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Jeeping Ohio - Hallsofstone's TJ Build

18K views 162 replies 21 participants last post by  hallsofstone 
#1 ·
Well folks, I've put this off long enough. I've been making some changes to my rig over the last few months and I'm heading into a major revamp of the suspension and doing a lot of overhaul kinds of stuff. Not a rich fella (unless things change) so you can expect this build to be on a small budget and to move at a slower pace than most....but faster than some.

My goal, post college, was to find a 4x4 to use around the farm and DD. When I graduated, I came home with my commuter Civic and daily drove that while I worked and saved. Moved into a family house on the other side of the farm and decided that it was time to get a Jeep. I looked at Cherokees and then decided firmly on a Wrangler.

I traded my 97 Honda Civic even up for the 94 YJ pictured below. My parents named it the "Black Sheep Jeep". I daily drove it, lifted it, wheeled it, and generally abused it. She was a learning experience I won't forget. She was sold to a local friend who still has her as a project.

When I got her:

When I sold her:


I had spent a bunch of time looking for a TJ. I wanted the D44 and really any and all aftermarket parts I could get already installed. Found the TJ I have now on CL. Owned by a local guy who was really cool. Used the money from the YJ sale to pay off half of the TJ and refinance, making monthly payments low and easy. Leaves me Jeep money...well sometimes.

The day I bought her:

A few days later:

(I have a few more pictures on another drive that I'll edit in later)

As Purchased:
2000 TJ Wrangler
160k miles
4.0L (replaced original with super low mile engine)
NV3550 5 spd
D30 front
D44 rear
3.73 gears
Open/Open diffs
Skyjacker Hydro shocks
2" budget boost with LJ coils (bout 3" lift total)
1.25" body lift
Homebrew Swaybar Disconnects
35x12.50x15 Maxxis Bighorns
Soft 8's
Rock Slider steps
Wide Flares
CJ front bumper
Winch Plate
Front D shackles + hooks
YJ bumperettes
Factory 2" Hitch
Hella bumper lights
KC Daylighters on windshield
Aux-in to Stock stereo

The next few posts are going to cover as much of the stuff I've done to my Jeep as best as I can remember. It probably won't be chronological. Probably will take me a while to catch up to where I am now. Feel free to ask questions as needed and comment away. I'd like to keep the first few pages uncluttered...at least until I can catch up to where I am now.

Thanks for looking folks! Wheel safe! :cheers2:
 
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#2 ·
Somewhere along the line, the Jeep had been endowed with a factory hitch. It was held on by two weak bolts and I decided that it sat too low anyway so it got sold for the Jeep fund. It also came with a spare set of D-window wagon wheels. They were 15's and actually pretty nice but I got sick of the wagon wheels on the YJ....so they got sold too, money diverted to the Jeep fund.

The top that came with the Jeep was original. I kept it on there for many months and it only leaked a little bit. Really, it was pretty impressive as it had some issues. I decided that it was time to hook the Jeep up with a nice top. The dark tan had grown on me so I looked for that as my #1 choice. Tops were so expensive that I knew it would be difficult to fit into my budget at the time, so I also considered black tops too. Eventually, I ran across a CL ad for a factory TJ top...at $75! I jumped on it and was really amazed. The top was perfect. The guy selling it had a TJ that his daughter wrecked with the hard top on. The soft top had stayed in their garage for quite a few years and he finally decided to pass it on and give someone a heck of a deal. Came with all perfect tinted windows, original packaging, frame, hardware, and boot.

Old:



New:





The old top was repaired and sold with hardware. Money was diverted to the Jeep fund.


Spare door surrounds were also sold for the Jeep fund.


At some point, I deleted the stock spare tire carrier from the tailgate to preserve the integrity. I knew that a tire swing was on the way, so I just ran with the spare strapped down inside the tub. Carrier was sold for the Jeep fund.

Decided I hated the wide flares. Deleted them and traded another Jeeper for his stock flares. I had some time the evening I took them off so I disconnected the swaybar and flexed the Jeep out on the rock pile I dumped in my driveway. It has become my favorite parking spot and has really helped me understand, troubleshoot, and enjoy the suspension on my Jeep.

Wide Flares:


Deleted, disco'd and flexed:


Now with painted stock flares:


At some point in there, the original Bighorn 35's were pulled because of tread depth issues. I sourced a set of 33x12.50x15 BFG AT's and slapped them on. The 35's were sold to a guy with a huge roller project and the proceeds went to the Jeep fund.

 
#3 ·
Eventually, the homebrew disco's were killed by my regular evening jaunts around the farm. I replaced them with JKS Quicker Disconnects and have made very good use of them. One of the best and easiest mods I've done.

Things stayed pretty normal for a while with few huccups. I pretty much drove and wheeled the TJ without doing any work for a few months, saving money and throwing huge absurd parties with my friends. At some point or another I was able to trade work for a spare tire carrier. Finally got it mounted up and MAN it's beef. I was not able to get to all the bolts, which is something I will come back to.





Ran topless on National Topless Day around that time.



Spent a bunch of time working on a friend's Cherokee:


And another friend's Cherokee:


And another friend's Cherokee:


And another friend's Cherokee...then sold it for her:


Helped my Dad sell his YJ...don't worry, he's not done Jeeping, just done with this Jeep:


Worked on this truck too...it got interesting to say the least:




 
#6 ·
Coming from the man with one of the most popular build threads on JF.com, THANKS! Stick around, with any luck this will get interesting!

I'm so proud of you for finally getting off your *** and starting a build thread :rofl:
Thanks, Ryan! I should have just done it the day I bought the Jeep but I really did not want to bore anyone. There may be some dry spells in here but I'll try to keep them lubricated with reviewing some of the better beers I run across while wrenching.



More to come...
 
#7 ·
I should probably take a moment to give a general direction in which I would like to see this build progress:

To compile/frankenstein my heep of Jeep into a well built, reliable, daily drivable, trail ready rig. It needs to be capable of hauling the dog, band gear, farm stuff, junk, etc. and therefore I need to retain the rear tub area and the seat for occasions which call for its use. The Jeep needs to be able to drive on the freeway for long distances as needed. It needs to be able to pull a small trailer.

Some general ideas of where I wasnt to end up:
35x12.50x15 mud tires
3.5" Coil Lift
1.25" body lift
Tummy Tuck (totally flat)
Under armor
Corner armor
Rocker armor
FLAT FENDERS !!!!!!! (looking at you, Ryan)
Rear LSD (not super aggressive, DD here)
HPD30 front w/ manual locker (probably OX)
4.56 gears
Winch
 
#8 ·
#11 ·
I had some cash laying around and was looking at the worn BFG's on my Jeep with some serious lack of trust. Spent some time on Craigslist and ran across a fellow selling a set of 33x12.50x15 Kumho Road Venture MT's for $400. I figured the price was too good to pass up even though I wanted 35's, so I emailed him. He told me later that I was not the first person to email him on them...just the only person that used complete sentences. He decided that I needed to be who he sold them to. So I drove down and bought them for $400 cash. They came off of an International Scout II that he had bought out of a field up near Cleveland. The tires that were on the Scout were totally shot and he planned to drive the truck back to Columbus. So he stopped by the local tire store and bought these, which are now discontinued and drove the 100 mi. or so South to his house. He started pulling the project apart and found major rust issues that he had not noticed before and decided that the tires would rot to waste before he got the project finished, hence the sale. I got lucky.



At some point I became painfully aware of the fact that my Jeep was wandering all over the road. The dead space in the center of the steering was a void big enough to be classified as a black hole. Therefore I decided that it was time to do some upgrades. I got online and ordered up the Rugged Ridge HD Crossover steering kit.

Lord Beefington the HD:


Pulled the old crap:




Bolted up the new:







I did a garage tape measure alignment and doublechecked torque on everything. Test drive was successful. Steering cycled perfectly with no clearance issues. Flexed disco'd on the rock pile and determined that it all would work perfectly with articulation. Loaded up the tires and headed into town for an alignment, mount, and balance...that's when stuff got really interesting.

Had to drive the roomate to work, so I got creative:



Did the alignment first, but never made it much beyond that. The steering gear box that had been leaking subtly for a while decided to spill it's pitiful life fluid all over the shop floor as the mechanic set up the alignment rack. I got a call, I bellowed a curse, then I picked up the Jeep and limped it home. Spent the next week soaking the bolts in PB Blaster and looking for a Durango box. Found one a few miles north at a junkyard. It was out of a 99 4x4 V8 with no plow and 60k miles. Paid like $75 or something for it. Brought it home and struggled for countless hours trying to get it installed. Had a very hard time with the pitman arms on both even after days of soaking in PB Blaster and WD-40. Ended up trading a single shot shotgun to my mechanic friend to swap them out for me. Had the Jeep back up and running and got rid of a pointless gun I less-than-liked. All told, the Jeep sat around for a couple weeks and I rode the Nighthawk to get around.

Eventually, the death wobble reared its pug-fugly head and I had to get drastic. I had an adjustable front trac bar laying around so I installed that. The old trac bar was totally shot on both ends, so I'm inclined to say it was an easy fix. Had the trac bar I put in laying around with a pile of parts I had picked up. Jeep drives perfectly up the road, no hands on the wheel, no pull, no dead space. Just tightness.

[to be edited with a Durango box pic]

Found this at the JY and cried a little:


Spent some time building a bike for a friend around then:


This is another backburner project, 2 speed direct drive MTB w/tensioner:


Also spent some time on the river:


Shot this thing a whole bunch:
 
#12 ·
Then one day I got into one of those super duper OCD modes I swing into from time to time and cleaned the holy hell out of my garage and reorganized my workbench area (note the all-important beer fridge to the lower right):


Cleaned and organized the rear area of the Jeep, tools and recovery on the left, straps on the right, fire extinguisher mounted. I had bedlined the rear cargo area with the spray-on stuff a while ago. It held up awesome. Still looks perfect. Cut out a section of some carpet I had laying around and laid it in there for noise dampening and in anticipation of an eventual dog.

Yup:


Somewhere along the line (I think before the steering fun) I ended up having a water pump go out on my so my Jeep sat for a minute right about here while I get stuff handled:


Bit by bit, bought some parts over time for eventual install given time and finances. I have a tendency to pick things up at good prices and then not have the cash on hand to handle install. Some stuff is bought to be installed in coordination with other stuff. Other things are bought because the price was right and the timing worked out with my budget.

2 pc. Steel Horse Hard top for $200, built a little rack for storage outside:



Factory LSD for the D44 rear:


Taurus 2 spd electric fan:


Rancho 3.5" Suspension lift, used, no sag, all hardware/TC drop, fixed lower CA's, extended rear trac bar, adjustable front trac bar:


HD gas tank skid (currently being painted and bedlined, it's notched for my rear bumper receiver already):


Sold this trailer that was left over from my last band and added to the Jeep fund:


In buying, selling, and trading, I've found the ability to sustain myself financially when bills get tight. Sometimes it takes a little bit to make things happen but you can do stuff along the way that facilitates accomplishing what you set out to do. If it does not speed up the process, it might distract you enough not to be concerned.

Here's my cat about to lash out irrationally from a beer box...just because:
 
#13 ·
More recently, I traded work for a set of rollbar/wheelwell speaker wedges. They have crappy Pioneers in them and some cheap tweeters. In the end, the goal was to get a little more sound out of the stock radio until I set aside enough money to upgrade the entire setup. I'm not sure that I like the wedges but they work. Decided to wire them in with the front speakers given the generally crappy sound coming out of them. When I pulled everything apart, I found the following:





I contacted Matt, the previous owner. He says he has no idea. Not his key. He never had that apart but he did know that the Jeep was originally owned by someone down in West Virginia. Seems whoever that was has been missing a key for quite a while now. If you're reading this, recognize this Jeep, this key, or whatever, PM me and I'll get it sorted out with you.

Another day, I decided that the front end looked horrific with all the rust. No before shots were taken that day but you can get the idea from other pictures in this build. Everything got washed realy well and then I pulled the front bumper (which is from an old CJ) and wire wheeled it. Repainted that with Rustolem Rust Tough Semi-Flat Black. I masked off the grille and wire wheeled the front winch mount, hooks, swaybar, and frame. Sprayed everything down with quite a few coats of the stuff and I'm happy with the result:






The exhaust finally took a massive crap. I could hear stuff jangling around in there and it sounded like trolls playing the steel girders of a bridge with large rocks. I went to my favorite muffler shop and had them install a Flowmaster copy muffler and custom bent pipe. I've used this same type of muffler before on a couple different vehicles. Really impressed with how long they last and even more impressed with the sound. The old tailpipe hung low and at a strange angle (can be seen in previously posted pics). Out with the old in with the new.

Inexpensive and a win:


There's more stuff I've skipped over and missed. I'll add and edit more of that later. For now, here's a couple shots of the Jeep after I beat the rain home the other day. These are more-or-less currently where my Jeep sits:



 
#14 ·
The plan tomorrow is to head out first thing in the AM with my redheaded friend, Molly. She and I are going to drive up to Ann Arbor in her Volvo to meet with some folks. The goal here is to adopt a puppy. But not just any puppy....THIS puppy:



As time permits this weekend, I may continue with any number of ongoing projects with this Jeep. Some of those are as follows:
Frame cleanup/painting (could coordinate with rotating tires)
Throttle body cleanup/reinstall (would like to buy a spacer and install that at the same time)
Gas tank skid finish/install...also other bolts on bumper

I need to pick up some Ground Pounder Fab bumper tie-in brackets from Eddie, a pair of Brown Dog MML/mounts, a UCF lopro tranny mount, and a Novak shifter cable. The last two things are in anticipation of installing the 3.5" Rancho lift I have collecting dust. The idea here is to maintain the stock skid without a drop and without a SYE. This is because I get hung up enough on my stock shovel, lowering it does not help me at all. On the other hand, it will take me a while to save up enough for the SYE/DS/Flat skid. It should get me by until then.

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f234/ground-pounder-fab-frame-tie-brackets-771148/

http://browndogindustries.com/CU288...Cylinder-1-Inch-Motor-Mount-Lifts-Rubber.aspx

http://undercoverfab.com/brackets-and-tabs/78-ucf-lopro-transmission-mount-97-02.html

http://www.novak-adapt.com/catalog/shifters/sk2xc.htm

Also, I'm starting to do some research on which SYE/DS combination I could go with that will save me some money. If anyone has suggestions, please feel free to voice them.
 
#15 ·
Went ahead and ordered the frame tie-in brackets from Eddie at Ground Pounder Fab. I've seen so many people talk about them and frankly, I can't think of a better way to beef up that rear bumper for towing. Bracket kit should hit the mail sometime Monday.

Many thanks to Eddie! Super easy to deal with.
 
#18 ·
I was going to have a set fabbed up but for what Eddie is asking buying from him is a no brainer. Picked up the puppy yesterday. She's a goofball and I'm just amazed at how well behaved she is. She heels to me like she was with me from the very beginning.
 
#20 ·
#22 ·
Ohio is a really awesome place to live as long as you can find work and keep it. Job-wise and otherwise, the only other place I'd consider going to live would be Crawlerado. All my buddies keep telling me that if I come out to visit them I'll never want to come back to Ohio.

Thanks much for the compliment!
 
#23 ·
Thats illegal here in jersey, dogs have to be harnessed in. Cannot have their heads out the window..hands down the most ridiculous law i've ever heard.
 
#25 ·
Seems there's no real law on that subject here in Ohio. Ohio does, however, have a law on the books that restricts more than 5 women to live in the same household. Supposedly, it is in place to prevent the accumulation of brothels.

Now THATS an absurd law. Here's a link to a few others that boggle the mind:

http://voices.yahoo.com/dumb-ohio-laws-40239.html?cat=17

I've contemplated moving back when I get out of the military but like you said, the job situation isnt the best in OH. So FL will probably be where I end up.
From the perspective of a college educated guy, things don't look good. The competition for entry level jobs includes many applicants with 5+ years in the field because they'll take what they can get. This allows employers to set the bar higher...and they do. There is a yearly flood of new college grads looking for jobs and for those of us who were "left behind" in the major hiring downswing in the economy ('08, '09, '10), economists openly estimate us to recover financially (comparably) in around 10 years.

College is a gamble these days. It certainly was when I was there. I know quite a few people who will NEVER pay off their student loans as long as they live. I consider myself lucky. Still, Ohio still has lots of good factory and fabrication positions, nursing/healthcare positions, IT positions (especially institutional), and commercial driving positions. Sometimes it's relative to the area too.

Always look before you leap.
 
#26 ·
Eddie's brackets were waiting for me when I got home today. Holy crap thats fast shipping! Pure beef. Paint and mount to go down asap.
 
#28 ·
I chive every day they are sober enough to publish stuff and keep calm in the meantime. I still get all excited when people run up to me when I'm wearing the KCCO shirt.

:cheers2:
 
#30 ·
Thanks much and I'm glad to see you stopped by! Your patience is phenomenal with the dial-up. I try to take pictures as much as possible. These days, we have easy to point and shoot smartphones that take decent pictures. I can't help but snap some knowing that when myself or other readers check this out, they will be happy to see pictuers.

A build thread without pictures is like a taco without cheese!
 
#31 ·
Well, it's been stupid hot and humid over the last few days so I'm not really able to get any painting done. Also, my bank shut down my card for security reasons (stupid restrictive, happens every time I leave the state) because I used my card in Ann Arbor last Saturday. Been trying to get them to release it since Sunday and I'm now out of cash and gas until I cash my paycheck tmr afternoon. This has been going on for many months now. They won't change the security settings and this may prompt me to change banks after 20 years. They also lock access to my online account if I don't log in at least once every 5 days. You have to call in to get them to relase it and reassign you a new password (45 minute process every time at bare minimum). Drives me absolutely bonkers. I have no contingency because I cut up all my credit cards after paying them off. No matter how hard you try to avoid it, the bankers will ALWAYS have you by the balls.

Looks like I'm on the motorcycle in the rain tomorrow...unless a couple people who owe me some money miraculously come up with some cash.
 
#32 ·
Skipped the motorcycle because of this craptacular weather (the farmer in me is happy though). Drove the Jeep even though she's been on E since yesterday. Made it to work without running out of gas and I hope she will make it to the bank and then the gas station here at noon. On the bright side, I only have to work a half day on my birthday tomorrow. First time in a lot of years I'll not have to work a full shift on my birthday...and this time...it's all OVERTIME!
 
#33 ·
Ok. So Molly got me the Walking Dead Compendium Vol. 1 for my birthday today. Totally awesome. Can't wait to read that. I'm a total geek and she's had me reading the Star Wars Han Solo trilogy. Been kind of nice to spend these super hot, humid days in the AC reading but I need to get back to work on this heep of Jeep to prep for serious fall wheeling.

I have a question for anyone following. I plan to nix the BB and install my 3.5" set of coils and solid lower control arms. The coils are used (1 year on a mall crawled RUBI) and will sag a slight bit...PO said to about 3" but his Jeep was DECKED out with super heavy recovery/armor/spare/10k winch/jack (much of which he added a month before selling the lift to me). I expect to see about +3.25" or so. Basically, I'm trying to figure out how to negate driveline vibe. I want to maintain the stock skid until I can SYE/belly up/CV shaft my Jeep. Bump stops are still set up for 35" tires and she's back down on 33" tires. With this lift, I'm looking at going from a 2" puck to 3.5" spring, so +1-1.5", and my 35" tires measured roughly 2.5"larger than my current 33's. That SHOULD put me in the no-rub ballpark with these coils but I expect to have to do some fine tuning to get the most flex out of this setup. My current shocks are too long for the budget boost. I will continue to use them until they give cause to be replaced.

So here's what I was going to do:
1" Brown Dog MML
UCF LoPro tranny mount
No skid spacers
Stock rear upper control arms.

For now I'm hoping that I can get away with no vibes. Anybody forsee any problems with this or would this work out ok? There is a possibility that I could have everything together within the next week or two if I can make this work.

Anybody got any used adjustable rear upper control arms they wanna sell me super cheap? I feel like this would be a good insurance policy for the pinion angle. Also, anyone local and interested in helping will be compensated with GOOD beer and excellent pizza.
 
#34 ·
^If anyone gets a chance to come back to this, I'd appreciate it. Otherwise I'll experiment in the moment and just tell you all how it goes.

Birthday weekend was great. Saw my grandpa and spent quite a bit of time at home reading and relaxing. I even got a nap. Ordered a couple small Jeep things from Amazon today and some new grips for the 1911. We'll see how those work out. Picking up a safari top after work with the puppy. Pics to come.
 
#35 ·
So you mention wanting to keep the stock skid for now, until funds allow for the mess of things involved with a tuck. Does that mean you're willing to run a TC drop? If you are you might just be able to get away with using your stock uppers. Remember: every Jeep is different, so this might not be the case in your situation. However, I ran my 3" coil with stock lowers and uppers on my D35 for 2 years with a 1" TC drop and no vibes to speak of. I think this is one of those situations during which you are going to just need to experiment with your rig and see what she'll take.

As far as the control arms... Let me just say that I would recomment (please don't bash me or label me as a "fanboy") but I really would recommend a double jointed C.A. I recently discovered that my frame side passenger rear upper mount is peeled off the frame... when my trac bar snapped a few weeks ago the lateral force of the axle + the solid rubber bushing of the control arm at the frame side bent the entire piece and tore it from the frame. Had I had a jointed set up this wouldn't have happened. The other option would be to pick up a set of Rough Country uppers for $160-170 and sell them down the road for 3/4 of that price if/when you buy a higher end set.

If I lived anywhere near you I'd be over to help! :2thumbsup:
 
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