Anything to watch for on an '02 TJ?

[64FJ40]

I just co-signed for my little brother so he could buy his first rig. I guess that means I kind of own a Jeep now. :booo: (Jim - :flipoff: )


It's completely stock except for the ridiculously noisy 30" Wildcat EXTs somebody put on. It'll most likely stay fairly stock since it has to be a DD for a while and he's got a lot of payments to make. At most, a couple inches of spring or spacers and some 32s or 33s.


Anyway - is there anything inherent that should be addressed or monitored on it? It's got 57K miles and overall looks pretty clean. Except for the underhood light being burned out, I didn't find anything wrong with it. Any maintenance issues or known failure points to correct?

 

[boxboy]

4 or 6? 5-speed or auto?

 

[TreeClimber]

The rear end is weak. The steering links are weak. However both are strong enough to be a daily driver. Stay with the smallest tire you can talk him into.

I'd go with a 2 inch puck lift and some 32s. Make sure to be careful if you do a puck lift and increase the tire size that the tire doesn't rub on the rear coil buckets if you stay with the factory rims.

And above all, watch out the he makes the payments! (No disrespect to your brother intended)

edit - if it's a I6, it'll probably have 3.08 gears (although I think some had 3.54s) if it's a I4, it'll probably have 4.10 gears. An easy upgrade is to swap I4 gears into a I6 rig to compensate for increased tire size and keep the motor in the correct powerband. IF you are in this situation, I've got a set of 4.10 axles, complete, just removed that I'm taking to the swap meet in March. However, the rear end is still a little weak for wheeling purposes (in my opinion)

 

[64FJ40]

4 or 6? 5-speed or auto?

4.0, auto. Other than that, I think it's pretty basic... Wrangler "X" I think.

The rear end is weak. The steering links are weak. However both are strong enough to be a daily driver. Stay with the smallest tire you can talk him into.

I'd go with a 2 inch puck lift and some 32s. Make sure to be careful if you do a puck lift and increase the tire size that the tire doesn't rub on the rear coil buckets if you stay with the factory rims.

And above all, watch out the he makes the payments! (No disrespect to your brother intended)

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind when he starts talking about lifting it. There are definitely no plans to go any bigger than that any time soon.

No worries. He's got a good job and is about as responsible as can be expected from a 19-year old. He has a lot more disposible income than I do, but no credit history, which I have TONS of since I wasn't nearly as responsible as he is. So I'm not worried about the payments, but I'll still keep an eye on it. In 6-12 months, he'll have a little bit of credit history and can get a better loan rate by himself through his credit union and be on his own.

edit - if it's a I6, it'll probably have 3.08 gears (although I think some had 3.54s) if it's a I4, it'll probably have 4.10 gears. An easy upgrade is to swap I4 gears into a I6 rig to compensate for increased tire size and keep the motor in the correct powerband. IF you are in this situation, I've got a set of 4.10 axles, complete, just removed that I'm taking to the swap meet in March. However, the rear end is still a little weak for wheeling purposes (in my opinion)

Good to know. Yes it's the I6, but I didn't think to check the ratios. How much does a set of 4.10 axles go for? I'll have to keep that in mind.

 

[64FJ40]

Forgot to ask in the original post - Is it common to get condensation drops forming on the ribs of the inside of the hardtop shell? Nothing else seems to be especially moist inside, but he said he had rows of drops on the ribs the other morning. :shrug: It might just be leftover moisture in there from the dealer's upholstery cleaner, but I'm just guessing.

 

[boxboy]

Have him roll the carpet back to see if the under pad is wet they never seem to dry out and it starts to rust the tub.

 

[64FJ40]

Have him roll the carpet back to see if the under pad is wet they never seem to dry out and it starts to rust the tub.

Will do. Are there supposed to be tub drains in the footwells?

 

[pokey]

I just co-signed for my little brother so he could buy his first rig. I guess that means I kind of own a Jeep now. :booo: (Jim - :flipoff: )


It's completely stock except for the ridiculously noisy 30" Wildcat EXTs somebody put on. It'll most likely stay fairly stock since it has to be a DD for a while and he's got a lot of payments to make. At most, a couple inches of spring or spacers and some 32s or 33s.


Anyway - is there anything inherent that should be addressed or monitored on it? It's got 57K miles and overall looks pretty clean. Except for the underhood light being burned out, I didn't find anything wrong with it. Any maintenance issues or known failure points to correct?

who me:eeek: I was just talking to your mom last night and she told me of this. Hes pretty excited to get his own rig:cheer: I just find it funny that there are more jeeps in your family then toyotas:haha: I guess you just didnt get any of the smart genes:haha:

 

[82toyomud]

I guess you just didnt get any of the smart genes:haha:

:haha: :haha: :haha: :haha: :haha: :haha:

 

[64FJ40]

who me:eeek: I was just talking to your mom last night and she told me of this. Hes pretty excited to get his own rig:cheer: I just find it funny that there are more jeeps in your family then toyotas:haha: I guess you just didnt get any of the smart genes:haha:

Yes you. You're the only one that gives me any crap about it. Normally I'd keep this sort of thing on the DL, but I just don't know much about rigs with such puny drivetrains.

And I got the smart genes, just none of the rich genes. Those 3 jeeps cost just about exactly 13 times as much as my junk.

 

[pokey]

Yes you. You're the only one that gives me any crap about it. Normally I'd keep this sort of thing on the DL, but I just don't know much about rigs with such puny drivetrains.

And I got the smart genes, just none of the rich genes. Those 3 jeeps cost just about exactly 13 times as much as my junk.

But those 3 jeeps all run and drive:haha: :haha: :haha:

Maybe since you cosigned he will let you drive it or at least go for a ride:cheer:

 

[64FJ40]

But those 3 jeeps all run and drive:haha: :haha: :haha:

Maybe since you cosigned he will let you drive it or at least go for a ride:cheer:

???

I drive mine every day. Bias Iroks and all.

 

[Dubshot]

Have him stay out of the deep holes.. I had one which my father now owns and we went through a few deep wholes and blew the tranny due to mud and water getting in.. They sell a breather kit for it so he bought one when they reinstalled the transmission.. avoid puddles all together unless you dont mind replacing ujoints. I had to do that twice but the warranty pretty much covers alot as long as there is one.. As for the water, just about all hardtops do that. make sure there is a some sort of seal, to seal the top to body.. cheap easy add ones are coil spacers or just a budget rough country lift, swaybar disconnects (very worth it especially if theres no lift at all but either way one great investment. dont buy them if your going to lift it until you know the height of lift some disconnects vary....) and if he is really going to wheel it at all a decent set of sliders will save the rockers. I have the crappy tube ones and they flex and beat the body sometimes worst.. i know I write like a dipshit! :fawkdancesmiley: :fawkdancesmiley:

i see the warranty might stil be there they came with a 3 36k miles warranty or a 7 year 70k mile warranty. Even if you think there is anything wrong take it to a jeep dealership (any of them) and they take good care.. milam in puyallup off river road will fix anything.

 

[KarlVP]

There are drains under the carpet.

The major problems with those rigs are the heating system screwing up. It has to do with the switch and it will only give you full blast on the fan or all the way off.

The only other I can think of is pay attention to the exhaust manifold. They like to crack right in the middle. But if you aren't doing many water/mud holes with the rig they hold up just fine. Many of the I-6 folks I know that do water crossings regularly tend to develop a crack in the manifold.

It is an easy fix though.