2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee Build Thread
- Thread starter JeepN95YJ
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JeepN95YJ
Adventurer
Thanks, Joey!
Just got back from Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, and Kentucky!
I put about 1200 miles on the little Jeep this weekend and it performed better than expected. The trip started out at Norris Lake, boating, jet skiing, and hiking. We left there and spent a few days in Gatlinburg. Finally we traveled parts of the Kentucky Adventure Tour starting in Middlesboro, KY, at the Cumberland Gap National Park.
This pic is our beginning of the KAT at the Pinnacle Overlook.
Just got back from Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, and Kentucky!
I put about 1200 miles on the little Jeep this weekend and it performed better than expected. The trip started out at Norris Lake, boating, jet skiing, and hiking. We left there and spent a few days in Gatlinburg. Finally we traveled parts of the Kentucky Adventure Tour starting in Middlesboro, KY, at the Cumberland Gap National Park.
This pic is our beginning of the KAT at the Pinnacle Overlook.
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JeepN95YJ
Adventurer
I averaged about 14 mpg on the trip. Not bad considering how heavy we were and how high the roof was stacked.
The first dirt on the KAT traveling east from Middlesboro is the Hensley Settlement track. This was my first time on the KAT but I immediately recognized the name of the track. I couldn't wait to surprise my family with the abandoned buildings. I didn't, however, remember that the purple routes are EXTREME trails! Talk about trial by fire! In addition to this being the first real trail for the Jeep it was also the first trip for my kids. The crunching sounds from tire rub and bouncing around on tough rock ledges nearly ruined the trip for my youngest. Luckily she is resilient and found her courage.
A thunderstorm began as we started up the trail and contributed to the difficulty. Ultimately the rain forced us to stop short of reaching the settlement. You can see this culvert is about 16' long and more than half has been washed out and hanging over nothing. Making matters worse is the fact the culvert was clogged. I got out to check things out and found the water was not running thru but under. I worried it might wash out completely and leave us stranded on the other side. Common sense and the urge to comfort my daughter helped make the decision to turn back. This photo makes it look like the trail is super wide with plenty of room. In reality, it felt very narrow, and is on a steep hill. I was able to back down the trail about 200 feet to a spot wide enough to turn around.
The first dirt on the KAT traveling east from Middlesboro is the Hensley Settlement track. This was my first time on the KAT but I immediately recognized the name of the track. I couldn't wait to surprise my family with the abandoned buildings. I didn't, however, remember that the purple routes are EXTREME trails! Talk about trial by fire! In addition to this being the first real trail for the Jeep it was also the first trip for my kids. The crunching sounds from tire rub and bouncing around on tough rock ledges nearly ruined the trip for my youngest. Luckily she is resilient and found her courage.
A thunderstorm began as we started up the trail and contributed to the difficulty. Ultimately the rain forced us to stop short of reaching the settlement. You can see this culvert is about 16' long and more than half has been washed out and hanging over nothing. Making matters worse is the fact the culvert was clogged. I got out to check things out and found the water was not running thru but under. I worried it might wash out completely and leave us stranded on the other side. Common sense and the urge to comfort my daughter helped make the decision to turn back. This photo makes it look like the trail is super wide with plenty of room. In reality, it felt very narrow, and is on a steep hill. I was able to back down the trail about 200 feet to a spot wide enough to turn around.
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JeepN95YJ
Adventurer
I had not expected the Jeep to flex as well as it did.
The front tires rubbed but didn't cause any damage. I hadn't disconnected the front sway bar and bent the lower mount slightly. This likely wouldn't have happened if I were using an actual JKS disconnect for a WJ. Instead I was using a modified TJ disconnect.
The back tires hit hard though. I cut both rear tires on the outer tread, bent the fender lip slightly, pulled the rear bumper loose on the drivers side and lost the EVAP splash cover.
The front tires rubbed but didn't cause any damage. I hadn't disconnected the front sway bar and bent the lower mount slightly. This likely wouldn't have happened if I were using an actual JKS disconnect for a WJ. Instead I was using a modified TJ disconnect.
The back tires hit hard though. I cut both rear tires on the outer tread, bent the fender lip slightly, pulled the rear bumper loose on the drivers side and lost the EVAP splash cover.
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JeepN95YJ
Adventurer
tennesseewj
Observer
Sweet WJ! Those Rubicon wheels look really nice on there. I tried to get my wife to put a set of those on her WK2 and she shot me down because they were "boyish" haha.
Have you tried that spare in the stock location? I was able to run a 265/70/16 spare in the stock location and the lid almost shut completely. I'm thinking you could get yours in there with a custom cover. Accommodating the fridge may get tricky, though.
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Have you tried that spare in the stock location? I was able to run a 265/70/16 spare in the stock location and the lid almost shut completely. I'm thinking you could get yours in there with a custom cover. Accommodating the fridge may get tricky, though.
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JeepN95YJ
Adventurer
I'm working on a couple of updates.
First is getting the winch control box mounted. There isn't room for it behind the grill in a location that makes me happy. I have installed an optima battery turned 90 degrees from the original battery. This required a few mods to the battery tray as well as making some new cables. You can see that the control is going to fit really well here.
The other area I'm working on is the cargo area. I had to remove the cargo barrier on my KAT trip to fit all my gear. I think I can make things fit better with the addition of a few dividers and drawers. This is the beginning of the process.
First is getting the winch control box mounted. There isn't room for it behind the grill in a location that makes me happy. I have installed an optima battery turned 90 degrees from the original battery. This required a few mods to the battery tray as well as making some new cables. You can see that the control is going to fit really well here.
The other area I'm working on is the cargo area. I had to remove the cargo barrier on my KAT trip to fit all my gear. I think I can make things fit better with the addition of a few dividers and drawers. This is the beginning of the process.
JeepN95YJ
Adventurer
I want a permanent home for the SnapOn Jump Pack in the Jeep. I am going to use it rather than a dual battery system.
The refrigerator worked fine on the most recent trip. I left it plugged in to the 12v power on the Jeep for up to 36 hours or so in temps pushing 100 with zero issues. I used an extension cord to plug it in whenever I had AC available. For my trip the snap on pack stayed unused in the back of the jeep. It is nice peace of mind.
The refrigerator worked fine on the most recent trip. I left it plugged in to the 12v power on the Jeep for up to 36 hours or so in temps pushing 100 with zero issues. I used an extension cord to plug it in whenever I had AC available. For my trip the snap on pack stayed unused in the back of the jeep. It is nice peace of mind.
JeepN95YJ
Adventurer
In this pic you can also see my temporary wiring for the electric fan. If you read my trip report you know that I had some minor cooling issues on this trip. I made a quick trip to O'Reilly's Auto Parts on about day 4 of my trip to make a temporary fix as I had not hooked up the electric fan before the trip. During the several hundred miles of test driving I had done before the trip I had not experienced any cooling problems so it did come as a surprise. The factory mechanical fan had worked fine by itself.
In a pinch you use what is available.... I bought some 12 gauge wire, wire nuts and a 30A in-line fuse holder to wire the fan directly to the battery. (I tried to purchase an electronic fan controller similar to the one I had at home (Flexlite) to make a permanent repair. It wouldn't have taken much longer to do it right but they didn't have one available.) I installed the fuse to make the fan run and pulled it out to shut it off when I parked the Jeep. It worked great as a temporary fix. Temperatures stayed in check the rest of the week.
An interesting note is that on my way from Gatlinburg to Middlesboro, KY, I had been on the road an hour or so and the overhead display gave me a "low coolant" warning. I refilled the overflow with about 3/4 of a gallon of antifreeze and it has been running cool ever since. I suspect that I had not bled the system completely initially and the high temperatures of my original problem in downtown traffic had spit out some coolant and caused a large bubble in the system. I had released a bit of pressure and maybe a huge bubble when I checked the coolant in Gatlinburg before my trip north. Eventually the engine drew coolant out of the overflow and normalized after I refilled the deficit.
I have not used the electric cooling fan since I returned and the temp gauge is staying at a solid 190-200 degrees. I will install my fan controller when I wire the winch control.
MidniteSquirrel
New member
I had to join just to comment on this thread - I used to own a 2002 WJ and this is making me miss it dearly. The question I've got for you is this:
When running oversized tires on the WJ, there was a penchant for ripping out the windshield washer fluid reservoir out when you stuff the driver side tire into the wheel well. Did you end up relocating this at all? Bumpstops keeping it from being a problem?
I noticed you referenced Blaine from JF, and several years back he had a video out there where he did exactly this while on the trail
When running oversized tires on the WJ, there was a penchant for ripping out the windshield washer fluid reservoir out when you stuff the driver side tire into the wheel well. Did you end up relocating this at all? Bumpstops keeping it from being a problem?
I noticed you referenced Blaine from JF, and several years back he had a video out there where he did exactly this while on the trail