Lax22’s 03 TJ Rubicon - East Coast Trail Rig

All great trails. We usually run what we call the circuit which is down Beaver Creek, up Deathtrap, to Rock creek, then trail 20. Bummed we missed you guys as we were over in the NE on Saturday. Bummer about your motor mount bolts, but glad to see you got it sorted out.

Yeah we were stuck on rock creek for awhile, a 4-runner in our group sheared the bolts off their knuckle and blew up the birfield joint. We were going to run the other side of the property in the afternoon, but time just got away from us.

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Yeah we were stuck on rock creek for awhile, a 4-runner in our group sheared the bolts off their knuckle and blew up the birfield joint. We were going to run the other side of the property in the afternoon, but time just got away from us.

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That is not the best place to breakdown as the rocks are huge and everywhere. I sheared my frame side front trackbar bolt on Rock Creek last year. Luckily my buddy had a spare bolt/nut. I don't know if you've ever run Otters right there next to Rock Creek, but I have busted my driver side front axle shaft both times I've run it. Otters is short, but tough. I assume the 4-runner got out of there eventually?
 
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That is not the best place to breakdown as the rocks are huge and everywhere. I sheared my frame side front trackbar bolt on Rock Creek last year. Luckily my buddy had a spare bolt/nut. I don't know if you've ever run Otters right there next to Rock Creek, but I have busted my driver side front axle shaft both times I've run it. Otters is short, but tough. I assume the 4-runner got out of there eventually?

We looked at otters, but after dealing with the 4-runner we were not willing to push our luck.

We were able to get two of the broken bolts removed and swapped them with two good ones from the bottom of the knuckle, then drug him out of there. His weekend was over though.

I should remember to carry a spare bolt for my track bar. That was the first time I ran rock creek. It was hard on the rigs for sure.
 
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The nice thing about Rock Creek is it's wide enough to pick different lines. It's another trail that doesn't look tuff on pictures, but the rocks are much bigger in person!
 
We looked at otters, but after dealing with the 4-runner we were not willing to push our luck.

We were able to get two of the broken bolts removed and swapped them with two good ones from the bottom of the knuckle, then drug him out of there. His weekend was over though.

I should remember to carry a spare bolt for my track bar. That was the first time I ran rock creek. It was hard on the rigs for sure.

The beginning of Otters always trips me up. The problem is it's tight and the boulders are big. My problem generally lies in not having a spotter. I led the 2 times I've been on it and both times broken shaft. It gives me more problems than Crucible did weirdly. We'll need to meet up for a run up there or AOAA sometime.
 
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The beginning of Otters always trips me up. The problem is it's tight and the boulders are big. My problem generally lies in not having a spotter. I led the 2 times I've been on it and both times broken shaft. It gives me more problems than Crucible did weirdly. We'll need to meet up for a run up there or AOAA sometime.

Right on. I’ll let you know next time we head up. May be a bit but I’ll let you know.
 
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While I have the Jeep apart. Do you think it’s worth it to put some kind of upgraded engine bracket on? Something like the brown dog bracket or just upgrade to a higher grade bolt for the stock bracket. One of the reasons o feel this failure happens was because One of the three bolts that hold the stock bracket on was missing.
 
I was actually looking at these exact ones.

For various reasons I have had both the brown dog brackets and the SFR. I like the SFR better. They're overkill in most cases but I don't see any downside to them. If you have any broken bolt bosses then they are a smart choice, and they will prevent those failures that sometimes pop up (rarely but they happen).

Comparing the two, they both work. The brown dogs gave a few bolts that were too long. The paint also peels off once the bolts are tightened. The zinc plating on SFR is better. Price on SFR is better last I looked. I was also able to find some discount code for 5-10% off which helped too. Brown dog also takes forever to ship and doesn't really give you any status updates. When I bought the SFRs I pretty much bought them and received 4-5 days later. Brown dog I waited several months.

For motor mounts I'd stay with the stock rubber (Mopar, not aftermarket for best results and vibe isolation). I consider brown dogs to be a poor product. MORE is a good design for a beefy motor mount but will pass more vibes than stock. Brown dog passes more vibes than MORE.
 
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@machoheadgames thanks for your input! I really appreciate it. Luckily none of my bosses were damaged. I am leaning toward the stinkyfab ones. For now I am getting it back together with some new hardware just so I can get it moving again. Thanks for the information!
 
@machoheadgames thanks for your input! I really appreciate it. Luckily none of my bosses were damaged. I am leaning toward the stinkyfab ones. For now I am getting it back together with some new hardware just so I can get it moving again. Thanks for the information!

Sure thing. The stock setup is typically fine. I think the ones that fall apart do so due to either a wreck or somebody took them off and didn’t retighten properly afterwards. But there’s definitely nothing wrong with the aftermarket ones, they are strong for sure and basically remove that possibility from entering the equation at all since they use so many holes. Other than price I see no downside.
 
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Yeah, it looks like one of the bolts in the stock bracket was missing, so that could have contributed to the failure. There were no previous accidents so I think someone maybe removed the bracket to install the raised motor mounts and either did not put it back or it fell out. Either way, I’m going to get it back together and running again.
 
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We need to get something scheduled for a early fall ride. I'll post something up and see if we can get a small group together!
 
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I’d be down for that, unfortunately I am a unable to do much for the next few months and need to be close to home. I’m shooting for November if I can get everything done and all other things go according to plan.
 
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New armor is mocked up and holes are drilled. Need to take it all off and start painting next. Also if you are not using the spot weld cutter/rotobroach to make your holes then you’re doing it wrong. That tool makes it so easy!