2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee WJ

[ZMagic97]

Well, I have some catching up to do. For a while the Jeep was not starting as well as I thought it should, so I ended up getting a new alternator. It seems like it was a bit better, but not as good as it should be. Also, I had the battery die a couple times (luckily at home). I thought the issue was my Edgestar Fridge so I took it out. The next day I went to see my parents and took the kids. Got to their place fine. Left the kids there while I got a haircut: drove their fine. After my haircut I drove to the gas station, then back to my parents. All fine. Then when I get their, my father is there, and he never saw the Jeep and he wanted to. So then, it wouldn't start. Not a thing.

So, we hook up the battery charger and it won't fully crank. Also, I notice smoke coming from the battery. We disconnect it, put the battery in his truck, and go to the auto parts store.

Battery checks fine.

So, I grab a starter while I'm there. Go back, replace it, pop the battery in and a click. And apparently a arcing type of spark on the negative terminal. Then, no lights. No horn. No start...nothing.

We hook up the charger....gauges start bouncing. Lights flicker....stuff like that. I had grabbed new terminals at the store and replaced them. Then it was weak starting, so we tightened the connections more. After some trail and error of that, it started like a champ and has been fine for a few weeks now.


But, I now know the starting and charging system is all good and new now.

 

[ZMagic97]

Something I forgot to mention was a new alternator was put in. It was very easy on the I6: there was plenty of room to swap them out, took maybe 30 minutes total. It wasn't really an issue in the end (weak starts and dead battery was from the post above) but for $90 and the piece of mind, it was worth it. Also, it makes the engine bay look a little nicer.

 

[Nor-Cal-Don]

The WJ is a great Jeep. You shouldn’t have to much of a problem with the 4.0, great engines! I love mine, although I have the V8 4.7 ltr which isn’t as reliable as yours.
If you plan on doing any solo camping, a slick easy “upgrade” is to make the rear seat bottoms removable. I also made a platform so I can sleep inside (I’m 6’4”) Lots more room.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ZMagic97]

The WJ is a great Jeep. You shouldn’t have to much of a problem with the 4.0, great engines! I love mine, although I have the V8 4.7 ltr which isn’t as reliable as yours.
If you plan on doing any solo camping, a slick easy “upgrade” is to make the rear seat bottoms removable. I also made a platform so I can sleep inside (I’m 6’4”) Lots more room.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Great looking WJ, and thanks!

I'm only about 5'10" so I think the room is ok and I usually camp with the family, but I may do this in the cooler weather for future use.

How do you like the JK take offs?

 

[ZMagic97]

I've done some work lately, but have been lacking on updates since I haven't been online much.

The biggest thing I did was mount my ham radio, the Btech (Baofeng) UV-25X2. I know it's not a populat radio like the handheld version and some operators do not care for it due to other brand having a better reputation, but I like it because I'm huge into using it (I am licensed and use it occasionally) as well as the fact that it is inexpensive and small.


I started by removing the dash housing where the 12V power outlets and cubby space are located.


Next, I cut the back off using a hot piece of steel to melt away the plastic backing. As you can see, the radio bracket just barely fits.


The bracket is secure to the housing body. It took a few adjustments to get it just right.


The radio fits well overall. I picked this location because I did not want it on top of the dash, which requires drilling into it and exposing the radio to sun. I can also see the display well and it is not in the way of anything.



While I was at it, I grabbed 2 Panavise mounts. One for the radio mic and another for my Sirius radio. The radio was on the vent mount from when I was working in Washington: I need all the air flow from the A/C I can get here in Arizona.


The final product inside looks really clean to me. I may put the mic elsewhere and use the left mount for my phone instead for GPS use. I'm not 100% sure yet.

 

[ZMagic97]

I found an OEM brush guard a couple weeks ago and installed it. I'm not sure I got all that was needed, but made it work and it's pretty stout. Also, it was pretty inexpensive so I cannot complain. I also have some HVAC updates to post.

 

[ZMagic97]

One of my old real issues with the Jeep was the HVAC: specifically the A/C. It was cold at the vents, but very difficult for the Jeep to get and stay cool. With Phoenix area summer temperatures hitting in the 115 range on my drive home from work, I was barely staying comfortable. Passengers? No way: my 15 month old son would be nearly sweating and warm. It wasn't cutting it. Most only research came to: the WJ A/C is poorly designed and that you should live with it.

I disagree.


First off, temperatures at the vent using a stick-type thermometer were pretty consistent at 51F. Per the WJ factory manual, the A/C should be about 50F colder than ambient: I was hitting 55F below. Checked SAT.



Here it is compared to my Camry rental car I had at the time. I was very comfortable in this car, which was pretty much the exact same temperature output.

I checked the blower motor, dampener set-up, refrigerant pressure...everything. The A/C was certainly getting cold. Why wasn't I?

Finally, after getting tired of the side vents having almost no flow and the center vents seeming mediocre, the dash came out.


It was pretty obvious to me the foam on where the vents met the dash itself wasn't in the best of shape, but ok. I dug deeper to see what else I found.


Above, the upper plenum is removed. The area in front of the gear selector is for the center vents. Above that, the 2 square holds and two thinner rectangular ones are for the 3 side vents. There was some foam on it, but not much. The upper plenum simply just sits of top of it for the most part. So, when the foam falls apart, the easiest flow path if between the upper and lower ducts, causing a HUGE amount of cold air to bleed in behind the dash, just below the radio.

Here's a closer look at the problem area.


There is a tape used for the old foam: I cleaned any adhesive off thoroughly. Here, you can see the new foam I used. It is much denser and rated for much hotter environments. I used part number 01058 at O'Reilly Auto Parts.


A look at the new and old material:

 

[Frank Force]

Good looking WJ! I'm sure you'll get years of fun out of it.

 

[ZMagic97]

Good looking WJ! I'm sure you'll get years of fun out of it.

Thank you!

 

[ZMagic97]

I also wrapped all where all vents met the plenum, RTV sealed the the seam of the plenum (it appears to be heated together at the factory) and added the same type of foam to the surface of the vents where it meets the dash pad.

For the center vents, I also used tape over the seams.

Conclusion: the Jeep has very good A/C now. It was about 106F outside on Friday when I first tried it and when I picked up my mother she told me she was cold and move the air flow away from her. My wife and 15 month old in the back seat were cool and comfortable as well which is pretty much unheard of over 95F.

The WJ is certain becoming a great daily driver, camping rig, and family vehicle.

Yesterday after work at about 105F and the Jeep sitting in the sun all day, I drove home very comfortable.

 

[jameswj4]

you got a great looking jeep. i have a 04 Jeep WJ Laredo, had it for the last 6 or so years.. its been awesome, but after some cheap decisions in college to lift it when i was broke. I didn't upkeep with other maintenance besides the engine.. anyways I'm now in the process of putting that 4.0l into my project Comanche. but i actually and looking to get another WJ for a daily, camping, and snow rig. I actually live near Tricities. Small world. what kind of work did you do there?

 

[ZMagic97]

you got a great looking jeep. i have a 04 Jeep WJ Laredo, had it for the last 6 or so years.. its been awesome, but after some cheap decisions in college to lift it when i was broke. I didn't upkeep with other maintenance besides the engine.. anyways I'm now in the process of putting that 4.0l into my project Comanche. but i actually and looking to get another WJ for a daily, camping, and snow rig. I actually live near Tricities. Small world. what kind of work did you do there?

Thank you!

Small world indeed! I was out there on loan from my company to work the refueling outage at Columbia Generating Station.

 

[ZMagic97]

I've been busy with other things but still giving the Jeep attention.

One thing I haven't been too keen on is the wheels: though the tires are like new, I'm not a fan of them rims. I kept my eyes open for deals and found a OEM set I liked not too far away. I was told the tires were good, but wasn't too pleased with them. However, they were in the 265/70 size I wanted, so having a set to make sure they would fit was ideal. The set was dirty and came with a spare, but we made a deal.



One thing that I did not notice until I got home was the finish: the clear coat was stripping so I had more work ahead of me.

I ended up roughing up the surface and cleaning it before spraying them. I used an outdoor paint which was a darker silver/gray with metal flake. I took them in for a new set of Hankook Dyanpro AT2s and picke dthem up a few days later as they were not in stock. I'm very happy with the look and ride. I picked the Dynapros as I had them on my 05 Silverado and currently have them on my 06 Sierra.



I'm currently working 6, 12 hour days a week so an evening shot as the gas station near work has to do for now. There is zero rubbing or issues so far. I've tested it on curbs, dirt berms, and similar things and no rubbing there either. I'm not an extreme off road kind of guy so I don't see that larger tires being an issue. Supposedly this size only fits on the "Upcountry Suspension" package, however my research shows the only way to know if you have it is by getting a build sheet. It's not a RPO code. I assume I do not have it as I do not have a tow package and all '04 regular Laredo models came with 235/65R17s.

 

[ZMagic97]

So during my excitement with new tires, I was wanting to mount my fridge, and Edgestar FP430, inside the Jeep. I was hoping to get a slide used and locally, but could not make it work.

After searching around, I found a great deal with a fall sale for this new Dometic slide. I used to have a Tembo Tusk one years ago, but just couldn't see myself spending that much on something I don'y need that bad.

'm very happy with the Dometic build quality, and price of $223 to my door in about 5 days.



After test fitting for ideas, I believe I'll building a custom platform to mount the slide to, while still gibing me the ability to access the spare and store loose items and luggage for the family trips and camping.

 

[ZMagic97]

One of the less exciting things with getting to work a bit over a week ago and hearing some odd grinding sound coming from the front end. I was exactly sure what I was hearing but when I tried to back into a parking spot the issue go much worse. Enough to where the front wheels were hopping as I was in reverse. It was about 5AM and dark, so I parked and went into work. My wife came with the truck, we went back and did some things, and then I came back to load it on the trailer.



As I back up a little to show my wife the issue, she saw the passenger tire hopping. Now daylight, I could see the brake caliber was missing a bolt. I had changed the brakes, but that was about 5 months and many thousand miles ago. The day prior I had to jump off the freeway into the desert at about 80 to avoid an accident...maybe some vibrations from that played a role.

A new bolt was put in, the Jeep drove off the trailer, and everything appears to be fine.