My 2011 WK2 "build"

[macgyver35]

Okay... This is my latest Jeep. I have previously owned:
78 CJ-5
89 YJ
02 TJ
98 XJ (Still have)

I picked up this WK2 in February. 2011 Limited 4X4 with leather, NAV, panoroamic sunroof, and QuadraTrakII with true low range, and the Pentstar V6. It was bone stock, but I quickly got to work on it. I'm in my 40s and needed a nicer vehicle to haul clients around in. We also have a 150 pound Mastiff with hip issues, so it was time for something newer that was more comfortable. This had 78K on the clock when I bought it, and was in phenomenal condition. It was originally sold as an Enterprise Rental car and was used that way until about 50K miles. Then it went to a private owner, then me. It had a great maintenance record, and looked like it was maybe only a year old, instead of nearly 5 years. I've been busy at work and with house remodleing, so I haven't had time for off-road adventures yet, but we're planning a trip to teh Carlsbad Cavern area next Spring.

So far, it has had the following done to it:

Rocky Road Outfitters 2.5" lift
Rocky Road Outfitters hidden winch plate and combo bumper
Smittybilt XRC-8 Comp series winch with synth line
Factor55 link for winch
12" LED light bar
Mopar OEM cross bars
Surco 45x60 Urban rack with hand modified hardware to mount to Mopar crossbars
Mopar rock rails
Mopar Trailhawk hood decal
MB Motoring TKO wheels 17x8.5
Toyo Open Country ATII tires - 265-75-17
Maxspider 3D floor mats - front/rear/cargo (great product)
Mopar receiver hitch
Smittybilt Beaver Step

Future plans include:
LED light pods on sides and rear of cargo rack
OTRATTW switches for all auxiliary lighting
Full complement of skid plates
Air (and maybe water) storage tank under rear behind back bumper
Rotopax and dual mounts on cargo rack
Quickfist axe and shovel mounts
Better jack solution

My XJ. It's a bit of a sleeper and looks pretty mild, but I have around $12K invested in it with replaced/upgraded/aftermarket parts, including an ATK remanufactured longblock

 

[bknudtsen]

That looks really nice! I'm amazed at how much more room there is in the wheel wells for bigger tires when compared to my WJ.

 

[Flyboycoe]

Nice build! Quite the transformation. I love seeing these WK2 builds as I put together my wish list for my '14 Overland.

 

[pookie]

What's on the hood? Did you paint it or is that some kind of vinyl or sticker?

 

[macgyver35]

What's on the hood? Did you paint it or is that some kind of vinyl or sticker?

That is the factory Mopar hood decal that came on the 2013 Grand Cherokee Trailhawk models. I also forgot to mention that I added Mopar front tow hooks as well. I just got the black ones in stead of the red Trailhawk versions

 

[Cottontail]

That's some neighborhood. Two BMWs, an MG, a Jaguar, a Land Cruiser.

 

[macgyver35]

I opted against a Gobi rack, which would have had a better fit, for two reasons. One... Cost. I'm not saying the Gobi stuff isn't worth it, but that's a lot of coin for a rack. Two... I prefer to have a rack with a flat top, rather than curved top tubes/bars. My wife and I are remodeling our house, And I'm always at Home Depot picking up some kind of plywood, cement back board, or some other kind of sheet goods or lumber. The flat top provides for better support and tie-down for things that are larger than the rack. Plut, I've been nothing but very happy with the Surco on my XJ. Five years worth of abuse and not a single issue with it.

 

[macgyver35]

That looks really nice! I'm amazed at how much more room there is in the wheel wells for bigger tires when compared to my WJ.

Ah... But you have the option for quite a bit more lift than I do. The 2.5" kit on man maxes out what can be done on the platform, at least for a daily driver and without other custom work. Given that the WK2 is IFS/IRS, you can't put the driveshaft/CV joint angles any further without risking radically reduced service life. Perhaps at some point someone will come out with some dropped subframe assemblies that allow for more lift, but right now options are limited.

 

[macgyver35]

That's some neighborhood. Two BMWs, an MG, a Jaguar, a Land Cruiser.

It's really no big deal. On the nicer end of middle class. I just happen to live on a street where the homes were all built in the early 80's, with a bunch of older people that have paid off their mortgages, are near retirement, and have some extra coin to splurge in their older years. The two BMWs and the LC are owned by the couple across the street. That guy is a little different. Pretty much every Saturday that the weather is nice, he'll crank up his Jimmy Buffet music collection, and spend nearly all day out there detailing those two beamers. Under the hood and everything. I think he might be a poster child for automotive OCD, but he's a nice enough guy, and they have been great neighbors.
The two MGs you see are owned by a retired mechanical engineer, and he keeps them parked in the garage of his mom's house, which is right next door to his own house. He has a third in his own garage that he is restoring right now.
To balance out all the bling, what you don't see in the picture is "that house." You know, the one house every neighborhood seems to have that is inhabited by a screwed up trashy family that nobody likes, where the police show up about 3 or 4 times a year, nobody understands how they can afford to live there, and they don't take care of their cars, house, or yard. Yeah... That house.
It is a pretty desirable neighborhood nonetheless, with winding streets and mature tress. We got lucky and bought about 3.5 years ago, just before the real estate market picked back up. We bought our house for $160K at that time, and it was recently appraised for $225K. Not a bad ROI in just three years!

 

[Mundo4x4Casa]

MacG,
It is a true parallel universe, except for the age thing. We bought a 42K mile used 2011 WK GChero Limited at the end of 2012 with all the same stuff you mentioned including the 2-speed t. case, a must, IMHO. This week it turned over 100K miles. Jeanie needs it for the weather here on the West Slope Northern Sierra Nevada. With no solid axle, I thought the thing would be a bust, but in stock form it does very well once you get used to the time lag (or Latency, as out Hughes Net people call their terrible service) on the traction control system. It does eventually work but there is always a jerking, ratcheting, tire spinning, mishmash before actual traction gets to the tire with the most traction. With trailing arms I don't see an easy or cheap lift job on this one.The only woe is trying to keep the day time running light bulbs lit. They keep burning out, one then the other and finally we're just going to let them burn out and not replace them. This woe was fixed on subsequent models with those myriad little LED's. It has very good snow manners, is a fine traveling car and will go a long way on a tank of gas. I was looking around for a bovine deflector for the WK but found none. We have a lot of bovines in our neighborhood that like to dart out on the hi way. Your winch hardware is as much as I've seen. But, I've got too many rigs with winches on them that can come to the rescue.

Another one of our 'winter' cars is a 1999 Jeep XJ Not-So-Grand Cherokee. This is our 3rd XJ. With the NV242, full-time, part-time T-case and the venerable 4.0L, I-6 with 3.73's gears (it's a long story); an Aisin Warner AW-4 wide ratio slush box; rear Trac Loc, front Detroit True Trac (gear driven, clutch-free, torque biasing limited slip) it is hands down the best snow car we've ever had. We've owned 14-4WD's, many of them hard core. Like yourself, many of these were 'project' rigs. It's kind of a sickness, this 'build' thing. BBW: builder be-ware.

We've owned 14-4WD's, many of them hard core. Number 14:


Of course, we brushed off the snow and drove away:

Now, in the November of my life, I've concentrated on a hard-side XTC truck camper build with large, big-bucks 'truck' aspect projects:

It will be interesting to see how you conquer the lift thing, if you are indeed going to do a lift. I'll be watching. BBW.
jefe

 

[macgyver35]

Mundo, the coincidences are pretty funny!
I already have the Rocky Road 2.5" lift on mine, and so far it has been great. No issues with ride quality, handling and squeaks at all. The ride is ever so slightly stiffer, but not by much at all.
The daytime running light issue is a common problem with the early models. I can't tell if you have the HID headlights like I do, but if you do, you can pop a set of these in there and be good to go for awhile. They don't get as hot as the incandescent bulbs, so they last longer. Their color is more of a bright white to match the HID instead of the more yellow stock bulbs.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01D8DJN30

My 98 XJ is a great vehicle. I hate that it just sits out at the curb now and rarely gets driven. I have a ton of stuff done to it. I have attached the mods list to this post in a Word document if you want to peruse it. It is something I typed up when I was considering selling it. About $12k invested, including the $2650 I paid for it used when it had a bad motor in it. Where you live is beautiful. Until I was 10 I grew up just northeast of Pittsburgh, PA, but have been in Texas for the last 34 years. I miss the big trees and hills, and having actual seasons. Texas is flat and sparse, and ridiculously hot and humid from May through October. They are calling for a high of 85 on Halloween.

Stay warm and safe this winter!View attachment 1998 Jeep Cherokee Sport.docx

 

[Cottontail]

This was my line up back in March. 1996 ZJ, 2001 XJ, 2004 WJ, 2013 WKII. Of all of those Jeeps, the WKII was the ONLY platform that I wouldn't have ever considered building up. I love the wizardry in it - all the fancy do dads, but over all, it is the least comfortable of the Jeep platforms to drive and the most confusing to work on. I'll take the old iron all day long. All that said, your WKII, Mac, really looks well done.

 

[dtm67]

Fellow WK2'er here. I tow a turtleback with my Jeep Laredo. Your build looks pretty sweet...the winch install blends in well, just like the lift. I have a question on the lift...have you heard of any issues with long term driveline durability from the new driveline angles after the lift? I understand the factory designed them to be able to go up 2" with the air lift option (which I don't have...), but I would assume it was meant for short duration and not full time, all of the time. Just curious what your thoughts are! Thanks...

 

[macgyver35]

You are correct. The factory design allows for 2" of lift, but it is important to note that the Quadralift system also limits the speed depending on which height you are at. That being said, I've not noticed any additional noise or vibration form having installed the lift. I assume I will have a shorter service life on my CV joints than if they were left at stock angles, but with testing or knowing the results of Jeep engineers' testing in the matter, I could only speculate. It may be that I have no reduced life, or minimal. Only time will tell. I know I had 83K on the units before the lift, and have since put about 3500 miles since.

 

[macgyver35]

Cottontail, I 'd have to say my WKII has the most comfortable ride out of all the Jeeps I've owned. The XJ doesn't ride badly at all with the Old Man Emu springs out back, but it is still a harsher ride on rough pavement than the WKII. In terms of just an all around off road vehicle, I'd have to say the XJ is my favorite, The CJ's and Wranglers have almost zero storage space, and the short wheel base can give your kidneys a good bouncing around. The XJ retains the legendary 4.0/AW4/NP231 combo that was used in so many Wranglers, but gives a longer wheelbase, vastly more storage, a much quieter ride and driving experience, and a solid roof that can accept a cargo basket without a lot of fuss, or interference with a soft top. All things considered, I'd have to say the XJ has a very desirable balance of size, utility, features, and simplicity. I tend to think that they may likely become quite collectible in the next 10-20 years, much like older Land Cruisers.