Hello from Oregon

[doyle5914]

Last July I rescued this little beauty from the jaws of the crusher at my local wrecking yard. Drove it home!

This is an '02 with a Rusty's lift and American Racing alloys. 255/70/16 Toyo ATs, a bit too large for the wheel wells but I'm making them work.

It's my fourth Jeep, but first KJ. Having fun fixing her up this winter, updating some worn parts, and most of the work has been cleaning. Whoever owned her before drove frequently on a dusty road!

Thanks to all the regulars here for great advice and words of wisdom. Saved me many hours of trial and error!

 

[JRB]

Awesome find, glad you rescued it!

Wish I had one of those around when I was looking, mine was that price but with a 7 in front, and mine came with broken dana 30a bearing caps that made no noise on the 3 hour drive home haha! South florida used vehicle market is really up there.

 

[tommudd]

On a good lift that tire size would work great
On one of my KJs I run 265-70-16s on 8 inch wide MOABs with bo issues
Has the pinch weld been pounded over behind the front tires ??
Also welcome to the looney bin

 

[LibertyTC]

Rescuing a KJ = awesome, way to go !
Get your build sheet here, type in your Vin # https://fcacommunity.force.com/RAM/s/equipment-listing
See if it has the trac-loc rear diff, if so you will need to ensure you add the 4 0z bottle of mopar limited slip additive on next gear oil change. Use Dino gear oil only.
Hers is also the 2002 FSM to help you out:http://www.colorado4wheel.com/manuals/Jeep/KJ/2002JeepKJServiceManual.pdf

 

[klc]

Hello from another Oregonian and new member.

 

[doyle5914]

Rescuing a KJ = awesome, way to go !
Get your build sheet here, type in your Vin # https://fcacommunity.force.com/RAM/s/equipment-listing
See if it has the trac-loc rear diff, if so you will need to ensure you add the 4 0z bottle of mopar limited slip additive on next gear oil change. Use Dino gear oil only.
Hers is also the 2002 FSM to help you out:http://www.colorado4wheel.com/manuals/Jeep/KJ/2002JeepKJServiceManual.pdf

Thanks for the links, and the tip about the rear diff ... My build sheet says "anti-spin differential", is that another term for Trac-Loc?

 

[doyle5914]

On a good lift that tire size would work great
On one of my KJs I run 265-70-16s on 8 inch wide MOABs with bo issues
Has the pinch weld been pounded over behind the front tires ??
Also welcome to the looney bin

Hi Tom, I did the pinch weld mod after reading about it here. That metal was thicker than I expected but my trusty Wilton hammer got 'er done.

After the soreness in my arm dissipated (aided by a beer) I covered the bare metal area with black silicone.

Next I'm considering flush-cutting those wedge shaped inner protrusions in the fender liners which cover the pinch welds and riveting a flat piece of plastic over the cutouts. On mine, contact with the tires had rubbed and torn portions of that plastic away anyhow. I went back out to the yard & pulled some replacement fender liners off another '02 KJ, and after repeated scrubbing and a coat of 303, they now look way newer than the rest of the Jeep.

 

[LibertyTC]

Thanks for the links, and the tip about the rear diff ... My build sheet says "anti-spin differential", is that another term for Trac-Loc?

Yes anti spin means trac-loc, so yes you do need the limited Mopar limited slip additive. It is a clutch based locker.
Use a Non-synthetic gear oil, 80w-90 or 85w-140. Your choice, both will work. For off roading and towing, better to use 85w-140 in the rear diff.
Best to do frequent rear diff gear oil changes every 40 k miles.

 

[tommudd]

Hi Tom, I did the pinch weld mod after reading about it here. That metal was thicker than I expected but my trusty Wilton hammer got 'er done.

After the soreness in my arm dissipated (aided by a beer) I covered the bare metal area with black silicone.

Next I'm considering flush-cutting those wedge shaped inner protrusions in the fender liners which cover the pinch welds and riveting a flat piece of plastic over the cutouts. On mine, contact with the tires had rubbed and torn portions of that plastic away anyhow. I went back out to the yard & pulled some replacement fender liners off another '02 KJ, and after repeated scrubbing and a coat of 303, they now look way newer than the rest of the Jeep.

Cut them off LOL
No heat up the plastic and melt it into place
If done right you won't be able to tell anything was done
Plus not hard at all to pound over the pinch welds 4-5 good solid hits per side with a 3 pounder and they are flat