01 TJ Refit
Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2020 11:13 am
Hey everybody. Very long time no see.
After letting my wrecked TJ sit for 5 years, I finally started getting it going again. Hopefully it'l be up for some wheeling again after a bit more work.
As the airbags had both gone off, I needed to pull most of the dash loose to replace them. Steering wheel also had to go as I folded it in half during the crash. At least locking my arms kept the airbag from hitting me.
So, it's got new airbags, new dash parts, new airbag computer, and a new clockspring (stupid thing was $400, apparently 2001 with cruise control is different than all the other tj's). Swapped out the front windshield as it was shattered. The front fenders were both tweaked enough that I didn't want to mess with trying to repair them. The whole body shifted forward on the body mounts by a good inch and half. This made the fenders buckle and curve up towards the front of the jeep.
Jacked up the body, and screwed in a short bolt and nut into each body mount location so I could hit it with a big hammer and straighten things back out.
The fenders and body mounts were the majority of the non-cosmetic damage. The only other real problem was that the crash also busted off a motor mount on the passenger side, and the frame caved inward towards the block by about 3/4. Just enough for the passenger motor mount to be able to come into contact with the block.
I loaded the jeep up onto my trailer and had Casaday Bee Line over in pasco throw it on a frame machine to pull that back out and make everything square again. Lots easier than trying to pull it out myself, and since I had everything pulled off to make access easy, it was cheap.
With the frame squared back up and the body sitting as it should, I was able to swap out the front fenders. I went with Metalcloak. More expensive than some other options, but I have limited time, and these were very easy to bolt into place. They were also one of the only vendors out there with 8" wide flares, and they're also one of the only fender sets that can be quick detached. The big flares keep me legal on the street, block mud (though not as well as I was hoping, still flings stuff into the back seat), and I can pull them off easily up in the mountains.
Now I've just got a bunch of smaller things to deal with. Waiting on parts for corner armor, rocker rails, and rear flares. I also need to get new bumpstops to take advantage of all the extra room. I've got a good 5 inches of clearance on all sides now, so the stops can be a lot shorter.
I'll probably also need shocks. The ones that are on it were old and rusty when I bought the jeep 10 years ago. Wondering if I shouldn't swap out the springs at the same time I redo the bump stops. I think the springs that are on it are an old 4" teraflex lift, that has since sagged down to 3 inches. Not sure if a modern progressive rate spring will make my ride any better at this point.
I also need to make a decision on tires. It's got a set of very old and worn placeholder MTR's on it now. I have a nearly new set on my 76 Gladiator that I can move over, but I'm not sure if I wouldn't be better of with a set of KO2's. MTR's on a TJ are a bit scary to me now. Without ABS they skid very nicely on the highway, as I found out when I wrecked it. They're much better behaved on the Gladiator.
After letting my wrecked TJ sit for 5 years, I finally started getting it going again. Hopefully it'l be up for some wheeling again after a bit more work.
As the airbags had both gone off, I needed to pull most of the dash loose to replace them. Steering wheel also had to go as I folded it in half during the crash. At least locking my arms kept the airbag from hitting me.
So, it's got new airbags, new dash parts, new airbag computer, and a new clockspring (stupid thing was $400, apparently 2001 with cruise control is different than all the other tj's). Swapped out the front windshield as it was shattered. The front fenders were both tweaked enough that I didn't want to mess with trying to repair them. The whole body shifted forward on the body mounts by a good inch and half. This made the fenders buckle and curve up towards the front of the jeep.
Jacked up the body, and screwed in a short bolt and nut into each body mount location so I could hit it with a big hammer and straighten things back out.
The fenders and body mounts were the majority of the non-cosmetic damage. The only other real problem was that the crash also busted off a motor mount on the passenger side, and the frame caved inward towards the block by about 3/4. Just enough for the passenger motor mount to be able to come into contact with the block.
I loaded the jeep up onto my trailer and had Casaday Bee Line over in pasco throw it on a frame machine to pull that back out and make everything square again. Lots easier than trying to pull it out myself, and since I had everything pulled off to make access easy, it was cheap.
With the frame squared back up and the body sitting as it should, I was able to swap out the front fenders. I went with Metalcloak. More expensive than some other options, but I have limited time, and these were very easy to bolt into place. They were also one of the only vendors out there with 8" wide flares, and they're also one of the only fender sets that can be quick detached. The big flares keep me legal on the street, block mud (though not as well as I was hoping, still flings stuff into the back seat), and I can pull them off easily up in the mountains.
Now I've just got a bunch of smaller things to deal with. Waiting on parts for corner armor, rocker rails, and rear flares. I also need to get new bumpstops to take advantage of all the extra room. I've got a good 5 inches of clearance on all sides now, so the stops can be a lot shorter.
I'll probably also need shocks. The ones that are on it were old and rusty when I bought the jeep 10 years ago. Wondering if I shouldn't swap out the springs at the same time I redo the bump stops. I think the springs that are on it are an old 4" teraflex lift, that has since sagged down to 3 inches. Not sure if a modern progressive rate spring will make my ride any better at this point.
I also need to make a decision on tires. It's got a set of very old and worn placeholder MTR's on it now. I have a nearly new set on my 76 Gladiator that I can move over, but I'm not sure if I wouldn't be better of with a set of KO2's. MTR's on a TJ are a bit scary to me now. Without ABS they skid very nicely on the highway, as I found out when I wrecked it. They're much better behaved on the Gladiator.