(Part 2) Top products from r/GrandCherokee

Clean looking ZJ! Congrats!

Do you know any of the maintenance history? If not, I would suggest changing all fluids and doing a tune up before doing any upgrades/mods.


Fluids

• The 4.0 seems to love Shell Rotella 10W30 - either T (Conventional) or T6 (synthetic) its up to you and use a quality filter - Wix, NAPA Gold, Mopar, or Motorcraft FL-1A
  
• Drop transmission pan and change fluid and filter - ATF +4 only No additives or anything else. Adjust the bands and TV cable (link below for TV adj.)
  
• Drain and fill the transfer case - Selec-Trac transfer case (NP242) and Command-Trac (NP231) get ATF +4 also. Quardra-drive (NP249) gets a special Mopar fluid
  
• Drain and fill both differentials - if you tow 75W140 full synthetic in rear 75W90 in front, otherwise 75W90 in both
  
• Drain and fill coolant. Zerex-G05 is now the OEM coolant, but you'll be fine with the old school green fluid. Also a good time to look over the condition of the rest of your cooling system. If you're running below 210 you're going to want to put a 195 thermostat in - running to cold causes tons of problems
  
• Siphon out your power steering fluid - either through the high pressure hose, or with a turkey baister. Use only Chrysler approved fluid not ATF. You'll need to burp the system after by turning your wheels lock to lock several times and topping of the fluid
  
• Bleed your brakes! These brake lines are prone to rust already, and brake fluid absorbs water from the atmosphere over time and they will rust from the inside out. spray the bleeder screws with PB Blaster a couple times a day for a few days before you get started to free them up - Check your pads, shoes, drums, and rotors too!
  
  
  Tune Up - This is what I'm currently running in my 4.0
  
  
• Champion copper spark plugs
  
  
  
• Denso wires
  
  
  
• Accel distributor cap with brass contacts
  
  
  
• Accel Brass rotor
  
  
  
• Accel Ignition coil
  
  
  
• Bosch air filter any paper filter is fine though
  
  
  
• gates belt
  
  
  
• Clean the throttle body and IAC
  
  
  
• Adjust the Transmission Throttle Valve Makes a big differnce in shifting
  
  
  
• Clean the Grounds - #1 in the "Dirty Dozen" list below
  
  
  
  If you do all that, and you have any issues with stalling or hesitation from the engine, This should be your bible - The Dirt Dozen
  
  Your ZJ will be running like a top, and ready to lift, modify and most importantly be reliable when you get out there to wheel!
  

Sorry it took me 2 days to see this post- Bad Mod.. bad!

One of my personal favorite can-do-in-stock-form-and-still-challenge-yourself trails (also a bit of proving grounds for any new mods I do as it is so close to Denver- Yankee Hill Road

I would also pick up a copy of this book for future reference.. This one has a lot to do with trails in Southern/ Central CO- but there is a version 2 of it that has trails that are a bit more northern.
I have used these books religiously since highschool for leading trails around CO, and even Moab. It is a great resource. For everything else- there is Traildamage.com- You can use the map to drill into trails closest to you or where you are looking to go out and the descriptions are pretty good most of the time (i.e. written by users... so think of Yelp reviews.)

Finally, It is a bit late for me this weekend, and I am travelling next weekend, but if I remember I will hit you up next time I am headed out/ up- would be happy to show you around.

Replace the tie rod ends. You need penetrating oil, a pair of big pipe wrenches, and some strength to get the ends off.

The steering stabilizer looks like it's shot. It's 2 bolts to remove; super easy. With that leak I'll bet you can easily compress it by hand. A new steering stabilizer is cheap and worth the money[1].

If you plan on lifting the Jeep in the future, get an adjustable track bar[2]. Also super easy to replace

Go for an alignment after you do this, particularly if you don't tape the threads on the old tie rod ends to act as a guide for how far to thread the new ones in.

I have no idea how many miles you have on your jeep, but I'll just give some perspective:

• at 65k I had to replace all my shocks. Had to. They were all shot.
  
• at 90k I put a 3" lift on. Steering stabilizer, track bar, shocks, front end links, and OME springs went in the front. This made my suspension and steering amazingly tight.
  
• at 120k I replaced tie rod ends. Had to.
  
  If you're over 100k and everything looks stock, I highly recommend throwing $1k at the suspension. Even if your'e not going to lift it, replacing everything will make a HUGE difference.
  
  Oh, and sign up for a couple forums. This sub is nice, but forums are much better wealths of knowledge.
  
  [1] http://www.amazon.com/Rancho-RS5409-RS5000-Steering-Stabilizer/dp/B000CB42EM
  
  [2] http://jksmfg.com/i-8952506-grand-cherokee-wj-1999-2004-adjustable-front-trackbar.html
  
  

Looks great! Just FYI, looks like an Amazon seller used your pic. https://www.amazon.com/1999-2004-American-Window-Compatible-Cherokee/dp/B07VRPV17C/ref=sr_1_195?keywords=Jeep%2BGrand%2BCherokee%2Bvinyl&qid=1565798256&s=gateway&sr=8-195&th=1

Thanks! Is it one like this? https://www.amazon.com/70268-SuperCooler-Automatic-Transmission-Cooler/dp/B000CIGE9G/ref=sr_1_1

Agreed.

OP:
The original terminals on the HO are cheap shit. I had to literally hammer mine on and use dialectic grease to get a good connection.

Tighten them as best you can, then use a socket of suitable size the get equal pressure when lightly tapping down until they have no wiggle left. Don't smash them on as you may break something. And use dialectic grease.

$6.99 on Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Permatex-22058-Dielectric-Tune-Up-Grease/dp/B000AL8VD2/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=dialectic+grease&qid=1554338141&s=gateway&sr=8-2

i put these in the rear of my WJ http://www.amazon.com/Monroe-58620-Sensa-Trac-Adjusting-Absorber/dp/B000C55MQK/ref=sr_1_4?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1426094196&sr=1-4&keywords=monroe+shock+absorber

and I put these in the front: http://www.amazon.com/Monroe-911506-Reflex-Monotube-Absorber/dp/B000EQ80NE/ref=sr_1_17?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1426094196&sr=1-17&keywords=monroe+shock+absorber

i really liked them a lot

I highly recommend this 3m headlight restoration kit.

It worked great on the one WJ headlight I did. It did all I could ask for, but the pitting in places was too deep. I bought a set of new ones on ebay for $80.

The quality is not OEM, but for the money they're spectacular and you would think they're OEM looking at the face.

The only issue is regular 9006 headlights won't go into the low beam housing. You need to use 9006xs bulbs which are a straight piece instead of having the 90 degree bend for the plug.

I use this:
http://www.amazon.com/Panavise-Custom-InDash-Cherokee-Laredo/dp/B00020D23U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1453124088&sr=8-1&keywords=Panavise+Grand+Cherokee
Along with a standard holder I mounted to the left side of the head unit and it's easily within reach.
**Added Pics using my spare phone: Side View Forward View

Here you go

I went cheap but it turned out decent.

This is what I used.

Quick fist it!

The steering wheels show a lot of wear and tear. I purchased this for my 5.7 Limited 4X4.

You should put vinyl blackout tape over the parts you want to murder.

[blackout tape on amazon](http://Check this out at Amazon.com
Trimbrite T9005 Black-Out Tape https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00029XD62/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i_21c4Db100R7WA)