How would you outfit this custom LJ?

[Jim K in PA]

Thanks for the feedback, Jeff. I also plan to keep my '05 for the foreseeable future, and have been adding spares to inventory for quite a while now. Things like the heater control panel, electronic items, Rubicon locker actuators, etc. I have a spare OPDA on the shelf too, but since I modified mine to be greaseable the spare will likely stay on the shelf with the new pickup inside it.

The PCM would be a logical item to add to the inventory. Like you, I will probably install the new one and put the 150k mile unit on the shelf. Mine works fine at the moment.

 

[jscherb]

Update on the TJ/LJ critical spares list - the list currently has about 25 items on it, mostly electrical or electrical related. The list includes the part name, MOPAR part number, aftermarket sources (if any) and columns indicating whether MOPAR has discontinued the part or not and whether the MOPAR part is highly recommended over the aftermarket part (in general, OEM parts are better than aftermarket, but in some cases the aftermarket part might not fit as well as the OEM version or in other cases the aftermarket part is plenty good enough. Some parts on the list aren't really critical, such as the 4wd light switch in the transfer case - if that fails you won't get the 4wd light on the instrument cluster lit when in 4wd, I'm sure we could all live with that if the switch wasn't available, but a few things like that are on the list anyway.

I'm doing the part numbers based on my '06's, so '97-'04 part numbers are different in many cases ('05/'06 are generally the same) and it will be up to owners of those models to update the list for their year if they wish. Hopefully anyone who does that will share their updated list with everyone.

One thing that surprised me so far is how many of the parts are available aftermarket - all but a couple are available aftermarket, and things I didn't expect, like the HVAC controls, are also available aftermarket. And in many cases, multiple aftermarket options are available. This is good news - it's much less likely that some simple part will become unavailable that will prevent our Jeeps from running.

I'll have the parts person at the dealer mark any parts that MOPAR has discontinued, and the lead Jeep tech will be finalizing the OEM Recommended/Aftermarket OK column, so the list is still a week or so from completion.

 

[Jim K in PA]

I have been using Rock Auto to assess the alternate/aftermarket part availability, and it has been robust for all years of Wrangler that I work on (early 90s-'05). You can look up the part by OEM number on their site as well.

 

[jscherb]

The lead Jeep tech at the dealer and I reviewed the electrical spares list and the parts manager went through the list and verified the part numbers and marked which parts are discontinued (9 out of about 25 parts on the list!). I've got a list of aftermarket replacements for most parts but I want to recheck that list one more time before posting the list. Will post it soon, probably early next week.

 

[jscherb]

Here's the TL/LJ Electrical Spares list I've been working on with the helpful folks at my local Jeep dealer - it lists electrical spares for the TJ/LJ Wrangler, some of which are now discontinued. Some of these are critical to engine operation, some are critical to vehicle operation and others probably aren't critical.

Some comments/caveats about the list:

- This list is for my 2006 LJ 4.0l. Part numbers for '05's are probably the same, but many part numbers for earlier models are likely to be different. You should check the numbers if you have a different year. Also I did not include parts which belong to options I my Jeeps don't have such as Rubicon parts or ABS parts.

- I did the list of aftermarket part replacements and I believe my part numbers are correct but you should verify the number if you plan to order an aftermarket part.

- The "DISC" column indicates parts which the parts manager tells me are discontinued.

- I did not include any parts from the EVAP system because the lead Jeep tech at the dealer says he pretty much has never had those parts fail.

- The "Rec OEM?" column indicates parts which the lead Jeep tech recommends using OEM if you can find it, either because he's found issues with aftermarket versions or because he believes the OEM part is higher quality in a meaningful way. I can vouch for the Dorman aftermarket Ignition Switch Actuator, it doesn't fit exactly right although it does work.

- If you think I've missed a critical part or I've gotten something wrong, let me know and I can update the list.

Two sources I found useful in checking this list are moparpartsgiant.com (it's one of many similar MOPAR parts sites) and rockauto.com.

BTW parts listed in italics are parts I've had to replace in one of my '06's.

I uploaded the Excel sheet to Google docs and tried to share it in this post but Google keeps returning an error in the post. If anyone can tell me how to share a Google docs file in a forum I'll edit this post to include a link to it.

 

[Zeep]

Good info. Thanks Jeff.

 

[jscherb]

A good practice when winching is to do a double line pull - it cuts the load on the winch in half (or, in other words, doubles the pulling power). In this backyard test of the synthetic winch line that Auxbeam provided to me, I'm using a snatch block to double the line:


Another good practice is to use a line damper in case the line breaks. I've got one draped over both lines, which might be ok in this case since the lines are parallel and right next to each other. But sometimes a snatch block is used for a right angle pull, like the one below:

I linked that image from this "winch how to" page: https://www.takethetruck.com/blog/winching-off-road-4x4-winch-use

Where does the damper go in a right angle pull? I've long thought it would be better to have two dampers for situations like that but didn't want to spend a lot on another one because I may never be in that situation.

The other day I got this coupon an email from Harbor Freight:

I happened to be right next door to HF this morning so I went in to see if there was anything I couldn't live without that I could get for 30% off. Came across their winch damper, on clearance:

I asked the guy at the register if the coupon applied to clearance items and he said he didn't know but he scanned both into his register and the answer was yes -final price $11.17. (The pre-clearance price of the HF damper is only $17.99, a very good deal at the original price too).

For that price I guess I couldn't live without it because I bought it. It's almost an exact copy of the Warn damper that I got with my winch deal; same weight material, same size, same pocket size inside for weights:

I'm posting about it in case anyone needs a winch damper. Can't go wrong for $11.17. Coupon is good for this weekend; not sure how long the discontinued dampers will be in the stores.

 

[Fly fisherman]

Thank You for the parts list. I have had my 2004 LJ for 16 years. Plan to keep as long as possible.

 

[jscherb]

Thank You for the parts list. I have had my 2004 LJ for 16 years. Plan to keep as long as possible.

A few weeks ago when I finished the list I placed an order at the dealer for the sensors for which the lead tech recommended using MOPAR parts; they were back ordered and came in the other day. Spent over $300 on them but I consider it good insurance against them being discontinued and after all I do have two '06 4.0L Wranglers that could use them if needed.

 

[jscherb]

I've got battery mounts and a Trail Kitchen charging system in both my JKU and my LJ because I use the Trail Kitchen in both Jeeps. I swap the kitchen and the battery to whatever Jeep I'm using for the current expedition.

I decided that since batteries aren't very expensive and because the kitchen battery can be used in an emergency to start the Jeep, I'd buy a second battery and so I could keep one in each Jeep. I use marine deep cycle batteries from Walmart because they're reasonably priced and Walmarts are everywhere so if a battery fails I can swap it for a new one pretty much anywhere I am in the country.

The battery tray in the LJ:

Battery in place:

In the photo above you can see a small power outlet/voltmeter I've got attached to one of the hardtop bolts. That's just for incidental use, when I put the kitchen in this Jeep I also swap the Trail Kitchen Power Panel in place, which provides more outlets and USB power.

Covered:

The cover is a copy of the one I have in the JKU that I sewed this morning; it's made from used factory soft top fabric and has MOLLE on it because I attach various accessories to it like the solar controller and a pouch for extension wires for the solar panel. In the JKU:

Attached to the MOLLE on the cover is the solar controller, a power panel with voltmeter, and a pouch with an extension cord for the solar; there's a pouch on the window side of the cover with a spare solar controller (hey, it's an inexpensive Harbor Freight device, might as well have a spare just in case) and on the front of the cover (behind the seat) is another pouch with various wiring adapters in case I need to plug the solar panel into something else.

I decided to add the battery to the LJ in advance of my drive to SEMA in Las Vegas because along the way I'll be doing a trail to the Colorado River at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. The river is about 20 miles from the nearest road, and that road starts in Peach Springs, Arizona which is a small town in the Hualapai Indian Reservation so not sure if there would be anyone to to help there anyway and almost certainly there's no cell service at the river either. I don't expect a battery failure on this trip, but I've been thinking about adding the battery for a while and now seems like a good time.

 

[ihatemybike]

I'll be doing a trail to the Colorado River at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. The river is about 20 miles from the nearest road, and that road starts in Peach Springs, Arizona

Been to the Diamond Creek Beach a couple times. They take pretty decent care of the road to it. Least capable vehicle I took there was a stock 1997 Chevy Astro AWD on all season tires. Hope you have clear skies the night you go as the stars are awesome there.

 

[jscherb]

Arrived in Las Vegas today for the SEMA Show, it was 2,470 miles one way. Did it in 4 days, including time to drive to the Colorado River at the bottom of the Grand Canyon on the Hualapi Indian Reservation.

It's about a 42-mile round trip from pavement to the river and back, most of the way is a heavily washboarded dirt road but the last few miles have lots of running water flowing on the road. Not a very difficult trip and definitely worthwhile. Some writeups on the "road":

You need to get a permit to do the drive, it cost about $32 for us and we got the permit and a card authorizing us to "trespass" on the reservation .

You can see a preproduction SpareHopper bag on the back of the LJ; it did fine on the trip, it's mostly serving as a recycling bin on this trip because I can't bear to throw out plastic water and drink bottles on a road tip but it's carrying a few other things as well.

I'd like to see the bag get tested through an entire winter before release (my two prototype have been through last winter on my Jeeps and they did just fine but this one is a different fabric). Our current plan is to drive back through Colorado so the bag may see some snow there but it's not the same as being on the Jeep an entire winter.

I'll post interesting things from the SEMA Show each day. If anyone has heard of something being introduced or displayed at the show they want to see more about, let me know and I'll see if I can find it and take some photos.

If anyone is interested in seeing more about the show, SEMA has a web site that allows scrolling around the show floor map to find exhibitors, search for exhibitors by name or category, among other functions. It's here: https://sema22.mapyourshow.com/8_0/floorplan/. There's also a SEMA app, which has similar functions and can be found on app stores, search for SEMAShow.

 

[jscherb]

Today is the first day of this year's SEMA Show in Las Vegas. I took a lot of photos today and in this thread I'll start with TJ's, LJ's and some similar tub Jeeps (YJ and CJ). There weren't many TJ/LJ/YJ/CJ Jeeps at the show (no surprise) but for the second year in a row it seems that there are more Broncos here than Wranglers. Last year I counted and it was about 2:1 Bronco, it seems about the same this year. I'll post these photos in this thread and probably post the non-TJ stuff in my JK thread.

Yukon Gear had a bunch of TJ/LJ Jeeps at the show.

They also were showing this CJ:

There's a big focus on electric vehicle technology at the show and a special area of the show they're calling SEMA Electrified. This TJ was in that section.

Battery packs:

 

[jscherb]

eBay Motors has a big presence at the show, it seems they're trying to build their parts business and as a part of that they had Ian Johnson build a YJ pickup sourcing parts on eBay when possible.

This low-key LJ was in the Bestop display.

A stretch CJ-5, one of two at the show (I'll post the other one in another post).

More to come if people are interested.

 

[pith helmet]

Interested.