04 Wj Overland build - Trailhawks Revenge

[Grand_Seltzer 58]

Trailhawks Revenge - 04 Wj Overland build

Prelude ;

First, let me start by saying this probably won't be as creative as ksmith, though I think many of us all have been inspired by his wj build and I hope to incorporate some of the things he has done.

 

Second, I do have a baby on the way and that will obviously take priority. 

 

Third, let's talk about how I got here today. In January, I took a new job with an agreement to buy a new vehicle. I found a 21 wk2 trailhawk 'in transit' with all the exact options I was building online. Mid February, I took delivery. My first new vehicle, a 21 trailhawk, 5.7, tech package, hid lighting, everything except for the headrest monitors. 

 

After only 3 months and 7300 miles, during a lightly wet evening in Tennessee, a mustang (go figure) lost control on the road where I park and slammed into the jeep pushing it through our fence. 

 

2 months later, it is finally deemed totaled by my insurance. It was originally claimed by the at fault drivers insurance but she didn't carry enough coverage to cover initial estimates. There is more to this story I'll save for later. 

 

After being in a rental shortly and eventually sharing my gf car for our day to day, I started looking for something cheap, something I'd be comfortable in... Ah ha! A wj, I've owned one of those before! So I started looking. Long story short, I actually found a wj here that wasn't ideal for me, but for my father, a 00 limited with a 4.0. So I bought it, fixed a few things and drove it up from Tennessee to Illinois.

 

Before heading to Illinois, I looked on fb marketplace to see what kind of wjs were there, I really didn't want to be car-less again heading back to Tennessee. I found a few jeeps, cleaner than expected, ultimately focusing on a 04 overland. 

 

While it was a pretty Clean interior and exterior, it has been through some salt and its forming its surface rust on the seams of the subframe, it was written off by insurance once(hydroloked motor if you believe the previous owner, but the motor has been replaced). 

I didn't have a great time dealing with the owner, he was a 'it's my price because I know what I got type'... I offered carfax market value, and we were only off $500 bucks, so I sucked it up and brought him the money in all 10s just so I could at least make him suffer counting it. 

 

As mentioned, it's an 04 overland, 132k, 4.7ho, factory rb1, two tone grey leather, overall very clean. Someone loved it, then it fell on some rough times. Obviously the motor had been replaced, the rear hatch and the hood have definitely been repainted.. But unless I told you, most wouldn't know any better. 

 

So now it's mine, and shall be dubbed 'The Trailhawks Revenge'. 

Long term goals is long armed, 33s-35s, on jk axles. Baby on the way so don't expect any of this to happen overnight. Frankly I plan on stacking parts to give myself a weekend-week project. 

 

 

[Stacey and Scott 1,166]

Welcome to ORP!

[dzJeepChic 2,427]

Hi there and

Looking forward to your build thread.

[Grand_Seltzer 58]

Mod 1; why didn't it come this way from the factory?! 

 

The first 'mod' is an easy one and one that every wj should get, the cabin air filter. How was this not included stock, even for 2004 standards it just feels wrong.

 

Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures installing this, it was 103* outside and I wasn't trying to slow myself down 

 

The only thing funny about these kits was the air flow direction points the wrong way.

 

https://amzn.to/3OHuDac

 

With this in, at least I have some protection from high levels of pollen in Tennessee.

 

 

Next up, fluids and broken items!

In the mail & arriving soon;

oil change(royal purple 10w-30 and amsoil filter)

Front and rear diff fluid(redline 75w-140ns +Mopar friction modifier)

Transfercase fluid(Mopar nv247 fluid)

 

Grill support panel. No sense in getting new headlights if you can't even aim them because the grill support is broken. 

 

I'm also sitting on a full set of stainless brake lines to be installed soon. Being a jeep from the north, the brake lines are pretty much cooked. Picked up this set on Amazon from a suggestion of a good friend who also owns a wj. 

https://amzn.to/3NqLVqY

 

In the shopping cart coming soon;

2" lift(tj springs) 

Iro shocks(haven't decided in trail jammers or doeshtech*sp) 

Spring isolators 

Searching for jk take off wheels and tires. 

 

Note: my Amazon links are affiliate links. Use them or not is your choice, obviously it will give me a small commission if you do but I'm not making any significant gains from it. 

[Grand_Seltzer 58]

Wanted to add some of my history with jeeps to this thread as well. 

My first jeep was a 97 tj sport back in 2007 . Really just hit back roads and one offroad park before I fell in love with a 64 chevy and had to make a choice lol

My second jeep was my 2008 jku Sahara. I purchased this right before moving to Kansas city and honestly where I had the best experience of friends and jeep life. Kansas city will always be a second home to me and the jeep groups there are second to none when it comes to lending each other a hand whenever someone needed it. I found my first wj down there too, an 02 limited. After moving back to Illinois, the jk was pretty neglected but still running, I put the wj on long arms and 35s and was really happy with the setup. I started going through the process of putting it on one tons but, not soon enough, realized the wj just wasn't an ideal base for as crazy as I wanted to go. I ended up scrapping the wj and moving all the parts I accumulated to the jk. So the jk is still in Illinois as a roller waiting for me to bring it down once I have the capacity to finish work on it here. 

I did also pick up a 87 jeep comanche, it's clean but not much to write about. 

[Grand_Seltzer 58]

Well the grill support came in, there's definitely more evidence of front end damage than just the broken support. The upper support is pretty deformed but I think a local guy is parting out an 04 and I could probably grab his. 

 

The new grill support was spot on. I was a little worried being an Amazon product. 

https://amzn.to/3ysqCRB

 

 

The rest of my fluids did arrive so hopefully I can work that into a nice project this weekend. 

[theksmith 3,827]

19 minutes ago, Grand_Seltzer said:

Well the grill support came in, there's definitely more evidence of front end damage than just the broken support. The upper support is pretty deformed but I think a local guy is parting out an 04 and I could probably grab his. 

 

The new grill support was spot on. I was a little worried being an Amazon product. 

https://amzn.to/3ysqCRB

 

 

The rest of my fluids did arrive so hopefully I can work that into a nice project this weekend. 

 

 

at least you have a great helper!

 

[Grand_Seltzer 58]

22 minutes ago, theksmith said:

 

 

at least you have a great helper!

 

 

Qc department approved. However my 5 year old 'I'm going to help!' went jousting some plants with a stick while I worked. 

[Grand_Seltzer 58]

Found some jku Rubicon take off wheels and tires just down the street about 10 miles. I really don't like the bfg mud terrains. But for the price, they'll work for the next year until I suck it up and buy a new set of tires. I do love the jk rubi wheels. I had a set on my last wj and they just look great on a wj. 

[Grand_Seltzer 58]

I have a problem with staying up too late when holiday deals are going on... It ends up making me order stuff like... new rock krawler TJ springs, iro shocks, and new moog spring isolators. 😅 Going for a 2.5" initial lift to get the 32's under the jeep without much drama.

 

Very curious how the spring perches are holding up after all these years. Last wj, they were gone. But I didn't replace them until I did my 4.5" long arm lift. 

I'm probably going to get a superchips programmer soon unless someone has a better solution, I'm also eyeballing WJdiag app... If anyone is running it, I'd love to hear your feedback. Still Debating on a trackbar now or save it till I go 4". 

 

Hoping to knock out fluids tomorrow. We will see how cooperative my 5 year old is to run errands in the morning before getting it done before it gets too hot.