Archive for category Project LJ (Jeep)

2005 JEEP WRANGLER UNLIMITED (LJ)

R U B I C O N E D I T I O N

This striking, well-maintained, low-mileage, one-owner Jeep is an off-roader’s dream come true. In addition to the already formidable features of the specialized Rubicon edition, this rugged beauty has more than $4000 worth of after-market accessories — many no longer available — and a factory warranty until 2012! We still love this rig, and only an expanding family moves us to sell it. Seriously. This machine is really gorgeous.

THE QUICK FACTS…

Bright Silver Metallic … 6 cyl. … 6-speed manual trans. … 23,200 miles … Rubicon 4×4 special features … Sunrider soft-top … GPS navigation … many off-road upgrades (winch, lift, skidplates, bumpers, etc.). … The vehicle has been religiously serviced, and the title is clear.

THE CUSTOM FEATURES…

• Security Group Option (Sentry Key engine immobilizer, auto-dim rearview mirror w/lamps, digital compass, temp. display)
• Convenience Group Option (extra lamps, improved console, etc.)
• T-Max EWI-10000 Submersible Winch.
• Garmin Trail Guide system with removable handheld GPS unit (awesome).
• Skid-row Nightcrawler Front Bumper with 6 “spotter’s lights.”
• Jeeperman Trail Skidz rock rails.
• Smittybilt/Rugged Ridge Off-road Cargo Rack with custom “grab handle” extensions and bracing (not currently installed; see below).
• Jeeperman Rear Bumper with tow hitch and shackle points.
• JKS Quicker Swaybar Disconnects.
• Rocky Road Outfitters 2″ Lift Kit.
• Buchanan Precision Machine 1.5″ Seat Lift-kit.
• Mopar Jeep-branded Mud-flaps.
• Skid-row Steering Box Skidplate.
• Auto Ventshade Bugflector II.
• Quadratec Domelight Kill Switch.
• Stepshield Entry Guards.
• Custom felt-lined pouches for removable windows.
• Fitted vehicle cover.

Simply put, it’s loaded.

THE BIG WARRANTY…

On top of all this, the vehicle comes with a transferable extended Jeep warranty (Maximum Care), good until 4/20/2012 or 70,000 miles on the odometer ($50 dealer transfer fee applies). That’s a roughly 3-year, 45,000-mile factory warranty remaining!

QUESTIONS ANSWERED…

I’ll update this as needed with answer to folks’ questions.

Q. How does it handle on the highway?

A. Superbly. I had a CJ-7 before this, and the difference in stability is night and day. The extra inches on the wheelbase of these TJ Unlimiteds (LJs) not only almost doubles the towing capacity of the regular Wrangler, but it also makes them far more stable (whether on the highway or off-road). The shorter wheelbase rigs can get a little “squirrely” at high speed — and that’s just not the case with this machine. In fact, this vehicle’s wheelbase is a couple inches longer than the old Jeep Cherokee (XJ), which is just right (as Goldilocks would say). Aside from the general stability, I should also note that the vehicle is remarkably quiet on the highway. Here again, it’s very different from older, shorter-wheelbase rigs. Jeep put sound dampening material all over the place in the LJ, and the redesigned cloth-top is phenomenally quiet. On long trips, such as we’ve taken every summer driving it across the country to Colorado, my wife and I generally forgot that the top was there at all, which is the highest compliment I think I could give.

Q. What do they use for ice on the roads in Denver?

A. I think de-icers vary by area in Colorado, but it actually doesn’t matter in this case: this Jeep only spent its summers on the state’s roads. The Jeep’s winters were spent first in a garage in upstate New York (while I finished my doctorate), then in mild South Carolina (where I teach college). We did decide to leave it in Colorado this past winter rather than drive it back and forth across the country, but it was in storage. And thanks for the compliment. I seriously love this vehicle and hate to see it go (especially with that warranty!). These LJs are already looking to be collector’s items given how few were made and how superior the Rubicons in particular are as off-road machines. Alas, the growing family needs a Commander!

THE KNOWN PROBLEMS…

The key cylinder slips intermittently when unlocking the fuel filler cap (a minor annoyance) … There are a few small pocks in the extended fender flares from rocks thrown on highway or trail. They’re noticeable only through close examination, and are nothing unusual for a used vehicle. Just trying to be upfront about everything! … If you crawl under, you’ll see that the belly skidplates have some dings (thanks, Moab). These aren’t noticeable otherwise, though, and they don’t affect anything. … There’s a small front silver skid plate on the bumper in some of my photos. This plate is currently off the vehicle but would be happily handed over for later install. … The cargo rack has recently been taken off the vehicle, as I’m unsure if you’ll want it or not. If you do, I’ll include it along with all the relevant parts to do the easy install.

THE CONDITIONS…

The vehicle is located in Denver, Colorado. Delivery must be arranged at your expense, though we’ll certainly do our best to help facilitate.

Please note that the vehicle is sold “as is,” with no warranty on my part. That said, I’ll remind you again that this totally sound rig carries a roughly 3-year, 45,000-mile warranty from Jeep. We’ve had no real problems with this vehicle, but for quite awhile yet just about anything that comes up will be Jeep’s problem, not yours!

…SO WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

Send me an email with any questions you might have. Good luck, and thanks for looking!

Thanks to my wonderful parents, it looks like I’ll be able to put my Jeep up for sale sooner rather than later. They’ve rescued it from storage, driven it up the mountain to their place just outside of Golden, and even spit-polished the rig a bit. Local ads might go up as soon as the next day or two.

Here, then, is a test-run of my Craigslist advert:

…

Special 2005 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited (LJ) Rubicon

This striking, well-maintained, low-mileage, one-owner Jeep is an off-roader’s dream come true. In addition to the already formidable features of the specialized Rubicon edition, this rugged beauty has more than $4000 worth of aftermarket accessories — many no longer available — and a factory warranty until 2012! We still love this rig, and only an expanding family moves us to sell it. Seriously. This machine is gorgeous. 

THE QUICK FACTS…

Bright Silver Metallic; 6 cyl., 6-speed manual trans.; 23,200 miles; Sunrider soft-top; GPS navigation; many off-road upgrades (winch, lift, skidplates, bumpers, etc.). The title is clear.

THE DETAILS…

Factory Features (Rubicon, with options):

— Dana 44 heavy-duty axles front and rear, with a 4.11:1 axle ratio
— Tru-Lok push-button locking differentials front and rear
— 4.0L Power-Tech I-6 engine with heavy-duty 6-speed manual transmission
— Two front tow hooks
— 4:1 Rock-Trac part-time 4WD system
— Full, removable hard doors
— LT245/75R16 (31”) Goodyear Wrangler MT/R off-road tires (full-size spare)
— 16” x 8” “MOAB” Silver wheels
— Sunrider easy-folding soft-top (quickly opens up a massive 45”x23” sunroof)
— Fog Lamps
— Black Diamond Plate Sill Guards
— Air-conditioning
— Convenience Group (extra lamps, improved console, cup-holders, etc.)
— Floor mats
— Security Group (Sentry Key Engine immobilizer, auto-dimming rearview mirror with map lamps, digital compass, and outside temperature display)
— Fold-and-Tumble rear seat.
— AM/FM stereo radio with CD player
— 7 speakers, including subwoofer
— Next Generation driver and front-passenger airbags
— 4-wheel disc brakes
— LATCH system
— Locking fuel cap
— Speed control
— Leather-wrapped Steering Wheel
— 15/19 city/highway mpg

Custom Features:

— T-Max EWI-10000 Submersible Winch
— Garmin Trail Guide system with removable handheld GPS unit (awesome)
— Skid-row Nightcrawler Front Bumper with 6 “spotter’s lights”
— Jeeperman Trail Skidz rock rails
— Smittybilt/Rugged Ridge Off-road Cargo Rack with custom “grab handle” extensions and bracing (not currently installed; see below)
— Jeeperman Rear Bumper with tow hitch and shackle points
— JKS Quicker Swaybar Disconnects
— Rocky Road Outfitters 2″ Budget Lift Kit
— Buchanan Precision Machine 1.5″ Seat Lift-kit
— Mopar Jeep-branded Mud-flaps
— Skid-row Steering Box Skidplate
— Auto Ventshade Bugflector II
— Quadratec Domelight Kill Switch
— Stepshield Entry Guards
— Custom felt-lined pouches for removable windows

THE KNOWN PROBLEMS…

— The key cylinder slips intermittently when unlocking the fuel filler cap (a minor annoyance).
— There are a few small pocks in the finish from rocks thrown on highway or trail. They’re noticeable only through close examination, and are nothing unusual for a used vehicle. Just trying to be upfront about everything!
— The belly skidplates have some dings. Blame Moab.
— There’s a small front silver skid plate on the bumper in many of the photos. This plate is currently off the vehicle but would be happily handed over for later install.
— The cargo rack has recently been taken off the vehicle, as I’m unsure if you’ll want it or not. If you do, I’ll include it along with all the relevant parts to do the easy install.

THE WARRANTY…

On top of all this, the vehicle comes with a transferable extended Jeep warranty (Maximum Care), good until 4/20/2012 or 70,000 miles on the odometer ($50 dealer transfer fee applies). That’s a roughly 3-year, 45,000-mile factory warranty!

…WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

Email or call!

I’m not sure what started it, but we’re giving serious consideration to selling the LJ in favor of, well, something else. Quite possibly a Jeep Commander, which would promptly get a 4″ lift and bigger tires. One can get a great deal on a Commander right now, and it would (with modifications) be suitable to both the hardcore off-road capabilities I demand and the gentle on-road luxuries we’d like. It could be a great long-term solution for the growing family.

Nothing is for certain yet, since leaving behind my “real” Jeep — a soft-top utilitarian rig — is a leap that’s tough for me to take. We’ll see. I did test-drive a Commander yesterday, and I found it far less “boat-y” than I expected such a big rig to be.

The Wife rolls her eyes at me, but it also has not gone unnoticed by me that the Commander is near to the same scale as the Land Rover Series 109″ vehicles, which were modified into awesome things like the Dormobile back in the dim days before my birth. It’s probable that there are steel crossbeams in the roof to prevent me from doing it, but I’m not just a little tempted to get a Commander and start planning to cut most of the roof out. Add in some fiberglass molding, some canvas making, a lot of blood, sweat, tears, and foul words … and one might have the modern equivalent of the beauty picture here. Sweet, eh?

Project LJ Stage 3: Enter the expensive. A series of fortunate events punches up my LJ timeline (items covered in detail below).

$1000 — T-Max EWI-10000 Winch.
$600 — Skid-row Nightcrawler Front Bumper.
$400 — Jeeperman Trail Skidz.
$375 — Smittybilt/Rugged Ridge Off-road Cargo Rack.
$200 — Rola Pursuit Cargo Carrier.
$300 — Jeeperman Rear Bumper.
$85 — T-Max Portable Air Compressor.
$70 — T-Max Snatch-Strap.

Total for stage 3: $3030. (Total for all stages: $4432.)*

* This estimate based on estimated prices for some of these items; I got remarkable (one-time) deals on several, so I’ve not put nearly this much into the rig. Yet.

T-Max Winch

I never owned a winch until this summer, and I hope never to use it (except to pull out stuck Hummers). But I still wanted one. It’s one thing to get stuck out on your own in the boonies; it’s quite another to get stuck when other lives are your responsibility. The ability to self-recover is not to be dismissed.

I originally planned to get a small “competition” winch, but after talking with the good folks over at 4xGuard.com I opted for a bigger (in every way) 10,000-lb. winch with an integrated solenoid. It’s silver, which looks great on the rig, it’s wireless, and it can work underwater.

I have no plans to test out the winch’s submersible qualities.

Front Bumper

I think of all the decisions I’ve had to make on the LJ, choosing a new front bumper was the hardest. When you get down to it, there’s a great many very nice bumpers out there, of all manner cost. I planned to get this one, then that one, then another one, then back to the first … before I settled, at long last, on the Nightcrawler, from Skid-row, with its four trail-angled lights up front and two more tire-angled on the sides.

Why this one? Well, it perhaps goes without saying that it’s a lot cheaper than several others I was interested in. More than that, though, I think it’s a really great design. It’s not the hoop-infested hoopla that so many aftermarket bumpers are. It’s sleek and well-built. I like the big, thick clevis-plates (especially nifty is their silver color, which so nicely fits my rig). I like the modular capabilities it has. And — yes, I won’t deny it — I like all the little lights. They’re not tremendously powerful, but they get the job done.

Oh, and like the winch they’re submersible. So that’s, um, good.

Rock Rails/Sliders/Steps

Even before I brought my LJ home I was concerned about the breakover angle. I was used to the short wheelbase of a CJ, so thinking about bouldering with that long stretch between wheels on my new rig scared the bejesus out of me. The solution? A little extra protection in the form of rock rails/sliders/whatever-you-want-to-call-them.

When it came to these things (I shall call them rails), I’ve long had my eye on those made by Jeeperman (“Trail Skidz,” they call them). They’re heavy-duty, don’t require drilling or other major modification, and they include a piece of black diamond-plate welded on their top, helping them to double as a very functional step. This diamond plate makes them look particularly great on Rubicons, which already have black diamond plate aligned vertically across the bottom of the wheel-to-wheel stretch.

Ruggedly gorgeous, and a psychological weight lifted.

Plus the dog can get in and out easier.

Cargo Rack

Cargo room. Always the bane of the Jeep-owner! Having a soft-top adds to the trouble, since one can’t just throw extra items “on the roof.” So the addition of a cargo rack was, from the beginning, a major component of Stage 3.

When it came time to do it, though, I faced a problem: there weren’t many racks out there I liked. They were of poor quality. Or they were expensive. Or they required permanent modifications to the Jeep, which I object to on principle. So it was that, after much deliberation, I settled on buying/building a rack, using as the core of my set-up a rack made by Rugged Ridge (formerly Smittybilt), which I ordered from Quadratec.

As you may well note, this rack is made for a TJ, not an LJ such as mine. I therefore had to have two extensions manufactured in order to get it to fit my longer wheelbase. I designed the extensions to include “handles” and to angle out slightly from the rig — you can see them in the image to the left. The cost for these parts was not great (about $40), and if that had been all there was to it, my roof rack experiment would have been an immediate success.

Alas, Rugged Ridge products are not made well. The angles on the front uprights were very wrong. On initial install, they were both angled in the same direction laterally and horizontally. In other words, the passenger-side piece was sending its horizontal bar (the one along the side of the Jeep) into the soft-top, while the
driver-side piece was sending its bar out into space. It took some shims and quite a bit of drilling out of mounting holes to get everything to line up correctly (you can’t contact Rugged Ridge). I also drilled out holes in the bottoms of the rear uprights for draining purposes (much needed, because over a two-week stretch I had already accumulated about an inch of standing water in the pipe).

Another problem with the rack was that it squeaked a bit too much for my taste. There was simply too much side-to-side movement in the construction, which is exacerbated by the fact that the bolts they give you are a shade small. So my father and I also built some add-on brackets that mount behind the taillights and give much more rigidness to the whole while maintaining the necessary flexibility (required since the rack “unites” body and frame). We also drilled out a couple fastening points and put in bigger bolts or set-screws. I’m happy to say the rack is now pretty solid with very little squeak.

I daresay it also looks really cool.

Cargo Carrier

With roof rack comes the need for a roof-top cargo carrier. Being a practical fellow, I wanted something that would protect my precious goods from the elements during transport. Sure, one could just hog-tie a suitcase to the roof rack’s crossbars, but what if it rains?

There are many different options when it comes to cargo carriers: from hard-shell Thules and Yakimas to big waterproof bags. I didn’t like the on-the-ground reports about the latter (not really being waterproof, having lots of windnoise), and the former are expensive and not easy to store. Instead, I chose a Rola Pursuit carrier, which is an apparently unique design: like a hard-shell it is weatherproof, aerodynamic, and adequately stiff; like a bag it is lightweight and can be collapsed when not in use.

I ordered the Rola via the internet (a great deal through etrailer.com) without having seen one in real-life, so when I received it I was blown away by the quality of the thing. Lots of little, well-considered touches that speak volumes about Rola’s design teams. I used it heavily on a cross-country jaunt, and it worked perfectly.

Rear Bumper

So this was a fluke. Replacing the rear bumper wasn’t planned for a while yet (Stage 4?), and I thought, whenever I did it, that I’d go for one of those swing-away types that cost a great deal more money than I have.

There was no question I was going to do something about the rear bumper, though. The stock one is very rinky-dink, and along with the low-slung exhaust pipe it cuts down substantially on the angle of departure — a point of no small concern given how much more shallow this angle is on the LJ compare to short-wheelbase Jeeps.

I drove around for a while with no bumper at all, which was aesthetically more pleasing than the stock beastie, but I did miss having the “lip” of the bumper to stand on in order to get things on and off the roof, for instance (especially pertinent what with the new rack and carrier). By coincidence, it was about this time that I happened into the digs of Jeeperman and was offered a “blemished” rear bumper that they couldn’t sell for full price. The blemishes are minute, so I snatched it up at once. Like all Jeeperman products, the thing is hardcore heavy-duty. It comes with d-ring mounts and even a built-in hitch mount. I was and am very pleased.

I doubt I’ll replace it. The only possible downside is that it isn’t a swing-away carrier. But I think those things only really matter if you’re mounting a spare a lot bigger that stock, which I’m unlikely to ever do. Even if (okay, when) I get bigger tires under a bigger lift-kit, I’ll probably just keep a stock-size spare. It’s kind of silly to do otherwise when you think about it.

Air Compressor

Why does one need an air compressor? Well, the main thing for Jeepers is the fact that airing down your tires (lowering their pressure) can result in better traction and/or ride under certain off-road conditions (not all). The key there is “off-road” — for safety reasons you don’t want to go tearing down the highway on low-pressured rubber. So you need an air compressor to air back up.

Of course, the fact is that you can usually just air back up at the nearest fuel station. Most of them have air pumps for free use — especially those in areas where there’s liable to be Jeepers around. Frankly, that’s what I’ve always done. Hell, I’ve even done it since I’ve had the new compressor: it’s easier than popping the hood and clipping the battery and what-not.

So air compressors are not a necessity, and you certainly don’t need anything huge if you do want one. My air compressor for years was a dinky little plug-into-the-cig-lighter thing that must have cost $10 and could fit under the passenger seat next to the stock jack. I got the new compressor (a terrific portable T-Max bought from 4xGuard.com along with the winch and a great snapstrap) because I wanted something that would pump the tires a little quicker and because, honestly, it was a great deal. It’s lightweight and small, easy to slip in and out from underneath the hood; it isn’t a full-blown compressor-with-tank setup. I figure that if I’m needing to run air tools on the trail (about the only advantage of a big system like that) I’m already screwed and might as well start hiking.

Like winches, compressors are a nice safety net in the deep, deep backcountry, but they’re by no means a must-have. Still, if you want one, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this T-Max one.

Snatch-Strap

A Jeeper needs a good snatch-strap. Towing another vehicle in a pinch, wrapping around a tree that’s used as a winch point to protect it, or practicing really long rope-skipping — snatch-straps have a great many uses, and even big ones (this one from T-Max is very thick and a close-to-egregious 30′ in length) can be squirreled away under the hood.

Mine sits next to the matching air compressor, making the driver’s side of the engine the T-Max side.

Project LJ Stage 2: More quick, cheap fixes, plus a small bit of Jeep-style luxury (items covered in detail below).

$800 — Garmin Trail Guide.
$75 — Buchanan Precision Machine 1.5″ Seat Lift-kit.
$70 — Mopar’s Jeep Mud-flaps.
$50 — Skid-row Steering Box Skidplate.
$25 — Domelight Kill Switch, from Quadratec.
$16 — Stepshield Entry Guards.
$0 — Front Bumper End-cap Removal.

Total for stage 2: $1036. (Total for all stages: $1402.)

Garmin Trail Guide

I know. I promised that Project LJ was going to be budget-conscious. And it still is, honest: look at how cheap the rest of the items in stage 2 are!

Okay, so a GPS-enabled navigation system is rather frivolous. I mean, one can carry around a bunch of paper maps to get around town and country. And if GPS-precision is needed, simple little coordinate receivers can no doubt be had for cheap on eBay. So its frivolous to get a dash-mounted GPS receiver with built-in maps of hither and yon, along with voice directions to get you from wherever you are on the map to wherever you want to go. Oh, and just for added kicks: the Garmin Trail Guide snaps in and out of its dashboard mounting, so after tire-pounding dirt halfway up a mountain you can take the GPS unit with you when your soles hit the rocks.

Frivolous? Yes. But seriously awesome. And since we moved to a new town shortly after install — ridiculously useful.

Seat Lift-kit

Due to a series of federal mandates regarding airbag deployment, Jeep was forced to lower the front seats in its Wranglers again and again until the major redesign of the 2007 model year (the new JK). LJs have the seat about as low as it’ll go, and one gets the feeling of sitting in a high-rimmed bucket as a result. This is especially annoying to folks like me who cut their teeth on sit-high, look-low rigs like the old CJs.

Thankfully, William Buchanan, a gentleman out in Ojai, California, has thrown a line to those in the bucket: he sells machined aluminum “spacers” that fit under the seat, lifting it up. Just unbolt the old seats and lift ‘em up, slip the spacers into place, and then use the supplied longer grade-8 bolts to pin it all down.

It’s quick, it’s easy, it’s cheap, and the difference is immediately apparent.

Mud-flaps

During my first big expedition with the LJ I noticed I was getting a lot of pings on the sideboards and cratered pits on the black rubber fenders flares. Clearly the big knobby MT/R tires were pitching a lot of debris on the upswing, and the stock flares weren’t wide enough or low enough to catch it all.

So I bought me some mud-flaps. You can get ‘em cheaper than the ones I bought through Mopar, but I wanted flexible flaps rather than stiff plastic board-like “flaps,” and I wanted them to look “built-in” to the vehicle. Plus, these say “JEEP” on them. That’s always a plus.

Steering Box Skidplate

As I’ve previously noted, an advantage of getting the Rubicon package on an LJ (or a TJ or JK or …) is that so many off-road necessaries come with it. Skid-plates, for instance, are positioned here and there across the undercarriage to protect most of the vital bits of the vehicle.

It’s really odd, therefore, that the steering box is so dangerously exposed in the front end. It just hangs there, behind and below the front bumper, waiting for you to lurch it into a rock and crunch it to grinding bits. The solution is an after-market skidplate, of which there are many with few differences between them. I bought one from Skid-row because I was planning (as part of Stage 3) to replace my front bumper with one of their products.

Domelight Kill Switch

Open the doors of an LJ and the domelight will automatically come on. It’s a modern convenience, and a good one, I suppose: you don’t want to sit on your glasses in the dark.

Open the door of an LJ with the key still in the ignition and a little “bell” will ping to remind you, ever so gently, that the key’s still in the slot so you’d best not lock that door behind you.

On the LJ, as with most modern vehicles, this door-status connection is made via a “plunger” style of switch mounted on the body: when the door is shut, it pushes the plunger down and breaks the circuit; when the door is open, the plunger pops out and activates the circuit.

All well and good except that, well, the LJ — as is proper for a Jeep — is built to have the doors removed for better visibility and more open air riding. Can you imagine the result of taking off the doors for a romantic night drive in the country? Yes, that gentle ping all the way down the road. And if you stop and pull the keys to stop that racket? Yes, the domelight stays on, slowly draining the battery (not to mention ruining a perfectly darkened make-out spot).

One can, in such situations, open the fusebox and pull the fuse governing the circuit in question — it’s the number 4 fuse, if I recall correctly — but that’s not a particularly pleasant solution. Another cheap fix is to buy some little clips that you stick on top of the plunger switches when you take the doors off, but I’d worry about losing the damn things. So instead I bought this handy, easy-to-install kit that mounts a circuit kill-switch under the glovebox. A simply click kills chime and lights — whether the doors are off or not.

Stepshield Entry Guards

Another thing noticed after my initial forays with the LJ was some light scuffing on the bottom of the door jambs. Nothing troublesome, but not sightly. So I bought these cheap plastic guards to protect against further damage. The particular ones I got were chosen because they are molded to hug the body for a short stretch beneath the door when it is shut, thus “sticking out” a little and always in view. This makes for a nice little black accent, I think, to the stretch of silver that is the side of my LJ’s cab, and it’s just a little bit more protection, too.

Front Bumper End-cap Removal

There are many “free” things I’ve done to my LJ not mentioned on these project pages, but I think this one is worth a passing note. The stock bumper has bulbous plastic end-caps that are unsightly and generally pretty useless. It’s a quick few turns of a screw to yank them off, giving the bumper an immediately tougher look.