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WJ Budget Build

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35K views 228 replies 16 participants last post by  Trxgedy  
#1 ·
Hello I've been meaning to start a build thread for a while. I have my first jeep a 2002 Grand Cherokee Laredo. Its 4.0 straight 6. I have had nothing but problems since I bought it I had a really bad overheating problem. I went through 3 radiators, a water pump, thermostat and 2 fan relay sensors. I have a wiring problem so I had to wire my fan so its always on. I had a blown head gasket and had a problem where my brakes locked up and first time out after fixing the brakes I snapped a bake line and had to run a new line. After 3000 dollars I finally have a daily driver and a bone stock wj that needs some sprucing up. I don't do too much trail riding so I am going to try and keep it a reasonable daily driver but I want a mean aggressive look. After spending so much to get it drivable I am on a budget. Here are some pics of what I'm starting out with.
 

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#2 ·
Also if anyone has anything they don't use anymore or spare parts they wanna sell that will fit on a wj let me know. I might be interested in buying them. Just bought a budget boost 2 inch lift off one of the classifieds waiting for that to arrive to put on. Can't wait. Still want to go bigger. Probably about 4 inches. But I'll take what I can get and upgrade later.
 
#3 ·
Well I got my budget boost lift in the mail today. Anyone know how long itll take to put on? I think I'll have to wait until Tuesday when I am off work to do it. I don't want to run into any problems this being the first time I've taken on a challenge like this and not have a car to get to work tomorrow night.
 
#6 ·
Decided to use the nice day to my advantage, I painted the grey trim on the wj black. For never painting anything before I am really happy with how well it came out. I need a little touching up I washed it with dawn soap, taped it off, and went to town. I ran out of daylight so I didn't get the front bumper done. Tomorrow I will take that off knock the dent out of it and paint that before putting it back on. And I will be putting the budget boost on tomorrow too.





















 

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#9 ·
Well I got the dent out of my bumper, wish I could get the one out of my fender. Its bent funny so my headlight doesn't fit perfect. Painted the front bumper and now it all matches. All the grey trim is now black. Also I hit the jackpot. Its not for sure but I think I just scored myself a brush guard, rear bumper guard, nerf bars, 2 lights for the brush guard, and the grates to cover my tail lights all for a whopping 200 dollars!
 

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#11 ·
#14 ·
Trxgedy said:
So its going to be almost 200 to get all that stuff shipped. I am going to have to road trip to Connecticut. It'll be cheaper to drive there and pick it up then to have it all shipped. Didn't get the lift on today either... :(
You should come visit Clayton while you're at it.
 
#18 ·
So i was drivibg when smoke started pouring out from under the hood and my heart sank. I've had a lot of overheating problems and u was scared it was happening again. Pulled over and looked.


Performed surgery on the said of the road while she bleed out :/


Tranny fluid everywhere.
View attachment 17824

All my transmission fluid gone
View attachment 17825


Blew the hose from the transmission to the radiator. Just replaced it on the side of the road
View attachment 17826
 
#19 ·
Glad you got it replaced and I assume working again?
 
#21 · (Edited)
OK so after reading xjsuperman's build I liked his list idea. I am very unorganized, and tend to start another project before I finish the one I'm on. So I am going to steal his list idea to get myself organized.

- first things first put this 2" BB lift on for now, I want to go about 4" but budget is tight. Its been sitting in my trunk for awhile now. I was having trouble with rusted bolts and have been soaking them with pb blaster daily for about a week now.
- touch up the black paint on the trim and bumpers. I painted them all but some spots need touched up. I think one last coat all around will do the job.
- touch up the rest of the paint. Its all pretty chipped and scratched from the previous owner.
- look up mounting brackets for the brush guard, rear bumper guard, and nerf bars I am about to win on eBay. I have another day until the auction closes.
- invest in an aftermarket CD player and a wiring kit for the sub and amp I have to install. Its nothing crazy just one 12 and a 1000w amp.
- I'm looking for some kind of light bar with some lights, the brush guard comes with 2 so I'll have to look into wiring that up to a switch. Might make a switch panel so I can add additional switches as I add lights to my jeep.
- speaking of lights I think I am going to buy a set of halo projectors and an HID kit. And since my jeeps that maroon color I might get the 12000k so it'll be a purplish color. Thinking of picking up fog lights to mount in the stock location too.
- sand down my rims they're pretty corroded and paint them I'm going to do black and accent it with the maroon color of the jeep.
- look for new tires. My 2 back ones are almost bald so I think I'm going to go 265/70/16 or 265/75/16. What do you think? I want big, aggressive looking tires.
- look into bushwhacker fender flairs. I think they make the look.
- retint over the back windows and get the 2 front ones tinted. Maybe tint the tail lights.
- purchase the decals I want to put on the jeep. I'm going to go with a zombie response theme.


Wow this list is a lot bigger then I was expecting. Lots to do! I'm sure im leaving out a few things, I'll add them as I think of them. Maybe today if it doesn't rain i will work on some of this list.

Also I see a lot of mods for xj's and what not for performance like injector swaps and what not. But nothing is ever posted for wj's are there mods like this for the wj?
 
#22 ·
Thanks for the compliments. Good luck on your list.
 
#27 ·
Well she was fixed for about 4 days... Jeep started making a loud thud thud thud noise as I drive and shaking pretty bad. Came out of nowhere. I looked underneath and nothing appears to be broken. Its not drivable this way (at least I wouldnt think so with how violent the thud is) any ideas before I take her to a shop to get checked out?
 
#28 ·
Check the driveshafts, wheel bearings, ball joints, pinions, brake caliper bolts... anything affected by the Jeep rolling. I'd even look at the CV joints on the axle shafts and make sure the joint isn't blown. Even if the boot is intact, the joint inside may be shot... wiggle it and see if it moves.

Check your steering box, steering, and lug nuts too. All simple stuff, yes... but all little stuff that could cause it.