Wife's Modest KJ Build

[Beachboyy]

Hello all. I am fairly new to Expo and thought I would start a little build thread. This is nothing extreme and for many will be super basic. But I thought that there might be some people out there that have a KJ sitting around and might want to see what it takes to do a little build on one. So what I am starting with is my wifes 2002 Liberty Sport 3.7L with manual trans. The only non stock part on the vehicle is new wheels and tires that the previous owner put on. Here are what I will be doing to it.
- Rocky Road 2.5" Rockfather I lift
- ARB Bull Bar
- Rip carpet out of cargo area and lay down Heculiner
- Tint windows (they have 0% tint as it sits)
- New 265/75/16 BFG AT's
This is all I have in store for it right now until I can talk my wife into doing more. I have the lift and herculiner and am in the process of getting the bumper. The reason for the heculiner is that I have a English Bulldog that rides in the back and he sheds like a beast. His short hair is like small needles and no matter how much I vaccuum its impossible to get it all out of the carpet. One question I have about this is the road noise going to be unbearable with the carpet and padding out? Again this isnt a major build but thought some people might want to follow along. And for the record I know the KJ is the red headed step child of the Jeep family. Will probably start on the lift next week.

 

[tommudd]

Good luck on the build up.
Are you sure on dealing with RRO though, customer service is not one of their strong suits. At least they do sell OME springs !
ARB bumper great choice, have had mine on for over 3 years took out some trees, rocks, deer and a Toyaota Camry and not one dent !
If going to 265-75s would be advisable to go to 4.10s as well since its going to zap your power and mileage a good bit. 4.10s is as low as you can go in the front diff.
Removing the carpet.....lots of wiring that you would have to deal with and move ( if you could) also LOTS of heat is transmitted up through the floors of the KJ, friend tried it and put the carpet back in. They do make vinyl flooring for them though.
Lots of info to all of your questions over on the LOSTKJs forum on everything you are looking at doing.
And even though the KJ maybe a red headed step child it will surprise you where it can go with just a few mods!

Tom

 

[phxtoad]

Welcome! Do you have skids on it? That'd be the first suggestion. Engine and tranny skids at a minimum...

Todd

 

[jeepmedic46]

Welcome, Lots of good advice here.:smiley_drive:

 

[Beachboyy]

Appreciate it guys. Yeah I have heard about RRO. However, I already have the lift so I dont have to deal with the slow ship time. I actually have their sliders on the wifes KJ already and like them a lot. THanks for the advice on the carpet. I will be looking into different options. Ordering the tires tomorrow.

 

[Beachboyy]

So only 7 months later and finally got some stuff done. Turns out the Jeep took a backseat to us having our first child. However, I did get some stuff checked off the list. Got the cargo area done. Had to tear apart most of the back of the vehicle (panels, seats, etc) to rerout some wiring. However, it turned out great. No more dog hair stuck in the carpet. Also got the lift done a couple days ago. Had to get new studs on so the wife is safe in the snow and ice. For studs only went with a 255/70/16. However, with the AT's next spring I am gonna run a 265/75/16. Next up I guess is a bumper. Hopefully not another 7 months down the road.

 

[idaxj97]

pics please

 

[Maximus Ram]

:sombrero::wings::victory:

 

[tommudd]

Once you get the ARB bumper then it will be lots easier to fit the 265-75-16s on, I went to them a couple of months ago
265-75-16 Goodyear Duratracs working great
maybe this will help speed you up / motivate you some
mines the one with the ARB

 

[w squared]

You know, from that angle you KJ looks a little like an XJ with IFS :sombrero:

That's a neat build-up. It's unfortunate that so few people mod their KJ's. The solid axle purist part of me is choking right now, but for a vehicle that sees lots of pavement IFS isn't such a bad choice.

 

[Beachboyy]

i will get up pics as soon as i can. It doesnt look great yet with the smaller studs on the stock rims. But it definitely looks better than it did. I forgot to say that the windows are tinted also. So i guess 3 out of 4 things i said i was gonna do is done.

As for armor, I agree that it is important but since this is my wifes vehicle it wont be doing anything hardcore. Most it might see is a logging road.

That kj is awesome good looking! Makes me want to get that bumper on for sure. You think the bull bar is the best option? I got the ome hd springs on so its read for the bumper.

One question i had for you guys is the fan switch has finally gone out. First just #1 wouldnt work and slowly each one went out. So for a long time you had full air (#4) or nothing at all. Now its nothing even on #4. You think this is just the switch itself? Never had the dash apart on a kj. Is it pretty easy? Any help would be awesome.

 

[SWbySWesty]

is there a dedicated forum for KJ's? Cherokee's have NAXJA.org and a plethora of others, so I assume KJ's might have something?

 

[BIGdaddy]

LostKj or something like that?

found it...

http://www.lostkjs.com/

 

[tommudd]

was lostkjs.com
now lostjeeps.com

 

[phxtoad]

Also try jeepkj.com. Feel free to ask any questions. We'll steer you in the right direction (hopefully)...

Todd