My 2003 WJ DD and project build

Project vehicle blogs or "mod diary" specific threads only.. Pics encouraged!!
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PJV52284
Posts: 4
Joined: March 12th, 2020, 7:31 am
Vehicle Year: 2003
Vehicle Make: Jeep
Vehicle Model: WJ

My 2003 WJ DD and project build

Post by PJV52284 »

Hello everyone, i am using this post to introduce myself, my jeep, and i plan on using this thread as a "mod diary".

Im PJ, i live in Manchester New Hampshire. When first going about registering with jeepstrokers, i probably spent well over an hour going over the history of my Jeep, from what it was when I bought it stock, to where it is now, just about 11 years later.

Then, after submitting my registration, it got declined because i went past the 2500 character limit. So i had to remove over half of what I originally wrote, but i saved it to my phone, and is posted below

2003 WJ 4.0 2WD Base Model, and very low on the "Base Model" list. Came with almost no optional features that were offered; no fog lights, no auto head lights, not many power control adjustments to drivers seat, mechanical passenger seat adjustments, no sunroof, etc. I was surprised to see it came with a full sized spare. The interior was a horrible brown and tan color with brushed aluminum trim, and the door panels didn't even have the carpet/cloth on the bottom, it was just plain textured plastic.

Purchased on April 20th, 2009, in VA Beach, 80k miles on the clock. I lived in VA for about 6 months after signing for it, then moved to SW Florida for about a year and a half, then went out to Houston Texas for around 8 months before finally moving back home to NH.

The first upgrade in 2012: 2004 Overland interior swap. Black leather heated adjustable seats w/memory, The new interior from the 04 overland has the red burl wood trim on the dash cover, radio surround, ashtray, and door panels. Black interior dash, center console, glove box, and all trim pieces are black. Black and grey door panels w/ seat memory buttons and marker lights. Also got the heated side mirrors, sun visors w/ mirror lights, infinity sound system, complete interior wiring harness, steering wheel, auto light sensor w/ fog light switch, and silver front bumper w/round fog lights, and chrome tow hooks. Scored all that for $150, and later sold the steering wheel for $100, cd changer, Infiniti speakers and amp for $100, and the gauge cluster for $80. Everything els was installed right away, the gauge cluster was in for about 2 years, but i never (8 years now...) got around to putting in the complete interior harness and passenger side heated leather seat.

2013: Upgraded to 4 hole injectors.

2014: Bought a set of Goodyear Duratracs, i forget the size, they were bigger than stock, only rubbed at full lock in reverse.

2015: Installed K&N FIPK, B&M Transmission Oil Cooler.

2016: IRO 3" lift, adjustable track bar, Moog Trail Boss Steering Stabilizer w/ all new Moog tie rods, rear A-Arm spacer, Bilstein shocks.

2017 through 2019: 265/75/16 Duratracs, cut out the fog lights for the "Pre-Runner" look, Westin Front Brush Guard (the kind that goes from headlight to headlight), installed a wrangler belt w/out AC to eliminate AC pulley, Superchips Flashpaq Tuner, Spidertrax Wheel Spacers, Stillen Drilled Rotors w/ Stillen Metal Matrix Pads, stainless steel braided extended brake lines, 3rd Cat Delete, 2.5" Exhaust, FM70 Muffler.

Since I have owned it, the only time it has been in a shop and/or had a mechanic touch it, has been for State inspection, and to mount/balance the tires. I have meticulously maintained it, swapping all sensors out with new Mopar sensors at 150k, oil changed every 2500-4000 miles, transmission oil, diff oil, coolant and spark plugs every 30k to 40k, and power steering once a year.

No major repairs have ever been needed. The most involved repair i have do to it is the rear axle seals, i bought a cheap shop press from H.F. for less than what i would of paid a shop to do the work. Replaced the valve cover gasket w/ breathers and grommets, also painted the valve cover while i was at it. Every few years i buy a new set of painted calipers, i live in NH, so normal calipers get rusty quick. As the jeep started getting old, I replaced just about every motor sensor before it could give me any trouble. The #1 maintenance repair i did that made a HUGE difference in the overall way the jeep drove and shifted, was replacing the Throttle Control Cable. The old one was very stiff, which made the gas pedal stiff, and really effected the shift points in a bad way, especially on hills. When i would approach the beginning of a steep incline, i would have to forcefully mash the gas, in order to make it down shift, inorder to prevent the motor from bogging down. After the new T.V. Cable install, the gas pedal requires minimal effort to push, and i don't need to adjust how much pressure i have on the gas pedal when coming up on an incline, the jeep seems to properly downshift as needed inorder to overcome the more power required to get up the hill.

Just over a year ago, i bought a set of Doug Thorley headers, magnaflow pre-cats/down pipe, magnaflow hi flow cat, Flowmaster 70 series muffler, 2.5" pipe. Within the first few days i was too excited, i removedmy 3rd cat, and installedthe 2.5" pipe, FM70, and mandrel bent tail pipe. I plan on putting on finishing up the front half of the exhaust ASAP seeing that i now have more free time available. (Along with new o2 sensors, motor/trans mounts, and a couple other things)

After the front half of the exhaust is finished, i have 2 projects i want to get started ASAP
1: Stroker
2: 4x4 Conversion.

I have two 2004 WJ part rigs, both have good running 4.0's with 42re selec-trac, open D30/D35 setups (155k and 170k). I also have another spare 42re with selec-trac transfer case, and a set of Vari-Lok Diffs, D30/D44A, 3.73 gears.

So as of today (3-16-2020), here is my main scope of upgrades and projects:
First, finish the front half of the exhaust, which consists of installing the headers, precats, and catalytic converter (along with all 4 new o2 sensors, and motor/tranny mounts)

2nd on the list, is figuring out which motor is the best candidate for my stroker build. The 2 WJ parts rigs i purchased alboth have extensive body rot. And because i dont know for a fact if they have been properly maintained and/or ever over heated, i am going to do a compression and leak down test on all 3 of my 4.0's, all 3 have the "TUPY" heads.

My 03 DD that i have had for just about 11 years now has a hair over 300k on it, but it also has HUNDREDS, if not hundreds, over a thousand of hours idling from warming it up during the cold temps, and being inside it during 20min to 45 minute lunch breaks while working normal jobs over the years. I also did snow removal during most of the winter seasons up here in NH and MA. The snow removal work consisted of being at the jobsite by the time it starts snowing, which meant i was inside the jeep for hours on end during the snow storms. The Jeep would be idling for about half the time i was working (well..... AT WORK lol). Doing the snow removal jobs, say the storm was 10 hours long, i would be sitting in the Jeep until enough snow built up to get out and shovel, or during the weekends and overnights, i wouldn't shovel at all from 10pm to 5am, so the jeep would spend a good amount of theat time idling (Commercial sites, no one was using the sidewalks during those hours). During the days when the employees would be coming and going, i would work for about an hour or two, then break for atleast an hour, again the jeep would be idling a good amount of time i wasn't outside shoveling.

So. To make a long story even longer, i expect my 03 DD 4.0 to be in the worst shape between the 3 4.0's i have, but there's a chance one of the 04's (or both!), show up worse after doing the compression and leak down test.

Once i find out which of my 4.0s is in the worst shape, that will be my first candidate for dedicating to the stroker build. If the 4.0 in my DD is in the worst shape (as i assume it is), i will be pulling the motor out of one of the other jeeps, to put in my DD so i am still able to drive. That way, i can take my time with my stroker build, getting it done right the first time, without having to sacrifice anything do to being short on time or money. If i end up running out of funds, i can always put it on hold for another week until payday comes along.

Along with the stroker build i will be getting the set of Varilok axles ready to put in. I spent a few years trying to find a part out that had a set of 3.73 Varilok axles in good condition, however every jeep i have come across up here in NH, the spring perch and/or coil buckets were rusted out, most of them already rotting out. I ended up with a set just as so. I will be completely stripping the axles down to bare metal inorder to install new spring perches/coil buckets, prime, paint, and also replace the bearings, seals, and brake backing plates.

As my stroker build and axles are getting close to being finished, and if everything is still going as planned, i will be dropping off one of the 42re tranny's off for a rebuild with improvements for firmer shifts, and stronger internals.

By the end of July, i would like it all to be completed, however thats if everything goes as planned without any delay or setbacks. Reasonably thinking, i think its a safe bet to say i should have my build completed by the end of fall.

My build vision:
4.6 or 4.7 Long Rod Stroker, i plan on doing the "Modified Poor Man's Stroker"
4x4 conversion, SelecTrac Transfer Case w/ 3.73 Vari-Lok Axles.

After that, i have some other ideas, like doing a set of half doors, installing a set of bushwhacker flares, and maby a hidden winch bumper, but thats all going to wait until my original build plan is complete.

The 3" lift is currently on stock arms, i don't recall have any plans on doing anything else with the lift until my stroker build and 4x4 conversion is complete. But i don't want to go too crazy with the lift.

Thoughts? Comments? Suggestions? Any questions? Any answers?

Feel free to comment. :)
PJV52284
Posts: 4
Joined: March 12th, 2020, 7:31 am
Vehicle Year: 2003
Vehicle Make: Jeep
Vehicle Model: WJ

Re: My 2003 WJ DD and project build

Post by PJV52284 »

1st update

Well, things haven't been moving along as quickly as i would like, partly because of, well, i basically need to motivate myself more, partly because of needing to get my garage organized. The phone is quite the distraction to me, and mainly, at times when i am in the garage.

Today i decided to just leave my phone inside the house when i went outside, and it definitely made a difference, didn't spend all that much time organizing, but i did end up going to one parts store, bought a mechanical oil pressure gauge along with some supplies, but they didn't have any of the fittings i needed to install the mechanical gauge along with the stock oil pressure sending unit, on the way home stopped at another parts store, was able to only pickup the "T" fitting, and then a stop at HD to get the nipple connector to connect the T to the block where the stock sending unit goes into. I was surprised that it took me less than an hour to install, and the total cost for the gauge and fittings was about 25.00 total. The line ended up being too short, so the gauge ended being temporarily housed infront of the ABS unit for the time being.

My 4.0 WJ has over 300k on it, seeing that I will be installing the headers soon, ive decided that im going to give this motor some attention, just incase my stroker build doesn't happen as quickly as i would like. The oil pan gasket is leaking, along with the RMS, so both those will be getting done as i have the exhaust off. The purpose of the oil pressure gauge was to get an idea of the condition of my oil pump (seeing that its 17 years old, and has endured high mileage), if i didn't like the readings i saw with the new gauge, i would of planned on replacing it when i did the oil pan gasket, RMS, and whatever els while im in there.

To my surprise, i did a semi cold start after parking the jeep 2 to 3 hours before, and the needle on the gauge went up to 50 within just a few seconds. After it warmed up, it was still holding steadyat 50, and went up to 60 as i brought the RPMs up approx 1k on top of idle. I was pretty concerned about what I was going to see after knowing how many hundreds, possibly a thousand hours of idle time, ontop of the milage, but i now feel safe about leaving it in this motor for atleast another year.

Tomorrow , or sometime this week, my plan is to hopefully get out early and go crazy, install alot of the new parts i bought over the winter, including: the headers, pre cats/down pipe, all 4 o2 sensors motor mounts/trans mount, valve cover gasket w/new grommets and breathers, RMS, oil pan gasket, and timing set. I know as soon as I do, i will be posting a update shortly after.

I also found out the part number on the 4 hole injectors i bought a few years back

Ford logo
XF2E-C4B
9F593 212

Could someone chime in and let me know if they would be a good candidate for my stroker build? Or if i should plan on getting a new set of injectors, weather the same, or different than what im running now?

Thanks in advance, i hope to update again soon. :)
PJV52284
Posts: 4
Joined: March 12th, 2020, 7:31 am
Vehicle Year: 2003
Vehicle Make: Jeep
Vehicle Model: WJ

Re: My 2003 WJ DD and project build

Post by PJV52284 »

Update: :banana:
Well, things are moving along, at a snail's pace, but a steady snail's pace, but tonight was a big turning point that should give me extra motivation.

Tonight I bought a 258 block that had new .40 over pistons installed, also installed in the block was the connecting rods, cam, timing chain intact w/cover, and the main piece i bought the thing for, THE CRANK!
He listed it a couple weeks ago, and only lives a few towns over. He started the build in February, but lost interest in his project. He had the block with everything listed above, and the 4.2 head, clutch, and fan in th listing, he wanted $500 for everything. Ive kept in contact with him, and eventually we agreed on a price on $150 for the crank. Tonight when I got there, the crank was still installed in the block, so we just loaded up the the block into the back of my WJ, and he also gave me a good clutch for a manual jeep, and the cooling fan, he already sold the head. However, im pretty happy i was able to get a 258 crank for 150.00
The casting numbers are:
3235444 = 81-89 block casting
3235477 = 81-86, 4 counterweights, 46lb, 64mm nose

Due to the spring weather, i haven't been outside as much as i would like. These past few weeks had some days in the mud to upper 40's that i was able to get outside and tinker around, and there were some warm days, but there's been too many cold, windy, and rainy days.

Also, i purchased another WJ on April 2nd. Ive been helping my mother out because she fell and shattered her hip at the beginning of February, and getting her in and out of my WJ took some time and patience (3" lift, tires are about 31.5").

So i bought another 04 WJ, but this one is for me to drive her to and from her appointments in, and for her be able to use if needed when im not around. She's a 100% disabled veteran, and there's some patriotic American flag stickers on the back, its the same exact rig as my 2 other parts rigs; 04 WJ 4.0 242/Select-Trac 3.55 open diffs. Picked it up for $200 because the owner was convinced it "needed $3000 worth of parts and labor". The rockers need to be repaired, the front drive shaft c.v. needed to be replaced, and the front drivers side spring perch is rotted out, the bottom of the spring broke through the perch and is sitting on the axle tube. I spent 10 min removing the front drive shaft, drove it home, swapped the front axle with one from one of my other parts rigs w/ a lightly use front drive shaft, just have the rockers to take care of, and it'll be good for inspection. My mother loves the thing, and with it being stock height, she can get in and out of it with her nad hip not needing any assistance.

So now that i have the crank, im going kick it into high gear with making progress each day. This weekend i plan on pulling the 4.0 from one of my 04 part rigs, to get it semi-cleaned up, taking apart, and will be trying to get the 4.0 block, head, and 4.2 crank to the machine shop.

I also plan on reaching out to Russ at some point within the next week or so to get an estimate on the rest of the parts i will be needing to purchase purchase inorder to get things moving along.

I have an annual camping trip planned for the last weekend of July, my friends and i goto a crazy place on the Saco river called "Fiddlehead Campground", and we do a trip down the river while we are up there, alot of fun, crazy, and memorable times take place on the Saco river. Snce the first time my friends and i got together and went on this now annual event, my plan was to convert my jeep to 4wd, every year someone gives me crap for my jeep still being 2wd. Aslong as nothing too financially drastic happens, im pretty confident i will be showing up with my jeep being 4x4 this year. However, im going to put alot of effort into getting everything done, so my 03WJ build will he something along the lines of: 4.6/4.7 stroker, 3.73 vari-lok limited slip D30 front, D44A rear, 242 Select-trac transfer case, and if i hit the lottery a month before I leave for the trip, maby a new set of Duratracs, and bushwhacker fender flares :)

But as of right now, im pretty confident i will atleast have my 4.6/4.7 stroker complete and installed by then, along with the 4x4 being done, even if i have to go the easy route and just install the select-trac transfer case with 3.55 gears, and the D30/D35 open diffs. Only time will tell. Wish me luck. :banana:
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