[Motorcharge]

Found the owner's manuals are still there and the a/c actually works. Looks like the PO had just had the oil changed, new tstat, rad hoses, water pump, and a coolant flush done which is great because I hate messing with the cooling system. Found a big chunk of the power steering pulley is gone so that's on the list to replace ASAP. Drove it around the farm a bit and it feels fine, gonna have to slap my truck plates on it later and run it down the road to see what's up with the trans.

I think I'm gonna pull all my LEDs and the H4 headlights out of the XJ in a bit and throw them in the MJ too.

 

[Motorcharge]

Need to order some stuff from Napa when I get to work tomorrow. I'd do it today but we get like 30% off through work.

Power steering pulley, idler pulley, spark plugs, wires, cap, cap rotor, wiper blades, air filter, ect.

Andddd THIS is why I HATE drop in bed liners.

Cleaner, but I'm gonna pull out the power washer in a bit and do the whole truck. Doesn't look like the outside has been cleaned in years.

 

[Motorcharge]

Getting a good chunk of cash at the end of the month and need to find someone other than Rusty's that does full leaf packs for MJs. I think I'm gonna go ahead and order some Monstaliner for at least the bed and the rockers if not the inside of the cab floor too. I'll put the carpet back in over it but the rust protection can't hurt. I'm thinking Pyroclastic.

 

[JeepN4KC]

That thing looks pretty damn clean inside and out from the pics! Nice find. :thumbsup:

 

[DNFJ]

Looks good, I love MJs, subbed.

 

[Luke95]

Redrill the rotors.

 

[VegasGT]

Genuinely excited about this build. Looks to be in great shape! :thumbsup:

 

[Motorcharge]

It's in pretty damn good shape. Got the interior and dash bulbs swapped as well as the headlights. Power washed it and spent a couple hours undoing a lot of previous owners afro-engineering.

The interior is in better shape than I expected. It would be perfect if a previous owners dog hadn't chewed all kinds of ****. Swapped my console lid out for that reason.

Anyone have any idea how to change the courtes light bulbs above the seatbelts?

 

[Teej]

Is that your black ice or is that courtesy of the PO?

 

[Motorcharge]

PO. Threw like 3 away plus a couple unopened ones. I HATE the black ice air fresheners. Got a couple yankee candle fall ones in there now.

Waiting on a check for a few grand before I order but planning on IRO's trackbar and OTK steering kit. Also going to piece together a 4.5" lift kit. Anyone know what degree shims I'm going to need? Planning on new leafs, RE 4.5 coils, LCAs (not sure who yet*), swaybar links, and Bilsteins. Am I overlooking anything? Haven't thought about a lift that high in a good while lol. Intentionally didn't include a TC drop or SYE, gonna wait and see if I need em.

*The D44 I got still has the control arms from the Trooper on it. They look like they'll work but how long do the LCAs need to be at 4.5" to keep the axle centered? They seem awfully long but it could just be in my head.

 

[JeepN4KC]

Something else I noticed, a cigarette lighter..........lol

 

[Motorcharge]

Something else I noticed, a cigarette lighter..........lol

Looks better than the empty hole in the dash. :laugh:

 

[Teej]

PO. Threw like 3 away plus a couple unopened ones. I HATE the black ice air fresheners. Got a couple yankee candle fall ones in there now.

Waiting on a check for a few grand before I order but planning on IRO's trackbar and OTK steering kit. Also going to piece together a 4.5" lift kit. Anyone know what degree shims I'm going to need? Planning on new leafs, RE 4.5 coils, LCAs (not sure who yet*), swaybar links, and Bilsteins. Am I overlooking anything? Haven't thought about a lift that high in a good while lol. Intentionally didn't include a TC drop or SYE, gonna wait and see if I need em.

*The D44 I got still has the control arms from the Trooper on it. They look like they'll work but how long do the LCAs need to be at 4.5" to keep the axle centered? They seem awfully long but it could just be in my head.

I wouldn't buy shims until your lift is on, settled, and you can measure yourself. Through my experience, I've found that you can get close but not correct. When I first put my lift on, 4* shims were fine and there were no vibes. As it settled and now how it is with the weight on it, 4* isn't right, and I swapped out to 6*. If I were you, I'd measure before you buy.

Another thing, if you want my old shims, PM me. I can get them to you for the cost of shipping and the cost of gas for me to drive them to the post office. They're of no use to me anyway.

 

[rugsucka]

MJ is the only thing I'd replace my XJ with. (That's a lie - an '06 LJ Rubicon would also tighten the pants)

How does the 1500 pull the trailer and MJ combo? I suspect fairly well minus the fuel economy

I'm closing a deal this week on a 2010 4dr 1500 w. Hemi and about to pick up a 16' hauler as part of plans for Moab next spring. Fairly certain I'll toss in a tuner to help w. power and towing.

 

[Motorcharge]

I didn't have a problem at all with it and if I hadn't used the cruise control I never would have gone over 3k RPM even in the mountains. The only time it was doing that, and it does it when I'm not towing anything too, is when I was going up small, short hills. Granted I was only doing 65-70 tops and stayed around 55 through the mountains. It's a great truck and the only reason I'm getting rid of it is the gas mileage and I don't trust the motor to last much longer being that it has 230k on it and burns a good bit of oil. That and it's 2wd.

I'm not a fan of the 2006+ though. They have that newer terrible, bulky, plastic interior all newer Chrysler vehicles have. 06-08 is tolerable but I think the interior on the 09+ Rams is awful.

 

[rugsucka]

Thanks for the info - also test drove a 2007 today. I think I may prefer the interior, but for $2500 more I'll likely pop for the one 3 years younger.

 

[Motorcharge]

Got it titled and registered today. **** the DMV. ******** taxes for the titles and plates are more than the fees. $75 of the $130 was taxes and that was only for a years registration and regular "free" plates.

 

[Motorcharge]

Alright I'm getting a pretty decent bit of cash in about a week or so so I'm trying to finalize what I want to do with the suspension and steering. That's my only goal with the money I'm allotting for this thing right now. I want that settled so I can get my MT/Rs on it before winter gets here.

Here's about where I'm at right now including shipping:

4.5 RE coils - $75
IRO double sheer trackbar and OTK steering - $585
Hell Creek Suspension 4.5" leaf springs - $236
Bilstein 5100s - $344
Total: $1240

I know I didn't include the smaller stuff like bushings, brake lines, u bolts, ect but I don't feel like listing all that out. What I'm torn on is control arms.

I don't know if I want to just spend a couple hundred on some adjustable lowers and call it a day or go long arms. I'd love to go long arms, but I don't want to spend $1k+ on them and I don't know if I'm just overthinking the need for them. At this point I think I'm leaning more towards just getting some adjustable lowers and spending the saved cash on an 8.8 swap to get rid of the ****ty 35 and a regear for the front.

After typing this I don't think I'm gonna bother with long arms unless someone can point out a way to do them a lot cheaper than most companies want for them. I don't really have the time to have the front end torn apart while I figure a setup out for myself right now and I think by the time I buy steel, tubing, joints, ect the price difference isn't going to be all that big.

 

[VegasGT]

Looks like a good list.

I personally wouldnt worry about the longarms at all. At 4.5" height control angles arent terrible with shortarms, and a custom mid arm 3 link > any bolt on longarm setup anyway all around. Id definitely put the money toward an 8.8, longarms might help your mall cred but they wont fix a snapped 35 shaft. :laugh: You know that as well as I do, though.