underscore's 2007 Grand Cherokee diesel build
 

About a year ago a friend of mine who also owns a CRD came across an ad for a loaded 07 Laredo CRD with 185k km at a very low price, with the caveat: "the transfer case needs work". After thinking about it for a bit, we went and checked it out, quickly determined the transfer case was completely fine, and I bought it. What it *did* need was to have the front diff/rear diff/tcase fluids changed and the diff bushings (common) replaced. After getting that taken care of at my friends place, I brought it home, where it looked like this:

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...ps16yepep7.jpg

Initially I had it listed for sale as a flip, the idea being that best case I'd make a few grand, worst case I'd keep it and replace my trusty XJ a few years sooner than I had planned. After it failed to sell, I "loaned" my YJ to a friend (big mistake) and sold my XJ . This meant daily driver and offroader duty was being taken over by the WK, so it needed to get some upgrades (more on those below), the first being remote start that auto-activates the heated seats if it's below freezing, as I hadn't yet learned about the 1000W worth of electric heaters the CRDs have when you set it to recirc. Before any of the fun stuff, I used it in a TSD rally after I wasn't able to get my car ready in time. In hindsight maybe not the best idea with a set of fairly worn Grabber AT2's, which is why it ended up like this:

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...psmrcnln9z.jpg

then like this:

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before ending up like this (oops):

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...pswp6xz6fs.jpg

What really sucked about that was I banged up my brand new front license plate. Oh well. Following this I thawed it out in the garage and got around to installing the OEM front tow hooks and skid plate I had ordered. After driving around with a mangled front bumper for a bit, I finally trimmed it down so it looks a little better. I also added the hatch LEDs, replaced the reverse lights with LEDs, added an auxiliary reverse light (details on these in the next post).

http://s18.photobucket.com/user/whye...psmqn5xh2j.jpg

Current mods:
- Front tow hooks
- Front skid plate
- Remote start
- Hatch LED string (post #2)
- Reverse LED pod (post #3)
- Filterheads cabin filter
- Drivers door lock pin shortened
- Bazooka tube subwoofer (based on the dealer-optional Kicker install guide, but tapped into the speaker signals at the amp)
- "Elephant hose" mod (change ccv from intake system to atmosphere)
- Dash cam
- Diff lock status LEDs
- Trimmed front bumper

Pending mods:
- OME MD springs
- Bilstein 4600's
- 255/75R17 Wrangler takeoffs
- Intake kidney delete
- Rock/courtesy lights
- $1 aux input
- Transfer case skid plate
- Backup camera

Future mods:
- JCR sliders
- Custom front skidplate extension
- Rear dash cam
- Fuel tank coating
- Switch elephant hose mod to a venturi tube
- Custom cargo barrier
- Alternator shield
- Replace HVAC LEDs
- DIY ECU reading and possibly flashing
- Hitch clearance for spare

Mod #1 is pretty boring to anyone who doesn't own this gen of Grand Cherokee, but maybe some other vehicles have a similar setup where this might be useful. The stock setup has one dinky little light mounted in the hatch door. Problem 1 is that it's so far away from your actual cargo, problem 2 is that you block all the light as soon as you go to get something. The solution is strip LEDs hot glued into this vented piece of plastic (why it's vented I have no idea). The light cuts off just behind the rear seat which is good for not blinding passengers.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...ps1xlbj7au.jpg

Mod #2 is useful to anyone with a 7 pin trailer connector. I don't know about everyone else with a tinted rear window but I couldn't see a darn thing out the back when reversing, even after I put brighter lights in the stock lamps. Originally I was going to run a relay off the stock reverse lights, but then I realized the 7 pin trailer connector has a wire for reverse lights. And then I realized it's even screwed in! That means you can tie in any extra lights you want without touching the factory wiring harness.

First off take a look inside the socket, you should see that the center pin (reverse positive) is screwed in. You'll also notice a nice little notch to align the plug that allows a wire to fit under the cover without leaving the whole thing propped open. Unscrew that pin, crimp a ring terminal on the positive wire of your light, and screw it in place. Note that the wire will get in the way of a plug fitting in there, you'll either have to trim the plug or disconnect the wire (I never use a 7 pin so this isn't a concern for me, I just need the 4 pin that hangs behind the bumper). For the ground I removed one of the mounting screws for the socket, sanded off the metal around it a bit, put a ring terminal on the negative wire from the light and clamped it between the plug and the hitch.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...psndrhv5ul.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...ps30aoiuau.jpg

Next the light needs someplace to mount, flush mounted pods look cool but I came across a small pod on Amazon for $16 so I figured I'd start with that. Luckily on the Grand Cherokee if you look under the bumper you'll find plastic push pins holding the two layers together. Simply pry the center pin down and pull it out, or just cut it off if it gets stuck.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...pswrhmvhhc.jpg

Bolt the light to the Jeep through the hole, use some threadlocker if you have it. Eyeball the alignment or wait for dark before tightening it down fully (the engine does not have to be running to turn the reverse lights on, just turn the key to on and put it in reverse). Then a trusty zip-tie or twist tie to keep the wire from hanging down.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...pscqg7ofuf.jpg

Voila, one completely removable reverse light, without touching the factory wiring.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...pspdmj9prw.jpg

Pics are broken

Put this on the proper members area! So I can keep an eye on it. haha

Would love one of these things.

RS or Photobucket appears to be having issues at the moment, first the pics didn't work, then they did, now they're broken again.

edit: woops, I derped and didn't post this in the Members' Journals. Could a mod move it over there for me?

Dont use photobucket, they are getting worse and worse.

Try Imgur