2006 Jeep LJ build thread

I hear ya! In the old place we lived it had one of those garages that was two cars long, but one car wide.

I had to get crafty with that garage, because I found that so often it was hard to get a jack on the side of the vehicle to lift it up, because there wasn't enough room to pull the jack handle all the way down.
 
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I'm right there with your and your tiny garage problems. Definitely takes some thinking before you get too involved. I've got about two inches to spare to pull my axle shafts without nosing out of the garage and it looks like you're even worse off. Measuring is required before starting anything lol. Sorry for the hijack, just got a kick out of that.
 
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Got the one inch body and one inch motor mount lift done today! Here is the before and after pic. Can't really tell a whole lot of difference since it is only one inch. I feel very accomplished though as I don't have any engine vibration! Also put the rails back on after I took it for a test drive to make sure everything was buttoned up right. I think I'll be buying some grab bars next to install. My parents don't have the easiest time jumping in lol. After that I'll be looking into purchasing a high clearance trans/transfer case skid and a high clearance gas tank skid.

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It was 86 degrees in Texas yesterday and 70 degrees today. So we decided to take the dog to the dog park and go for a nice drive! The hard part is figuring out which one to take out!
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Decided to take the top off and put the factory half doors I on that we bought back in December on. Picked up the lowers for $300! I bought the smittybilt uppers for them for $200. This week I'm going to take the locks out and take them to a locksmith to match the rest of the locks on the Jeep. Pics soon to come of the progress.
 
Absolutely love it with the half doors, that looks awesome.

One of these days I need to find myself a set of nice half doors.
 
Absolutely love it with the half doors, that looks awesome.

One of these days I need to find myself a set of nice half doors.
Thanks! We were going doorless there for a while. Living out here in Dallas it's nice having a little bit of sheet metal in between you and the other idiots on the road when you are in traffic. Obviously not as safe as full doors but safer than pipe doors.

My biggest issue is when we would take the full doors off and have to put the mirrors on the windshield (we had a spare set of mirrors.. but still). I didn't quite like the way it looked and it was that more time consuming to get the Jeep ready to go. It's nice having some factory mirrors in a factory location. We'll run these full time in the summer so it will be nice to throw the upppers on and off whenever we want. Could have easily bought some other mods for the Jeep for $500 but we did buy it to drive on road more than anything else. Sometimes a good speaker system and a good condition soft top is all you really need in a jeep to have some fun. Off-roading is just a bonus!
 
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Driving the Jeep this weekend and it looks like unfortunately the next upgrade will be ball joints, front, and rear track bars. Had some major death wobble at 40 mph. Took it to my buddy who works at 4WP that is 2 miles from our apartment (don't worry... lol They are a little expensive for my blood for us to use them to install. Going with a local shop). After a good once over I believe the bushings are shot on the rear track bar and ball joints and at least an alignment will be needed for the front if not a new track bar and steering stabilizer as well.

Since this is not a cheap job as is we are looking into upgrading but not breaking the bank. Wanting to see if anyone can provide experience with parts they are using on their Jeep or recommend. I love the Currie set up but it is a little over budget. I've installed 90% of everything on this Jeep. I think I can knock out the rear track bar but I don't trust my YouTube skills to knock out the front. Plus I know installing ball joints are a pain as it is. Makes it that much harder in a single car garage.

We have a 2 inch suspension and a 1 inch body/MML lift on 33x10.50 BFG KO2's on the factory 15 inch rims. The photo is just for fun lol. Thanks in advance!
 
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As far as ball joints go, read this:
What are the best ball joints for my Jeep Wrangler TJ?

As for track bars, I run Currie track bars in the front and rear. I honestly have yet to find another track bar that comes close to the quality, fit and clearance of Currie. They cost a pretty penny, but they are amazing, amazing pieces.

At 2" of suspension lift you shouldn't really be running aftermarket track bars though. I say that because most manufacturers recommend 3.5"+ of suspension lift in order to provide the appropriate amount of clearance for an aftermarket track bar. There may be exceptions to this (i.e. JKS track bars), but anything beefy like Currie, Metalcloak, IRO, and others, will definitely require a over 2" of lift, otherwise you'll need to add a bunch of bumpstop to accommodate the larger track bar and prevent it from bidding up under maximum flex.

Every case is different of course, I'm just generalizing.
 
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As far as ball joints go, read this:
What are the best ball joints for my Jeep Wrangler TJ?

As for track bars, I run Currie track bars in the front and rear. I honestly have yet to find another track bar that comes close to the quality, fit and clearance of Currie. They cost a pretty penny, but they are amazing, amazing pieces.

At 2" of suspension lift you shouldn't really be running aftermarket track bars though. I say that because most manufacturers recommend 3.5"+ of suspension lift in order to provide the appropriate amount of clearance for an aftermarket track bar. There may be exceptions to this (i.e. JKS track bars), but anything beefy like Currie, Metalcloak, IRO, and others, will definitely require a over 2" of lift, otherwise you'll need to add a bunch of bumpstop to accommodate the larger track bar and prevent it from bidding up under maximum flex.

Every case is different of course, I'm just generalizing.
Thanks for the information! I saw somewhere that you need at least 2 inches of lift for the currie bars but I've read other places that you need at least 3.5+. Though who wouldn't want more beef.. I won't be complaining if I don't need upgrades though as that will save a lot of money! Thanks!
 
Thanks for the information! I saw somewhere that you need at least 2 inches of lift for the currie bars but I've read other places that you need at least 3.5+. Though who wouldn't want more beef.. I won't be complaining if I don't need upgrades though as that will save a lot of money! Thanks!
I installed my Currie track bar with my original 2.5" OME lift, and it needed just a little bit more lift IMHO, probably about 1". For that reason, I always suggest people have 3.5" or more of lift if they are going to install a beefy track bar.

The JKS track bar is known to work well with smaller amounts of lift if I recall.
 
Chris, maybe you can assist. Should I look into buying a relocation bracket for the rear with the stock track bar? Or am I better off not having one because I do not have enough lift?

To be 100% honest with you, at 2" of lift, you don't even need a track bar at all. Your axles will be slightly out of alignment laterally, but it's going to be hardly noticeable at all (as oppose to if you were at 4" of lift or so), and so a lot of guys with 2" don't use an adjustable track bar. I ran my Jeep at 2" of lift without a track bar or track bar relocation bracket, and it was just fine, no issues at all

If you are going to get a track bar, I would go with the JKS track bar, since it's a good one for that lift height, and it won't break the bank.
 
To be 100% honest with you, at 2" of lift, you don't even need a track bar at all. Your axles will be slightly out of alignment laterally, but it's going to be hardly noticeable at all (as oppose to if you were at 4" of lift or so), and so a lot of guys with 2" don't use an adjustable track bar. I ran my Jeep at 2" of lift without a track bar or track bar relocation bracket, and it was just fine, no issues at all

If you are going to get a track bar, I would go with the JKS track bar, since it's a good one for that lift height, and it won't break the bank.
Thanks for the input! In my opinion if it's not broke don't fix it. But at the same time I'd like to make good modifications that will last a long time. I think for now my track bars are probably fine. Called a local Jeep shop in the area about what we had. Said he wants to put it on the rack and give it a 150 point inspection and said he would do it for free. That way we are only replacing what needs to be replaced.

I think for what we do with our LJ the stock track bars will be just fine. Just need the death wobble to be cured once and for good lol.