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Impact Orange LJ

273K views 2K replies 129 participants last post by  dayriesw 
#1 ·
****EDIT: lost all the pictures due to photobucket on 7-4-13.... Slowly trying to replace broke links with new flickr links.
*** Jeep is driving around and back on DD duty... 7-6-13

This is my third Jeep.

First Jeeps build thread
http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f22/my-dream-vehicle-903781/
/\ Build thread to my first CJ





My Second (and back up for the LJ)


In late summer 2010, I traded my safe and secure DD for a 2005 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited LJ with a few mods. This thread is started to help me keep track of all the things I done with this Jeep and for help and input from fellow Jeepers. I have a "build" direction and an idea of what I want the LJ to look like and how I want it to handle, but I view this Jeep as a life long project. With that said, here she is.

IMG_0093 - Copy
Still on the lot.

It came with:
~51,000 miles
4.0 I6 232
6 speed manual
231tc
dana 30 locked (full time)
dana 44 rear locked (full time)
Clayton belly skid
Big Daddy off road bumpers (f and r) with steering skid
35" x 12.5" BFG KM2
~3" lift-might be RE
~1" body lift
Full cage
Full hard doors
currie/rusty's cross over steering (found this out much later)
and a few other things

This is my third Jeep, but my first DD.

After it got home to meet the other one.





Drove it like that for a while, then started to change it the way I wanted....


Painted Flares




Wheeled it




Wheeled it




Wheeling with fellow member


Replaced the winch on the front with the one that was on my CJ. 8274 are the best


New doors


Wheeled




Added switches


New wheels and tires. MT Kevlars 35"x12.5" on Procomp Steelies

After the new tires went on, I realized the steering need another upgrade. Currently the Jeep is parked until this weekend when the new steering goes on.

I am going to leave it at this. I'm sure there is more that I forgot.
 
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#2 ·
I love that color. And I love the chief! They are my favorite fsj's. We should be friends. You should move up here and we can wheel. I'll let you drive the pumpkinator if you let me romp around in the chief. :)
 
#3 ·
Yeah. I'll get right on that. Although it has been fun driving around the chief for the last two weeks while Ive been gathering parts for the steering. The pumkinator looks good. Glad to see another impact getting built.
 
#6 ·
I recently replaced my tires and needed an alignment, plus I was getting a bad case of death wobble. Took the heep in for an alignment and they said I needed to replace my (see post above). Two weeks of shipping later....
 
#5 ·


New steering - Currie correct lync
new track bar - JKS adjustable
new pitman arm - stock
new wheel and tires

Still running without a stabilizer. The shop said that I need a bracket built to run the currie stabilizer, costing about 1 man hour (create and install). But the jeep handled great going to work thru the city and on the state roads ~65mph. I never knew a Jeep could handle this well!



First topless in a while... :)
 
#7 ·
Went wheeling this weekend for the first time with the new tires, wheels and steering. Felt great driving. The only pictures we remembered to take where in mud / clay pit. Went with a toyota tacoma.









 
#9 ·

Saw this mid last week. Upon more close inspection,





I just replaced the missing nut and bolt with a similar one. I guess I will start disconnecting when I go off road....
Unless someone can identify what piece it is that I broke, I guess I might go to a system like the currie sway bar or similar.

On a side note, the chief has been sold.
 
#10 ·
Brakes

The Jeeps brake were not stopping as well as I thought they should and we starting to squeek.. Took it to the brake shop and they replaced the f/r pads, rear rotors, and bled the system. Now it is stopping! :tea:
 
#11 ·
Last week I noticed that I was leaking oil from the pan. Since I was going on a trip over the weekend, I decided to bite the bullet and get a local shop to take a look. Turns out my exhaust was rubbing against the pan which created a hole-so new pan, gasket and an oil change later.


They finished the job just in time for me to go to Louisiana Mudfest. Appearently, there was over 20,000 people there including people riding everything from four wheelers thru a lifted limo.

My favorite vehicle that I saw parked beside my Jeep.

The owner said it started life as a 86 Laredo.

After my real big stuck, I backed off a little.






And pulled others out



This guy was on 38s and his 350 would not start. I told him I would give it a try.... and got him out.

My only damage was when a guy on a four wheeler drove behide me was a was backing up.

I guess my next mod is to wrap around the license plate. I am just glad he and his girlfriend who were both riding did not get hurt.

All in all, a great weekend with a lot of custom trucks, good friends, and camping.
 
#15 ·
I just picked up the same rear bumper yesterday, I did not know the brand but knew I had seen it on this site. Not too many of these out here. Going to have to get used to the reverse swing, but being as free was the price I can't complain.
 
#16 ·
I really like it. It took me about a week to figure out how to open it. Since then, a friend of mine made me an aluminum piece that makes it a lot easier to screw on and off. And yeah, it is a little weird about the reverse swing, but that is just another reason to do the cj flip down tailgate conversion.... It does offer good protection behind the wheels for the tub. The company is called Big Daddy Offroad.

On a side note, the rear leak has been fixed. Just need a new pinion seal. I guess that was from the mud fun this weekend.
 
#20 ·
I saw your Jeep on Autotrader when I was shopping for one. Too much Jeep for what I wanted. Glad it ended up in capable hands. Love the additions. I'll be following the thread. Keep up the good work. :thumbsup:
 
#22 ·
Did some wheeling with Brian this weekend before his clutch started to over heat. Only cool shot of the the yj flex



Then installed this.





Easy install and great instructions. It feels a lot better on road so far. I tried some back yard flexing but nothing crazy yet. The antirock is on the fourth setting right now and I plan on getting a feel for it before trying a new one.

Thanks again Gerald @ Savvyoffroad.com
 
#27 ·
Been thinking about storage ideas lately. Here are a few ideas that I've settled on. Both of these are because of summer and the increased toplessness.

How it started.





Smittybilt overhead storage.


Rampage Jerry/toolbox

Still waiting on my Jerry can mount when I will relocate the can.
 
#28 ·
7-14-11

Well Today makes a year of ownership. It has transformed for this:







To this:






Favorite picture so far.

And my latest STUCK!



In the last two weeks, I have replaced the front wheel bearing and learned that I need to replace a u-joint on the rear drive shaft and lengthen my front drive shaft some. Always something else to do. :cheers2:
 
#29 ·
Thumbs up for sexy Impact Orange TJ's :2thumbsup:

Looks like you found a pretty good vehicle to start with that came with some good starters to make it a capable rig. It's always nice to see pictures of a Jeep's build as it goes through the stages... never ending stages! :brickwall

Keep up the good work and abuse!
 
#30 ·
J_Impact said:
Thumbs up for sexy Impact Orange TJ's
Thanks. Work in progress.

Speaking of that. Dropped the clay skid plate this afternoon to remove the front drive shaft. While I was down there, I clean quiet a bit of mud/stuff out.




With the plate off

By the way, this Clayton lj skid plate is awesome. Recommend and it definitely has been taking some abuse.

 
#32 ·
Well the squeaking from above post has gone away. I was getting tired of the "CJ" style mirrors (always re-tightening the brackets and they shook so much at 50 mph or over) so I replaced them with some mirror re-locators. This has added 4" to the overall width of the Jeep. Also I added a cowl cover for a later mod I have in mind.





And yesterday, my friend decided it was time to take his 2011 4 door rubicon out for the inaugural run at local Camp Claiborne. It is a army/military camp from the 1940s that still has a lot of old structures and utilities from back in the day. A lot of offroaders use this place for camping and what have you.







The rubicon seems to handle everything Brian took it threw, but we will see better in the rainy season. I do not have as many pictures this time because we actually brought a real camera and another person who took a lot of pictures while we drove.

Coming in this afternoon, hood vents. I also have a aux fuse box that I need to install to get my ext lights, cb and rock lights back to working.
 
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