What did you do to your TJ today?

Picked up a nice stock rear bumper with jugs from Facebook Marketplace, my current stock bumper is pretty beat up from many off road poundings, trashed jugs & aftermarket endplates, homemade tire carrier holes I drilled & CB mount holes. I’ve got a long-term plan of dialing back my build a bit which will entail a return to (close to) an all stock appearance, in the final analysis the only noticeable non-stock items will be a bit of added height & tire size. Basically I’ll be shooting for what I think the TJ should’ve looked like rolling off the assembly line, which is to say exactly like it did just fattened up a bit down below.

When I go to execute the plan this will be one of the main components to go on:

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freebo86 said:
I am not the original owner but purchased the Jeep from the original guy when it had 8k miles on it. Yes they are original, everything was on the Jeep, hell even the manual was still wrapped up in plastic. The flares on my Jeep are painted and match the body color.

My LJ model is a Premium from the documentation I received with it. Two tone seats, center dash bezel is also silver while all else is black.

I took a quick measurement yesterday maybe 5” is extreme but they were 4.5” minimum. I’ll check again tomorrow.



Same for all models as in wider?
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Do you happen to know the factory paint color for that dash bezel silver? I have the same premium package but PO replaced the center bezel with double din Stereo aftermarket. My gauge cluster is the premium silver but couldn't find a manufacturer sticker with the paint color info. Hoping to be able to repaint the center bezel to rematch with the stock silver color.
 
TheBoogieman said:
My wife ordered something directly from China and it was at the door in 4 days (DHL), yet Amazon Prime can't get me my promised 2 day shipping sooner than 5-7 days. The China virus isn't excuse any more.:unsure:
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DHL seems to be the best of the bunch, always quick and on time. My OPDA was sent FedEx which is also pretty good but the speed of the quadratec dispatch was impressive because most can take quite a few days before they are even ready to get picked up by shipping Co.
 
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tr21triton said:
wow they must not of mailed it USPS. i had a front sway bar bushing kit ordered and shipped dec. 12 just got it last week. everything with the post office seems to get hung up.......
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I ordered a lower control arm for the wife's Focus off ebay on Nov 22. It arrived Dec 23. From St. Louis to KC. USPS. 1 month to travel 286 miles.

I ordered some soap off ebay on Dec. 25, shipped in 3 packages. One arrived on Jan 6, the second, on Jan 8. From Jerusalem. Yes, THE Jerusalem. 12 days for the first package to travel 6,500 miles. (still waiting on the 3rd, though should be here this next week)

I know they are busy. But, there is a problem somewhere.


I let the Jeep stay at home yesterday, as it started acting up. Several days ago, while moving cars around in the driveway before bed, I noticed a very, very faint glow to the bulb in the shift indicator. Next day, speedo goes wonky at take off from a stop, but appears to settle down, but occasionally does not. Hmmmm.

Today, I started the install of a factory subwoofer (with upgrades). Had the Jeep running, so I could have some heat. Noticed a very sporadic and very brief blip of a couple warning lights in the instrument cluster. I see the voltmeter is not charging like it should. Put a multimeter on the battery while it was running and it was 11.99. Not good. Got the sub and console done, and need to work on the radio and amp wiring and mount the amp. Going to get some battery cable upgrades ordered and have the reman alternator tested. It was on it when I bought it. I'd kinda been planning on driving it to Moab, but this is the kinda stuff that has me leaning towards hauling it.
 
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Claybirdd said:
Thanks to @AndyG I finally got my lightbar hooked up and working. We also gave the whole front end a good looking over and checked out some other things. He's an awesome guy and knows his stuff!!
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Thanks man. Learned what I know here, or at least got the nerve to jump in. You've got a really good, solid TJ @Claybirdd , it's going to give you years of enjoyment. Sounds like it has a V8.
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The light wiring is right and tucked up well, body really solid and interior nice, steering spot on. It's what everyone wants when they are looking... no rust, good miles, not thrashed....and set up better than most, no dropped pitman arm or weird stuff.

Remember to send me that back drive shaft pic, think I saw a cardan up front but I was looking at it upside down and we were so into the lights.

First TJ I've had to use a ladder to work on. May have a nosebleed being up so high.

My project got sidelined due to me not knowing what I was buying....had quadratec gen2 LEDs come in...back they go. Big Q on the front and rivets...just not my style.



Will wire my rear aux lights tomorrow pm and move a switch I want relocated on the 06 and might trade wheels on them, just to see how it looks.
 
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I finally got it running again. A cold snap finished off my Optima Red Top battery while I was working an overnight shift. Turns out, this was the beginning of a 7-day ordeal. I tried jump-starting it using my portable jump-starter... no dice. My buddy tried from his pickup. Still nothing. So he gave me a ride home, and the next day I bought a brand new Odyssey battery. I picked it up 2 days later, threw it in, and turned the key.... and nothing but a high pitched squeal. The engine wouldn’t turn over. Well s**t, it must be the starter, I thought to myself. It must not be engaging the flywheel. 2 days later, Amazon delivered a new one, and I threw it in and turned the key.... and still nothing but a high pitched squeal.

Then I started to panic. The alternator, ignition coil, and distributor cap/rotor are all 2-3 years old, and ostensibly shouldn’t be failing. A second coworker suggested that the engine might have seized based on the squealing noise. I was about “thisclose” to panicking when a third coworker told me to try to start it one more time. So I did... and it sputtered and died, which was more than it had done in the past 5 days. One more key turn, and it roars to life... and then the power steering pump starts squealing and smoking like mad, and then starts PS fluid starts pouring out all over the parking lot, so I shut it down. Looks like I found the problem!

I ordered a new pump, and installed it today with the help of a fourth coworker. After 5 hours, a crapload of Kroil (rust belt Jeeps are the worst!), a few dabs of antiseize, and 2 trips to the auto parts store, the Jeep is back in action! Oh, and no broken bolts!! 🍻

Also, I put the Mopar starter back in, and am keeping the Amazon one as a backup.
 
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HBomber8 said:
I finally got it running again. A cold snap finished off my Optima Red Top battery while I was working an overnight shift. Turns out, this was the beginning of a 7-day ordeal. I tried jump-starting it using my portable jump-starter... no dice. My buddy tried from his pickup. Still nothing. So he gave me a ride home, and the next day I bought a brand new Odyssey battery. I picked it up 2 days later, threw it in, and turned the key.... and nothing but a high pitched squeal. The engine wouldn’t turn over. Well s**t, it must be the starter, I thought to myself. It must not be engaging the flywheel. 2 days later, Amazon delivered a new one, and I threw it in and turned the key.... and still nothing but a high pitched squeal.

Then I started to panic. The alternator, ignition coil, and distributor cap/rotor are all 2-3 years old, and ostensibly shouldn’t be failing. A second coworker suggested that the engine might have seized based on the squealing noise. I was about “thisclose” to panicking when a third coworker told me to try to start it one more time. So I did... and it sputtered and died, which was more than it had done in the past 5 days. One more key turn, and it roars to life... and then the power steering pump starts squealing and smoking like mad, and then starts PS fluid starts pouring out all over the parking lot, so I shut it down. Looks like I found the problem!

I ordered a new pump, and installed it today with the help of a fourth coworker. After 5 hours, a crapload of Kroil (rust belt Jeeps are the worst!), a few dabs of antiseize, and 2 trips to the auto parts store, the Jeep is back in action! Oh, and no broken bolts!! 🍻

Also, I put the Mopar starter back in, and am keeping the Amazon one as a backup.
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I feel for you while I am sweating it out in Perth over 100 degree heat :)
 
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so I'm on a roll, after yesterday's post (21,125 above) of my new stock rear bumper, I ended up shooting my buddy that wheels/deals in TJs & parts a text to see if he had any stock fronts, he had one, not in as good a condition as the rear I picked up so I'll have to do some paint work on it but overall I've seen a lot worse, so this piece will now join the rear in storage for the eventual de-build.

I'm into both stock bumpers for $140 total, pretty happy about that. I looked at new fronts, I've seen them from Crown at $89 & Omix at $149 but the reviews don't look too good.

Edit: not shown but included in the front bumper purchase was the plastic "Jeep" frame cover that goes between the bumper and bottom of the grill. I have my old one which doesn't fit with my Motobilt stubby, but it's trashed from holes cut in it to run winch lines & such, so I've now got a fully intact one to go on when I return to stock...

First thing I'll do to this is lose the goofy ass lights:

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Wired in a new set of pigtails for the aftermarket radio harness. Cleaned up the previous installer's bundle of splice connectors, so there is less mass in the tight space in the dash.

Regarding the charging issue, I checked the battery cables, fuse link, battery terminals and swapped in a previously untested ebay PCM. I know, not the time to see if it works, LOL, but it fired up the Jeep and the charging issue remained. Swapped back, to retest. Decided to take the alternator into O'reillys for a test. Always a treat to have that done. You never know if the young spiked hair "dude" knows what he's doing, but he said it failed the test 3 times. So, nothing to do but pay him and cross my fingers. Well, it fixed it. So, yay! It was weird, cause with it running and not charging, the battery voltage on my multimeter wasn't ticking down, like other times with other vehicles. Just sat there at 11.89......11.89......11.89. Normally, it slowly drains the battery, a hundredth of a volt at a time. Oh well. On to finishing the amp/sub install.
 
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Got my Jeep dirty again today. Wheeled it with 6 other rigs.
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Heard a new knock. Got underneath it when I got home. Could not find anythang that jumped out at me but .... saved myself some money. Dagumitall !! I have me a SYE an DC shaft already.
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I am a big dummy. All the researching and game planning I have been doing, I didnt know enough to know what I already had to begin with.
 
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RINC said:
Got my Jeep dirty again today. Wheeled it with 6 other rigs.
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Heard a new knock. Got underneath it when I got home. Could not find anythang that jumped out at me but .... saved myself some money. Dagumitall !! I have me a SYE an DC shaft already.
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I am a big dummy. All the researching and game planning I have been doing, I didnt know enough to know what I already had to begin with.
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Love to join you some day but I don't know if you are a rock crawler. I enjoy trails and hills seeing our great state of Arizona.
 
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5632 said:
Love to join you some day but I don't know if you are a rock crawler. I enjoy trails and hills seeing our great state of Arizona.
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Hell yeah brother ! Look at me flexing my crawler muscles on this here rock.
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You are more than welcome to join us. Keep an eye out in the Regional section. I'll also add you to the tag list.

All that I have gone on, have been easy. Many hard sections will have a bypass that we little Jeeps can get by on.
 
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RINC said:
Hell yeah brother ! Look at me flexing my crawler muscles on this here rock.
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You are more than welcome to join us. Keep an eye out in the Regional section. I'll also add you to the tag list.

All that I have gone on, have been easy. Many hard sections will have a bypass that we little Jeeps can get by on.
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Thank you. I only run 32's but am having my transfer case rebuilt this week.
 
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Ok. FIL recommended a guy and for $40 bucks, he got the door open and pulled the latch out and pulled it apart and cleaned it all up for me. Turns out, there was a shard of glass stuck in the lock mechanism. Got it back home and decided since the panel was off, it would be a good time to replace the nasty old latch...figured it might be a bit easier getting it off and on...this looks better and functions great.

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Wittakoski said:
Ok. FIL recommended a guy and for $40 bucks, he got the door open and pulled the latch out and pulled it apart and cleaned it all up for me. Turns out, there was a shard of glass stuck in the lock mechanism. Got it back home and decided since the panel was off, it would be a good time to replace the nasty old latch...figured it might be a bit easier getting it off and on...this looks better and functions great.

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Link for the new latch?
 
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