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.
