[Jacko84]

Well, I figured it's time to start my own build thread after enjoying and learning so much from other members here.
My WJ is a 2002 Limited with the 4.7L HO engine, quadra-drive system (NV247), 454RFE transmission and 135K miles. I've been very happy since I purchased it in September 2011.
Here she is:


I've kept up with all the maintainance, I bought it from the first owner who gave me all the records of previous maintainance. So far I've enjoyed very mild wheeling locally and it's amazing what it can do with street tires (245/70R17)


I already have my lift coming in the mail, I'm going with:
-OME HD springs
-Bilstein 5100s shocks
-JKS track bar
-Moog HD steering stabilizer

Our friend Kolak and other members in the WJ section pointed me to the right direction, I wanted a moderate lift since this is my dd and weekend warrior.
I'm also planning on getting sway bar link extensions, coil isolators and more aggresive tires sometime soon.


I will post pics of the goodies once they arrive and update on the installation

[Jacko84]

One of the few mods I've done was a wheelskins for my steering wheel. It was a bit pricey but well worth it. My steering wheel felt squished and worn out. These wheelskins are real leather, you have to sew it in place which took about 20 mins and after watching an installation video on YouTube it was a piece of cake. Highly recommended, bought this from Amazon.

[belial79]

Nice looking wj How big is the uppcoming lift?

[Jacko84]

Originally Posted by belial79

Nice looking wj How big is the uppcoming lift?

Thanks! I'm hoping to get close to 3". There are several members running the same setup and gained anywhere from 2.75" to 3" so we'll see...

[Jacko84]

Ok, so finally got my lift all in the mail today, thanks to Kolak for the advice, pleasure doing business with him. I'll be working on it this weekend. Here are some pics:

Still in the shipping boxes


And I just arranged them like this to pump me up for this weekend. It makes me feel that I won all of this in a raffle or something lol

[Jacko84]

This is unrelated to my build but I found some pics of when we installed a bb from Fat Bob's Garage on my brother's WJ. We had fun doing it and it was good experience for the both of us.
Here is a pic of my brother disconnecting his sway bar:


Using a set of coil compressors that we rented from Autozone:


Front right spring removed:


Aftermath:



That was about 2 months ago, since then we've replaced the steering stabilizer and he got a different set of stock wheels and more aggresive tires. I wish we had taken more pics of the process but the bb was kicking our butts since it was the first time we tackled a lift. I'll do a better job at documenting the process when we install mine

[Dusk53]

awh man, took me awhile to figure out you can easily droop that axle enough to just let the coils fall out / put new ones in.

[Jacko84]

Yeah, you just have to jack it up high enough to be able to drop the axles low enough for the coil to "pop" out. They still need a little help after that and disconnecting sway bars also helps

[Jacko84]

Well we finally got to install the lift today and for some reason it seemed easier than putting in my brother's bb. Maybe because we already knew what to do and what not to do.
Started by spraying some PB blaster the night before and the morning of, it helped quite a bit.


Here is a pic of the first task, removing lug nuts and front wheels



Old springs and shocks


First shock out


Coils, shocks removed and sway bar disconnected


Comparison of OME HD front spring and stock front spring


Coil and Bilstein 5100s shocks installed and sway bar reconnected


Old steering stabilizer out and new Moog one in



Ended up having to make an unplanned trip to the home depo because I forgot that the shocks don't come with hardware so I got 4 5/16 x 1/2 bolts, 8 washers and 4 nylon lock nuts


Front end finished and low end still sitting low


Rear wheels removed and ready to take out the old


Old shock and coil


New goodies in


Finished product

[Jacko84]

Took it around town for a test drive and it does ride softer and has a more "forgiving" feel to it but I gotta say, it feels a bit more bouncy, specially in the back. Here are the measurements prior to the lift:
FR: 18.5
FL: 18
RR: 18.5
RL: 19
After lift measurements:
FR: 21.5
FL: 21.5
RR: 21
RL: 21
So gained about 3" in the front and about 2.5" in the back. I did not replace the coil isolators at this time, I plan to do it next year as they were still in decent shape.
I will install my adjustable track bar tomorrow, the heat was horrible and it drained us fast. We started at around 11am and finished at around 4pm. We had temperatures of around 103F!

[Ranger94]

Subscribed. Lift looks good. Looking forward to following your build.

[Jacko84]

Originally Posted by Ranger94

Subscribed. Lift looks good. Looking forward to following your build.

Thanks man!
Next thing on the list are (not in order of importance):
quick discos
sway bar link extensions
roof basket
and I would love to steal Billzcat1's idea for a front winch mount without changing the front bumper. ABlaydes also has some really neat ideas in his build thread

[ablaydes]

Very Nice And it's about time lol jk

[Jacko84]

Originally Posted by ablaydes

Very Nice And it's about time lol jk

No kidding!

[ablaydes]

You said that it was bouncy in the rear, Did you remember to tighten the shock bolts while it was on the ground and under its own weight ? Mine isn't bouncy the reason why I ask

And now it's time for some more aggressive Meats !