Our 2004 WJ build

[mccustomize]

***Not sure why the images aren't showing up, I use this hosting site all the time, it might be our connection at work, I will fix tonight when I get home.*****

My wife had a 2003 WJ that was totaled by another driver a while back, but it was only 2 wheel drive, but we loved it, so when we went looking for a replacement I knew I wanted the 4.0 for reliability in the drivetrain, 4 wheel drive this time, and basic interior. We found one in our budget and purchased it back in 2012. Shortly after I knew it needed shocks and tires so I purchased a 2" rough country budget boost and rubicon take offs.

This worked great for a while until we purchased a new truck for my wife but didn't want to sell the jeep because it had been so reliable, almost like a backup vehicle. Fast forward another year, I sold my Harley in search of something more family friendly, and decided to take the jeep further since our family loves offroading and my daily driver (solid axle swapped Chevy Silverado) was still a ways from being ready for the trails.

So while my Silverado is awaiting more progress I took our jeep out on the trails a couple times, aired down, disconnected the sway bars, and was very impressed with the capability.

So I set about ordering more items to increase the fun factor. The list so far includes...

2" Fat Bob's garage springs
Rough country shocks
2" Rough country spacers
JKS adjustable track bar
Skyjacker quick disconnect front sway bar links
Skyjacker extended rear sway bar links
1.5" wheel spacers
A-pillar LED cube lights
Kevin's offroad anti-rattle shock bushings
Iron rock offroad coil retainers



Now on to what I still have in boxes waiting to be installed...

Spartan lockers front and rear
Longer stronger lower control arms
Upper spacer for the rear link
Solid industries diff covers
New upper ball joint for the rear link
New CV axle assemblies
Rock sliders

There are still a few things on my list to fabricate/purchase including....

Front recovery points
Transfer case armor
Stronger tie rod and drag link
Control arm mount protection
Fuel tank skid plate
Cargo area shelf
New radiator
Leaky rear main seal
LED interior lighting
Major tune up

I think with the planned modifications it will make a very capable overland/ light wheeler for our family. I would like to step up to a 33" tire but don't think I will until I can re-gear all at the same time, in which case my other truck should be finished and it would be time to sell the jeep at that point. I look forward to new posts from the several guys on here building WJs and get some tips and tricks from them.

 

[Lecoq]

Great to see another WJ! Awesome build so far.

 

[Ranger Steve]

Nice looking wj. Why build both the wj and the chevy? Which would you rather?

 

[mccustomize]

Nice looking wj. Why build both the wj and the chevy? Which would you rather?

I would honestly rather build the Chevy for myself, as my boys get bigger it's easier to get them in and out of it and we have more room for gear, bikes, etc. right now the WJ is cheaper to build so we can have fun in the meantime while I finish my Chevy to the fullest. It's got a Detroit and 4.88s in the rear, custom shackle flip, WFO torque arm, Dana 44 front, 4.88s and open diff right now, I'm still working out the bugs in the driveline. The front long travel 3 link was all designed and built by me, ruffstuff heims for all the steering, ballistic 2.63s on the links, deaver coils, bilsteins 5150s, limit straps, bumps, etc, but I still want to finish the rear, the driveline, bumpers and interior before its maiden voyage.

 

[mccustomize]

I've made some changes recently, more mods so it's getting closer to my goal.

I got the 4" lift done.
Well almost.... I still need to make it up to DFW to pick up my adjustable upper control arms, and build my rear lower arms, but it's back on the road.

Between worn out TRE's and bad alignment it had a pretty good case of death wobble, so I finally got around to bending up some DOM for the drag link and tie rod. 1.5" .25" wall DOM and ruffstuff chromo heims made the steering way tighter and much more responsive.

I still need to order a 1.5" tube clamp to finish the steering stabilizer mount.

I haven't driven it in a while because I had a radiator split at the seam, so $50 later I found one on craigslist brand new in the box.

Tomorrow I'm going to order my blue torch fab diff covers so I can stab the lockers in here in a couple weeks and make another trip out. Tonight I'm going to cut the front bumper and get my flush mount LEDs installed. I still need to research headlamp bulb alternatives as well, the stockers are extremely dim.

 

[VistaCruiser]

WJ's all over the place! Like it!

Sam

 

[mccustomize]

Got the front end back together, still need to order some weatherpak connectors and wire up the lights. I also ordered the Rough Country 4" long arm upgrade, Ive been wasting money on short arms I feel like so I just bit the bullet.

 

[WKexpedition]

Looking good. Really like those flush mounted lights!

 

[mccustomize]

Ordered the RC 4" long arm this morning, also picked up some nearly new Cooper STT 285/70r17s for the build as well!

 

[mccustomize]

I've made a little more progress recently, but most of the time I'm working by myself so not many pictures to share. I made some quick little pod mounts for the fenders to give a little light on the trail at night, I will be making these from aluminum soon to replace the steel versions.

Well I got the RC 4" long arm on with a few modifications and it turned out great. I did not use the sway bar drop brackets, I used my own, longer sway bar links for the rear and longer quick disconnects for the front. I am using IRO coil retainers up front that seem to be working great. Even after this hard flex, no coil came unseated.

I will say that I have loved my Cooper STT's on my chevy a lot, but on the lightweight WJ they are a little hard to balance, and need to be aired down pretty significantly to work great on our terrain in central texas. With that said there was only one thing I attempted on our trip to hidden falls the jeep would not climb. I do need more gearing (working on 4.56s), lockers (already have them in the boxes), and some armor for the time being. I will say I beat on the Rough Country crossmember/skid plate pretty hard and it did bend up enough to contact the transfer case and make an irritating vibration in reverse.

Overall our trip went great, I did get a little unexpected death wobble one time in the 3+hr trip on the road, I'm chalking it up to worn hubs/ball joints that I need to replace. We had a few JKs join us at the offroad park and all had a great time. Our jeep did get it's first battle scar, a narrow creekbed with a hole right in front of a ledge, swallowed our 33" tire and without lockers I simply could not turn into the wall to climb up and out and sustained some pretty good body damage on the left side. On the bright side I no longer feel guilty about cutting it up to move to 35s later on down the road.

This last photo means a lot to me, a member of the Pirate4x4 community lost his 14 year old son unexpectedly, being a dad to 2 growing boys it hit me hard. The boys name was Nyle and his parents had a penny press made of a drawing he gave to his dad for father's day when he was 6. His dad will send pennies to anyone who asks to be placed at significant sites. So we placed a penny mid-day Saturday atop the tallest hill on the edge of the park for Nyle to watch over all the people enjoying the trails. It really made my day sharing the story with my family.

I have more plans for the jeep very soon, I heard a nasty noise coming from the front diff on the way home and have yet to inspect it. I did pick up a free JK30 (bent) and another WJ30 that I am going to build a hybrid high pinion WJ width 30 in order to use IROs alloy u-joint style shafts. Once that axle goes in trussed/gusset/locked I will truss the rear as well. Then start working on a 231 TC swap so I can do a 4:1 Terralow kit.

 

[mccustomize]

Re-purposing the rock sliders off my chevy for use on the Jeep, had to shorten them up by 10 inches, that gives me an inch from the edge of the rocker on both ends. 68 inches was the measurement on the jeep.

 

[mccustomize]

I got the sliders finished up finally, on a side note, I really hate over head welding.

 

[BeachTJ]

Are those the stock size Rubicon tires? its 255/75 right?

How was the rubbing, people swear up and down that those won't fit on BB, it looks like it tucks up just fine. I'm thinking with proper bump stops it would be fine.

Thanks!

 

[mccustomize]

Are those the stock size Rubicon tires? its 255/75 right?

How was the rubbing, people swear up and down that those won't fit on BB, it looks like it tucks up just fine. I'm thinking with proper bump stops it would be fine.

Thanks!

The stance was great, but yes, it rubbed, not terribly, with the sway bars disconnected it ate the washer pump however. After trimming it was all fine however. The wheel well openings on WJs are very small.

 

[mccustomize]

Backing up a little bit, before I installed the rock sliders we took a short day trip to Hidden Falls Adventure Park. Had a great time as always and my wife got some great shots (they are way better in HQ)