TJ'S WJ BUILD

[tjswj]

Well im sure a few of you guys have seen me posting and wonder who I am, so here we go. I didnt think a my build has been MC worthy but hopefully that will change soon enough.

Im not going to get into detail everything of done up to this point, Ive owned the jeep for 7 years/ 130,000 miles and have been modding it since day one. There are way to many details and lost pictures to try and start from the begining, so here are the specs as of today.

2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo, 4.0L, select trac, etc....

• 4" teraflex kit (started with adjustable lowers, the rears are now welded, fronts are tacked)
• RE adjustable uppers
• Bilsteins
• JKS trackbar
• JKS/KOR HD tie rod and drag link
• 30/44a swapped in. Open front, varilok rear
• 33x12.5-15 MTR K's on Soft 8's
• KOR safari rack with 13" LED lightbar
• ARB front bumper with Warn M8000
• KMA/TAG/ whoever they are rear bumper/swingout
• 505 performance stage 1 cam kit (waiting for install) along with gasket matched head/intake

Before the bumpers and on 31's





ARB installed


MTR's and 5.9 louvers installed




Rear fender trim



Rear Bumper install, hitch receiver and jerry can mount installed






Current project NP231 DHD install, SYE, Terra 2 Lo, 6 pinion planetary




I should have the 231 finished sometime this week as far as a rebuild goes. As for install, Ill prolly just wait till after winter or untill I get a DD. The 231 is ment to compliment my longterm project of a 78 3/4ton HP44/ 97 Sterling 10.25 combo im slowly gathering parts for. The axles wont come untill after I get a set of clayton long arms though.

More recent wheeling pics, wellsville OH





Well thats the jist of it, any questions feel free to ask.

[1ABrian]

nice build man. Comin out good

[tjswj]

thanks!

[tjswj]

Past couple days Ive been doing a little work here and there on the rear quarters trying to get them properly sealed


This is how my jeeps been sitting for about a week



recently I got everything sanded and a couple coats of chassis saver applied to the outside, and inside of the rear quarter panels




After that I used panel adhesive to seal any small holes and to smooth it out a little. Most people would use seam sealer, they dont realize that its not ment for exterior applications and some types will even hold water. I went with the panel adhesive because it will keep everything water tight, and the strength will just add to the welds to strengthen the quarters.




inside the the rear quarters




I hope to get everything sanded smooth and painted today. Im just going to rattle can it gloss black for the winter. Its cheap, and also easy to remove when it comes time for the bedliner. I would like to do the bedliner now, but I just dont have the time, I need to get this thing back on the road.


Also, while its been in the body shop, I removed the passenger side hood vent. I painted them both a day or so before crush for kids, and the mud got on it and grabbed the paint. When I washed it off the paint came with it. So I sanded it all down and re- painted and cleared it.

[tjswj]

Figured it was best not to burn up a set of 1300 dollar tires on the street. So I bought a set of hankook fr10's that are more suited for street/snow driving. Ill save the mtr's for the off road trips.

33x12.5-15 compared to the 265/75-16


The baby tires

[ELLLLLIOTTTTT]

Whats the dedication sticker on your back window?

[tjswj]

Its for my best friend and brother in law. He passed away a few days before his 21st birthday in an unfortunate motorcycle accident while in the Marine Core. Him and I were closer than I am with most of my own blood. Made a lot of great memories with him in my wj.

[ELLLLLIOTTTTT]

Dang man, sorry to hear that. Jeep is looking good though, keep it up!

[tjswj]

Thank you sir

[tjswj]

Got the old exhaust off today, and the flowmaster fitted and welded. Tomorrow Ill paint it and get it installed.

Old and busted


New Hotness




Also finalized a deal on a new clayton long arm setup. Ill be driving to Louisville KY in the next month or so to pick them up. Im freaking excited! That was the last step before I start building the 3/4 ton axles.

[1ABrian]

keep up the good work man. Nice progress and good call on the tire swap. Save the good ones and run the streeters for a bit

[tjswj]

keep up the good work man. Nice progress and good call on the tire swap. Save the good ones and run the streeters for a bit

Thank you sir. Its nothing like the other builds you guys around here got going on, but Im working up to that.


Got the exhaust painted and installed today. Used a band clamp so it wont crimp the pipes which will allow for a lot easier removal if needed.





1st impressions- Its way too loud for my liking. I think I messed up by not putting in a high flow cat to help absorb some sound. So if the exhaust note doesnt grow on me (I only took it around the block real quick), ill be adding a magnaflow.

[1ABrian]

good choice on the band clamp then huh? Clean work. I have the 4.0 and thinking about removin the tailpipe, shortening the pipe between the cat and muffler and doing a side dump. I ran a cat w/no muffler with a turndown dump and drover myself nuts. The drone was horrible.

[tjswj]

Yeah, thats why I used the band clamp instead of a regular crimp style clamp. It will make removal a breeze.

[1ABrian]

Any updates on changes made? Did you order up the Magnaflow yet?

[tjswj]

Ya, I absolutely hate it. Its obnoxiously loud and just sounds like crap. I ordered the magnaflow from summit and it came yesterday, just havent had time to get it in yet. Probably friday.

[tjswj]

Ditched the FM in favor of a magnaflow. MUCH BETTER!

Parts are pilling up. Got the s10.25 disc brake conversion brackets today, along with my upgraded 4 hole fuel injectors.






Planning on picking up the clayton long arm setup in March. When that goes down ill be ordering the KOR/Clayton belly skid to go with it since my IRO t-case skid will no longer work. After that the jeep will get parked for a major tear down and build up including:


501 performance stage 1 cam
Cylinder Head and intake manifold port matching/polishing
Upgraded 4 hole bosch injectors
Np231HD with SYE install, with custom double cardon rear driveshaft
Clayton Long arms
KOR belly skid
New beefy rockers/sliders
Tank Tuck
Frame plating (if time/money allows)


After that all my jeep money will be going into the hp44/s10.25 build which in between things ive been gathering little misc things for. I.E. the disc brake adapters

For those reading this. Which truss would you recommend for the sterling? Clayton, or ruffstuff? Im leaning towards the RS because it looks like a much stronger design compared to claytons multiple piece setup.

[TN_WJ]

I know it's not a 10.25 but I've got the Clayton's rear bracket kit and truss on my 8.8 and it came out great. Clearance between the truss and the gas tank, in stock location, is pretty tight but it clears. Plus it's nice that the LCA brackets are all high clearance.

[IndyZJ]

For the best result, do some researching and build your own.

A mitered piece of 2x3" makes a very effective, cheap truss. Go as far out on the axle as possible and box it in with plate for more surface area. 3/16" is plenty thick and won't add pointless weight. Be sure to build enough vertical separation into the mounts to keep them from seeing excessive load.

Also, if going with Clayton's kit be sure to push the lowers as far out on the axle as you reasonably can. There isn't really enough triangulation built into the uppers to effectively locate the rear end. There are a couple somewhat recent threads on here involving a WJ addressing the weak truss and insufficient triangulation.

[tjswj]

I know it's not a 10.25 but I've got the Clayton's rear bracket kit and truss on my 8.8 and it came out great. Clearance between the truss and the gas tank, in stock location, is pretty tight but it clears. Plus it's nice that the LCA brackets are all high clearance.

I was looking at claytons rear bracket kit a while back, but I already have a set of RS coil mounts, and everything else I could gather for cheaper. Had I seen the kit before I had the coil mounts I would have gone that route.

`

For the best result, do some researching and build your own.

A mitered piece of 2x3" makes a very effective, cheap truss. Go as far out on the axle as possible and box it in with plate for more surface area. 3/16" is plenty thick and won't add pointless weight. Be sure to build enough vertical separation into the mounts to keep them from seeing excessive load.

Also, if going with Clayton's kit be sure to push the lowers as far out on the axle as you reasonably can. There isn't really enough triangulation built into the uppers to effectively locate the rear end. There are a couple somewhat recent threads on here involving a WJ addressing the weak truss and insufficient triangulation.

Ill have to look more into the 2x3, I was thinking about using something to that effect for the 44 front though. Just never thought about using it for the rear.

I remember reading a thread or two about claytons truss breaking the welds, thats why I was second guessing it and considering the RS truss.

I also have been following AP's builds here on MC and on Pirate as well. I see that in his other wj build (the tow rig) that he is building a 10.25(or 10.5)/D60 combo. Im waiting to see what he does with the rear truss, as im sure it will be brilliant! When he got to that point I was going to see if he would be willing to make 2. Im a big fan of his work, and would rather give my business to him in support.

Thanks for the heads up on claytons triangulation issue as well, ill have to do some research on that subject as well.

[1ABrian]

that magnaflow looks awesome. Looking forward to seeing update install pics

[tjswj]

that magnaflow looks awesome. Looking forward to seeing update install pics

it looks just like the FM, but shiny.

[tjswj]

For the best result, do some researching and build your own.

Also, if going with Clayton's kit be sure to push the lowers as far out on the axle as you reasonably can. There isn't really enough triangulation built into the uppers to effectively locate the rear end. There are a couple somewhat recent threads on here involving a WJ addressing the weak truss and insufficient triangulation.

If the clayton kit doesnt center the axle properly, has anyone added a rear track bar? Like on the zj's.

[IndyZJ]

Clayton's ZJ kit is triangulated at the uppers, too. It has the same issues. Since the uppers are triangulated, a panhard's geometry would fight the rest of the links and add even more stress to the body-side mounts.

Recent threads addressing both issues:

Truss: http://mallcrawlin.com/forum/showthr...r-a-rear-truss

Lack of triangulation: http://mallcrawlin.com/forum/showthr...ht=#post337235

Pretty sure the truss design has changed slightly, but it's still not enough as is IMO.

[tjswj]

Thanks for all the help. I guess Ill be trying to address that issue when the new axles go in.