome and great stories!

I’m curious how you felt about 4.88s and 35s with the 42rle?

 

[SCJeepTJ]

Welcome and great stories!

I’m curious how you felt about 4.88s and 35s with the 42rle?

It was just ok. At the time I had that jeep, 5.13's were not available for the dana 30. If I were doing it again tomorrow, I'd definitely run 5.13's due to the deep OD in that trans. I had 4.88's with 33's on it for a short while and felt like that was a great combo. On the flip side, when I was driving on mountain highways, the 4.88's worked fairly well with 35's and the OD off (running 60-ish MPH)

 

[Rubicon John]

It was just ok. At the time I had that jeep, 5.13's were not available for the dana 30. If I were doing it again tomorrow, I'd definitely run 5.13's due to the deep OD in that trans. I had 4.88's with 33's on it for a short while and felt like that was a great combo. On the flip side, when I was driving on mountain highways, the 4.88's worked fairly well with 35's and the OD off (running 60-ish MPH)

That seems to be the consensus around here. Most recommend 5.13s for 33s and 5.38s for 35s when possible. I can’t wait to get some new gears in my Rubi. Thanks for your insight man

 

[burdetter16]

Great Jeep! I have an 01 white Sahara as well and I can't wait to get it the same level yours is . Definitely got some inspiration from your build!

 

[SCJeepTJ]

Great Jeep! I have an 01 white Sahara as well and I can't wait to get it the same level yours is . Definitely got some inspiration from your build!

Thanks! Glad it's helped to inspire. The white Sahara trim has been my favorite since it's debut. Good luck on your build!