Here's What It Took To Make My Budget Jeep Wrangler Reliable Everyday

"theandysho - drives a SHO" (theandysho)
01/13/2015 at 00:49 • Filed to: ANDY'S JEEP

Full Transparency: This is the continuing story of how I took a teal 1997 Wrangler and have been working to make it fun every day. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! you may want to go do that. If you're considering going down the rabbit hole of a near-20 year old convertible, I may be your new best friend.

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I now had to bring a 20-year-old Wrangler up to "reliable everyday" status. It ran and drove fine, and didn't leak much. But it did need quite a bit of freshening, as all old cars are to want. Also of note – I did a full inspection before beginning work, so anything I don't detail here was already sorted.

1. New Top

My Jeep had parts of a top, mainly the metal frames for the top and the doors. The fabric doors, windows, and most of the roof itself were all missing. I was going to have to buy a new top and replace it. You can blow a stupendous amount of money on a Jeep top – a new Bestop is in the $800-plus range. Keeping in mind that would be a fourth of the amount I'd paid for the whole car, and I was honestly against paying as much for some stitched fabric as you would for a puppy, I consulted some forums and found that Smittybilt makes a nice top for the money.

From a sale at Summit Racing, it was $260, came with all the required parts, shiny black canvas with new window and door skins, and actually useful instructions, which was nice. The install was straightforward and took about an hour with a buddy helping. It isn't a perfect fit in a couple places, but it's very good for the price, and definitely keeps more rain out than not having a top. I also got the windshield and rollbar disassembled and cleaned up everything.

2. Tires

For anybody who immediately thinks "it's a Wrangler so I need to jam on the biggest tires that'll fit", hold the phone and listen up for a few. My Jeep came with 31' tires on the stock rims – and I couldn't wait to get rid of them. Trying to spin that much rubber diluted power to the point I could have been convinced the factory 2.5 had been replaced with a Kohler lawnmower engine. It was an appalling chore to drive. Due to lack of suspension clearance, the turning radius had to be measured in sizeable fractions of circumference of the Sun. I don't understand people's interest gaining an inch of ground clearance when faced with the demerits of large tires.

I did quite a bit of research on available tires for Wranglers with factory wheels. For the purpose of reliability and resale potential, I wanted to avoid bargain bin rubbers like the Cheng Shin Super Great Bear Paw RSSV, or whatever Walmart is selling this week, and stick with traditional brands. Going for name brand hardcore off-road tires is not cheap, at all, from anywhere. Good thing I was looking for normal tires, and by goring from 31" down to 29" inches in diameter, my options significantly increased both in price and tire style.

From personal experience, a set of !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! is about the best option you can find. All in, a set of four tires set me back under $350 out the door from a local shop (they cut me a break as a return customer). This simple change down to smaller tires made a huge difference in driveability, noise, vibration, fuel economy, and also greatly reduced my level of concern whenever having to accelerate. They don't look bad, should be good for 40,000 miles, and will be fine for Ohio winters. Other than these key points, I wasn't concerned about the tires' qualities, since they're holding up a vehicle that holds the world record for closest performance capabilities to its Power Wheels version.

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3. Interior

The Wrangler's front floorboards were in rough shape. The inclusion of carpet in a Wrangler is a catastrophic design flaw, as it had sponged up all the water that had gotten in through the years, and rust that attempted (somewhat successfully) to eat through the floor. The front carpets were ruined in the process. The back floors and carpets were alarmingly solid, but since they were all one piece, out the whole thing went. The carpets came out in a cloud of dust ( seriously, do not eat ) and were tossed.

My intent was to salvage the existing floors without welding in a patch panel. I was able to do this, primarily because the rust was spread evenly across the surface and hadn't punched through anywhere except the floor drain. I went out to WalMart and invested forty bucks in a sanding wheel, a few respirator masks, and some Rustoleum rubberized bed liner.

The seats were a slow process. I wanted to avoid breaking off bolts in the floorboards at all costs. Some patience, a rubber mallet, and PB Blaster got them out, and allowed me to un-gunk the tracks, slides, and adjusters. I sprayed the mounts and seat frames with some leftover random black spray paint to shine them up a bit, and used Fantastik and Scrubbing Bubbles to sanitize the seats and interior. I fixed the passenger seat flip-up, cleaned the contacts for the interior lights, and removed and cleaned the shift and parking brake boots, and adjusted the parking brake.

I used a semi-abrasive disc to strip the remaining paint from the front floorboards and then to cut the rust down – not to bare metal, but to that pseudo-shiny tint that surface rust has. Using a shop-vac to suck out the rust bits and dust was a good idea that I would suggest (but wear your respirator anyway). Afterward, I applied medium coats of bedliner from spray cans, about 30 minutes apart, filling in the drying time with a beer and cleaning up the roll cage pads.

Side Note:

If you're over 21, for your beer needs I suggest !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , the World's Greatest Beer... in the World.

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To strip, refinish, and reassemble the floor took only half a day and six pack, and the results looked great. As a finishing touch, I got a set of Jeep-brand floormats from buddy at a dealership. Although they were from a new Grand Cherokee, the fronts fit nearly perfect, and the backs also fit nearly perfect. This leads me to believe that Jeep has not significantly changed their tooling for floorpans in the last 20 years.

4. Motor and Drivetrain

Ohio summers are rather hot at times, a fact my Jeep made apparent to me when it decided to ping the temperature gauge randomly in traffic. A few taps with a rubber mallet confirmed that I'd need a new thermostat, which I put in. While I was at it, I also flushed to cooling system. Well, I wound up flushing the system - seven times. Upon draining the radiator and coming to the conclusion my Jeep was using miso soup instead of actual coolant, I pulled all the hoses and the overflow tank. Mud (or something that looked like it) sopped out of the tank and the lower hose. Um, yuck.

I used a garden hose and nozzle to flush everything I could – heater core, radiator, engine block, water pump – and the result was mud stuff. Tons of it. I did this process four times. Then I re-assembled the system, topped it with the hose, ran the Jeep up to operating temperature, and drained again. It took three full rebuild / fill / disassemble / drain sequences to get actual clearish water to come out of the petcock and not soup, but it runs cooler now, and I have heat, which in Ohio is important seven months out of the year.

The engine itself has been a plucky little thing– I had to replace a throttle position sensor after soaking it when I flushed the cooling system, but no other issues. I've run a couple cans of Seafoam through it to clean the motor out a bit, which has caused my neighbors to hate me even more than normal. I also put a new set of plugs and wires in, which it definitely needed, and a new battery.

All the little things I've done to the motor cost me under seventy bucks, including the coolant flush. It goes through every fluid at the rate of about half an ounce every two months. Power steering, brake, clutch, oil, coolant, all of them - I don't know where they go, but it hasn't gotten any worse, and I've put almost 8,000 miles on the thing since I bought it, so chalk that up as a "oh well, keep an eye on it".

The transmission and transfer case have been a separate thing in themselves. The clutch is good enough, but I'll probably need to put one in it soon. I'm still up in the air about DIY on that or having a shop do it, after the transfer case fiasco…

My front drive shaft centering ball joint (that's actually a thing, and no, it's useless) burned out a week after buying it, leaving a flock of chirping sparrows in its wake. I decided I would rebuild the driveshaft over a Saturday afternoon. I got the driveshaft out, although I almost dropped the transfer case crossmember on my head in the process. Use a jack to hold up the transmission – just don't forget the crossmember. So you may want to get two jacks or some wood blocks if you're feeling fancy.

It pays to get quality parts, which is why I got all-greaseable pieces for the driveshafts. I expected this job to be done in an afternoon. But this center ball joint, oh no sir, he had different plans. It took half my day just to get it out of the shaft. When I finally got the driveshaft rebuilt and back in, it was dark. In my haste, I reconnected everything quickly, fired it up, and heard a horrible knocking sound from the transmission. I'd bent the transfer case shift linkage housing when I re-installed the transmission. Thankfully, the part I'd bent was just plate steel, and I was able to fix it with some channel locks and some unique maneuvering of my fingers into very small areas… ladies .

5. Chassis

20-year-old brake lines are not to be trusted. For further example, have an old lady in a Honda CR-V pull out in front of you when you're going 40. Then call a tow truck. Spend two weekends fighting a sinus infection and rebuilding all of the lines. If you hate bending tools, use SUR&R lines, which you can bend by hand and come coated to resist corrosion. Realize you should have done this earlier. Use this opportunity to inspect suspension and replace worn parts.

6. Save Some Money

Here's some advice: whether you like Advance Auto Parts or not, they have some awesome online coupons that can save you a ton of money on general maintenance items if you order them on – I've easily saved $150 off of retail between the battery, driveshafts, and other bits, this is huge. That's basically all the beer I drank while working on it being paid for. I also didn't take it to a shop for anything, which saves a ton of money.

Now your experience with a 20-year old Jeep in a one year only color may vary, but to get mine to "everyday reliable", here's what it cost:

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This leaves me $488 under the five thousand dollar budget I'd originally set, and that was just to buy the car. I was very pleased with how nice and how affordable this little thing has been.

I'll get up part three here shortly – how I took the remaining purchase budget and made my little Jeep way awesomer… and still stayed under five grand.

theandysho : My name actually is Andy, by the way - I am your typical dorky late-twenty-something, and I travel the United States for work during the week. On the weekends I mess around with cars, videogames, and a dozen other hobbies I try to find time for. I occasionally author posts on Oppositelock and usually they're kinda cool... follow along and see where I wind up.

DISCUSSION (15)

Jedidiah > theandysho - drives a SHO
01/13/2015 at 00:57

J ust

E mpty

E very

P ocket

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > theandysho - drives a SHO
01/13/2015 at 01:50

All Wranglers need to have Goodyear Wranglers. You just can't put any other kind of tire on them.

samssun > theandysho - drives a SHO
01/13/2015 at 02:48

I have nothing to add to your alleged SHO/Jeep story, but if you like dark Weihenstephaner try Erdinger, Erdinger Dunkel, or Erdinger Pikantus (haven't had the latter but it's their Weizenbock):

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/7…

Simplify, then add beer > theandysho - drives a SHO
01/13/2015 at 03:00

Brilliant write up.

I presume you've done the usual 10 second fixes like de-beeping the seat belt and ignition, and flipping your visors so you don't stare at warnings all day?

SukhoiRomantic > theandysho - drives a SHO
01/13/2015 at 06:41

Hey mate - if your 'muddy coolant' was a light brown colour consider the possibility that you have an oil leak somewhere where coolant also flows as what you described more or less was my first impression with dealing with the above (I am a diesel mechanic, some 7 litre bus engines leak around where the injectors sit in a copper sleeve in the cylinder head, the sleeves being cooled on the outside by coolant and it's a pretty common problem). If you start getting that colour again definately have a look - if you have a wet sleeved engine maybe there's a crack in the liner or something. To be honest, you probably know better than me as I'm only about 6 months in but if you are having trouble diagnosing give it a look.

crowmolly > theandysho - drives a SHO
01/13/2015 at 08:36

That floor looks to be in pretty good shape assuming that's the "before work" shot.

Party-vi > Jedidiah
01/13/2015 at 08:39

J ust

E xpect

E xpensive

P arts

nermal > theandysho - drives a SHO
01/13/2015 at 08:54

This is great, thanks for taking the time to do the write-up.

Now, make sure you come back with updates in 3-6 months!

theandysho - drives a SHO > Simplify, then add beer
01/13/2015 at 09:34

I actually like that all those things work on my Jeep. I just pull the fuse for the lights if I take the doors off, the beeping only happens when they key's on anyway. And I always wear my seatbelt.

theandysho - drives a SHO > crowmolly
01/13/2015 at 09:34

Correct.

theandysho - drives a SHO > SukhoiRomantic
01/13/2015 at 09:36

It appears one of the previous owners dumped that sealant gel in the overflow tank for some fucking reason. I got most of it out. It wasn't oily or had any kind of slickness to it. It felt like mud. Doesn't leak either, so that's good.

theandysho - drives a SHO > Party-vi
01/13/2015 at 09:37

This. If you know what you're looking for and do some research before you buy, most of the large problems can be avoided / mitigated for less money. Applies to every car.

StndIbnz, Drives a MSRT8 > theandysho - drives a SHO
01/13/2015 at 10:09

Well done! I got a 95 XJ a year ago for my winter beater and have only had to do a few things to it so far. Front floor pans were needed, so those were installed. Also, death wobble is not fun. So a new track bar was first on the list, then a passenger wheel bearing, then a steering box, and finally a steering stabilizer. I think it's gone now, but I have upper control arm bushings as well that I'll install in the summer. An upper rad hose and new rad cap and it's been fun ever since.

I will say, I got the Jeep with worn 30's BFG's and it never had much power from the 4.0. But going to 31's hasn't helped me either. I have the AX15 (5 speed, yea its awesome), and the axle gearing is 3.07! While it would be awesome to swap in some 4.10's, I am not spending that much money on this beater. Picked it up for $2100, and am only up to about $3500 including tires. So not bad really.

Also side note. Can anyone tell me how to post on Oppo? Can't figure it out.

Captain of the Enterprise > theandysho - drives a SHO
01/13/2015 at 11:59

Kinja'd!!!

Want

SukhoiRomantic > theandysho - drives a SHO
01/14/2015 at 02:33

Ah well whatever works. I know people who do back yarders who use sealant stuff on their old radiators and it's meant to stop up the cracks, maybe there was a slight leak in the overflow tank at one stage and the previous guy gave that a shot there. By the way I really enjoyed your two write ups, keep us posted.