Hi all,
Reviving an old thread… Thought I’d update it to give closure for anyone that cares haha.
In January 2017 I sold it with 316,000kms and still going strong.
My budget built WJ was wheeled, went on camping trips every 1-2 months and traveled all over WA.
It looked bunky on the outside, had rock rash on every corner, dent in the front passenger door from a hidden tree stump in a water crossing, front bumper and grill were barely hanging on as it survived 3 kangaroo strikes (in 3 months in 2016), guards were well massaged from running 32” tyres and max flex with stock bumpstops. But it just kept driving and taking me places.
Final specs on my WJ before selling were:
-265/75R16 tyres (spare will fit in the stock location if completely deflated, make sure you carry a compressor though). I kept buying tyres secondhand from Gumtree, the last set were Cooper ST Pro's with 40% tread left for $200 + fitting.
-Approx. 1-1.5” lift from a combination of stock (and heavily sagged) ‘Up Country’ springs and 2” coil spacers cut down to 1”. If I kept it longer I was definitely going to get some proper springs and shocks.
-Secondhand well used Skyjacker shocks for a 2” lift.
-All preventative maintenance mentioned in this thread referring to the engine meant that I didn’t have anything to do to it other than regular servicing.
-Changed engine oil and filter every 5,000km.
-Trans ‘torque management’ wire snip
-Trans line pressure booster from Sonnax, PnP resistor.
-Installed Ford Focus 2.3 16 hole injectors, very simple PnP upgrade.
How did it run at 316,000km:
-Suspension was tired as you could imagine… Yes springs and shock were too soft, but the stock control arm bushes were quite worn. Strangely the suspension was completely quiet though, no rattles or clunks at all.
-Fuel economy was 15-17L/100km city (my wife would get it down to 13-14 though), 12-15L/100km in the country. This was an increase over my previous WJ and also when this one just purchased, I put it down to the engine and driveline being older and more worn.
-The trans was mostly fine, every now and then it would shift a little funny, kinda hesitant, but never slipped or overheated, etc even if towing. I mostly manually shifted it though as that’s my driving style and drove it mostly in the city with OD off.
-Both front axle seals were leaking, not enough to worry me though.
-Front CV joints were ok but the boots were torn.
-0-100kmh in 10.5secs (when I first bought it, was low 9secs).
I sold it to a couple who were downsizing from a GU Patrol and were looking for a weekend getaway vehicle for the family camping trips. They could not get over how nice it drove for its age, how fast it was, and how well equipped and comfy it was in inside, and the sound of the v8 lol.
Out of all the vehicles I’ve owned, this WJ was the best bang for buck vehicle I’ve owned. It just went everywhere, with careful driving and wheel placement (and the help of the stock Quadra-Drive) it never really got stuck (unless I was trying something stupid or really hard). It just ate up the dunes and was so easy to drive on the beach (with the right tyre pressure obviously). It was super reliable, never broke down, and never dripped any fluids on my driveway. Started every time I turned the key. Was very comfortable to drive especially on corrugations.
My approach to this WJ was keep it simple (after learning a few things from my first WJ), keep it as low as possible so the driveline and geometry is as close to factory as possible, run the biggest tyre possible at that height, service it, and enjoy the hell out of it. Basically spend the least amount of money possible on mods and the necessary amount of money required to just drive it whenever and wherever I wanted.
Do I miss it, YES.
I have replaced it with a 2009 JK Wrangler Unlimited CRD manual. Completely different vehicle in terms of mods lol, but so far I am enjoying it and I’ve always loved the simplicity and looks of Wranglers. Enjoying the CRD life as well. I have approached the JK like I did this WJ, lots of preventative maintenance and regular servicing. Hopefully it will provide me with the same level of joy and longevity as my WJ did. So far the biggest trip I’ve done in it is a 12,000km trip from Perth to SA to NT and back with lots of exploration and remote travel just swagging it everywhere. It was awesome and actually my biggest trip and first interstate trip. Weighed about 3T and fuel economy was 11.5L/100km for the whole trip.
Anyway some farewell PICS:
Jeep Safari 2014
The JK:
Thanks
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