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The "Dirty Nugget" build '01 WJ

9K views 44 replies 10 participants last post by  mxjosh 
#1 ·
Copied this over from another forum so some things have changed since then

I picked up my WJ back in June, it's an '01 Laredo with only 47k miles and that is turning out to be its downfall. Due to is age and low miles it has either sat for a period of time or was only drove a mile or two at a time, either one is not good on a vehicle, so i'm currently trying to get her caught back up to par mechanically.

I had been doing pretty well, got my associates degree and landed a good job so I decided to purchase a more reliable vehicle. I went back and forth between fuel efficent cars, mustangs, diesels, every thing and decided that i was gonna go with an suv and if i was gonna do that i was gonna get one with a solid axle and thats what landed me on the WJ. Then I decided on the 4.0l due to its reputation for longevity and the select-trac transfer case.

Here's the truck i sold to help pay for the Jeep, it was a little bit more akward off road then what the jeep is and was not as practical with only room for 2.



Here's the jeep as it sits



So far i've put new u-joints in the rear shaft and have had to replace the passenger side window motor, its gonna need a brake job and a tune up soon as well

Mods so far:

Gutter guard grill inserts



Mounted the cb in place of the ash tray





mounted a 3' Firestik on the back





Cabelas trail guide seat covers, they fit good and have lots of pockets in the back for storage



also added a new Curt hitch



and i'm currently working on a cargo carrier



I attempted to split the headlight housings to remove the amber plastics and just about destroyed it so looks like i'll be buying to headlights now anyway

My plans for it eventually will be:

4" IRO basic lift
33" tires on functional beadlocks
rear tire carrier mounted under the factory bumper
front light bar with rigid duallys
hefty roof rack cross bars for the canoe
gonna need an exhaust so why not upgrade
possible intake
rear locker and diff guards front and rear
t-case skid
rock sliders
high lift
just name a few

My plans are more expedition based while still being a daily driver, and with still being a college student the build will be slower
 
#27 ·
thanks, yea i've seen them push the bumper out, the plan sooner or later is for a tube bumper

as far as the addco goes, i really didn't notice any difference, kinda of disappointed, it still floats all over the road, i'm used to it but i had a buddy drive me home one night, after too much drinking lol and he was all over the road

as far as flex goes, i never got out to see if it was any different but i did notice the rear tires weren't rubbing the top of the flares like they were before

IRO gives you extended rear sway bar links with the lift, maybe i need to put the stock links back on
 
#28 ·
installed the 12oclock labs speed calibrator from motomummy.com, thanks to theksmith for the write up, installtion was super easy, programming was super easy, it i was surprised it worked the first time, it went almost too easy, speedometer is right on with the gps, and now that my odometer is correct i will actually be able to see what kind of mileage i'm gettin out of this pig now
 
#29 ·
well i'm still in desperate need of some coil retainers but i went ahead and spent some money somewhere else, i bought a 30" led light bar from Seward off road, this thing is awesome!!



 
#31 ·
i'm about 30 mins north of youngstown and about 25 mins east of SOR, only about 5 miles from the PA line
 
#32 ·
Nice looking rig. Some sliders and you'll be looking great. I like to see how capable the IRO 3" is, just a little bummed by the wandering issues. Have you replaced any other suspension parts to help?
What front driveshaft do you have?

Oh yeah, great job on the spare tire carrier. Nice, simple, and effective. I'll remember what you did if I ever cross this bridge. :thumbsup:
 
#33 ·
i haven't replaced anything else suspension wise, i haven't really had time to look into much more, as far as it wandering, i've pretty much just gotten used to it, but when anybody else drives it they definitely float around a little bit

also i've been having issues with my addco rear sway bar, the brackets are almost too long and hang below the mount, this causes them to get caught on rocks and the bolts work their way lose until they fall out, so far i've lost 3 bolts and bent the brackets pretty good

the front drive shaft i know is ujoints in the front and cv at the t-case, not sure the actual name of it but so far its held up just fine with absolutely no signs of fatigue

my plan for now is to drop a big wad of cash off at the bank and get the title from them in about a week or two, then thats pretty much it for a while, maybe limit straps, but i'm holding off on anything big until i buy some new axles for it, then i'm gonna do a complete tear down and build up, gears, lockers, truss kit, 4 link, somewhere around 6.5 to 8 inches of lift and 35"s or 37"s, well atleast thats the plan
 
#34 ·
well my wallet is just a tad bit lighter now, just put my order in for an aussie locker, BTF kryptonite diff cover and everything else needed to completely rebuild the rear axle and brakes
 
#35 ·
so i spent a long week waiting to get my jeep back from the differential guy, been driving my old escort all week and it was driving me nuts

So as it sits now, the rear end has had every bearing and seal replaced, complete brake job, minus the rotors, Aussie locker installed and a new Riddler MFG cover powder coated orange, and yes i know, locker in a D35 = broken axles, i give myself 2 broken shafts before i consider a swap, then depending on several factors it will receive either an 8.8" with wheel spacers or a full on D60 swap and lift

my pile of parts to start



cover done in orange



also decided that i was gonna move the driver's seat back some, don't know why i never thought of it before, track and slides are still functional and gave me 3" of additional leg room, made a noticeable difference, as for rear seat leg room, well there wasn't much back there before





another item on my list is to remedy this problem



don't know if i wanna have a skid plate made or do a tank tuck
 
#36 ·
Went out to our local spot a couple of weeks ago, locker worked pretty well but the jeep's biggest down fall in the mud is ground clearance, got it stuck once but got out pretty easy, not too many good pics but you can see in these the LED bar works pretty well,





Then today we went out to Southington Off-road Park for their black friday run, the locker is awesome, went up alot of stuff in the snow that i couldn't do in the summer





The park is situated in an old quarry, it has alot of trails perched on the edge, above and below of the cliff face





This is my first real trail damage, looks alot worse in person, flattened the rocker right out and creased it pretty good, my order some rock rails from JCR after the first of the year



My buddy ended his day with a broken tie rod, had to drive back to his house, get his brothers truck and trailer and then fight to get it on the trailer, i think at this point he was tired of me taking pictures :rofl:

 
#38 ·
i've got finals at school starting the 9th, so maybe i'll head out there that weekend, hadn't really planned on it, but who knows
 
#40 ·
there was a maroon one there yesterday, small lift, black wheels, roof rack, looked good but mid way through the day it was sitting my the pavilion with a strap hanging off the front, must have broke something
 
#41 ·
Made the most importance purchase today, went to the bank and paid off my loan...28 months early! :2thumbsup::2thumbsup::pickle::banana::duhrock:
 
#44 ·
been awhile since I posted anything, start out with a trip to The Bantam Jeep fest in Butler, PA, got to see Kraken



Then I bought myself a 2013 Jetta Tdi, 6 speed and all the bells and whistles, plus you can't beat 42mpg



out at the mud hole



my bro bought himself a YJ



bought a new hobart 230v mig



then this was my ride home after this weekends trip, broken rear axle shaft, bent tie rod and tore up both rocker panels







plan for the rockers is to cut them out and flush mount some sliders, bought a jks hd tie rod and a donor axle to get it back on the road for now
 
#45 ·
Build looks great man. I'm running the same lift set up and keep thinking bit possibly going with flares. I'm in Ohio too, how much for you to replicate that tire carrier for one for me!? Haha
 
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