"Pacing myself" build

Maybe your Jeep identifies as a 2WD…you need to be more open minded.

My jeep is going to identify with a "FOR SALE" sign on it. My wife keeps telling me to just go find that Rubi you want. She's tired of me complaining about my Jeep. I'm finding it hard to argue with her.
 
My jeep is going to identify with a "FOR SALE" sign on it. My wife keeps telling me to just go find that Rubi you want. She's tired of me complaining about my Jeep. I'm finding it hard to argue with her.

Wow! This is a big decision. Hoping you find something pristine!
 
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My jeep is going to identify with a "FOR SALE" sign on it. My wife keeps telling me to just go find that Rubi you want. She's tired of me complaining about my Jeep. I'm finding it hard to argue with her.

You very much deserve it my friend.
 
My jeep is going to identify with a "FOR SALE" sign on it. My wife keeps telling me to just go find that Rubi you want. She's tired of me complaining about my Jeep. I'm finding it hard to argue with her.

What would it take to make your Jeep what you want? I could have bought several Rubicons, but when I started doing the math, it just didn't make sense. Also, given there are no longer parts for the lockers, that's not a plus to me. The only significant plus left is the 4:1 transfer case. Of course if it's that you just want a Rubicon, that's a different story.
 
What would it take to make your Jeep what you want? I could have bought several Rubicons, but when I started doing the math, it just didn't make sense. Also, given there are no longer parts for the lockers, that's not a plus to me. The only significant plus left is the 4:1 transfer case. Of course if it's that you just want a Rubicon, that's a different story.

He's always wished he would have stayed with 31's. If he did he could keep his 4.10 gearing. Lockers would be a plus (assuming viability), a tuck would be nice, 2" lift...odds and ends....
 
What would it take to make your Jeep what you want? I could have bought several Rubicons, but when I started doing the math, it just didn't make sense. Also, given there are no longer parts for the lockers, that's not a plus to me. The only significant plus left is the 4:1 transfer case. Of course if it's that you just want a Rubicon, that's a different story.

Those are all good points. I certainly don't need a Rubi to have the status of a Rubi. My jeep is one locker away from filling in those boxes anyway. I also don't need the 4:1 for my wheeling style. I just need the vibes to be gone. I've spent so much time and coin trying to fix this that my wife is tired of me spending monies on it and getting no resolution. I'm fairly certain the hub kit will probably solve it, but it's a tough sell with the better half.
 
Those are all good points. I certainly don't need a Rubi to have the status of a Rubi. My jeep is one locker away from filling in those boxes anyway. I also don't need the 4:1 for my wheeling style. I just need the vibes to be gone. I've spent so much time and coin trying to fix this that my wife is tired of me spending monies on it and getting no resolution. I'm fairly certain the hub kit will probably solve it, but it's a tough sell with the better half.

Hubs seem like a short step to solve it. Seems worth it to me. You’ve put a lot of work into your rig and have it pretty much like you want (I think).
 
Those are all good points. I certainly don't need a Rubi to have the status of a Rubi. My jeep is one locker away from filling in those boxes anyway. I also don't need the 4:1 for my wheeling style. I just need the vibes to be gone. I've spent so much time and coin trying to fix this that my wife is tired of me spending monies on it and getting no resolution. I'm fairly certain the hub kit will probably solve it, but it's a tough sell with the better half.

Drive-line vibrations are one of the potential issues we have to deal with on the short wheelbase TJ. Especially, once you do any significant lift and TT. Not that it helps, but I've spent many hours tweaking the rear pinion angle to find the correct balance between that, track bar clearance, and rear differential cover clearance on the gas tank skid. Of course I do have the small hub kit, but even with that you still have to put in the effort to tune/tweak things. In your case, if you've eliminated the front drive shaft and the vibrations are gone, the hub kit will help free you from the problem you've been dealing with.

As far as money spent goes, I can't offer any help there. I've spent way more than any sane person would on a small tire build. What I can say is that there are three things you have to do to make things right:

- Know what you want in terms of tire size and belly height
- Be willing to spend the cash to get the quality parts needed, and
- Put in the work to make it happen, knowing that you may have to re-work things until they are right

All that said, buying another Jeep, regardless of whether it's a Rubicon or not, will only start you over. Unless of course you're going to leave it completely stock. FWIW, the only real advice I can give is don't complain to the wife about the Jeep anymore. It only gives her data to use against you at a later time. Now, when I'm dealing with a problem, I just her I'm tweaking things I learned from my last ride. ;)
 
Drive-line vibrations are one of the potential issues we have to deal with on the short wheelbase TJ. Especially, once you do any significant lift and TT. Not that it helps, but I've spent many hours tweaking the rear pinion angle to find the correct balance between that, track bar clearance, and rear differential cover clearance on the gas tank skid. Of course I do have the small hub kit, but even with that you still have to put in the effort to tune/tweak things. In your case, if you've eliminated the front drive shaft and the vibrations are gone, the hub kit will help free you from the problem you've been dealing with.

As far as money spent goes, I can't offer any help there. I've spent way more than any sane person would on a small tire build. What I can say is that there are three things you have to do to make things right:

- Know what you want in terms of tire size and belly height
- Be willing to spend the cash to get the quality parts needed, and
- Put in the work to make it happen, knowing that you may have to re-work things until they are right

All that said, buying another Jeep, regardless of whether it's a Rubicon or not, will only start you over. Unless of course you're going to leave it completely stock. FWIW, the only real advice I can give is don't complain to the wife about the Jeep anymore. It only gives her data to use against you at a later time. Now, when I'm dealing with a problem, I just her I'm tweaking things I learned from my last ride. , ;)

Yep, lessons learned the hard way. I'm thick headed, so it sometimes times takes a few hits for me to learn. Buying another Jeep is not the answer. I've got mine almost where I want it to be, sans the vibes, so I'll just save up and do what I need to do to finish it. In the meantime, I need to get the hardtop off and enjoy the summer.
 
Yep, lessons learned the hard way. I'm thick headed, so it sometimes times takes a few hits for me to learn. Buying another Jeep is not the answer. I've got mine almost where I want it to be, sans the vibes, so I'll just save up and do what I need to do to finish it. In the meantime, I need to get the hardtop off and enjoy the summer.

Especially given that Rubis are the most susceptible of all Jeeps to vibes, it ends up being another big gamble. Plus any used Jeep will come with its own set of problems. If yours is silky smooth without the front shaft in then the hub kit is a sure fire bullet. I still don’t think you have to include wheels in the cost of the hubs. I ran mine with 4” backspace wheels for a long time and was still very happy with it. I only changed backspace because I needed new wheels anyways. I would get just the hubs and enjoy that for a while and when coin replenishes, consider wheels if you aren’t satisfied with the handling. But, me thinks you will enjoy the way the Jeep feels with 7* of caster and no vibes so much that you’ll barely notice the change in scrub.