The factory battery in the TJ finally died and needed replacing. A combination of being rather lazy and time poor made getting RAC to do the job rather tempting. I really wanted to put a better battery in the TJ though so kept putting the job off, some two months later I stumbled across a deal from Batteries Direct – $275 for a Blue Top Optima, including delivery. NICE! Not the Deep Cycle version but then again alot better than sticking a plain jane RAC battery in the Jeep. Ordered and delivered really quickly.

So happy with that transaction I ended up getting some batteries for my UPS from them as well, these batteries died some 18 months ago and I never got around to replacing them . Again well priced and simple in the delivery to the door. What more could a time poor lazy person ask for?

I was moving my first trailer load of house stuff for the day, nicely driving out of Ellenbrook when all of a sudden there was the load bang underneath my Jeep followed by a constant whacking and loss of forward momentum. I new instantly what it was, a driveshaft blow out! Pulled over and stuck my head under the Jeep to see the drive shaft hanging down in shame as the rear u-joint had let loose. On close inspection the clamp bolts into the yoke where loose with no sign of any threadlocker. WTF! The guys that installed the SYE must have missed the “apply threadlocker” step. I bashed the crap out my muffler when it let loose, maybe a good excuse for an upgrade.

Went into bush mechanic mode and slung the shaft up so it would turn and not thrash the Jeep to death and managed to limp home in front wheel drive mode. Very sad, took 40 minutes to travel what would have normally have taken 5 minutes.

$38 for a new u-joint from 4WD USA.

Moral of this story? Preventative maintenance. Check that your NUTS are tight! or more correctly bolts in this case.

An old clip I found laying around on my server that I just uploaded to YouTube.

Here is my way of making me feel a little bit more secure when leaving my Jeep with the roof off – Al’s Ghetto Club Lock. Originally used in my LH Torana, the Ghetto Clublock has made a comeback with the TJ. A nice thick chain padlocked around the base of the seat and then padlocked around the steering wheel. Simple and, to date, effective. No it won’t stop a determined thief, but then again what will? It will however make a more opportunistic thief think twice and hopefully make them move on to an easier target.

Just added Toolbox, pole/rod holders, lock.

Thunderbox Toolbox from Super Cheap Auto – $249

Pole/Rod Holders – Misc bits from Bunnings – $75

Lock – $29.95 from BCF

The TJ Hardtop can be pretty difficult to remove, especially if your Jeep has been lifted (and in my case, if you are short!), as such a hoist is a great way to may the whole process much easier. Three Beams spanning a single car space in the back of my garage. The hoist hand winch is attached to the center beam. I attach a “cradle” to the top and unbolt it from the Jeep. Hook up cradle to hoist and then winch away. Once Jeep is clear I drive it out then winch top all the way up. I then attach string two beams across the bottom of the hardtop in order to take some of the pressure of the cradle, evenly distributing it, so that the top doesn’t warp. This is where top will stay until it goes back on.



NB. I plan on swapping out the centre load bearing beam, with something a bit beefier. I actually had the replacement structural pine beam but ended up using it in a fence to stop my dogs from digging under the shed. time time time…

2002 Black TJ Wrangler Sport Hardtop 4.0 Litre, 5 Speed Manual – Ever since seeing Sarah Connor driving her Renegade, in the original Terminator, I had wanted to get myself a Jeep.

Here is a list of Mods that I have done on the TJ (not in Chronological order).

• 33×12.5R15 MT Baja Claw Radials on 15×8 Rockcrawler Rims

• ARB Bull Bar – was one of the only bars that I could get locally at the time. I have though about taking it off and it is an awful amount of weight to carry around but since Andrea bought it for my birthday it has stayed in the Jeep. Thinking Toys by Troy or ?? if I ever replaced it – something that will take a winch.
• WARN 6 inch Trail Flares – gotta keep all that rubber covered.
• ARB Rocker Rails – wanted to get these the very first time I saw the AEV version. Was extremely excited when I found out the ARB had started to manufacture them. Fitted these using Rocker Guard Gasket from Tough Stuff Products.
• 1 inch Peformance Accessories Body Lift – first mod I did – nice and simple.
• OME Suspension Lift (USA Long Travel Shocks) + 2 inch Spacers – thinking of removing the spacers for that Low-Rider look.
• Teraflex Disconnects – a disconnected TJ is something to behold! Would love to try the AntiRock in the future.
• HD SYE and Shaft – a necessity when going the lift.
• WARN Diff Cover (Dana 30)
• Kilby Steering Guard.
• Safari Snorkel with K&N Airfilter – saved me many times from ingesting a lung full of Water or Mud!
• Uniden UH-013 UHF coupled with RFI CD900 Rugged 6.5db Antenna mounted on Teraflex Antenna bracket – plus Uniden Handheld (normally found in the Grand or some other slackers car who have been too tight to get their own). The brains of the unit are stuffed up inside the dash, while the head is mounted just above the rearview mirror.
• Narva Spotlights – courtesy of 4WD Magazine crossword competition – Always planned on replacing these with LightForce spotties, but there is always another project/toy/part that is higher on the list of things spend money on. These are work great, even better since they where free!
• Californian Tops – Half Top – looked great initially but will go for a Bestop next time.
• ARB Aircompressor mounted under the Brake Booster in engine bay. Line plumbed to rear of Jeep so that I don’t have to raise the bonnet. Always thought that I would get diff lockers so this is why I got this one. Still haven’t got the lockers or the gear change. DOH! Recently bought a compressor for the Grand which it way faster.
• Window Tint – nice and dark, looks much darker than it is I reckon due to the black paint. Pretty sure it is that same as the tint on my Grand which looks slightly lighter.
• Alpine Head Unit and Speakers – plug in the ipod, crank up the tunes and you can nearly drown out the roar of the tyres/the sound of the springs reseating themselves/the screams of your passenger.
• Rear Recovery Hooks – Mainly used for tugging other poor souls out of the bog, but a must have when going out on group runs.
• Fire Extinguisher – located in front on driver’s seat, in a quick to get to location. Still want to get another one for the other side.
• Throttle Body Spacer – Can’t say that I have noticed any difference in the performance. When I fitted it I must have bumped and stuffed the TPS, had to take it back to the dealer and get it replaced.
• Raingler Grips – I bought these one year as a Christmas present for Andrea. How thoughful is that! All I got was a blank look and “What the?”
• Hi-Lift Jack – this has been mounted on the back bumper, then on the rack across the bonnet, now its stuck behind the drivers seat. One day if I ever get a Tyre Carrier it may end up there.
• Staun Tyre Deflators – Great time saving device. I used to set two to 20 PSI and the other two to 16 PSI, now after really only doing beach work I’ve set all four to 20. Figure doesn’t take that much to drop that extra bit if needs be, still quicker that doing all four manually.
• KC-Hilite windscreen brackets with IPFS – removed these to try and regain that stocky look- the IPFs got donated to the Grand.
• Mean Green Battery Bracket – this is sitting in the shed waiting on the day that I can spend some time and figure out what changes need to be made to fit it. May not end up using it as I’m thinking of putting the Second Battery in a box behind the driver’s seat. This means I can transfer the unit between the two Jeeps, depending on which one is being taken out to play.
• Bonnet Rack from Tough Stuff Products – This didn’t last long on my Jeep – now lives ion the shed. Most probably spent more time on Steve’s YJ than my TJ. It may look the business, but kinda think it made the Jeep stand out more than it had to, plus really didn’t like when you had to actually use the Hi-lift taking it on and off over the paint work, it’s much easier to get to and less potential for damage behind the drivers seat.
• RedArc Dual Battery Unit – Waiting on Dual Battery Project to commence.
• OEM Rear License Bracket/Offroad Only Rear License Light – in Shed waiting on license/rear tyre carrier change
• Garage Hoist for Hardtop storage – Currently on Version 3 and it works well, got a few ideas for a a bit of tweaking.
• De-Chromed Headlight surrounds – I hate chrome so out with the rattle can.
• Override clutch switch – sometimes you want to be able to start the Jeep in gear without having to depress the clutch. May sound crazy but you do, fortunatelty for me I have never had to. I just use it when I’m lazy (all the time) and need to start the Jeep when I’m outside of it.
• Ghetto Club Lock – Chain padlocked around the seat mount and then around the steering wheel. First had this setup in my LH Torana (possibly even my VH Charger can’t remember which one exactly). Since the TJ spends a fair bit of it’s time topless, this makes me feel a bit better when leaving it alone.
• Jeep Tyre Valve Caps – nice shiny present brought back from the USA along with a Jeep Only Parking Sign from Darren – Thanks Mate. The caps got stolen when the Jeep was parked at the Mullaloo Beach Car Park – Bloody thieving mongrels!!! Some people have absolutely no respect for other peoples property. MAKES ME MAD! Big tip for all the losers out there – If it aint yours leave it alone!!!!!! Anyway still got the Parking Sign which proudly resides in the Garage next to a Jeep Flag I got off Ebay.
• Red Line Oils – I recently did a service and decided to treat the TJ so bought it all Red Line Oil fluids… Can’t say that I have noticed much difference in the gearbox, was hoping that it was going to fix up the notchy gear change but no luck as yet.
• Backseat has been living in the Garage – makes for a comfy seat when taking a break in the garage whilst watching TV and having a beer.

Current Mods and things I have bought for it.

• Cooper ATRs 245x65R17 – These nearly cost as much as the Claws in my TJ. Unfortunately these rub a little bit on the front inner guard, hopefully this will be sorted out with a mild lift. I really wanted to run another set of Mickey Thompsons, but they didn’t have a size in the ATR to fit (without a lift).
• IPFs donated from my TJ – mounted these straight on the front bumper.
• Window Tint by Trent at TKO Tinting Vic Park – great work.
• Rear Tow hitch hook – From Big Balls Offroad on Ebay store.
• Front Tow Hook Kit – Ebay easier to get these fron the States, than to deal with the local dealers.
• Aircompressor – The Big Boss from The4wdShop on Ebay – love the speed of the new compressor.
• K&N FIPK – sounds great , but rather heavy on the juice – soon to be replaced by a K&N drop in panel filter, hopefully that will try bring down the fuel consumption. Bought the FIPK and drop in from Mikes Performance Center on Ebay, great prices and delivers to Australia.
• Front DBA Slotted Rotors – the dealer tried charging me $600+ to replace the front rotors with stock rotors and pads, will they ever learn? IDIOTS! So I sourced better parts and did it myself for a fair bit cheaper. Threw in Bendix 4wd pads.

Future Mods

At the moment I am now questioning whether I will have it much longer so can’t justify spending too much on it. Anyway here are some things I’d like to do at some stage…

• ARB Suspension lift – I haven’t measured it but I reckon the Grand is sitting a bit lower than stock, possibly due to the coils degarding over time. I feel like every 4WD out there is taller than me. I planned on doing the lift as soo as I got it, but never got around to it.
• Upgrade Sound System – Maybe include a DVD player. Would be pretty cool to have a 24+ inch panel mounted in the tail gate – just for some entertainment whilst camping.
• Rhino Rack
• Fire Extinguisher
• UHF – may move the UHF from the TJ to the Grand.