New TJ owner

[Karl07]

Hi all,

I just wanted to put my hand up and say hi.

A bit about me, I have generally been into more performance orientated cars, and my current daily is a '12 toyota 86 that I'm building up for track.

I have had a 4wd before in an old 1986 Hilux Surf that I built up after buying cheap off of eBay. I used it to learn about welding, drawer design, fun things like diff lockers, snorkels, and basic 4wding.

I decided I missed my off-roading and bought myself a cheap jeep...scary thought haha.
My wife had a 97 cherokee and a 06 cherokee previously, but never did more than daily driving them.

So I found a stock standard 1999 TJ Wrangler Sport soft top. 4.0l, 5spd manual. Drove it home through the insane rain we had yesterday in the Brisbane area...roof doesn't leak at all.
Body is pretty rough but for the money I don't care and I will use the dent on the bonnet to learn about pulling dents.



Has only one or two of the common wrangler issues in that there is some leak in the windscreen area which I will sort this weekend, and a bit of a grind on full lock but no ticking etc so from research it says to start with diff fluid first.
Other issues are things like there are a couple minor interior trim pieces to replace, ac not working (will check blower fuse first because the fan doesn't appear to work either), and just other very minor things.
Gearbox is smooth, engine is smooth...what more could you ask for?

My boss at work even has an old hard top and extra guards which he is donating to me.

Plans are currently just to give it a complete service (ALL filters and fluid) and then just troubleshoot any issues I find over the next few weeks before I do anything more drastic.
Even then I would do anything too crazy, thinking just a 2" suspension and 2" body lift, better wheels, snorkel, rear seat delete, and an engine mounted compressor. For now.

I live in the Brisbane area so I hope to see some of you around.

I look forward to using the wealth of knowledge on this forum and hope to eventually contribute to it.

Thanks!

Karl.

[WranglerVirgin]

How is your new toy doing? Any issues popping up? Lucky your boss had a spare hard top, better view I read...

[wes]

Great to see another TJ on here
Getting a hardtop from your boss is a bonus - they are hard to find (and expensive) second hand.
I don't have a hardtop but there are some minor differences 97-02 and 03-06.

Is grind on full lock tyres rubbing?
A lot of us put a washer or two behind the steering stops to space them out and prevent tyre rubbing on full lock.
I haven't noticed any compromise in turning circle - (except full lock turning in reverse) but less washers is better.

Use an open-ended spanner in the nut near the red arrow - don't try to undo with the bolt head (yellow arrow).

[Karl07]

Thanks for the advice Wes!

It gets a bit of a grind to it, I haven't had much of a look....to be honest i figured it was something to do with the suspension/steering.

When I get more than a second spare i plan on getting into it.

As for issues, nothing to note yet! It has exceeded my expectations so far, especially for the money I paid

I have not even picked the hard top up haha...actually spends most of it's time with the roof off, or at least the side windows out.

I have finally just bought all the bits for the service (oil, air, fuel filters; fluids for engine, diffs, t-case, transmission, and coolant; new thermostat, new thermostat gasket, lockable fuel cap, and some other things). With my wifes discount I got all of that for a good price.

Might get a chance to do it this weekend or so.

THEN i will be organizing a few bits. I took it to get checked out by a professional mechanic to see what was wrong and i expected a decent list...instead i got a couple worn bushes, and a bent sway bar link arm.

But I will be replacing ALL bushes, link arms for the front/rear, track bars, new steering damper, and new upper/lower/front/rear control arms. Parts to come from an online shop...about $700 posted. Versus over $4K for genuine!!!! WTF.


Otherwise, against my own better judgement, I have taken it wheeling twice before actioning ANY of the above.

Went into the Dalmorton State Forest (and then into the Nymboida State Forest) in NSW.
Then took it for a blast around Glendon, QLD.

It made it places that I would NEVER have taken my old Hilux.