Just wanted to start a thread to keep track of the story of my TJ as time goes on. I purchased it on 10/23/19. 2003, 4.0 i6, 42RLE automatic, Bestop soft top. Paint code = P,GR - Shale Green Metallic.
BTW, these first two photos aren't photos from a wheeling adventure, this is where I live.
Tire size that came on it:
—————————————————————————
Thursday, October 31, 2019
Oil change and complete mechanical inspection at Salida Auto & Diesel.
—————————————————————————
Friday, November 1st, 2019
Had the depression taken out of the hood at Mahnke Auto Body. Turned out great and they only charged me $100.
—————————————————————————
Monday, November 4th, 2019
Removed the little follow-up flares behind the front fender flares.
—————————————————————————
November 8th, 2019
At Salida Auto and Diesel:
* Fixed left front control arm bracket
* Installed new left front control arm
* Replaced gear oil in front differential (this had never been done)
* Replaced gear oil in rear differential
* Replaced the muffler
* Replaced the pinion shaft seal
* Replaced the spark plugs
—————————————————————————
November 9th, 2019
* With a friend I replaced the very ratty original front seats and added the back seat (back seat was missing when I purchased the vehicle). Installed Bestop Trailmax II Pro High Back seats in the color Spice.
* Also got the seat belt warning light to go out by simply not plugging back in the electrical wire that comes out of the driver's seat belt receiver.
—————————————————————————
November 11th, 2019
Added extensions to the spare tire snubbers so that the spare would actually rest tightly against them.
Living in a small mountain town of just 5,000 people, there is not a Lowe's, Home Depot, or Harbor Freight in sight. We do have a small Ace Hardware, so I scoured the store to see what they had that I could use.
I got sections of three different hose sizes. The O.D. of each smaller size hose is the I.D. of the next larger size hose. So the three together made a stiff, tight fit. I measured the space between the existing stock snubbers, and the back of the spare tire, and added 3/8" to it. Cut the hoses to the appropriate lengths and inserted them inside each other. I reversed the curl of the two smallest hoses to the curl of the largest hose so that the end result was straight.
Mounted them to the back of the Jeep with the appropriate size bolt. I snugged them down tightly so that each extension is compressed and very stiff.
I put the spare tire on and and snugged it down to check the fit. I only had to adjust one of the extensions (that surprised me).
—————————————————————————
November 12th, 2019
New windshield!
I wanted one without a rear view mirror mount but couldn't find one. In the end I realized that this summer, when I take the steel doors off, I'll lose my side mirrors and so will need the rear view mirror on the windshield.
—————————————————————————
November 14th, 2019
At Salida Auto and Diesel:
* Replaced transmission oil pan gasket
* Replaced transmission fluid
* New automatic transmission filter kit
* Drained and filled transfer case
* Injector flush
* Tested broken horn (horn getting power - horn itself is bad)
—————————————————————————
November 15th, 2019
* Replaced the broken horn
* Replaced the door straps
* Removed the aftermarket CD player and the speakers attached to the roll bar
* Started taking the dash apart to fix the rattles and bouncing
—————————————————————————
November 16th, 2019
* Discovered that two of the four main bolts that the dash hangs on did not have nuts on them at all
* Replaced the nuts and tightened the other two. Totally fixed the dash bouncing and rattling
—————————————————————————
November 17th, 2019
My factory front passenger seat had a lever built into the side of it, with an interior cable attached, that allowed you to hinge the seat all the way forward for rear seat access. My new Bestop passenger seat did not come with such a lever. But, I saved the cable and made a handle for it. It works really well.
—————————————————————————
November 18th, 2019
Ever since having the transmission oil, filter, and pan seal changed, the Jeep was shifting hard when down-shifting out of overdrive. Took it back to the shop and they discovered that the new filter they had installed had a hairline crack in it and it was "sucking air." They said that caused the transmission to "throw a code" and everything got out of whack ("out of whack" is my paraphrase of actual events). They replaced the filter and did a re-set on the transmission, etc. Now it shifts smooth as silk. And, this was all warrantied by NAPA from whom they had purchased the filter. This is what the filter looks like:
—————————————————————————
November 19th, 2019
Added end caps to the stubby bumpers.
Glued some of the broken connection points on the dash grill
—————————————————————————
November 20th, 2019
* Re-centered the steering wheel
—————————————————————————
November 21st, 2019
* Re-installed a stock air intake
—————————————————————————
November 22nd, 2019
* With all of the dash bezels off, and the glove compartment out, I replaced all of the missing dash screws and tightened everything
* Polish soft top windows for the first time
* Replaced missing floor pan plugs (3)
—————————————————————————
November 25th, 2019
* With all of the dash bezels off, I took of the lens on the instrument cluster, cleaned both sides of it, and cleaned the surface of the instrument cluster. Then put the lens back on.
* I put the bezel back on that surrounds the instrument cluster:
At the bottom of the bezel, on each side, there were supposed to be little feet that rested against the metal frame of the dash and received a dash screw to hold down the bottom of the bezel. Both of those little feet were completely broken off:
I used a small piece of stiff rubber hose (heater hose) to make a little "finger" for each side to hold down the bottom of the bezel:
* Replaced the bezel that fit under the steering wheel. The tabs on each side, at the top, that are supposed to slide into a clip, were both broken off:
I made an add-on tab for each side and fastened it with a screw. This is the bottom side of the photo above:
* Put all of the rest of the dash bezels back on. The dash will never be this clean again!
—————————————————————————
November 30th, 2019
* Added a magnetic license plate image to the steel cover plate over the radio slot:
—————————————————————————
December 11th, 2019
* Replaced the driver's side steering knuckle, u-joint, and ball joints.
* Aligned the front end & re-checked the steering wheel centering.
* Picked up a set of 5 stock wheels - 15 x 7s, with 5.25" of backspacing, and a 5 on 4.5 bolt pattern:
—————————————————————————
January 2nd, 2020
* Replaced the wheels with the stock wheels I obtained on December 11th.
* Replaced tires with new BFG A/T KO2s - 31x10.5x15.
—————————————————————————
January 3rd, 2020
With stock wheels back on the Jeep, I no longer needed the spare tire snubbers to be extended. BUT, with 10.5 tires, the stock spare tire mount was about an inch too shallow; the lug bolts on the mount did not extend out through the bolt holes on the stock wheel.
I found some large, 1" thick neoprene stoppers to use as spacers to set the stock spare tire mount out from the tailgate. (And 1" longer stainless steel bolts to attach it.) Now the spare sits tight against that bottom snubber, but not so tight that it binds the tailgate latch.
—————————————————————————
January 10th, 2020
Swapped the stock flares with Sahara model flares that I had painted to match my TJ. The combination of going back to stock wheels (with 5.25" of backspacing), and adding Sahara flares (1" wider), got my 10.5" wide tires tucked back in under the Jeep.
—————————————————————————
January 20th, 2020
Oil change. Was told that my differential fluid is a little dark even though it was changed just 3,000 miles ago. This is because it was never changed up 'til then.
—————————————————————————
January 21st, 2020
Had the front end alignment re-checked at C&J Automotive. I wanted to do this after replacing both the wheels and the tires, even though it was tracking perfectly. Jason at C&J said, "everything is right on the money.
—————————————————————————
January 21st, 2020
After having removed the "milk jug" ends from my bumpers, and replacing the factory fender flares with Sahara model flares that I had painted to match my TJ, I realized that the only gray plastic trim left on my Jeep was the license plate holder. So I painted it to match as well.
—————————————————————————
January 24th, 2020
Swapped the Trektop that came on m TJ for a Supertop NX because the Trektop was not designed to fold all the way down. Also added some custom mud guards I designed.
—————————————————————————
March 5th, 2020
Added 1" seat risers to both front seats.
—————————————————————————
April 16th, 2020
Oil change.
Changed transmission fluid and filter kit.
Replaced pinion shaft seal on the front differential.
Replaced pinion shaft seal on the rear differential.
—————————————————————————
May 4th, 2020
Replaced front seat belt receivers.
—————————————————————————
May 14th, 2020
Replaced handles/latches on old canvas half doors.
—————————————————————————
May 27th, 2020
Installed 4 Teraflex 2" Coil Spring Spacers.
Installed new Rancho shocks to accommodate the 2" lift.
—————————————————————————
June 15th, 2020
Install JKS quick-disconnect sway bar links.
Install new sway bar bushings.
—————————————————————————
June 18th, 2020
Installed JCR Offroad Crusader Rock Sliders.
—————————————————————————
October, 2020
Installed Yukon 4.88 gears in the differentials.
Installed Yukon limited-slip differential in the rear end.
Replaced the rear drive shaft.
Replaced the battery.
Replaced the alternator.
Added a wiring harness for my overlanding camper.
Broke in the new gears and then replaced gear oil in differentials.
Repainted hood, cowl, and driver's fender, flare, and door.
Increased value on Hagerty insurance policy.
BTW, these first two photos aren't photos from a wheeling adventure, this is where I live.
Tire size that came on it:
—————————————————————————
Thursday, October 31, 2019
Oil change and complete mechanical inspection at Salida Auto & Diesel.
—————————————————————————
Friday, November 1st, 2019
Had the depression taken out of the hood at Mahnke Auto Body. Turned out great and they only charged me $100.
—————————————————————————
Monday, November 4th, 2019
Removed the little follow-up flares behind the front fender flares.
—————————————————————————
November 8th, 2019
At Salida Auto and Diesel:
* Fixed left front control arm bracket
* Installed new left front control arm
* Replaced gear oil in front differential (this had never been done)
* Replaced gear oil in rear differential
* Replaced the muffler
* Replaced the pinion shaft seal
* Replaced the spark plugs
—————————————————————————
November 9th, 2019
* With a friend I replaced the very ratty original front seats and added the back seat (back seat was missing when I purchased the vehicle). Installed Bestop Trailmax II Pro High Back seats in the color Spice.
* Also got the seat belt warning light to go out by simply not plugging back in the electrical wire that comes out of the driver's seat belt receiver.
—————————————————————————
November 11th, 2019
Added extensions to the spare tire snubbers so that the spare would actually rest tightly against them.
Living in a small mountain town of just 5,000 people, there is not a Lowe's, Home Depot, or Harbor Freight in sight. We do have a small Ace Hardware, so I scoured the store to see what they had that I could use.
I got sections of three different hose sizes. The O.D. of each smaller size hose is the I.D. of the next larger size hose. So the three together made a stiff, tight fit. I measured the space between the existing stock snubbers, and the back of the spare tire, and added 3/8" to it. Cut the hoses to the appropriate lengths and inserted them inside each other. I reversed the curl of the two smallest hoses to the curl of the largest hose so that the end result was straight.
Mounted them to the back of the Jeep with the appropriate size bolt. I snugged them down tightly so that each extension is compressed and very stiff.
I put the spare tire on and and snugged it down to check the fit. I only had to adjust one of the extensions (that surprised me).
—————————————————————————
November 12th, 2019
New windshield!
I wanted one without a rear view mirror mount but couldn't find one. In the end I realized that this summer, when I take the steel doors off, I'll lose my side mirrors and so will need the rear view mirror on the windshield.
—————————————————————————
November 14th, 2019
At Salida Auto and Diesel:
* Replaced transmission oil pan gasket
* Replaced transmission fluid
* New automatic transmission filter kit
* Drained and filled transfer case
* Injector flush
* Tested broken horn (horn getting power - horn itself is bad)
—————————————————————————
November 15th, 2019
* Replaced the broken horn
* Replaced the door straps
* Removed the aftermarket CD player and the speakers attached to the roll bar
* Started taking the dash apart to fix the rattles and bouncing
—————————————————————————
November 16th, 2019
* Discovered that two of the four main bolts that the dash hangs on did not have nuts on them at all
* Replaced the nuts and tightened the other two. Totally fixed the dash bouncing and rattling
—————————————————————————
November 17th, 2019
My factory front passenger seat had a lever built into the side of it, with an interior cable attached, that allowed you to hinge the seat all the way forward for rear seat access. My new Bestop passenger seat did not come with such a lever. But, I saved the cable and made a handle for it. It works really well.
—————————————————————————
November 18th, 2019
Ever since having the transmission oil, filter, and pan seal changed, the Jeep was shifting hard when down-shifting out of overdrive. Took it back to the shop and they discovered that the new filter they had installed had a hairline crack in it and it was "sucking air." They said that caused the transmission to "throw a code" and everything got out of whack ("out of whack" is my paraphrase of actual events). They replaced the filter and did a re-set on the transmission, etc. Now it shifts smooth as silk. And, this was all warrantied by NAPA from whom they had purchased the filter. This is what the filter looks like:
—————————————————————————
November 19th, 2019
Added end caps to the stubby bumpers.
Glued some of the broken connection points on the dash grill
—————————————————————————
November 20th, 2019
* Re-centered the steering wheel
—————————————————————————
November 21st, 2019
* Re-installed a stock air intake
—————————————————————————
November 22nd, 2019
* With all of the dash bezels off, and the glove compartment out, I replaced all of the missing dash screws and tightened everything
* Polish soft top windows for the first time
* Replaced missing floor pan plugs (3)
—————————————————————————
November 25th, 2019
* With all of the dash bezels off, I took of the lens on the instrument cluster, cleaned both sides of it, and cleaned the surface of the instrument cluster. Then put the lens back on.
* I put the bezel back on that surrounds the instrument cluster:
At the bottom of the bezel, on each side, there were supposed to be little feet that rested against the metal frame of the dash and received a dash screw to hold down the bottom of the bezel. Both of those little feet were completely broken off:
I used a small piece of stiff rubber hose (heater hose) to make a little "finger" for each side to hold down the bottom of the bezel:
* Replaced the bezel that fit under the steering wheel. The tabs on each side, at the top, that are supposed to slide into a clip, were both broken off:
I made an add-on tab for each side and fastened it with a screw. This is the bottom side of the photo above:
* Put all of the rest of the dash bezels back on. The dash will never be this clean again!
—————————————————————————
November 30th, 2019
* Added a magnetic license plate image to the steel cover plate over the radio slot:
—————————————————————————
December 11th, 2019
* Replaced the driver's side steering knuckle, u-joint, and ball joints.
* Aligned the front end & re-checked the steering wheel centering.
* Picked up a set of 5 stock wheels - 15 x 7s, with 5.25" of backspacing, and a 5 on 4.5 bolt pattern:
—————————————————————————
January 2nd, 2020
* Replaced the wheels with the stock wheels I obtained on December 11th.
* Replaced tires with new BFG A/T KO2s - 31x10.5x15.
—————————————————————————
January 3rd, 2020
With stock wheels back on the Jeep, I no longer needed the spare tire snubbers to be extended. BUT, with 10.5 tires, the stock spare tire mount was about an inch too shallow; the lug bolts on the mount did not extend out through the bolt holes on the stock wheel.
I found some large, 1" thick neoprene stoppers to use as spacers to set the stock spare tire mount out from the tailgate. (And 1" longer stainless steel bolts to attach it.) Now the spare sits tight against that bottom snubber, but not so tight that it binds the tailgate latch.
—————————————————————————
January 10th, 2020
Swapped the stock flares with Sahara model flares that I had painted to match my TJ. The combination of going back to stock wheels (with 5.25" of backspacing), and adding Sahara flares (1" wider), got my 10.5" wide tires tucked back in under the Jeep.
—————————————————————————
January 20th, 2020
Oil change. Was told that my differential fluid is a little dark even though it was changed just 3,000 miles ago. This is because it was never changed up 'til then.
—————————————————————————
January 21st, 2020
Had the front end alignment re-checked at C&J Automotive. I wanted to do this after replacing both the wheels and the tires, even though it was tracking perfectly. Jason at C&J said, "everything is right on the money.
—————————————————————————
January 21st, 2020
After having removed the "milk jug" ends from my bumpers, and replacing the factory fender flares with Sahara model flares that I had painted to match my TJ, I realized that the only gray plastic trim left on my Jeep was the license plate holder. So I painted it to match as well.
—————————————————————————
January 24th, 2020
Swapped the Trektop that came on m TJ for a Supertop NX because the Trektop was not designed to fold all the way down. Also added some custom mud guards I designed.
—————————————————————————
March 5th, 2020
Added 1" seat risers to both front seats.
—————————————————————————
April 16th, 2020
Oil change.
Changed transmission fluid and filter kit.
Replaced pinion shaft seal on the front differential.
Replaced pinion shaft seal on the rear differential.
—————————————————————————
May 4th, 2020
Replaced front seat belt receivers.
—————————————————————————
May 14th, 2020
Replaced handles/latches on old canvas half doors.
—————————————————————————
May 27th, 2020
Installed 4 Teraflex 2" Coil Spring Spacers.
Installed new Rancho shocks to accommodate the 2" lift.
—————————————————————————
June 15th, 2020
Install JKS quick-disconnect sway bar links.
Install new sway bar bushings.
—————————————————————————
June 18th, 2020
Installed JCR Offroad Crusader Rock Sliders.
—————————————————————————
October, 2020
Installed Yukon 4.88 gears in the differentials.
Installed Yukon limited-slip differential in the rear end.
Replaced the rear drive shaft.
Replaced the battery.
Replaced the alternator.
Added a wiring harness for my overlanding camper.
Broke in the new gears and then replaced gear oil in differentials.
Repainted hood, cowl, and driver's fender, flare, and door.
Increased value on Hagerty insurance policy.
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