Our family Adventure WJ "Dinosaur"

[Bretthn]

With all of the information and ideas I have stolen from other members on the forum I figured I should start a build thread of my own. Hopefully it can help or inspire someone else.
This will be my daily driver as well as the family adventure rig for me, my wife, and 4 year old daughter. Hopefully our adventures will eventually progress into some off the beaten path multi-night expeditions.
About Dinosaur as my daughter has named it.
2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited
4.7 liter v8 gasoline engine
QuadraDrive system with front and rear verilock axles
130,000 miles
This is the only photo that I have from when I bought it stock in March 2012.

How it currently sits.
View attachment 102332

 

[Bretthn]

Maintenance items

The first things I took care of when I bought it were the basic maintenance items like oil and filter, air filter and spark plugs. I also upgraded the extremely tired battery terminals to some that we used to use on HMMWVs when I was in the military.



I eventually added a new DieHard Platinum group 65 with 930 cold cranking amps. I also found some great terminal covers. I may eventually add a second battery but for now this thing should be fine.

 

[Mr. D]

nice and clean battery posts looking good

 

[Bretthn]

New Suspension

After hours of reading and searching about lift, tire size, comfort, and load handling capabilities I made a decision. I chose to go with Old Man Emu HD, 936 front and 945 rear. They provide 2.5-3 inches of lift.


I also replaced all 8 spring isolators as mine were extremely worn and probably contributed to at least .5 inch loss in ride height before replacing.

I replaced the steering stabilizer with a Moog Super Trail Boss, and put in a JKS adjustable track bar.

I ordered some Bilstein 5100 shocks and cannot wait to get the rears, the fronts have arrived but the rears have been on back order since before I ordered mine.

From what I have read the wait will be worth it. Everything else has been installed. I ordered everything at the same time and got a killer deal from Nick with Kolak Performance and Offroad. He is the owner and a really nice guy who talked to me by phone for over an hour answering questions about what I need and don't need when I placed my order.

 

[Bretthn]

nice and clean battery posts looking good

Thank you, I used marine grade lugs soldered on the factory cables and adhesive lined heat shrink before re-wrapping in the factory split loom and then with electrical tape. Also these terminal covers are made specifically for these terminals so they fit pretty well. The engine bay would have to be fully submerged before any water would get into the connection to cause corrosion. I may eventually upgrade the wires as well since they used 6awg from the factory. It can wait until I work out a dual battery setup though.

 

[Bretthn]

Tires

I was really torn on tires but eventually chose the Nitto Terra Grappler based on the performance vs treadwear. I have read many people getting over 70,000 miles out of a set. I went with 245/70r17 since this is the largest tire that will fit in the factory spare tire well. The matching spare is more important due to the QuadraDrive so I will be on a 5 tire rotation.


I could have fit a 265/65r17 which is the same diameter but a little wider but wanted the narrower tire for economy and also the wider tire would have made the spare tire floor stick up a little. I am pretty pleased with the lift height and tire size since I wanted something that would look factory to unknowing people. I think this is the way it should have come off the line.






This is how Dinosaur sits for now. Please leave comments and suggestions. I will continue to update.

 

[tizzdizz]

I love that color. Mine is charcoal, which I like, but I wish I could have found one in your color when I was shopping for mine. That's a great stance, and it looks like you did a lot of research in choosing top quality suspension components. Did you determine how much lift you wound up with over stock?

 

[Septu]

Damn that's a sexy jeep! I love my JKU, but if they hadn't made a 4 dr wrangler, one of these would have been my next choice.

 

[mustangwarrior]

nice jeep, looks like we both did the same mods first, hood struts and new terminal clamps, haha

 

[Bretthn]

I love that color. Mine is charcoal, which I like, but I wish I could have found one in your color when I was shopping for mine. That's a great stance, and it looks like you did a lot of research in choosing top quality suspension components. Did you determine how much lift you wound up with over stock?

Thanks, I love my Jeep but would have loved charcoal even better, it is my favorite color on any vehicle.:drool: I was at about 17.5" center axle to fender in front and 18.5" rear, I am now at 20 3/4 front and rear. The great thing is when loaded up with a couple hundred pounds of gear in the back while hauling a utility trailer full of funiture from Boone, NC to Winston Salem, NC the thing still sat at the same height and rode as if there was no load at all. I think stock should have been 17" and 19" so I chalk that up to spring isolator sag which is why I changed mine out.

Damn that's a sexy jeep! I love my JKU, but if they hadn't made a 4 dr wrangler, one of these would have been my next choice.

Thanks, I looked at a lot of vehicles before deciding on this, unfortunately the 4 door Wranglers were not in my range.

nice jeep, looks like we both did the same mods first, hood struts and new terminal clamps, haha

You only had to do hood struts! I had to replace hood, hatch, and hatch glass. The hood was just first priority. Thanks for the kind words.

 

[alexfm]

Your WJ looks great. I'd love to have one someday, just don't have the cash for one right now. That lift looks great too, looks factory, and I love that. My XJ is the same way, for now. I also really like those battery terminals. I may have to do something like that when it comes time for a new battery for my rig.

 

[Bretthn]

Your WJ looks great. I'd love to have one someday, just don't have the cash for one right now. That lift looks great too, looks factory, and I love that. My XJ is the same way, for now. I also really like those battery terminals. I may have to do something like that when it comes time for a new battery for my rig.

Thanks, the factory look was what I was going for. How do you like your front receiver? I am thinking about installing one for a front recovery point and lower radiator protection.

 

[Bretthn]

Off Road

So I am both proud and ashamed to admit that my 4 year old has done more offroad driving in the Jeep than I have. I have heard this is on a list of 50 dangerous things your should let your kids do...... check



We took her to Lazy 5 Ranch in Mooresville, NC. It Safari/Zoo that you can either drive your own vehicle through or ride a horse drawn wagon. We always drive our own vehicle. Abby enjoyed driving more than seeing the animals... as usual.:smiley_drive:




Abby trying to feed the giraffes, we were not moving.



More below

 

[Bretthn]

More from our Safari.




They also have a small gift shop with popsicles and ice cream.


These are just the some of the highlights. We usually spend a good 2 hours or more driving through to see everything and another 2 hours in the walk through zoo and petting area. If you are in the area you should really check it out even if you don't have kids. It is also close to Bass Pro Shop at Concord Mills and Razoo's Cajun restaurant. We usually hit all 3.

 

[alexfm]

Thanks, the factory look was what I was going for. How do you like your front receiver? I am thinking about installing one for a front recovery point and lower radiator protection.

I like my front receiver. On the XJ it does hang a bit low, and sticks out a bit so it cuts into my approach angle, but I'm not rock crawling, so that's not terribly important. Thats mostly why I got it, as a front recovery point, and I didn't really trust trying to pull my close to 5000lb Jeep on a pair of little metal tow hooks. Not to mention I got the receiver for a steal on Craigslist. :sombrero: