OP
Yes, and that gave pause. The skid actually helped me make that pivot. Without it I would not have thought to turn perpendicular to the cut. Saved me I think.
05 Flame Red TJ Build
- Thread starter JMT
- Start date
OP
When I tried to go in reverse, my skid was on a root, it caused me to pivot toward the passenger side. I went with it and decided to take the forward plunge. The sand did give and allowed me to gently slide down into the cut. It did feel like it was a near roll
OP
My wife says I need to get 2 more Jeeps. Hey, when your gold, your golden! I was born in the 70's, and I think that was Solid Gold.
Well, now is probably definitely the time to buy them. Wait a month or two and you'll start seeing Coronavirus specials on Jeeps!
That was a pretty awesome video. Really glad to see it all worked out well too!
ranger101
TJ Addict
That video reminded me of something lol
OP
Q: How do I know when my ball joints are going out? I didn't air up after my most recent outing and drove home (about 3 miles), then did another emergency trip (about 5 miles), and when I would turn my front steering would knock, it did this 4 or 5 times. I aired up and it really doesn't do it anymore, but it might have done it 1 or 2 times the last several days.
Jack up the wheel till its off the ground. Put a large pry bar under the tire and lift up and down while you observe the ball joints for movement. There should be none.
While you have the wheel off the ground do the 6 oclock/12 oclock boggie to make sure your unit bearings don't have play.
OP
@BuildBreakRepeat was gracious enough to send me a MoRyde triangular brace to support the hinges. I believe he had an OR-FAB one that is beefier. This is super awesome as we both think this is the key to the Exogate/MoRyde system.
OP
Bought a steering box skid from @toximus. Had some of that upper Midwest rust, but not anymore. The steering box on the 05’s is expensive to replace, so I am very happy to get this installed. (Also defends against Coronavirus).
To be honest I sold them as having higher miles than they probably did, those were in WI for a month before being pulled. Most of that rust came from rain in SOCAL and driving through winter across the country (followed home a terrible storm so lots of salt on the road).
OP
The XJ needs new speakers, they are crap. The doors take a 5.25” and my TJ has 5.25” Polks in the sound bar. So I moved them over to the XJ and got some 6.5” Polk DB’s for my soundbar. It was a little strange getting them to fit, but @skrelnik was kind enough to walk me through. I filled them with polyfill while I was there and also replaced the bulbs with LED’s. Looks and sounds fantastic. I also painted the sound pods with SEM black. They look sooo much better. Love SEM trim black. Thanks to @Chris for this suggestion a long time ago.
Oh yeah, SEM Trim Black is some amazing spray paint. I've used that on anything that needs to be restored to a factory black color, and it always amazes me. I love how well the cans spray too.
Yeah, great call to spray the pods! That stuff is great. I used it on my flares and license plate holder, but didn't think to spray the pods.
Looks great
! If you amplify the speakers I would recommend some little square pieces of double sided foam tape on the inside of the light covers as they may rattle. Also, I have the same LED lights and the additional power to the 6.5" Polks wiggled one bulb loose and it started to smoke and shorted the fuse. All was good, just be mindful those bulbs are locked in place.
OP
I think I'm going to SEM my flares. That stuff is amazing.
OP
Looks like my DC-2's will eventually go to the XJ. That will clear the way for sone new wheels with proper BS, 4.0" will be my goal, likely run a 33 x 10.5 General Grabber with the next set. Wheels I am open to suggestion. I think Flame Red TJ's are difficult to outfit with a wheel. All black looks way drab IMHO, Moab's look too subdued and they are hard to find in a 5x4.5, something in-between, even possibly an aftermarket Moab look-alike in a gunmetal such as the Quadratec Rubicon Extreme. Or more DC-2's. They have kind of grown on me and earned the nickname 'Hot Wheels' from @ac_ . But I'm definitely open to other wheel options. Watcha got?
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