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THE JEEP THREAD > All Things Jeep (1 Viewer)

Daughter getting her license in December. We on the lookout for a 2 door Wrangler 2008 or newer for her to drive back and forth to school and for wife to use whenever/weekends. We leased a 2008 4 door Wrangler (Sahara) back in 2008 for about 2.5 years.

Anything we should look out for?

 
Went camping with some buddies...

Tried to cross a VERY slick land-bridge and ended up in a pretty huge mudhole just off the trail (thankfully no flop or major damage). Did blow a front axle shaft... again. (3rd in the last year or so).

Muddy ### trail-repair

have been driving for over a week with no passenger front axle shaft. Finally broke down and ordered some Chro-Moly upgraded shafts (50% stronger) and Spicer 5-760X U Joints. This should remedy the issue. Found an off brand called USA Standard Gear brand shafts ($406 delivered) sold by Rock Auto.... turns out they're Yukon Parts ($700-800 for same kit). :thumbup:

Going to be pressing in the new joints, and inserting the new axle shafts this Saturday morning over at a buddies place as he's got to do the joints on his JK.

Will be glad when this is finally done. Next up, time to replace the Ball Joints. Picked up Alloy USA set (very good reviews) from Amazon for a great price ($140ish) but am dreading the repair. Reportedly it's a pretty big pain in the ###.

 
Started ripping out carpets, doors, hardtop off. Take off fender flares, spare tire, heater core, etc.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/121479935@N07/13428309564/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/121479935@N07/13427995225/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/121479935@N07/13427976555/

As expected, rust is a bit of a concern. It's got a bit of a Fred Flinstone feel to it.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/121479935@N07/13428436574/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/121479935@N07/13428423744/

Plasma cut out the jaggedness.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/121479935@N07/13428025825/

Have since sheared and bent up some floor pans. Will add pictures later. They just got sandblasted and I am going to prime paint the bottoms.

Again, as you can see rust is a problem. There are areas where the frame is nonexistent.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/121479935@N07/13428062713/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/121479935@N07/13428319434/

Since we are not putting a ton of money into this one, I just took a disc sander to the lower part of the body. Ground out as much rust as possible, wiped it down with thinner and prime painted.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/121479935@N07/13428303764/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/121479935@N07/13428042633/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/121479935@N07/13428288904/

We sheared up some 12ga. floor plate and bent it. We are going to bolt it to the body on the side, and then weld it to the frame underneath. So we primed it just to help stop/prevent more rust. So, pretty much wherever you see prime paint, there will be floor plate bolted and welded to the Jeep. We are going to burn out some to go around the wheel wells as well.

And that is pretty much where we sit. We also bent up some channels and are going to firm up the frame a bit. So far so good. Like I said, it will be pretty rudimentary. Just using this one as a learning experience. The only thing I have directly purchased has been some degreaser and a brush to clean the engine with. All other materials have been pilfered from stock in my shop.

Updates to come.

 
Vike Me said:
Daughter getting her license in December. We on the lookout for a 2 door Wrangler 2008 or newer for her to drive back and forth to school and for wife to use whenever/weekends. We leased a 2008 4 door Wrangler (Sahara) back in 2008 for about 2.5 years.

Anything we should look out for?
Click to expand...
I would suggest 2012+ to get the pentastar engine as the one in the early JKs was a real dog... that said, if price is an isue then you should be fine. Just be sure to keep an eye out for signs of having wheeled it (scrapes/dents,etc).

 
Damn PricklyPete... nice rebuild on that. I'll be interested to follow it.

Have you looked into gettin a whole tub? Just don't want to sink the cash into it?

 
Not going to sink any money into it.

Whenever you bang on it, the rust just dumps all over the place. The frame is cracked, and pretty much disintegrating. I'm just trying to learn as much as I can on a Jeep that was given to me. I think it will be pretty cool (in it's own way :lol: ) when it's done, but really, it could turn into a huge money pit if I really wanted to make it into something.

Down the road when I know a bit more I will probably buy another one for a few grand that is in better shape and be willing to stick more money into it. This one is just too far gone.

 
Put a quick weld on the cracked frame to stiffen it up.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/121479935@N07/13542078825/

Going to grind it after awhile. We have some channels bent up that we are going to fit and weld to the frame where needed.

Bolted on the bent floor plate. We are then going to weld a bracket underneath to the frame to help stiffen everything up.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/121479935@N07/13542090205/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/121479935@N07/13542195933/

After we get the tires off, I'm going to trace a paper template around the wheel wells. I'm then going to burn just a flat piece of floor plate to go around. So pretty much wherever you see the red primer, there will be floor plate there.

Lastly we fit the floor pans. They still need to be welded in.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/121479935@N07/13560004454/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/121479935@N07/13559655435/

So that's about it so far. Slow and steady. The driver's side front seatbelt was broken so I'm currently looking for one. Put a wanted ad on Craigslist but haven't heard anything. Probably call the local salvage yard soon.

 
Local salvage yards are a godsend but ya have to find the right ones. THere was one the other day telling me I had to buy the entire axle assembly ($600) to get the D30 shafts I needed :lol:

 
It's been probably 10 years since I sold my old '93 YJ. I'm getting the Jeep itch again.

Tell me about 4 door Wranglers.

I assume the engine is still bulletproof? How do the manual's drive/feel with the additional weight/size compared to the standard wheelbase Wrangler?

Looking around, I'm not seeing any killer deals for used 4 doors. Brand new for under $30k seems pretty good. It'd be my DD... I want to get into some light trails/camping with the kids, but that would be about it for the time being.
 
Be sure to get one with the new pentastar engine. The old dodge caravan minivan motor was a bit underpowered In the 4 doors. Good motor just not up to the task.

 
Jeep man right here, love my Commander. Drove a Cherokee for years before that.

Thoughts on the new Cherokee (ie the revival, not the Grand)?

 
Last edited by a moderator:
[icon] said:
Be sure to get one with the new pentastar engine. The old dodge caravan minivan motor was a bit underpowered In the 4 doors. Good motor just not up to the task.
Click to expand...
Wow, I didn't know they got a new engine in 2012 (haven't been paying attention to recent updates since several years old is my price range). I was always leery of the caravan engine, since I once owned a caravan and it was a piece of garbage (the van, not necessarily the engine). But more power and better gas milage? Sign me up! I guess my goal is now to wait on the 2012s to hit my prince range.

 
Worm said:
It's been probably 10 years since I sold my old '93 YJ. I'm getting the Jeep itch again.

Tell me about 4 door Wranglers.

I assume the engine is still bulletproof? How do the manual's drive/feel with the additional weight/size compared to the standard wheelbase Wrangler?

Looking around, I'm not seeing any killer deals for used 4 doors. Brand new for under $30k seems pretty good. It'd be my DD... I want to get into some light trails/camping with the kids, but that would be about it for the time being.
Click to expand...
I've only done mild off roading, but the engines more than powerful enough to get up to speed driving wise. I think it's like 8.7 0-60 which ain't terrible at all.

Transmission has been great in my one year with her. Love it overall. They do seem to retain good value

 
Btw, any recs on a good summer top? I have the stock duals but the soft is bulky and I hate the aesthetic. Would love an easy to throw on / off top that "diagonals" down (almost reminiscent a tiny bit of The VW Thing) rather than the boxy one.

One other options would be a top that's good enough to throw on and drive should a rainstorm come if I decide to take the hard top off and end up stuck.

Tia.

 
Still slowly making progress.

Put a few braces on the frame to beef it up.

While poking around underneath, the transmission just about fell to the floor because the mount was so rusted. It's not the prettiest, but we made a new mount and welded it to the frame. Very solid, albeit a bit ghetto.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/121479935@N07/13717310333/

Finished the rear diamond plate surround.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/121479935@N07/13717300945/

Suspension is a bit jacked. Shocks completely broken off.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/121479935@N07/13717300945/

Fabricated our own suspension system. :oldunsure:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/121479935@N07/13763360293/

Still having fun. Looks very rough right now, but I gotta say it is coming along better than I thought it would. We knew it was going to be a bit rudimentary, but in the end we will be taking a Jeep that was on life support and give it a few more years of life.

Burned and bent up some front fenders. Now just have to figure out how I want them to look from the front. I'm going to make a couple of templates and decide.

As for finish, I am leaning towards bedlining the entire interior of the Jeep. For the exterior, I'm really leaning towards PlastiDip.

https://www.dipyourcar.com/Gallons-of-PlastiDip-sprayable/

I've been reading about it and looking at pictures, and I think this may be the way to go.

 
pricklypete said:
Still slowly making progress.

Put a few braces on the frame to beef it up.

While poking around underneath, the transmission just about fell to the floor because the mount was so rusted. It's not the prettiest, but we made a new mount and welded it to the frame. Very solid, albeit a bit ghetto.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/121479935@N07/13717310333/

Finished the rear diamond plate surround.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/121479935@N07/13717300945/

Suspension is a bit jacked. Shocks completely broken off.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/121479935@N07/13717300945/

Fabricated our own suspension system. :oldunsure:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/121479935@N07/13763360293/

Still having fun. Looks very rough right now, but I gotta say it is coming along better than I thought it would. We knew it was going to be a bit rudimentary, but in the end we will be taking a Jeep that was on life support and give it a few more years of life.

Burned and bent up some front fenders. Now just have to figure out how I want them to look from the front. I'm going to make a couple of templates and decide.

As for finish, I am leaning towards bedlining the entire interior of the Jeep. For the exterior, I'm really leaning towards PlastiDip.

https://www.dipyourcar.com/Gallons-of-PlastiDip-sprayable/

I've been reading about it and looking at pictures, and I think this may be the way to go.
Click to expand...
:shock:

 
pricklypete said:
Leaf springs are still there. We just added a spring to each side of the frame in the back.
Click to expand...
I know...was just such a shock to my system i wasn't sure what to think.

ETA: 17 years ago when the jeeps switched to coil springs i spent way too much time arguing with friends whether leaf springs or coil springs were better so that picture blew my mind.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Aren't the leafs performing as a "spring" in that case? Curious about the use of the coil... were the leaf's just toast and serving to center the axle or something?

 
Pretty much icon.

The deeper into this we've gotten the more issues pop up. So we are doing what we can. Not the prettiest but I'm learning a lot.

 
2Young2BBald said:
Man, I think they are just trying to see how ugly they ca make their new vehicles; 2015 Jeep Renegade :X http://www.jeep.com/en/2015/renegade/?sid=Jeep&pid=JeepFacebook&adid=Renegade%20Home2Apr1614&channel=social&hrf=facebook.com&ism=KTApr1614Facebook2
Click to expand...
20:1 Crawl Ratio? We're advertising that now?

My wrangler is currently 37:1 crawl ratio. If I had a Rubicon's 4:1 TCase in there it would be 55:1.

I'd be interested in the approach/breakover/departure angles on that thing.

Damn Fiat influence.

 
Frank Drebin said:
[icon] said:
doing some tinkering
Click to expand...
:lmao:
Click to expand...
Update on the vet jeep build.... This past fri night at a Redbirds (AAA - Cardinals Affiliate here in Memphis) game, we presented it to a local soldier who lost a leg in afghanistan. Big production on field (sans jeep due to a lot of rain), with the jeep parked out front of the stadium downtown. When we pulled the tarp off it drew a huge crowd. The guy was in awe... he and his family also received a disney vacation trip to boot.

Tons of setbacks in the build including a poorly installed oil pump that caused the engine to completely blew. Threw in a 280k mile loaner for the purposes of the presentation, then we're swapping back in the rebuilt motor.

Jeep has a TON of great parts on it and looks fantastic. Club gave him a membership and he'll be joining us out on the trails going forward. :thumbup:

By all accounts from those who know him....an incredibly humble, down to earth family man who truly deserves it.

some pics:

Banner at the park

Member's kid prepping the fenders for the Club decals

Club Decals going on

Vet with his family receiving the jeep

Shot of the Jeep

(Reaper was apparently the name of his division or something)

Presentation on field

Nearly finished Jeep (angle 1)

Nearly Finsihed Jeep (Angle 2)

Sponsor Hood (signed on back by all club members who worked on the jeep)

 
Did a crap ton of stuff inside and out. Finally got to the painting stage. Primed it today.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/121479935@N07/14523525390/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/121479935@N07/14523587990/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/121479935@N07/14710267875/

Will be finish painting satin black tomorrow. With as beat up as this was, it is what it is. Learned a lot. Had a lot of fun. It is going to be very post apocalyptic looking when it is all said and done. Went back and forth on whether to sell the hard top or not. Decided to keep it. Put a bit of a twist on it. Mad Max-esque.

 
I have looked high and low for a cheap driver side front seat belt. Still haven't found one. I am NOT going to buy a new replacement. I'm to the point of putting a rear belt in front and faking it.

 
Holy hell that came out nicely. The front hitch/basket attached full time? removeable?

Seat belts are tough. have you tried rockauto? Scrap yard?

 
Removable. Not a big fan of it, but the guy helping me out was really excited about it. Think I would have insulted him if I would have nixed it altogether.

 
The Punisher is done.

Before:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/121479935@N07/13428288293/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/121479935@N07/13428321803/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/121479935@N07/13428380373/

After:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/121479935@N07/14767711064/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/121479935@N07/14583359730/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/121479935@N07/14747053316/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/121479935@N07/14766885241/

It was a lot of work, but had a lot of fun doing it. Learned a lot along the way. It was an absolute pile when I got it, so all things considered I think it turned out pretty good. Not a "professional" build by any means, but for never doing anything like this before, I'm pretty proud of it.

I will definitely be doing another one at some point down the road. Would like to buy one for a few grand that is in better shape than this one. Would love to do different models. TJ, CJ, JK.

 
Thank you. It was a lot of fun.

It's not titled, doesn't have a seatbelt or insurance, but I took it to the post office today. Had two different people ask me about it and compliment it. Was pretty cool.

 
My Optima yellow top is finally crapping out and I need a replacement battery. I heard the Optima isn't what it used to be. Can anybody recommend another brand of AGM type batteries? I need deep cycle for my winch. Where can I get the best price?

 
I love my sears die hard platinum... Used to be made by oddysey. Has yet to fail with with over half a decade of abuse.

 
So as not to overlook the regular day to day boring ### life awesomeness of the Jeep:

When you can't drive around with the top off / down, it ####### rules in snow. Stock with 10-12"? No prob. Just love this car.

If only my wife didn't HATE it. And shes usually cool.

 
Koya said:
So as not to overlook the regular day to day boring ### life awesomeness of the Jeep:

When you can't drive around with the top off / down, it ####### rules in snow. Stock with 10-12"? No prob. Just love this car.

If only my wife didn't HATE it. And shes usually cool.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure how this could be overlooked, these are reasons #1 and #2 I want to get a Jeep again. Living in Minnesota, Wranglers are awesome. Convertible on beautiful summer days, and trouble free driving during the winter.

 
Great weather here in Florida, Betty Lou is sitting out in the parking lot waiting to take me to lunch----Just like a faithful dog. FREEDOM!

 
Random question for Jeep guys on the board - I'm considering gonig back to a Jeep when my Land Rover dies...Looking at the new Grand Cherokees as they're pretty sweet.

Anybody have any experience with the new JGC diesel engine? Specs look nice. I like the thought of being able to go 700 miles on a tank too.

 
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