Jack of All Trades, Master of None: LJ Build

PNW_LJ said:
Idk how important it is. I’ve scraped my JJs here and there. Hasn’t hurt them yet, but they are pricey to replace.



Looks like curries dont protect the bottoms either.
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I’ve beat the piss out of Johnny joints, synergy ddbs, and metalcloak joints over the years and all of which were fine. I’m sure glad I haven’t ripped off a link mount. Those skids are essential. Im definitely not easy on my rig. For example here’s my link gas tank and links after less than a year of having them installed.

I do like the Currie/jks design better, they seem like they help reduce chances of folding up the sides of the control arm mount.

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Last edited:
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Mike_H said:
Near as I can tell, the JKS skids are the same as Rock Jock

JKS MFG. JKS OGS115 Front Mini Skid Kit for Jeep TJ/XJ/MJ/ZJ/JK https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005TTZN5Y/?tag=wranglerorg-20

And quite a bit cheaper. Iron rock off-road for the brackets

https://www.ironrockoffroad.com/product/universal-lower-control-arm-brackets-tjljxjmj.html
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The brackets from RuffStuff are $10 cheaper than the ones from IronRock. Or were you referring to the mini skids?

https://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com/R2709.html
 
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Mike_H said:
The mini skids. Re-reading that, It seems that English isn't my first language, LOL That's what I get for posting before I finish my first cup of coffee
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It's OK I can't write a clear sentence 90% of the time even after my coffee. If I hadn't already bought the IronRock brackets for my daughters TJ to fix the bent control arm bracket I'd give these RuffStuff ones a shot.
 
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Wildman said:
It's OK I can't write a clear sentence 90% of the time even after my coffee. If I hadn't already bought the IronRock brackets for my daughters TJ to fix the bent control arm bracket I'd give these RuffStuff ones a shot.
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It is an interesting design. I didn't care for the 3/16" thk steel instead of 1/4" but I don't really have any reason to think 3/16" wouldn't be strong enough.
 
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02GreenTJ said:
I’ve beat the piss out of Johnny joints, synergy ddbs, and metalcloak joints over the years and all of which were fine. I’m sure glad I haven’t ripped off a link mount. Those skids are essential. Im definitely not easy on my rig. For example here’s my link gas tank and links after less than a year of having them installed.

I do like the Currie/jks design better, they seem like they help reduce chances of folding up the sides of the control arm mount.

View attachment 488438
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Good to know, looks like you wheel harder than we do.
 
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Mike_H said:
It is an interesting design. I didn't care for the 3/16" thk steel instead of 1/4" but I don't really have any reason to think 3/16" wouldn't be strong enough.
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Yup, the bracket portion of both looks identical to me. It’s just the thickness difference.

The Currie44 uses 3/16” bracketry, if that says anything.
 
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JMT said:
There's an easy way to modify Savvy inner C that doesn't cut the crossmember and allows all the parts to work whether one has the raised GR mounts or stock. Just trim the inner C to fit around the raised mount. I should have boxed in those welds! 🤪

View attachment 486162
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@JMT , how did you get those outer C's on after welding the mount? Or, did you weld the mount on with the outer C in place? I welded my mount on first then could not get the outer C over it after opening up the cut out to the top as your looks.
 
E-Ticket said:
@JMT , how did you get those outer C's on after welding the mount? Or, did you weld the mount on with the outer C in place? I welded my mount on first then could not get the outer C over it after opening up the cut out to the top as your looks.
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I welded the bracket on with the outer C in place.
 
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B00mb00m said:
These are what I want when I change to ton bolt pattern. Love em
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They’re awesome. Can’t wait to get them on. I’m going to wait till I finish the auto swap though. My brain is all wrapped around that project.
 
A couple small updates from the past month or so. Life keeps getting in the way, so the Jeep's to-do list never seems to shrink.

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I "fixed" the broken factory CA mount. Bend/welded it back into place as best I could, and added a piece of scrap steel to act as a "mini-skid" of sorts. Not my prettiest work, but I was very short on time, and I'm confident it'll hold me over for a couple months til the new front axle is swapped in.



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I rebuilt one of the johnny joints "while I was in there". It had came defective from the factory (rubber bushing was damaged). I could've asked for a replacement then and there, but decided to run it as is. Took all of 1 trip for it to start squeaking. Finally fixed with a rebuild kit from Currie.



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Finished it out with a replacement motor on the M8000. I really hope I don't have any more failures here. Though I'd like for an excuse to get a 9.5XP, I've got better things to spend my money on right now. Finished it out with a Warn fairlead that really cleaned up the look. Picked up both of these from Rick.
 
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I also wanted to take a moment to share my appreciation for this community. Though there are some ups and downs, the "truth-seeking" aspect of this forum is outstanding. I've been on various 4x4 forums for a couple years, but WTJF is by far one of the best when it comes to the breadth and accuracy of knowledge you can gain here. I've mentioned this elsewhere, but I feel like I learn something new here every week! I can't even say that about my college..

The other big thing is the people. Recently, I was in a period of financial struggle, I even had to sell off some of my parts hoard, (brand new in box BMB big brake kit, and SPOD switch system). I was shocked when a prominent forum member here reached out to me personally to offer some help.

Beyond that, folks here are some of the nicest, most helpful I've ever met. I've had so many great conversations on here, and several people have helped tremendously with advice, parts and guidance. I've tagged some of them in my build thread before, but not others. A huge thank you to all of you, I appreciate the opportunity to be here.
 
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Had the Jeep refuse to start or shift out of D in the Taco Bell drive thru last night. A couple employees helped me push it back (in neutral ofc), so I could climb underneath and find the following.

Looks like the original bushing gave out and the linkage just slipped off the selector lever. I manually shifted the lever so I could get home, and ziptie it for now. Will be searching for a Mopar replacement.
 
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PNW_LJ said:
A couple wheelin' pics from last year's trips.

Updating my build thread and taking pics while wheeling are 2 of the things I neglect doing. But here ya go.

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Cool shots. Your jeep looks capable and sleeper ish with the stock fenders on again. Your photos remind me of when I went to fordyce in the rain, the moisture adds a whole other element to think about. You pnw folks gotta have skills to play in the wet all the time.
 
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