2001 WJ - The Dirty Nugget, DD build

[mustangwarrior]

Well as some of you may know i had a thread on here once already and it up and vanished one day, so i'm gonna copy everything over from another forum that i copied once already from this forum :sombrero:

some plans have already changed but i'm gonna copy all the original posts

I picked up my WJ back in June, it's an '01 Laredo with only 47k miles and that is turning out to be its downfall. Due to is age and low miles it has either sat for a period of time or was only drove a mile or two at a time, either one is not good on a vehicle, so i'm currently trying to get her caught back up to par mechanically.

I had been doing pretty well, got my associates degree and landed a good job so I decided to purchase a more reliable vehicle. I went back and forth between fuel efficent cars, mustangs, diesels, every thing and decided that i was gonna go with an suv and if i was gonna do that i was gonna get one with a solid axle and thats what landed me on the WJ. Then I decided on the 4.0l due to its reputation for longevity and the select-trac transfer case.

Here's the truck i sold to help pay for the Jeep, it was a little bit more akward off road then what the jeep is and was not as practical with only room for 2.

Here's the jeep as it sits

So far i've put new u-joints in the rear shaft and have had to replace the passenger side window motor, its gonna need a brake job and a tune up soon as well

Mods so far:

Gutter guard grill inserts

Mounted the cb in place of the ash tray

mounted a 3' Firestik on the back

Cabelas trail guide seat covers, they fit good and have lots of pockets in the back for storage

also added a new Curt hitch

and i'm currently working on a cargo carrier

I attempted to split the headlight housings to remove the amber plastics and just about destroyed it so looks like i'll be buying to headlights now anyway

My plans for it eventually will be:

4" IRO basic lift
33" tires on functional beadlocks
rear tire carrier mounted under the factory bumper
front light bar with rigid duallys
hefty roof rack cross bars for the canoe
gonna need an exhaust so why not upgrade
possible intake
rear locker and diff guards front and rear
t-case skid
rock sliders
high lift
just name a few

My plans are more expedition based while still being a daily driver, and with still being a college student the build will be slower

 

[mustangwarrior]

my overall idea for this jeep is to have something capable enough to wheel on the weekends but still be practical enough to drive 45+ miles a day

well school has started back up and with work and school it leaves me with no free time for anything, good thing is its ample opportunity to save lots of $$$ for some mods this winter

a couple weeks ago i found some time to paint the underside, used a wire wheel to knock the loose stuff off the used por15 to paint it, also probably gonna try to get a new stainless exhaust installed sometime within the next month or two

BEFORE

AFTER

I have also had some opportunity to take it out with the family and carry the bikes on the back, everything works well but the rack absolutely kills the departure angle, i've dragged through a few ditches already but it didn't hurt it any

went ahead and bought a 3" iro lift, opted for the doetsch shocks, black boots, and adjustable track bar, also went ahead and got some bar pin eliminaters

thing is i probably won't have time to install it till the summer, so until then i'm gonna get a pile of parts together, here's the plan:

-265-75-16 cooper st maxx
-16x7 wheels
-replace a couple rear brake lines
-new calipers/pads
-paint front and rear axles
-new fluids
-paint diff covers
-possibly fab up some diff guards
-possible rear locker
-rear tire carrier w/ matching spare

all just thoughts right now

 

[mustangwarrior]

3

took advantage of the awesome weather this weekend and got the tire carrier close to completed, the initial coat of paint is drying right now, plans from here are to add a light off the back, relocate the license plate and spring load the latch setup

and a few more of the tires, not as much weight on them as i thought, each weight is only a 1/4 oz, so there is anywhere from 4 to 8 oz on the tires, also only measuring 31.5" tall they are not a huge tire but compared to the stock 225-75 they are pretty big

 

[mustangwarrior]

well i got tired of waiting and decided at about 8 o'clock saturday night that i was putting the lift on, took about 6 1/2 hours to do, half the time with three guys, half with two guys, all went pretty well with the old steering stabilizer being the only thing that needed to be cut off

when replacing the old tack bar with my new adjustable, the axle shifted to the passenger side, i think this is what caused my steering wheel to now be upside down when driving straight, so hopefully the alignment shop will take care of that, other then that it still drives straight as an arrow,

between the 8000 shocks and the 10 ply tires it definitely rides stiff, and i didn't really want too spend the money but i think i'm going to be looking into buying some bushwacker flares for it

only poser pics for now, its getting dropped off at the alignment shop tomorrow then i'll be able to get some real seat time in it

4

 

[mustangwarrior]

i've also just ordered the bushwacker cut out flares for it and a legit latch for the rear tire carrier, alot of other plans but for now the only thing i have left to buy are new sway bars and jks disconnects, i'm sure plans will change but for now i'd like to pay it off before i sink too much more money into it, been spending way too much lately

then my latest idea is to pay it off and pick up a 400 or 650 dual sport for a little expo gas saver

 

[JPR4LFE]

The carrier behind the stock bumper is sweet! Kudos!

 

[JChatary]

The carrier behind the stock bumper is sweet! Kudos!

I would very much like a carrier like this on my WJ! Nice!

 

[mustangwarrior]

thanks guys, inspiration for the tire carrier came from a few guys over on jeepforum.com, slightly modified their versions

 

[206WJ]

Looking Good!

For all the crap I used to get for having a WJ I'm actually getting "jeep waives" now! I think it was the flares.

Install Note for bushwhackers: Take your time on the cutting of the rear. I rushed one side and had to re-cut it.

 

[mustangwarrior]

^^thanks, i plan on taking my time, i've been waiting but haven't gotten any waves, haha and i know this thing looks wide and aggressive coming at you down the road

 

[mustangwarrior]

last weekend i finally did the number one mod all WJ's need, tow hooks, more or less a temporary setup until i build a bumper and use my shackles mounts i bought



trimmed the bumper to make them fit





then went for a quick spin after work today, was able to flex it a bit, and i'm definitely glad i bought the cut out flares 'cause the tires are rubbin the bumpers front and rear, also a locker will be on order sooner or later, the two drooped tires lost traction and spun

also the front sway bar is still attached

 

[mustangwarrior]

quick update:

so far the lift is great, still have a slight knocking sound from a loose bolt or two i need to check, but it handles great, very little body roll on hard turns but it does tend to wander back and forth on the highway, so i went ahead and ordered the 1" addco rear sway bar and some jks disconnects from Kolak over on jeepforum.com, those should be here tomorrow

the only other complaint, and not much of a complaint, it rides REALLY stiff, i blames this on the upgraded shocks and 10 ply tires, real smooth on country roads, its the torn up city streets that really suck

the bushwacker flares came in a few weeks ago, and since finals are tomorrow i should be finally able to get them on soon, and i pretty much have plans to go wheelin every weekend from memorial day to the end of june at different events around the area so we should get to really see how she holds up then

 

[mustangwarrior]

so an update, got the jks disconnects on about a week ago but haven't had a chance to really flex it out yet



and was finally was able to finish up my flares this past weekend, a figure i had somewhere around 2.5 hours into each front fender and close to 6 hours into both rears, really was pretty easy to do, the instructions are super easy to follow and after you cut the first fender the second one is way easier

did have a few issues with mine, first, somehow i ended up short to of the T45 mounting screws on the rear. don't know of i lost them or if i was shorted so i need to find some replacements, the second was i was getting anxious to finish and ended up with a little too much gap on my passenger rear between the door and body pieces and the other was i cut all my splash guards out about two months ago when they were rubbing the tires, so now i need something to fill the gap on the fronts so mud doesn't get trapped being the flare





too much gap

 

[JDAY]

Jeep looks good man! Thats the exact look I want when I can afford to start working on mine.:ylsmoke:

 

[mustangwarrior]

Finally got to take it out and finally test it on some trails, I'm pleased with the way it performed, however a locker would do wonders for it and include sliders and a skid plate and it ought to go wherever you point it, within reason that is, not bad for a soccer mom suv

here's a few pics from this weekend



my current wheeling partner