12:17 pm
Club Trailmaster
March 13, 2015
Offline
The 2005 LJ lives again. Time flies but about 6 yrs ago this happened: https://posse4x4.org/forum/gen.....ay-12-6/
The rig was totaled and parked at my parents for a few months under a tarp while the paperwork with the insurance company was handled. After that it was towed back up to my place and has been parked ever since. I got it drivable again to toodle around the property but with other rigs and projects it has sat firmly on the back burner. All that changed last week when i was hit with motivation and made some appointments to get it legal and driving again. Cleaned all the mouse turds out of it, ripped the moldy carpet out, and used a carpet spot cleaner on the seats. Also replaced the glass in the passenger window and put new mirrors on it.
First stop was AAA since their DMV counter is way faster than DMV itself but alas, they cant process the salvage title until a re-built title has been issued by DMV.
Second stop was DMV where 2 hrs of waiting and 5 minutes of playing dumb to the nice lady behind the counter got me out of about half the fees and having to smog. The task list from DMV was a Light/lamp inspection, brake inspection, VIN verification, and surrender the original plates.
Removed the aftermarket LED bulbs and put a hand full of new bulbs in and everything worked. Brakes were pulling and sticking on the front left for a few miles then started working properly on the way to the inspection.
Third stop was the shop doing the inspection, lights passed but he complained my taillights were dim and suggested LED bulbs. Brakes were good but pads looked old and e-brake didn't hold well enough so I failed the brake inspection.
Fourth step was at the autoparts store and got all new brake pads all around including parling brake shoes and front calipers (to replace the sticking one). It was 100 degrees so only replaced the rear pads and cleaned and adjusted the parking brake shoes. It now locks the rear tires at half pull on the lever.
Passed the brake re-inspection no problem. Plan for Friday is to drive to CHP for a vin inspection then to DMV to finish the paperwork. Next Thursday it gets a quieter muffler since I'm not a teenager and glass packs don't do it for me any more.
Remaining tasks to get it fully legal and road worthy:
-Install a steering stabilizer
-Rebalance the tires or install the new ones
-Replace front calipers and pads
-Replace cracked windshield
Upgrades to happen with parts already on hand:
-40" yokohama XMTs on Sidetracked Offroad Beadlocks
-35 spline outers and unit bearings with yukon hubs
-Metalcloak RE replacement Radius Arms
-Bestop Twill full replacement soft top
-Engine skid plate (modify a Metalcloak JKU engine skid)
-Rear upper coil bucket re-location
-Warn winch isolator
-Custom 3dprinted switchpanel for accessories
Upgrades/repairs needed:
-PSC Big bore steering box/hydro assist
-Rear Metalcloak RE Replacement control arms
-Replacement carpet kit
-Minor Body work to get the rear tub lined back up.
-Front tube fenders
-Replacement Clock Spring
-Replace downstream O2 sensor
-Power and mounting for fridge
Current Build - 2005 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited
76k miles, stock engine, 6speed, 4:1 t-case, 609 axles with grizzlys and 4.88s (see build link on axles below), RE 5.5" long arm kit, sliders, bumpers, M8000 winch, Poison Spyder gen 1 cage, spiderweb shade custom for cage, y-link chevy 1-ton steering
2:49 pm
Club Webmaster
August 5, 2017
Offline AWESOME!
K6NUB
6:12 pm
Club Trailmaster
March 13, 2015
Offline Went with the "bedtred" vinly/bedliner looking stuff rather than a carpet kit. I would have just bedlined but I did fatmat sound deadening years ago and there is no easy way to remove all the tar like adhesive without a ton of dry ice and unnecessary effort.
11:20 pm
Club Member
July 14, 2016
Offline I'm still impressed at how well Kris planned (engineered) his Jeep recovery. In retrospect, it was fun but sad that it happened. It would be nice to see your LJ on the road again after all these years.
12:54 pm
March 18, 2024
Offline That's some serious Motivation . Good job so far.
3:01 pm
Club Member
February 26, 2014
Offline 
Woo hoo happy 4th of July
5:13 pm
Club Trailmaster
March 13, 2015
Offline All legal and on the road again. CHP was booked out a month so just went to DMV yesterday and the unthinkable happened. It was fast and easy. Only a hand full of people in there so waited maybe 10 minutes then 5 minutes at the counter before they had me pull around and walked out to do the vin inspection. In and out with new plates and a new title in the mail in about a half hour total.
Then took it in to a shop to have them check the Freon level to see if that would fix the AC, no luck. Even when manually triggering with the ECU in test mode it won’t close the relay circuit for the compressor. Since it manually can be triggered we have narrowed it down to either a bad ground to the PCM or a bad PCM.
Pulled the FSM and that bank of the PCM shares a ground with the O2 sensors which I have also been having issue with. Hopefully cleaning the ground up solves the problem else it’s $1100 from wrangler fix for a new PCM.
8:16 am
Club President
April 2, 2003
Offline kris_olof said
All legal and on the road again. CHP was booked out a month so just went to DMV yesterday and the unthinkable happened. It was fast and easy. Only a hand full of people in there so waited maybe 10 minutes then 5 minutes at the counter before they had me pull around and walked out to do the vin inspection. In and out with new plates and a new title in the mail in about a half hour total.Then took it in to a shop to have them check the Freon level to see if that would fix the AC, no luck. Even when manually triggering with the ECU in test mode it won’t close the relay circuit for the compressor. Since it manually can be triggered we have narrowed it down to either a bad ground to the PCM or a bad PCM.
Pulled the FSM and that bank of the PCM shares a ground with the O2 sensors which I have also been having issue with. Hopefully cleaning the ground up solves the problem else it’s $1100 from wrangler fix for a new PCM.
Can you find the replacement PCM on ebay? If I recall I paid about $200 for mine. You order it and provide your VIN. Mine arrived in a week or so and just plugged in if I recall correctly.
6:42 pm
Club Member
February 26, 2014
Offline Hey Chris try All Computer Resources 205 N Flagler Ave Homestead, Fl. 33030 They should be online ass well. (786) 879-7566. I hope it helps. Vin. # number and vehicle type. I don’t remember what I paid 600 sticks in my head and it has a lifetime warranty.
9:11 am
Club Trailmaster
March 13, 2015
Offline AC now works. Turns out I had a mix of issues. PCM was primary issue. I went with the wrangerfix.com version as it is a completely new board rather than a repaired board from any of the cheaper options, here is hoping that extra $ is worth it.
Secondary issue was a loose ground. Third issue was corrosion in one of the body harness connectors. Once of the connectors in the drivers footwell wasn't fully connected so some moisture got in and corroded a few of the pins. Cleaned them up and the AC ran but wasn't super cool.
Final issue was the freon was low. Had the system vacuumed and only recovered 1/4th the freon it was supposed to have. Recharged for factory spec and putting out 48 degrees.
The newest issue is the not functioning AC and heat load it creates has exposed my fan clutch to be dying. In stock at the local parts store so should be all set for the next heat wave by tomorrow.
1 Guest(s)
