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Summer TLC and Upgrades for my TJ (pic heavy)

4K views 31 replies 10 participants last post by  Lastshot 
#1 ·
Whats up JF!
Just wanted to show off some of the work I did this summer on my TJ. My 98' sport is just approaching 93,000 miles, but after living in the northeast for the past few years it's frame was beginning to show some typical general rust and rot.
I decided that the sagging springs and original shocks were completely shot and had to be replaced. I also decided I would have to paint the frame before it sees another winter in Oswego, (watching rust grow while your stuck at school sucks!).
To Top it off, I decided to upgrade the sound system. My faceplate for my Sony head unit was stolen out of the jeep this past semester, and sony wanted 150$ for just the faceplate... Thats not happening...

First things first, found a good deal on a set of newer tj style seats (03'+) that was local! met up with a fellow JF member, ryanwhiteaker. Had a drink and talked about the seats and his TJ build, 40" tires!?!? Thanks again Ryan, the seats are great:thumbsup:


The next day I had a friend come over to help me out with some of the work, we first had to remove the old seats,


Of course nothing is ever straight forward, and even with lots of PB blaster, I sheared off one of the passenger side seat bolts...Ended up having to take off the old nut-cert and getting a new one tacked on...


Once both seats were out, we pulled the panels off for the front speakers. I had previosly installed 5.25" speaker adapters for the front, but only had a cheap pair of pioneers to go in. That would be changed shortly...


Heres one of my 6'4" friends trying to get the New kicker speakers in. He's a little cramped...


I moved the Pair of Kicker Ks525's I had in the soundbar before to the front, since I was upgrading the head unit, I figured I might as well do the 6.5" speaker in soundbar mod as well! Back to ebay and crutchfield!


Finished shot with the seats in, makes my 98' look good! They are also sitting about an inch, maybe inch and a half lower to the floor than the orginal seats, much better for my 6'3" height. Now I might not smack my head on the ground If I roll! Also, it's alot easier to see traffic lights.


More to come!.....
 
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#2 ·
Part TWO

Only a day went by before I was stumbling the JF classifieds again, and found a stock Rubicon suspension that looked to be in great shape, shocks springs and stabilizer for a price I couldn't pass up...

Snagged those up and couldn't wait until they came in, so in the meantime I Bought some throttlebody cleaner. I was hoping to see if it would help the hesitation and tendency to almost stall when pushing in the clutch, when I pulled off the hose, I wasn't surprised to see it was almost black. Cleaned it and the sensor as well and here's the result.


After a tough start, and some brisk driving, the jeep was running great. The idle had smoothed out definitely, and it no longer wants to stall when I put the clutch in to stop. When I arrived home, ups had visited again dropping off a package...I realise that it's my new soundbar speakers.Might as well run out the the craft store and grab some polyfill before I throw those in! Of course I bought waay too much.....


Here's the new speakers,a pair of Polk DB651s. They seem very well built and solid. Couldn't beat the price and they are also Marine certified.


I trimmed back some of the fabric and foam that was around the Soundbar speaker holes. I then stuffed a generous amount of polyfill into the bar, I didn't want any rattles and was hoping for better bass response once I got the system together. I then used the brackets they included to mark where to drill the holes. A centerpunch worked fine. After that, I just used some self tapping screws and the speakers went right in! I also made sure to install the foam surrounds they came with to seal the holes tightly.


I was going to the beach the next day, but the rest of my system wouldn't be in until mid week. Having these installed without being able to hear them sucked!!
At the beach, me realizing how low my Tj actually sits.
 
#3 ·
Part three

A few days went by, and the tracking numbers for the rest of the sound system showed that the headunit and amp would be delivered. I decided to get the jeep ready by stripping out the dash so I could install them when they arrived.


I wasn't disappointed as the USPS mail truck showed up early that day, I had the system out of the boxes ready to install before it was even noon! Heres my New to me Alpine CDA-117, and Brand new Alpine Powerpack 45w amp. I thought it was a really great way to push my Kickers and new Polks.


After making a big sandwich and grabbing a tall Arnold Palmer, I was ready to to splice the new harness for the Alpine Headunit. This isn't as bad as it looks, just match up the colors for the most part:2thumbsup:


Next, I had a UPS truck drive up to the house and deliver me a Zone Offroad box. Awesome!:thankyou: It was the Rubi Springs and shocks I got off the JF classifieds!


Heres a picture of the full wiring harness done and treated to a unhealthy amount of zip ties....Notice how the amp lies just between the headunit and the harness in the jeep? Too simple to hookup!


I was able to fit the amp in between the headunit and the glovebox, took a little bit of moving wires but it's tucked in nicely. Leaving a nice clean install. After not having music in the jeep for almost 3 months, I was a happy man:drool:
 
#7 ·
Part 5: POR 15

again, using my new angle grinder I was able to wire brush majority of the frame, including shock towers and even the spring perches. With all serious surface rust and flaking metal removed, I was ready to paint.

I decided to go the Por-15 route and topcoat it with Rustoleum semi gloss. After applying the "metal ready" primer and then wiping the frame down with water, I was laying down the first coat. I waited 5 hours afterwards to apply the topcoat of Rustoleum while it was still tacky (as directed) and then woke up in the morning to find my frame looking great!!!:cheers:


I should have taken some closeups, but I can tell you from in person, It's a solid finish!




Love it! The power pack drives these speakers hard and clear! Can't wait to maybe install a Sirgcal style sub box to make it a complete system! I remember reading some reviews about the headunit, and they stated that the screen emits a high pitched whine, and it does. However, unless I put my ear right next to the actual faceplate (not the speakers) I can't hear it. also, It's not like I would hear it over the soft top or even with the top down.
 
#6 ·
Part 4: suspension time!

Here's The Rubicon suspension I picked up along with some Daystar spacers. Just enough to clear the tires so they don't rub at full lock. The jeep is my DD, I constantly find people in the backseat and hauling stuff to school and wanted the heavier spring rate.


Again, Pb Blaster failed on a few bolts while removing the old parts. At least I got to try out my Harbor freight angle grinder!


Front all removed, time for the back!


Heres a few shots to show you how bad my original springs had gotten, as well as the shocks. Also note how rusty the frame is, with even a spot of some bad rot.

 
#8 ·
With the front sway bar disconnected, I was able to easily slip in the new springs without a spring compressor. The only tricky part was to reinstall the bumpstop ends. Those suckers are hard to get back in!!!

Front done, and Looking waaay better than before!


Most of the install went by painlessly, except for the passenger side rear shock...PB blaster and Liquid wrench didn't help me out on this one either, as I snapped half the bolt off into the upper shock mount...uhoh..

I ended up spending a couple hours of my life drilling this bolt out and abusing my Ez-outs.... Yes, there is something resembling the bolt in that nut...


eventually, I gave up on getting that bolt out, and decided that I would put the rest of the suspension on and then limp it to a shop the next day.

Again, without the use of a spring compressor, My friend and I were able to get the rear springs in. By starting off installation on the driver side, and jacking up the passenger side of the axle, we were able to slip the new spring in with slight help from a pry-bar and a quick smack with a small hammer. The passenger side went in even easier as it didn't even require the pry bar!

Heres a pic of the jeep back on it's 4 wheels, before I dropped it off at the shop.
 
#9 ·
The Ending

Even after driving it to the shop with a rear shock missing, I was still instantly impressed by the difference in handling. The jeep felt like a truck, it was eating up bumps like crazy compared to the 13 year old shocks that used to be on it.:2thumbsup:

Fast forward to yesterday, the jeep is ready to be picked up from the shop with a fresh oil change and the shock installed, but only one problem. I was on my way to get all of my wisdom teeth pulled, and would be on medication for a couple days and unable to drive. My dad lets me know he'll pick it up from the shop, awesome!

I'm laying on the couch, my mouth still partially numb from the surgery, and waiting for my dad to drive up, but instead he sends me pictures of him "testing" out the new suspension....I can't blame him, I would have done the same thing:highfive:

Heres a couple he sent me



So here it is, Tuesday, I'm on some crazy painkillers, stuck on the couch unable to drive the jeep I had put a couple weeks of work into and Now I'm dying to try it out!
 
#11 ·
I dont know nothing about TJ's but good start need some wheels now
 
#13 ·
john that jeep is looking good! Glad to see the frame cleaned up, that thing was looking nasty!. I got my TJ all done and on the road. It made the trip over here to Montauk with no issues either (which was very shocking). Still have to wire my OBA back up and hook the air up to my front locker then its off to Rausch Creek next weekend to test her out :D

PS. i forgot to mention that those seats sat a little low for me but i'm glad they worked out for you at least. The mastercraft seats that i swapped in were AMAZING on the ride over here to Montauk. When those 03+ seats go you better throw some mastercrafts in.
 
#14 ·
john that jeep is looking good! Glad to see the frame cleaned up, that thing was looking nasty!. I got my TJ all done and on the road. It made the trip over here to Montauk with no issues either (which was very shocking). Still have to wire my OBA back up and hook the air up to my front locker then its off to Rausch Creek next weekend to test her out :D
Thanks man, Thats some awesome news about your rig!!! I guess the brakes worked out after all? Make sure to snag some pics, Gotta see it in action!!!!
 
#16 ·
Great Build. I did the same with my jeep - new Alpine cda-117 (HU) and the POR-15. I didnt do the Rustoleum top coat. Is that really needed? Mine came out pretty glossy with out it.

Whats next?
I've heard mixed reviews about POR-15, alot of people just seem to throw it on and be fine, others say that it needs alot careful prep and a topcoat. If it's holding up for you, I wouldn't touch it.

As far as whats next, this summer is going to be little things, I'm chasing down squeaks and rattles. Also, I'm going to be installing either a tuffy Center console, or glovebox because I currently don't have any locking places in the jeep. I'll be sure to update this thread when that happens.
 
#18 ·
Update!

So Its been an entire year since this thread had been updated, and alot of stuff has happened since then.

Only a few days after my last post for this thread last year, a microburst (more like a tornado!) came through and pretty much wrecked my house. While everybody was ok, quite a few trees in excess of a hundred feet came tumbling down, and the rest of last summer was spent clearing, chopping and chipping wood for days on end...(its a year later and I'm still not done! But at least all the wood is stacked, in a pile or made into mulch).
Picture of the front of my house

A view trying to look down my driveway


With that *minor* issue taken care of, I was able to actually get some much needed work done to the jeep this summer.
 
#19 ·
New Parts!

I had always hated leaving my jeep parked somewhere for the knowing that somebody is going to snoop around and snag something out of it. I knew I needed some security in the jeep...I ended up going to tuffy for this matter and snagged a full center console.
This thing is intimidating, the locking mechanism is great and it sounds like your shutting a large safe. At this point, I'm honestly more worried about somebody stealing the entire jeep instead of breaking into this thing, it would probably be much easier!

(note, when installing this 2 piece console, be sure to leave the middle bolts loose until the end, especially before attaching the bolt by the shifter, this makes it a little easier to align and bolt right in!)

Another matter that had been bothering me for awhile was the starter. While It worked 100% of the time, it was incredibly noisy, cranked slow and had been on the jeep for the past 14 years. It was bad enough that people would turn heads. 2 bolts and 2 wires later, my jeep starts on the 2nd crank and sounds healthy!:2thumbsup:


its a good feeling when your jeep starts up nice, should have done this alot sooner!
 
#20 ·
More parts!

The old exhaust hangers were shot, the catalytic converter was starting to rattle, and the bolts from the exhaust manifold to the downpipe were falling apart. Hell, the muffler actually had some wire hangers holding it together, so before the jeep could get inspected, It was time to get an exhaust!

After looking at about a billion sound clips of different setups, and working out a budget I ended up going with a dynomax super turbo muffler, with a magnaflow cat. Upon closer inspection, the exhaust manifold was not stock, (as it probably cracked a long time ago with the previous owner). The PO must have gone to a decent shop, as the header on there now has expansion joints in it (not stock for a 98?).


this was around 4,000 miles ago, and the exhaust is now broken in...It has a nice deep mellow sound, noticeably louder than stock, but isn't as loud as others I've heard. It is not raspy at all, and doesn't drone while cruising on the thruway (holding 2,000-2,300 rpms for hours)
Some say that the tip on this exhaust is too long, but for me, my hitch will hit waay before any part of the tip snags the ground (I don't play on the rocks much....yet)
 
#21 ·
Enjoying it!

with the new exhaust(02 sensors too), and my 3.07 gears, I'm now consistently getting 20mpg highway. The jeep was driving great, and I only had one rattle to chase down...ended up being the swaybar link bolt was shot...Grade 8 replacement and its back to handling like a sports car!


For the first time in awhile I could just sit back and drive the thing...It sounded nice, it started up, no noises but the stereo still crankin...good deal!:cheers2::thumbsup:

Whether I was taking it mountainbiking...


....Or grabbing groceries(the tasty kind of course!):cheers2:


I was having a good time!
 
#22 ·
Just Empty Every Pocket

So fast forward to a few days ago...All my road tripping brought the jeep up in miles and I finally hit the 100k mark...And I just didn't have a good feeling about it.


And I was right, because just 200 miles after I took this photo, the jeep wasn't happy with me... As I was accellerating from a stop light, I heard a small creaking sound...Hmmm..wonder what could that be? as I head over a bump, I hear a louder snap right after shifting into second gear...not good!

As I coast over to a parking lot, I don't hear any bad noises, steering is good, brakes are good, transmission is good...What the hell was that noise?

As I go to leave again, I knew right away. It was as if the rear axle was trying to walk out from underneath the jeep!

Grabbing a flashlight and inspecting would later show that the rear drivers side upper control arm bracket came clean off the axle...Another reminder that the rust is back and needs to be dealt with...This time its going to be serious...With the current condition of the axles(knuckles, u joints, 3.07 geaarrrss) I'm actually looking into an axle swap, which I will be starting a new thread about for some much needed questions!!!
Oh...And to top it off, I'm working as much as I can, and I have to be back up at school, 300 miles away, in just 2 weeks...Here we go again!!!:rtft:
 
#23 ·
Update time!

So its been over a month, but I'm finally getting around to updating this thread. I ended up picking up a pair of axles from a 2006 with some nice upgrades on it, the bonus being a D44 with limited slip and 3.73 gears.

My plan of attack was to swap out both axles, but also go to town with the wire wheel and load up on por-15 in places I hadn't reached last time. While it seemed like a straight forward swap, This would be the most wrenching I've ever done.
I had access to jack stands and one floor jack, wrenches and a harbor freight angle grinder...The part that worried me was that I only had a week to complete this while I was also working nights at a restaurant. If its one thing I learned, Getting your hands and arms clean enough to serve food after a whole day of wrenching on the ground is tough!
 
#24 ·
Out with the old

With no time to waste, I parked the jeep and got to work removing the old parts, starting with the rear axle


with the axle removed, it was easy to see why the bracket had just ripped off...


The northeast is not kind, and the rust was bad!


It was at this point I realized that the hard brake lines weren't in much better shape, and just the act of removing them from the plastic clips made the brittle lines snap. I hopped online and ordered a set of pre-bent hard lines from classic tube, hoping they would make it to my front door in time.
 
#25 ·
In with the new

After cleaning up the new to me D44, I had help from my dad maneuvering the axle into place...This would be tricky with only person, unless you have two floor jacks, so grab a friend or two. One person can wiggle and move the axle while the other is trying to get the bolt through the arms.. Once you get a couple of control arms on the rest is easy.

I put some grade 8 bolts on wherever I needed to replace, including the diff covers. While grade 8 is overkill for the diff cover, I did it for aesthetics and the off chance I get the diff hung up, just be sure to not over torque the diff bolts!

With everything (sans brakes) reconnected, I filled up the diff (Lubelocker re-usable seals are awesome!), gave it a few spins by hand and then let the jeep idle in gear.... Everything was good, until I noticed a little bit of wobble on the drivers side axleshaft.


I was pretty pissed at the time, but The seller was great, and made things right. Besides, the jeep wasn't going anywhere until the brake lines arrived, so another call to Qtech, and some expedited shipping later, I had a new axleshaft with seals and bearings on its way.
 
#26 ·
Little bits and pieces

With the rear end mostly done, I had to get started on the front. The rust on these knuckles always made me cringe, and a new front end would make the front solid again.



The worst part about pulling the front off was getting the lower control arms off on the axle side....I ended up just unbolting the frame side, at which time help had arrived!

With them working on getting the control arms back..I set off to wirewheel all the mounts and any part of the frame I had missed the year before. Followed by a nice coat of the por 15 again to dry overnight...

As far as the lower control arm bolts go..I ended up grabbing the angle grinder and went to town with a cutoff wheel.
 
#27 ·
Special delivery

It was now wednesday, and I was getting nervous that the brakelines wouldn't be made and shipped in time, thankfully I was wrong. Since I didn't have any help availible to maneuver the front axle into place until the afternoon, I Started off the day with a little bit of wirewheeling...
Before

After!

I will be looking into wheels and tires probably next summer, but these needed a little attention now so that they didn't continue to rust out.

I was pleasently surprised when both a Fedex and Ups truck showed up at the same time...


I now had everything I needed to finish the jeep(or so I had thought). While I was having alot of fun, and learning even more, I still had to get the work done and I only a few days left. On top of that, I needed to get the new axleshaft set up(bearing pressed on) so that I could get the rear end all squared away.

Time not on my side, I set to work replacing all the hard brakelines..

Soo Shiny!!!!!! Classic tube did a great job bending these, there were only a few bends that were off a little, but this was easily corrected...

I had also made the decision to do a full brake overhaul, since I was going to have to pull the rear axleshaft (very easy to do on a Rear D44!), a brake job wouldn't be out of the way. There were alot of firsts for me during this week, and rebuilding a drum brake is no exception.
 
#28 ·
Front goes in

Help arrived shortly after, and the brakes would have to wait until the next day...It was finally time to get the front axle back in.


Both axles looked great all cleaned up!

While the front axle came with a few goodies (raised swaybar brackets for a Tie rod flip!) I didn't have enough clearence with the stock wheels to clear a tie rod flip. To fix this, i just had to tap out the insert and flip it so the tapered bolt on the tierod would be returned to the stock position. down the road I'll grab some larger diameter wheels and flip the tierod for moaarr clearrance!:highfive:

With both axles in place, I was starting to get a second wind... The list of things to do was getting smaller, and the end of the work was approaching..
 
#29 ·
Finishing up

After making yet another trip to the hardware store, and only one more day left until i was supposed to leave for school, I set off replacing the axle shaft and tackling the brakes.

to help keep me organized when pulling the parts off the drum brakes, I used a plastic cover I had laying around as a reference point to the axleshaft flange, and this made it easy to remember where the parts go..


With the new axleshaft in place, and the brakes reassembled, I moved to the front

*I used grade 8 bolts (fine threaded) for my wheel bolts, I was told they are only different because of the height of the head, and since I wasn't running ABS and have drum brakes, I had plenty of clearance...also Be sure to get the correct red Locktite to secure these to the flange!


Even though the seller had included some calipers, i decided to just grab a new set, but I did salvage the speed-bleeders:thumbsup:
 
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