LR3 Builds a 1:1 - 2003 Grand Cherokee
 

Yep, I got myself a 1:1. 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee WJ. Dana30 front and 44 read(i think). Selec-trac 4x4 system. Future plans include a 4 inch lift kit and either 33s or 35s. Any suggestions would be welcomed and let me know what y'all think"thumbsup"
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I am not sure why the pictures are sideways:?:

nice jeep LR3!

Looks good LR3! Good to see your back.

I would look at 31" or 32" tires.

nice mall crawler!:flipoff:

i would go with a 295 Nitto trail grappler (accualy a 34in tire) so you get the best of both worlds and dont have to worry about rubbing a 35 and can still tuck it if you do see some flex with it.

also the trail graps are an awesome tire my brother got a set about 3 monthes ago and so no signs of wear.

What engine is in it, the V6?

You need to learn how to park! :lmao:

I'm a TJ guy, so take this is with a grain of salt... If the rear axle has a rubber plug on the diff cover for the diff fluid, it'a s D35. It's it's metal, then it should be a D44. That's the easiest way to tell them apart. But again, I'm not a Grand guy so as far as I know it could be an 8.25" Chrysler rear in there or some other axle I'm not familiar with. But any of them would be better than a D35. 8)

I'm not familiar with Selec-Trac. Does that have a low range? If not, it'll definitely hamper your crawling ability, but I guess it depends on what you plan to do with the truck. :) So what are your plans/goals for it?

Looks nice! "thumbsup"

The Selec-Trac uses an NV242.

I don't know the 242, just the 231 and 241.. Does that have low range or is it a fulltime AWD system?

High and low, and it's full time 4wd.

Nice--I built a grand for a guy once. Built a full subframe assembly for it that the links attached to. Those things are allot of work to have hold up...

Ah, didn't know such an animal existed. Thought it was one or the other. So I guess that's cool....

Thanks! I have always loved jeeps and have always wanted one of my own

Thanks! IDK how long I will be back though. I am typing from my grandparents house:ror:
Thanks for the info. The tire size will depend on the size of the lift.
Haha, I would expect that comment to come from a chevy guy:flipoff: Once I get a lift on mine I would like to see your IFS 2500 out crawl a solid axled jeep the trail"thumbsup"
I have the 4.0L Inline 6. It is much more durable then the V8
Love TJs too haha"thumbsup". I will have to look at the rear diff when I get a chance to see if it is a D35 or D44. The Selec-Trac has 3 4x4 gears. It goes 2WD, 4 Part Time, 4 Full Time, Neutral, 4 Lo. My plans are simple, build a rig that I love that will act as a daily driver and weekend trail dominator"thumbsup"

Good deal with the I6, I always thought those had the V6 that year, I know the later ones do.


This site will definitely help you out if something arises:

http://www.wjjeeps.com/jmenu.htm

who said it was still IFS??:flipoff:
the IFS has kept up so far with my friends 08 jk sittin on a 2.5 lift and 33's!


ha the 2500 is still IFS, but I do have a chevy sittin here with solid axles..... waitin on new 42's and a new 14 bolt rear to come, still wanna go trail ridin???

Yea, I am surprised that they didn't use the same 3.7 V6 you got in the Liberty. Thanks for that website btw, it is very helpful"thumbsup"

Actually I would love to some time haha"thumbsup"

If you want some good info, and want see some other builds of WJ's head over to www.nagca.com

I'm in there with the same name, I'm a late model year ZJ guy (96-98 Grand Cherokee) myself. The WJ's have a few more "car like" advantages over the ZJ, but the highlight of both rigs is that you have the coils on all for corners for some serious flex potential when set up correctly.

Thanks"thumbsup". I will check that site out when I have a chance. I love my Grand though. It his 100,000 miles earlier today and I bought a K&N drop in filter for it"thumbsup"

Great starting platform.

WJ's are great and I always prefer the 6cyl to the 8 in the WJ because of the simplicity of it. Most of the v8's had the super pain in the ass HVAC system that never worked.

WJ's don't share axles with any other jeep than JK's bolt pattern. So the downfall is parts can get scarce.
The 242 is a great performer in all sitiuations and doesn't really need to be addressed as a daily driver/weekend runner

The rear end will be a d35 or the D44A rear end. The diff cover will resemble a stop sign if it is a D44a(the A stands for alum) so it will have a alum center section. Traditionally if you have the 242 and 6cyl you will have a d35(sorry).

As for lift options look into anything that www.ironrockoffroad.com offers. They have good prices and excellent products.

I wheel my Grand station wagon pretty hard and really enjoy it.
Here is a build thread that i run on jeepforum.com
http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f197/...-wagon-939083/

I personally can't stand the I6 in the grand, it's too under owered and gets crappy milage compared to the V8 in that sized rig.
I've been looking to get a 2000 + Grand laredo, for myself since my "almost finished" 1ton YJ I can't wheel anymore due to my back injury.
Stay away from the full-time case, it sucks a$$. (as everyone in the jeep world will tell you)

Personally, I'd love to find one with a wasted drive train for cheap and toss in a 5.3/4L80E trans setup from a newer chevy truck and some twin electric fans.

Local guy is running a cadillac V8 in an even newer grand and he's claiming 30+ hywy. but I'm pretty sure the motor alone is WAY out of a decent mans budget.

As with all Jeeps, venting the hood, getting a better air intake and using a high flow cat (even with a stock muff) will get you the best bang for your buck. A high temp coated stock manifold will be better than a replacement one even if it's just a standard "thick" tube style like they all seam to claim is better. Jeep did a good job with the new ones.

You might be able to get 32's on it with just some pucks and some trimming. If you're not into hard core wheeling, they are fine for simple trails and clearing tires. Atleast you can make it through some snow drifts.:mrgreen:

Go check out Mallcrawlin.com and we will get you set on the right track with modding a grand.

I knew the haters would hate:flipoff:.

I owned a '02 a few years ago. I used it as a daily for the most part but at the end of its time with me I took it wheeling a couple of times. Mine had the part time 4wd though. I didnt know they even made the full times for anything but the 8cyls??

Bottom line from my experience, great driver (never had a problem with anything not working) & suprisingly capable offroad in stock trim. I thought my i6 had great power. Mpg was avg for what the vehicle is.

I looked into lifts when I had mine and there wasnt but one or two companies that actually made anything. I think the biggest was a 6" and even the company had a warning for how bad it tracked. From what Ive read anything over stock (susp wise) makes these things more unsafe on the road. Something about the way the straight axle suspension works with a unibody I believe?? Who knows though, its been a few years so maybe manufacturers have improved on them.

I noticed that with mine. My friend has a 1990s F150 with a 4 inch lift and my WJ can keep up with his rig easily even with street tires. We bushwhacked a trail up the local mountain Sunday afternoon and I was able to get mine over and around anything and everything I needed to. Gotta love a jeep

Mallcrawlin is a joke. Negative arrogant people good luck.

They can be...but also some serious hard-core info over there. I'd say they're kinda the "pirate 4x4" of the Grand Cherokee world. Where NAGCA is a lot like here...pretty laid back for the most part unless you just act like a complete ass...or don't get the common sense functionality of how a forum works...lol

im a regular cherokee guy not gc but i know gc's prtty well it will have 8.25 rear 99% sure if not 35 rear straight six you made out good way better unless you have the 5.9 but just gotta see what tranny u got but like most said aim for 33" tires and like a 4'" and that will give you decent crawling and if you regear and lock they can crawl decent and the tcase shift points you said means its a 242 which most swap out but its fine for mild stuff just go on cherokeeforum.com and you will have the best luck on my profile you can see a pic of my 84 XJ (XTREME JEEP) but you know what WJ means WRONG JEEP

The 242 is actually a real good all around T-case, switching to the 231 is common for ZJ owners only because it allows for re-gearing of the case. Most ZJ guys will swap from the 249 to the 242 to keep their "AWD" function with the 2wd option, and the low range. And the 5.9 was only offered on the 98 Jeep ZJ, nothing before or after. The WJ's had the 4.7 HO as the "power house" motor for them (not that I would want it over the 5.9...lol) or just the regular 4.7. As for the axle's I believe "crawlmaster18" is correct...but I don't know the details of the WJ's as well as the ZJ's.

Nice car! I love the Cherokees, the only thing I dislike is that it only got automatic transmission, but that is personal preferences "thumbsup"
edit: I found out that you can get it with stick shift on the 2,5l diesel

mine dosent have permanent 4x4, you can put it in 2 wheel drive mode, part time 4x4, full tine 4x4, and 4x4 low

Yes, i found out that it could have part time 4x4 ;) Here in Norway it's very rare with part time 4x4 on these trucks "thumbsup"

ok i had zj and wj backward cause right now at my shop we have a 96 gc with 5.9 and 46rh with 242 and we are replacing the tranny for the guy

I remember you, made it hard on yourself if you ask me. It's really a great site if you read alot and talk a little until you learn your stuff, come on back"thumbsup".

Take some more pics!! :ror:

Thats just wrong...:shock:
Sure!
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Re: LR3 Builds a 1:1 - 2003 Grand Cherokee
 

Been about a year since I updated this. Since then I have started massaging the offroad performance of this thing, and it actually does not do bad at all offroad. Mods are:

Iron Rock Offroad 3 inch lift
31 Falken Rock Mountain ATs (Getting 33x12.50s sometime soon though)
Dana 44 rear end swap
3.73 Gears
Flowmaster 40
K&N Drop In
Uniden CB
Verious forms of trail damage, just to prove that I do use it as a Jeep :flipoff:

And current pictures:
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NEVER LEND A CAR TO A FRIEND:
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Re: LR3 Builds a 1:1 - 2003 Grand Cherokee
 

Correct me if im wrong, but every jeep after the CJ's (not sure years, i just know this from lube tech work) and every dodge truck, and light duty vans from around the same year until present have rubber plugs front and back? (except jeep liberty's have a 3/8" plug in the front)

Re: LR3 Builds a 1:1 - 2003 Grand Cherokee
 

Consider yourself corrected. :ror: My '01 TJ (D30/D44) and my '01 Dodge 2500 (D60/D70) use conventional metal fill plugs. "thumbsup"

Re: LR3 Builds a 1:1 - 2003 Grand Cherokee
 

Looks good Ryan. Its getting there slowly but surely."thumbsup"