2004 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited LJ mini-refurb

Know nothing about Jeeps, but curious, I never see the LWB 2 door. Is this a rare specimen?

In reply to mr2s2000elise :

They are pretty rare compared to the regular Wranglers. They were only made for three years IIRC (2004-2007) before Jeep brought out the four door Unlimited. 

BoxheadTim said:

In reply to mr2s2000elise :

They are pretty rare compared to the regular Wranglers. They were only made for three years IIRC (2004-2007) before Jeep brought out the four door Unlimited. 

Ah ok, that makes sense! Thanks for the quick reply. I love the colour, and like following your very informative threads. Keep up the good work. 

I actually did some more work on the Jeep but didn't photograph it.

As with all of these things, I had to change the fan resistor, which was a bit of a PITA in the cold temps we're having. Eventually got it done and changed the ignition switch and actuator at the same time, which made starting it much nicer. As the Range Rover is down, we have to drive it through winter so I think I have to get a bit more serious about working on the underbody rust this year.

I also think it would benefit from new shocks all around as it does feel rather wobbly and floaty. Yes, even for a Jeep, and of course quality shocks for a standard ride height LJ are about as common as rocking horse farts.

Fox might have some. 

I missed this thread earlier. The LJ is the only Wrangler that's ever really tempted me. My sister in law has a Rubicon one and it's just the right mix of streetable and capable. And a good size inside!

They're surprisingly common around here given their overall rarity, there are a couple in my neighborhood. I think that's a reflection of the area and the trails around here. 
 

Roses are red 

Violerts are blue

My Jeep is fixed

It's as good as ne...goddamnit. 

Isn't the LJ pretty desirable? I seem to recall they sell for more than the SWB models. 

In my experience, yes - and they're appreciating. The fact that the newest Wranglers are so enormous is probably helping.

It looks like Fox does have shocks for the TJ - they're not specifically labelled to also fit the LJ, but given that the LJ is mostly a stretched TJ, I would hope they fit. Time for an email to Fox, methinks. One concern I have with the Fox shocks is that they're inverted and it looks like the shaft is exposed. Not sure how well that would play on the salt, even though it really isn't supposed to see much of that.

Some of the Jeep guys also seem to like the Rancho RS5000X as a basic non-adjustable shock for very reasonable money. Those also come in a stock height variety.

Yes, they're a little more desirable than a TJ as they're a little bit more practical (like, it has an actually useable trunk) without getting up to Hummer H1 size. I'm not a huge SUV/off roader fan, but I do like this one.

How much this particular one is appreciating is a different matter, it's pretty high mileage and has been used in the winter even before we got it. Doesn't have any rust holes (yet), though.

I've had foxes on my truck for a few years, they look fine even with some long distance drives in winter storms. You can always get shock bags if you're worried about spray on the shaft but the seals should clean anything off the shaft with suspension movement.

FYI, I just checked CL for LJs in the state and the lowest price I found was $17,500. That was the only one below $20k. At least they're rust free around here, but they're definitely valuable.

In reply to Keith Tanner :

Wow - I've seen a few around here for not much more than what we paid for this one a couple of years back. OTOH they're likely going to be in more need of body and frame refurbishment than anything out your way.

Well, it's been behaving itself since the last post, got some new tires along the way and my wife likes driving it. Oh, and it needed a new radiator.

Yesterday, she got stuck in some traffic, and by the time she got home it was running a bit warm and while it idled in front of the garage the "check gauges" light came on and it lost oil pressure according to the gauge.

I promptly violated my rule about not working on dailies and once it cooled down, noticed that the radiator was a bit low on fluid and a fair amount of it had migrated to the header tan, but not back. So today I used the NA Miata Certified turkey baster to move some of the coolant back into the radiator, fitted a new radiator cap, checked the oil (it's full) and took it for a spin.

Coolant temperature is fine climbing up the hills around here, oil pressure is fine while driving and while I heard a bit of a knocking noise when the engine is cold, it's fine once it warmed up and the noise goes away as soon as the revs go above idle.

Back home after my loop with a thoroughly warmed up engine, the indicated oil pressure on the gauge dropped again to almost the "L" mark and the dreaded "Check Gauges" light illuminated again. But this time, the oil pressure gauge did its best windscreen wiper impressions started fluctuating up to its normal position and back down to almost nothing.

I've got it booked in with my local mechanic on Tuesday. Right now I'm hoping that it's an issue with the sending or an issue with the voltage, although I didn't see any fluctuation voltage at the time, but these are the gauges Jeep fitted after all.

I'm really hoping it's nothing serious because I really don't need very expensive repair bills or go car shopping right now.

That's a good looking rig; and the trailer in the first post is as well!

In reply to chandler :

Heh   How's it treating you?

I'm not really an SUV person, but I do like this Jeep. But it's still a regular provider of headaches. 

Hauled thirty or forty cars with it. Great size, works great!

I had a similar issue once with an oil sending unit on an old Chevy pickup, oil pressure on the gauge would plummet on idle and the low oil pressure light would pop on. I replaced the oil sending unit, and never had a problem after.

Do the Jeep forums or FB groups have anything matching your symptoms?

In reply to dj06482 (Forum Supporter) :

The Internet at large seems to think it's more likely the oil pressure sensor itself, or some gunk that's come lose and either partially blocking the hole in the sensor or the oil passage to the sensor.

That said, when I turkey basted the cooling system, I noticed some traces of either cooling system leak "fixer" or engine mayo. There shouldn't be any traces of the former in the engine, but it also doesn't quite float that well for it to be oil. That said, it seems to accumulate at the highest point in the cooling system. 

My '01 XJ oil pressure has done the same thing randomly for several years. I'm sure it's sludge at the sensor (it is a T, for some reason). I used an engine treatment/cleaner and it helped a lot.

Good news!

It wasn't the sensor. Apparently it's reading in the single digits for oil pressure at the moment and also has started making the odd top end noise when hot.

Putting an oil pump in before we call it quits, at least assuming that they don't find anything untoward at the bottom of the oil pan.

They pulled the oil pan and there's glitter everywhere.

Berkeley. 

Your automotive luck strikes again Tim.  Damn.  

In reply to Sonic :

I sometimes think I do have the luck of the Irish when it comes to vehicles.

That said, a reman 4.0 is likely the most cost effective fix rather than trying to find another vehicle, so that what we're doing. Fortunately the engine is ubiquitous so the reman is actually less expensive than I thought.

Keith Tanner said:

Roses are red 

Violerts are blue

My Jeep is fixed

It's as good as ne...goddamnit. 

Remans are readily available for a reason :) Of course, that was the same situation with my 3.0 Toyota...

In reply to Keith Tanner :

Heh. It's definitely "a Jeep thing". Although I thought the 4.0 was supposed to be durable and reliable - the one in my wife's XJ made it to 200k and was still running fine before the other repairs became an issue. This one barely broke 150k.

OTOH I'm not convinced that this car was looked after at the same level.