Brandon's Arles Blue TJ

bbaldwin237 said:
I would trust a BL from BMB, looks to be about the same price as the aluminum options out there. Savvy items are getting harder to count on it seems, so we have to look at different options.

I've gone back and forth with doing axles first or last. It's a big expense, so it's a little harder to convince the wife of that so early on. The benefit is that I would be able to start playing around and building more confidence in the Jeep and my abilities. Then, by the time I added everything else, the Jeep would be very capable and I would be able to use it properly. It's a tough decision for sure. That's why I said I'm definitely open to opinions. Yours might be only yours, but as more people share thoughts and opinions, along with continued reading, I can put my plan together.

Heck, I'm even thinking about grabbing a set of disconnects to use between now and a Swayloc. It would be a little bit of a waste of money that I could put towards the SL, but it would also allow me to use the full travel sooner and have longer to save for the SL? Of course there's no single build path 😵‍💫
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I went with BMB over Savvy for the BL because they were both designed by the same guy, and I only trusted one to arrive on time when I needed it.

As for the sequence, I started in a little bit of a different spot than you. I started with a bone stock TJ and I had the gears and lockers installed fist. Then over the course of the next month, I installed:
  • Body Lift
  • Motor Mount Lift
  • Steering Shaft Riser
  • T-case Cable Shifter
  • Rear track bar relocation bracket*
  • Suspension Lift (springs & shocks, still running OEM CAs)*
  • Sway-Loc
  • Wheels & Tires
  • Winch*
  • Ancillary items like spare tire snubbers, OEM radio bluetooth integration, AGM battery*, HD battery cables, aux fuse block, etc.
* denotes items reused from previous TJ

I'm currently looking at options for different shocks, and then the next phase is likely tummy tuck and engine skid, which will include CAs, t-case skid, SYE, and driveshaft. After that, I'll consider whether or not I want and/or need a RubiCrawler.

I would have to really think through sequence if I was starting with a Jeep that's already modded, but would still likely go axles first. To me, that's the biggest benefit and has the most impact, both off road and on.
 
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deadbeat son said:
I went with BMB over Savvy for the BL because they were both designed by the same guy, and I only trusted one to arrive on time when I needed it.

As for the sequence, I started in a little bit of a different spot than you. I started with a bone stock TJ and I had the gears and lockers installed fist. Then over the course of the next month, I installed:
  • Body Lift
  • Motor Mount Lift
  • Steering Shaft Riser
  • T-case Cable Shifter
  • Rear track bar relocation bracket*
  • Suspension Lift (springs & shocks, still running OEM CAs)*
  • Sway-Loc
  • Wheels & Tires
  • Winch*
  • Ancillary items like spare tire snubbers, OEM radio bluetooth integration, AGM battery*, HD battery cables, aux fuse block, etc.
* denotes items reused from previous TJ

I'm currently looking at options for different shocks, and then the next phase is likely tummy tuck and engine skid, which will include CAs, t-case skid, SYE, and driveshaft. After that, I'll consider whether or not I want and/or need a RubiCrawler.

I would have to really think through sequence if I was starting with a Jeep that's already modded, but would still likely go axles first. To me, that's the biggest benefit and has the most impact, both off road and on.
Click to expand...
I wish I could do that much in a month! My wife would not be very happy! lol

One thing that does nudge a little more towards axles first is that the rear LSD is pretty tired. When I put it into a spot where I would expect it to do some work it struggles. I don't want to spend money to rebuild the clutches in the factory unit because I intend to replace it.

Mine is a '97 with the 3-speed so a Rubicrawler isn't an option for me unfortunately. But based on a lot of opinions around here, it's not a terrible trade-off to not have the 42RLE.
 
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When I had the sides and back off the top, I didn't notice any noises. Lately I've driven it a few times with the soft top and windows fully closed up and have rubber squeaking coming from the rear. I thought it was just rubber on rubber from the tire on the spacers. Turns out my tire is rubbing on the rear bumper just enough to squeak but it doesn't interfere with the gate swinging. It only touches like 1/4-1/2". Now to figure out what to do? Honestly, probably just deal with it and be on the look out for a rear bumper I like. Or maybe this is just a sign to get a body lift and cable shifter asap?

I don't really want to space it back any further and increase the leverage on the factory tire carrier. Hopefully there will be an exogate or something similar in the future.

It would be nice if I could weld and could notch the factory bumper and add a tire cutout to fit the tire in nice and snug. I actually like the stock rear bumper though I'd like to add something with a receiver.
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Just ordered my Savvy cable shifter and interior LED's! I know superbrightleds will send a sticker, they always do, but let's see if Savvy does? Lol

Also, I know that I have one bad nutsert in my skid, so I hopped on BMB and ordered a kit for a no drop skid to get a set of nutserts and factory length bolts so that I've got that along with extra nutserts for when I eventually do everything else to remove the t-case drop. Might as well get the nutsert fixed while I'm doing the cable shifter and collecting parts for down the road will make things smoother when I get to those phases.
 
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Well no Savvy sticker! But I did get two pages of their local newspaper. Also, got my nutserts from Blaine. I'll get around to installing the stuff soon. I've also been meaning to check the torque on my new exhaust manifold now that it's had some heat cycles.
 
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Got my Grabars installed and these things are beefy!
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Also got around to working on my interior LED's. Found out the other day that my '97 foot well lights are not the ones listed in the how-to guide. Also, should have read through the thread beyond Chris's first post I would've seen that I needed different HVAC slider bulbs as well. Got the return processed for the bulbs I didn't need and ordered the right stuff. Not the best pictures because it was daytime in the garage, but good enough!
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I may have done something stupid. My wife brought up that when we get some other things done and paid for that we have to get new wheels for the Jeep because she doesn't like them. I jokingly said ok, we'll get Rock Monsters and showed her a picture, which she liked. Then I said "But, they're like $850 each." To which she just shrugged.

Did I accept that and say "awesome, let's do it?" No, I said "I don't think you realize how expensive that is in comparison to many other options." And then explained the price difference. To which she said, "Oh, then no!"

What have I done?
 
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Finally got around to getting my Savvy cable shifter installed. Used the Novak instructions where I had any questions and the install went pretty smooth. I thought I had it adjusted when I was testing the shifts but then when I got the skid back on and tried it, it still has a little binding in some shifts and wants to grind sometimes between gears. Going to do some more searching on here about the adjustments (or I'll post a different thread if I can't find what I need).
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Also replaced a transfer case skid nutsert that was broken loose.
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