Another Dumb Jeep

[blackford]

One of my cousins broke his '01 TJ and instead of fixing it decided it would be better to give it away/sell it. I managed to jump on that and here I am with one of the vehicles I never thought I would own. You can't argue with free.

What it has:
Literally nothing, its stock.

What it needs:
1) new transmission
2) some engine work

I was sent a video of it running and she doesn't sound too happy. Hoping it might just be a valve spring gone bad.

Once I get those two items out of the way I'll start getting creative with it. First thing will probably be a small lift and sliders.

[YellowDodgeBrian]

Lq9 and 4l60e swap?

[blackford]

Went home this weekend to work on the jeep and somehow it took us way longer than it should've to remove the existing motor/trans. Picked up used ones from two different guys in Fredericksburg and down near Richmond on Saturday. New motor has 170k on it and the trans supposedly has 55k, but its caked in mud so we'll see what that looks like when I crack it open. Hopefully everything is fine.

Wasn't the best of times getting the motor/trans out. In typical jeep fashion the frame is rusted out so getting the trans skid plate off was a pain. Looking like I'll need to patch both sides there and then also where the driver side rocker arm attaches to the frame. Plenty to do before I get around to putting the new stuff in. Potentially going to replace the steering linkage as well because that looked pretty rusted through.

[YellowDodgeBrian]

Awesome! Keep us updated!! Wasn't the trans skid plate welded on somehow as well?

[blackford]

Right, so here you can see where I had to cut the plate off on one side where my cousin decided it would be a good idea to weld it on. Also saw evidence of another patch on the passenger side rocker arm mount

[YellowDodgeBrian]

Like I said in group me, as long as the rust hasn't destroyed the vertical portions of the frame you should be able to get away with a frame patch out of 3/16" or 1/4" plate. I'd recommend plating in the whole frame or at least the areas where there are holes to stiffen it up and to help with keeping moisture out. This is kinda dependent on how much effort you want to put into it and how long you see yourself keeping it. A simple frame patch will work in the mean time if you just want to get it out wheeling but the welds won't be painted on the inside and will collect moisture and dirt and rust out again in a few years.

What I did on my friends YJ a few years ago is I welded in a frame patch and then drilled holes for the cross member and took the nozzle off of a brake cleaner can with the straw tip and put it on a paint can and was able to paint the inside of the frame. Coat of paint probably wasn't the most even id guess but I used up half a can just flooding the seams that I welded. I have no clue how it worked because he sold it a week later after blowing up his new motor red lining it off of the start up trying to impress girls but I assume it held up alright.

How does the cross member itself look? If you're planning on wheeling it a lot Id say to at least making better frame mounts that use through bolts on the sides so they aren't getting trashed by rocks instead of the ones bolting into nuts welded to the frame. This way if you break off the bolt or trash the threads on the nut you can replace it easily.

Alec and some of the forum gods are probably going to come in here and tell me I know nothing but that's just what I've done and it seems to work out alright. Then again I'm not sure the last time you've seen the hackjob that is patches.

[blackford]

Last weekend I went home to work on the jeep some more. Dad and I got the frame pretty well cut open and most of the rust chopped out. As we got in there we realized there are a couple other spots we need to patch as well. Also discovered we need to replace the brake lines which will be fun. Had to move those out of the way and ended up breaking one of them. I think the plan for when I go up there next is try and take the tub off or at least lift it a little bit so we can get to some of these lines a little easier and have some more room for welding and cutting

[blackford]

Finally getting back around to hopefully putting the jeep back together. I'm heading to my parents house to spend the next few weeks with them and to get this thing running. I ordered several other patches after further inspection of the trailing arm mounts and the rear spring mounts. I'm hoping to hit it hard and get it knocked out. Pics to come when I get working on it

[4krawler]

Wheres the pics at of it all together??

[blackford]

Thanks for the reminder! Moving and starting seminary has been a bit of a distraction.

Getting this thing all finished up was obnoxious. I used a ratchet strap and engine hoist to pull the body off myself. The rest of it was fairly straightforward. Cut out the cancer, weld on non-cancerous pieces. Didn't do any real modifications because at the time I thought I'd be selling it back to my family. My dad is driving it now instead. He keeps finding little things that need replacing so its still a work in progress, but that isn't unexpected.

Sorry for the upside down pictures, dno why it keeps happening but y'all get the picture.

[4krawler]

Nice!