The Jeep

Purchase Date: 16 August 2003
Purchase Location: Huffines Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge, Plano, Texas
Trade-in: The Dirty Dodge 4x4
Model: - 2004 Jeep Wrangler X
Colors: Light Khaki Exterior, Khaki Interior, Black Soft Top
Traded in at 32,000 miles for a 2001 Toyota Tacoma 4x4 TRD.

Standard Equipment:
- 4.0L Six Cylinder
- 5-Speed Transmission
- AM/FM Stereo CD Player
- P215/75R/15 Goodyears on Full-Faced Steel Wheels
- Limited-use Temporary Spare
- Cloth Seating
- Blah, blah, blah... Everything that's standard on every other Jeep

Optional Equipment:
- 3.73:1 Axle Ratio
- Full Steel Hard Doors with Roll-up Windows
- Air Conditioning
- Black Soft Top

This is about as fancy as I wanted to get, as I knew anything else I'd get (such as consoles, wheel packages, etc) would eventually be replaced, and it didn't take long before the first item was replaced.

Accessories and Modifications:

Completed (newest to oldest):

- 32x11.50x15 BFGoodrich Mud Terrain TA/km tires and Jeep Factory Canyon Aluminum Wheels - December 2004: I'll be the first to admit I'm an impatient person. With a little over 11,000 miles on the odometer and the BFG All Terrains, I didn't feel like waiting another 40,000+ miles before filling the wheel wells with something a little more substantial. Also, I wasn't happy with the steel wheels and how difficult they are to keep a good balance on them, and I knew I would be even less happy with them after putting larger Mud Terrains on them. I wanted something that would balance well and look good on the Jeep, so I jumped on a set of factory Canyon aluminum rims that a member of the 4x4xplor discussion forum was selling. Once I received the wheels, I took them down to the local Discount Tire and had them install the 32s. This wheel and tire combo balanced perfectly, and they seem to be giving me a much smoother on-road ride. (Image #1) (Image #2) (Image #3)

- KC HiLites Slimline 130 Watt Long Range Lights - November 2004: I've bought the Wal-Mart specials in the past, and I've tried out the Pro-Comp lights from 4-Wheel Parts, but this time, I wanted something a little closer to the top of the line. I liked how the KCs looked, so I ordered a set from 4wd Hardware. They got here in a few days, and I got to work installing everything. KC supplies a nice pre-terminated wiring harness with switch and relay. Everything you'll need is included. The lights mount solidly to my front bumper (more solidly than any other lights I've had in the past), and wiring everything up went without a hitch. The groundwire to the switch proved to be almost too short for my application, but I managed to get it connected without having to extend it. The only problem I ran in to was that one light refused to light up. I ruled out any problems with the wiring and contacted KC about it. The quickly sent me a new bulb, and I was back in action. The overall quality of the lights and the harness have really impressed me, and I just might have to order a set of fogs from 'em before too long. (Image)

- Jeeperman Standard Front Winch Bumper - November 2004: (Read the update on the Jeeperman page...)

- Warn Rocker Guards - November 2004: I had already banged up my rockers due to my own stupidity, so I decided to get something to cover it up and add some extra protection in the process. The Warn rockers seemed to be a good solution. I used Tough Stuff Products' rocker guard gasket between the rocker guard and the body. The gasket was easily applied to the backside of the rocker guard and trimmed before installation of the rocker guard. Installation of the rocker guards was pretty straightforward. After banging back some of the metal tabs on the underside of the tub, I used a floor jack to position the rocker guard in place. Once everything was lined up to my satisfaction, I strayed from Warn's instructions a bit. Rather than marking where the holes were to be drilled, I just drilled with the rockers in place using them as a template. Due to some changes to the interior body panels between 2002 and 2003/4, you'll have to improvise with these if you have a 2003+ Jeep. Warn's instructions say to drill a hole between the rearmost hole and the hole just forward of that. Not wanting some random unused hole in my rockers, I took the not-so-graceful approach and just decided to pound out some sheet metal on the interior panel so I could use the existing holes. There are three bolts and spacers for each rocker that are supposed to be installed from the underside, but the provided rearmost bolts & spacers won't work. Warn made no mention of this issue in their instructions, but there's no way the bolts they provided here would work. The remaining bolts and spacers worked without a problem. Good purchase, but I personally think that a company the size of Warn should be able to take the new changes into consideration and design something specifically for your application. Such is life, though... (Image)

- Radio Shack 300 Watt Inverter - 10 October 2004: After seeing that a few members of the various Jeep boards have integrated common inverters into their dashboards, I figured this was a handy little addition I could handle. Click here for the basic write-up off of which I based my installation. Basically, it involves purchasing the inverter, removing its face plate, switch, and two outlets and fitting them to a blank in the dash, extending the wiring, and hooking everything up. Just as a precaution, I decided to wire my inverter directly to the battery, whereas the author of the write-up spliced into the cigar lighter wiring. One thing that I'll note is that you should keep track of where each wire goes before cutting. You don't want to go cutting wires before knowing where they need to be hooked back up. The inverter, while not the most powerful, should be handy for powering battery & phone chargers, the laptop computer, and other small electronics. (Image)

- Jeeperman Rear Bumper & Tire Carrier - 19 March 2004: Like the OME suspension, this purchase required a lot of research, comparison, and thought. In the end, it was a no-brainer. (Read more...)

- JKS Manufacturing 1.25" Body Lift - 19 March 2004: Nothing fancy. Read about it on the Suspension page.

- Chicago Electric REW8000 Winch - February 2004: Say what you want about Harbor Freight and Chicago Electric, but I wouldn't have bought this winch if I hadn't heard enough good reviews. I had a Warn HS9500i on the Dodge, and it ran me right around $800. Rest assured, I did not get $800 worth of work out of that winch, so until I get into hard-core rock-crawling or something, this CE will be just fine and dandy for my needs (which at this point is not much more than cheap insurance). Installation was simple as could be after the purchase of a separate TJ mounting plate. I just bolted the fairlead to the plate, then the winch to the plate, then the whole assembly to the front of the Jeep using the towhook mounting holes and the front swaybar mounting holes. I trimmed the plastic swaybar cover with a dremel so that it could still be used. Wiring the winch up is as simple as putting red to red and black to black. For the $300 it cost me, if this gets me out of one or two binds in the hills of SE Oklahoma, it will have paid for itself. (Image)

- Rear Tow Point - 24 Oct 2003: Finally got around to getting at least one tow point installed in the rear. When I bought my two front tow hooks, I also bought two for the rear. Installation was simple, and only one hole needed to be drilled since an already-existing hole just the right size is already in the frame. Note the oval slot on the bottom of the frame. An easy way to get the lock nuts onto the bolts is to duct tape a nut to a 3/4" box end wrench and slide it through this slot. Hold this in place, and wrench on the bolt until tight. Once I got the first bolt on, I adjusted the hook into my desired position and used the second hole in the hook as a guide to drill the second hole into the frame stepping up to a 1/2" bit. This hook is on the driver's side just in front of the rear bumper. I'll eventually get around to doing the passenger side. (Image #1) (Image #2)

- JKS Manufacturing Quicker Disconnects - 21 Oct 2003: Simple install. Only hitch I ran in to was I somehow cross-threaded a nut on the original hardware, but once that was off, the install went lightening quick. JKS supplies all new hardware with their disconnects, so I didn't have a problem with ruining that original bolt. The top stud of the swaybar link is pressed in, so even after you remove the top nut, you'll need to use a puller, pickle fork, or a hammer to pop it out. My puller was too big, so I just gave it a few good whacks with a hammer, and that did the trick. Once the original links were off, I just assembled everything according to the instructions and greased 'em up.

- JKS Manufacturing 1" Motor Mount Lift Spacers - 18 Oct 2003: What a pain in the ass. Took care of my vibrations, though. One problem I encountered was the hole in one of the spacers was too small for one of the motor mount stud extenders. Some work with a dremel and a sanding drum bit was required on the offending stud extender. I installed this MML without the body lift, so something had to be done with the fan shroud. I was hoping to raise it, but I didn't have the proper tools to cleanly trim where trimming was needed, and slotting or drilling for new holes at the lower mounting points wasn't gonna happen since I hadn't removed the fan and shroud, so after a few hours of messing with it, I whipped out the channel locks and started breaking away the shroud where the fan was hitting. I'll be cleaning this up when I have the proper tools in hand. I didn't enjoy this install one damn bit, but I'm pleased with the results so far.

- Old Man Emu Heavy Duty Suspension - 11 Oct 2003: Believe it or not, I've done quite a bit of research trying to figure out what I wanted to do in regards to suspension. Sure, I'd love to have a big, hulking suspension lift, but there are several things to take into consideration with those things. (Read more...)

- Tuffy Rear Cargo Drawer - 04 Oct 2003: I was needing some form of rear storage. I tend to carry a lot of tools, recovery gear, and miscellaneous junk around with me, and this was quite simple in the Dodge. The Jeep's another story, though. I was racking my brain trying to decide what to do. I was reluctant to plop $400 down even on a top of the line solution, and I didn't want to simply fabricate something out of plywood. Then, a fellow Jeeper decided to sell his Jeep. He was nice enough to bring this up from Houston, and I came out with a nice solution to my problem for a fair price. Installation was complicated by the fact that his Jeep was a 2002 and mine is a 2004, and none of the mounting holes wanted to match up with the factory seat & seatbelt holes. Nothing a little judicious drilling couldn't handle, though. (Image #1) (Image #2) (Image #3)

- Tow Hooks - Aug 2003: Since my Jeep was not equipped with tow hooks from the factory, I knew I had to get some on there. Luckily, the generic 10,000lb tow hook kits that are so common bolt right up in place of the factory front bumper mounting bolts on top of the bumper. All I needed from the hardware store were longer Grade 8 ½" x 2½" (I think that's the size I got) bolts and a T55 torx socket. Once the top factory bumper bolts were removed, the tow hooks mounted right up with the new bolts. No nuts were needed, as the frame horns already have threaded holes for the bolts. A cheap and easy way to add front recovery points while doing away with four of those infernal torx head bolts in the process. (Image)

- Tires & Wheels - Aug 2003: With 82 miles showing on the odometer, I stopped by the Dallas 4-Wheel Parts Wholesalers to get squared away with a tire and wheel package. Five 31x10.50x15LT BFGoodrich All-Terrain/ko tires mounted on black 15x8 Rock Crawler wheels replaced the 215/75/15 Goodyear street tires as well as the temporary spare which were all mounted on plain steel wheels from the factory. (Image)