New here!! Looking for some help!

[KJWill]

Hello there!

I'm new to this forum as you all may see, but I've been a jeep lover all my life and a KJ owner for about 2 years! My father has had some pretty incredible jeeps including 2 Willy's, a couple cj5's and 6's, and my favorite was his cj3a. So I've always been around jeeps, and I've always loved them!! When it came time for me to pick out my first vehicle that I could afford, I knew it would be a jeep of some sort. I have always had a thing for kj's, so I test drove about 10 or so in a matter of a week. I finally connected with a '03 KJ 3.7 sport in Cactus Green! I'm looking to upgrade her in the future, and I was hoping you guys could give me some insight on what all I should do!

Obligatory night shot!!

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[osufans]

Not sure what experience you have working on vehicles, but first thing I'd do is run your VIN on Jeep's website to make sure any recalls have been taken care of. There's at least 2 that I think would affect your Jeep. Then I'd start with general maintenance, oil change, transmission fluid/filter flush & change, change the diff and transfer case fluids, spark plugs, etc.

After than, it's all fun stuff! If you want to step up tire size, a lot of folks like to hunt for Moab rims from a Wrangler. Add an OME lift and you've got a nice start if you ask me.

BTW...welcome!

 

[Porkchop]

That Kj is huge was it's past owner the Hulk.
LOL

 

[KJWill]

^sorry! I thought I resized!! 56k warning I suppose.

 

[Dave]

Welcome to the forum KJWill. You will find good info and people here.

Dave

 

[Jo6pak]

Welcome aboard.

Heck we can give you tons of insight and ideas..............but you may need more funds:smokin:

osufans pretty much nailed it, get the recalls and general maintenance items taken care of. Then look into the suspension, if it's original it's probably sagged out.

 

[badkittystt]

Welcome! I'm loving the cactus green!

 

[Ry' N Jen]

You must be registered for see images

Welcome to the forum Will.
In the above photograph the colour of your KJ looks just like my Viper Green
Metallic 1976 Mini!
Now I have a really good idea what our KJ will look like in the future when it's time to get repainted the same colour!

 

[KJWill]

Thank you all for the warm welcome, I'm very happy to join you all! I would say I have a good handle on mechanical knowledge. You see, I was my fathers very own Flashlight Specialist. So I feel I learned a good bit of wealthy knowledge from playing that role all my life. I keep up with all general maintenance, and have been very adamant with things of that nature. As of now, I'm running 235/70/r16's and I'm looking to upgrade. I'm wanting a quality, rugged style tire that will preform well in all situations. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated(photos please ;] ) I want to change my size to 235/75/r16, but I wasn't sure if that would create a problem. I have no rubbing now, and I don't think that little of change in height would create any problems. Anyways, if anyone could recommend a good, rugged style tire, I would love to hear them.

 

[KJWill]

Welcome to the forum Will.
In the above photograph the colour of your KJ looks just like my Viper Green
Metallic 1976 Mini!
Now I have a really good idea what our KJ will look like in the future when it's time to get repainted the same colour!

Oh yes, she was basking in the glow of my flood light one evening looking good as always. I love how Cactus Green changes in different lighting.

 

[Porkchop]

It sure looks good like that sounds like you got the bug welcome

 

[TwoBobsKJ]

Welcome to JeepKJ!

As for tire recommendations...

I have Firestone Destination ATs on mine and I REALLY like them. Very quiet on the highway and impressive off-road. Would I take them on a trail in Moab? Maybe not but I haven't gotten stuck yet in mud, rocks, hill climbs (I know, maybe I'm not trying hard enough!) I have 255/70-16 on an OME/Bilstein lift that measures 22 1/4" hub to flare all around. Slight rubbing on the front air dam at full lock.

I'm on my phone so I can't add any pics to my post but you can see my Libby in my avatar pic.

Also, seabass just bought a set and has used them on another Jeep in the past - maybe he'll chime in.

Bob

 

[KJWill]

thanks man, I will check them out! I'm leaning towards getting some Silent Armor Goodyears. My main dilemma is that I'm on stock suspension(which doesn't seem to be sagging too much) and I'm currently running BFG Long Trail's in 235/70/16 with zero rubbing. So I'm curious if I should stick with 235/70/16's to be safe or If I should just pull the trigger and get some 235/75/16's. What do you guys think?

 

[tommudd]

What are you sitting at middle of wheel to bottom of the flare?

 

[KJWill]

from center to bottom of the flares is about "20 all around. I'm guessing it's probably sagged out.

 

[KJWill]

Anybody?

 

[J-Thompson]

If you plan to lift then don't buy tires now
Lift first so you only buy tires once
No as far as what tire to buy
Well let's just say that a bunch of people
seem to like to recommend the tire they like
which seems to always be the tire they have
and they are almost always "great in every thing"
Well not me
Here is my $.02 worth
AT's basically do nothing great
Highway tires are great on the highway but suck
off road
Super Swampers are great off road but suck
on the highway
I ran SS LTB's on my TJ and any speed over 65 was out
any trail I tried I made ,most were easy
I now run Goodyear MTR-K's and while they are not as good
as the Swampers off road they are 10X better on road
But they suck on the highway compared to the
Firestone Transforce HT's on my F250
which gets stuck in wet grass ,really
So you decide what you want from your Jeep

 

[KJWill]

^Thank you sir! And I do agree with you; different strokes, right? I'm really looking into the SilentArmors, has some great reviews I've seen. What I'm more concerned with is what tire size to equip my KJ now without a lift. I do want to lift it in the future I'm sure. But not now whilst it's my commuting vehicle primarily, weekend toy secondly. Like I said right now my KJ is at 20" from center of Hub to the bottom of the flare all around. And it has 235/70/r16's, and appears to have serious amounts of clearance all around. I would like to see If I could stick some 235/75's or even something a little bigger. I should have no problems that I could see, especially if I deal with the Pinch Welds. So If someone could advise me on the sizing issue I would greatly appreciate it!

 

[TwoBobsKJ]

^Thank you sir! And I do agree with you; different strokes, right? I'm really looking into the SilentArmors, has some great reviews I've seen. What I'm more concerned with is what tire size to equip my KJ now without a lift. I do want to lift it in the future I'm sure. But not now whilst it's my commuting vehicle primarily, weekend toy secondly. Like I said right now my KJ is at 20" from center of Hub to the bottom of the flare all around. And it has 235/70/r16's, and appears to have serious amounts of clearance all around. I would like to see If I could stick some 235/75's or even something a little bigger. I should have no problems that I could see, especially if I deal with the Pinch Welds. So If someone could advise me on the sizing issue I would greatly appreciate it!

I agree with what JTHompson said above: Do the lift now and decide on tires once you've settled on the height you want. An additional comment: The perception is that a lift benefits you only off-road - Nope...

The beauty of a (properly) done lift is that your Liberty's on-road manners are so much better, let alone what you're capable of doing off-road. You'll gain tremendous benefit during your daily driving with a good lift not necessarily due to the higher stance but in the improvement thanks to better springs/shocks AND you'll also gain clearance for off-road fun.

Yea, your Jeep may look a little odd with a lift till you get the tires sized properly but it will be worth it in the end.

If you do the tires first then the lift you may not have the tires that work & look the best. So like J said above, you could end up buying tires twice p:

Bob

 

[KJWill]

Thank you guys so much for your insight, I really do appreciate it. If I may, what products exactly should i look at for a proper lift? I'm looking for a quality lift that won't break the bank. If someone could give me a rough estimate on what I would be spending on a proper lift of good quality, it would make me feel much better about going for a lift now. I've never installed a lift, so please excuse my lack of knowledge when it comes to this subject. So If anyone could lend a hand in that regard, hopefully I'll be sitting a little higher in the near future!! :Big Laugh: