zgetman

Here is my story...

I found my Jeep on Craigslist about 2 weeks ago. The price was set at 1250.00 and it was about 260 miles away. I called the owner on Monday and asked him some questions about the Jeep and he told me that he only drove it when it snowed and that the en6yygine and tranny was in good condition. He also told me that the driver side window would not roll up but he had the motor and regulator it just needed to be assembled. I told him I was interested in buying his Jeep and I asked if could he hold on to it until Thursday, my day off, so I could look at it. He told me he could accommodate me.

Thursday came around and I had found a buddy that was willing to take me to OKC to look at this Jeep and pick it up if I bought it. I called the owner of the Jeep up and told him we would be on our way at 11am and he told me to hold off and call him a 12pm because there was others that was interested in the Jeep. My buddy and I decided to go ahead and leave out at 11am and I called the owner at 12pm.

This is what he said. He started to tell me that he needed to have the title notarized and he would not do that until he had money in hand. I said that is not a problem, I am on my way and I have the cash for it. He then told me, "You don't understand. I am at work and don't get off until 5pm or 530pm and the banks are closed at that time and I can't get it notarized at that time. Also I can't take no man's word and will not get it notarized without the money in hand." About that time my phone dropped signal.

I called him back when we got to the next town. After 3 tries he finally picked up. I told him, "I am on my way and I have been driving for 2 hours already. I should be arriving at around 4pm." He said, "You are not hearing me. I am at work and I have to get the title notarized and will not do so until I have money in hand. I can't take no man's word. You may say you are on your way but then again you may not be." I told him, "You said you could accommodate me and keep the Jeep until Thursday, and now you don't want to try and accommodate me to sell the Jeep to me? If you get the title notarized and don't give it to anyone you shouldn't have to worry about anything. It will still be yours. Look man I told you I am on my way and where I come from a man's word is his bond. I am on my way and I have cash in hand." He said, " You don't understand, I am at work and I don't get off until 5 and I can't get the title notarized until then, and the bank will be closed at that time." Finally after discussing this over and over he told me to call him back in an hour.

After this I was talking to my buddy and I told him, the next time I call him if he argues with me again about the Jeep we will just turn around and go back to home. I figured that would be my sign on whether or not I should buy the Jeep. Well, 45 minutes later I got a call from the owner and he told me, "I went by and got the title notarized. When you get here, take a look at the Jeep and if you want it fine and if you don't want it that is fine too."

When we got to the guys house to look at the Jeep, it was missing the front bumper, with a small amount of fender damage on the front passenger side, and the window was down. He had already fired up the engine and we jumped in and took it for a spin. It drove good. He told me it need some new bushings on the steering arm and a tire. He had also misplaced the key to it and that he uses an ignition key pick to start it. After the drive I decided to go ahead and buy it.

I took the Jeep up to a Locksmith and they made me a couple of keys for 71 bucks and I was good to go. I drove it the whole way home at 80 mph and it handled like a champ.

All in all, I am very pleased with my purchase and I will be doing some mods and repairs as time goes by. I will post all changes and fixes I do here.

Thank you for reading and sorry I was so long winded...

gorgor

Wow, that is a lot of work just to buy your Jeep. Good luck with your build.

zgetman

Here is a list of things that needs to be fixed. (in no particular order)

Drivers door window Repaired- Fixed
Drivers Door Wiring Harness Repaired- Fixed
3.5" Lift Installed- Installed
Tires Mounted - 31/10.5/15 Mounted
AC Compressor Clutch - Fixed
Oil Leaks Repaired -
Transmission Leak Repaired -
Cv Boots Replaced -
Door Lock Actuators in all doors Repaired -
Lock and Window Buttons Repaired -
Lift Arms on Rear Door Repaired -
Headliner Repaired -
Gas Gauge Repaired -
Dome Lights Repaired -
Tune Up Done -
Front Bumper Installed -
Realignment Done -
Radio Replaced -
Speakers Replaced -

zgetman

On Friday I worked on my drivers door window. I had found the driver door panel and the window regulator in the back of the Jeep. So first thing I did was put the regulator on, after I bought some bolts for it. I plugged the switches in and the window did not work. I then checked the fuses and all my fuses were good. After that I checked the wiring harness and found a broken ground in the door jam. I repaired the broken wire and the window came to life. I had to buy push pins and screws for the door panel because they were missing, but after all this the door panel is now secured and my window is working.

I found that all the locking actuators need to be replaced after this repair. They all whine but do not move. Also a couple of my window switches and my passenger locking switch need to be replaced. All in all it was a good day.

zgetman

It was, but you have to do some work to get a good deal, sometimes. Also when you are limited in money and resources you do what you have to do...

zgetman

I got my lift kit in Thursday and was going to wait until Saturday to start installing it, but I could not wait. I pulled my Jeep into the shop and started to get all the tools I needed rounded up to do the job. I was so glad to see the instructions had pictures, lol.

Anyways, I started taking things apart on my front end and first thing I noticed was I had a broken sway bar. I was glad that my kit came with sway bars, lol. I put the sockets and wrenches on the mounting bolts and could not get them to budge, so I had to add a tool that wasn't on the list, a cutting torch. After a quick cut the sway bars were free. This should have been indication that this was going to be tougher than I thought. I then went to take the track bar off, to find out that the bolt to that was seized up. I then pulled out the impact and tried to loosen it with that. I was adding wd40 to the nut to try and help loosen it but that didn't work. The bolt did finally start turning but after I broke the little tab that holds the nut on the inside of the bracket. Now I am stuck trying to figure out how to get this nut off. After messing with this for a while I finally went home for the day.

On Friday, I decided to try and use a sawzall to cut through the bolt on the track bar. I guess the sawzall battery was not good and I could not get it apart. Still can't figure this one out. I then loosened the springs and took off the control arms. The control arm on the driver side was somewhat of a pain. I got the impact out to try and break the bolt that had the cam, free and ended up twisting the nut clean off. The bolt was still stuck even after that, so I broke out the cutting torch again. I did't know that the cam bolt was a special order thing but oh well. End of Friday.

On Saturday, I took my springs off and put the new ones on, put my lower control arms back on except for the left side one. Need the cam bolt and it wont be in until Tuesday.

zgetman

I found out that my Rough Country kit was missing the .75" spacers for the front coil springs and had to get on the phone and try and track them down. I called Morris 4x4 on Monday and they shipped them out Tuesday and had them at my house by Thursday. Thanks to Morris 4x4 for the great customer service.

On Thursday I went to the shop to work on my ZJ some more. I installed my new cam bolt, which did not come with the lock nut. So I had to buy a nut and us a lock washer. I then decided to replace my steering stabilizer and get the rear suspension installed. The steering stabilizer was another pain in my rear. The bolt that was on the cross member was seized and I broke out the cutting torch, and with a few precise cuts the bolts were removed cleanly. The installation of the steering stabilizer was easy after that hiccup. I then went to the rear suspension and proceeded to remove the track bar, shocks, and coil springs. Everything came off with a little coxing. Heat and PB 90 lubricant worked wonders. The coil spring isolators were shot and needed to be replaced and after calling all different places I finally found some at Autozone. But they would not be in until Saturday. So I decided to go and order them and get my Tires mounted at Walmart. I got the Goodyear Wrangle Trailmark tires size 31/10.5/15 and my buddy used his walmart discount and saved me 54 bucks.

I had been told to take a chisel to the bolt that was on the track bar and try and split the nut off the bolt. So, I had contacted my buddy that evening and asked if he had a pneumatic hammer and chisel. He said he did and while I picked it up I invited him to give me a hand Saturday on the rest of the install.

I received the spacers on Friday and had to wait until Saturday to work on the Jeep some more. Saturday came and I got to the shop around 11:00 and started working on the spacers. I battled with the spacers a bit almost like when you put a steering wheel cover on, needless to say, it was a tight fit slipping them on. After that I installed the springs and started on that track bar bolt and nut. I chiseled at that nut for a few minutes at a time and would get frustrated and so I took a couple breaks. It finally broke clean and came out. I then had troubles finding me a drill bit that was not too dull to drill the new hole for the track bar. So I used 4 different sizes to gauge up to the correct size. After I Installed the track bar, I gave my buddy a call to see if he would run by Autozone and get my rear coil spring isolators and come on out. Turns out, the isolators did not come in and would not be there until Monday. My buddy came out anyways and we completed the front end assembly. He cinched everything down and then we put the wheels on. We then put the spacers on the cross member to drop the transfer case, and He adjusted my 4x4 linkage. We then took the Jack Stands out from under the front and it was on the tires for the first time.

On Monday I picked up my isolators and I asked my buddy to come help me finish up the job and he did. The installation of the rear suspension was not near as complicated as the front. The only thing that needed coaxing was the rear track bar. We had to work a little bit to get the bolt in the holes but they finally went in. Not long after that we had the tires on and was setting the toe-in on the front axle. After we set the toe-in, it was time to test drive. I put it in reverse and noticed that the transmission was showing 4x4 Lo and not 4x4 drive. I moved it about 5 feet and it popped out of gear. I tried to put it in gear again and then put it in forward and it popped out again. My buddy crawled under the jeep and found that there was a mount that was getting in the way of the linkage and wasn't allowing the transmission all the way in gear. After a quick modification he had it going into gear and running with no problems.

Now I am driving it to work and around town. Pictures coming soon.

zgetman

Themrjsmitty

Nice to see a ZJ build on here. Not a whole lot of them. Keep up the good work!