05 Rubicon "Build"

[SiezTheCarp]

Hey everyone. I have been lurking here for a while. I come from a pre runner background but after driving my wife's 04 TJ Sport a few years ago in Ocotillo Wells (which was unfortunately stolen) I knew I had to have one but cost was keeping me down. I bought a 2000 WJ about a year ago with plans to have a nice 4 seater to go out to the desert in. Well fast forward to about a month ago and I had the opportunity to buy this beauty for a price that I couldn't pass up. I don't plan on going crazy with this since any TJ is already so capable and having a Rubicon on top of that there is very little it can't do. The ultimate goal is to stick to 33s for drive ability, faster speed trails,and to make everything last, I am not really into rock crawling but love Baja, the desert, the mountains, being out there in the wilderness. I am so happy to finally have a capable vehicle that there are a million parts for. Here is some specs on my baby

-2005 Flame Red Rubicon
-Bought from the original owner
-155k miles
-6 Speed Manual
-Bone stock other than the goofy big girl ladders on the sides

All I have done so far is a new soft top, headlights, and some maintenance stuff.

The immediate plans are a rear tire swinger so I can carry a gas can and fire wood in a trasharoo, a 2.5' lift and, 285/75r16s, and probably a bunch of lights.

 

[Duck Doctor]

Nice looking rig. What lift and tires are you planning to go with? Keep us updated.

 

[DavidBT]

Welcome from South East Arizona. I have a Silver 05' Rubicon and absolutely love it. I did a 2.5" Rough Country springs and Rancho 5000x shocks and will probably run 32" tires. To run 33's you have to do a 1.25" body lift and 1" motor lift. This is a great forum for help and ideas to spend your money .

 

[SiezTheCarp]

Thanks guys. For the lift I am wanting to do the Rough Country 2.5" X series as well as the 1.25" body lift from JKS. This setup will solve a lot of maintenance issues as well as give me a lift

@DavidBT is the MML really necessary since I have a fixed yoke transfer case or wouldn't I need to lift the transfer case as well? I am going to go with 285/75r16 on the stock wheels so not exactly a 33 but dam near.

 

[DavidBT]

My understanding is that the mml will center the motor to the radiator after the body lift. If you don't use the mml, you'll need to adjust the radiator. I'm sure you will get more and better answers. I'm still trying to decide if I want to body lift and mml myself. I have a problem getting in it as is.

 

[SiezTheCarp]

Hey guys,

Still have not really done much in the way of mods, just been driving the hell out of it. I did get the rotopax spare tire mount from rock slide engineering, it works great and is easy to take on and off. I put a tablet mount where the strap for the windshield goes, haven't gotten around to putting the trim piece back on and I got a trasharoo and the sweet quadratec floormats for my birthday.

Waiting to do the lift until the tires are absolutely shot but I will probably just do 32s with a 2.5" lift but more importantly I think the tailgate support/beefy hinges are the next on the list, with a a tailgate stop because I am sure everyone knows the pain of being in the hot desert just trying to grab something and getting attacked by the tailgate.

There are a lot of great trails around the Temecula area I was going out to once or twice week with one of my friends who knows the area but work got in the way and I can only go out once a week once every other week like some kind of animal. I did the Mojave Road trail with some friends, I highly recommend it. It was really fun, not to technical but good high speed sections and a lot of cool stuff to check out. For my bachelor party me and the boys went out to lone pine to check out Cero Gordo, we got to meet Brent the guy from Youtube which was pretty cool and drove through the reward mine. Also the swamp in the picture we did endless laps through, the bog water was hard to wash out but it was worth it. I now understand how these kids yearn for the mines.

One of the oil slingers on the front axle got pushed out away from the axle and there was some oil on my tire after letting it sit for about a week but this has seemed to stop. Is this something to worry about? I am thinking about just doing the axle seals because they are probably original but I almost just want to change the fluid and see how it goes.

 

[Granite]

Awesome ‘05 Rubi! Curious to see how it develops. I am in the middle of upgrading the PO’s lift on my own ‘05 Rubi. For your lift & tailgate questions personal preference is a big factor. At 2.5” I hear good things about OME and I like the Moryde for the tailgate hinges. But I haven’t used those myself. I’m installing a 4” Currie lift with Rancho 5000x’s for my 33s. Personal preference! Good luck to you!

 

[Jamison C]

View attachment 436657

One of my best friends drew penises and wrote "I'm gay" on all of my muddy soft top windows once and scratched them permanently. The guy who bought it didn't notice but boy I sure could tell.

Nice jeep. Crazy how capable stock Rubis are. I'm on 3" with 32s and it's pretty capable. I'm going to be doing a tuck soon and I think I'll leave it for awhile until the tires are shot and then I'll move to 33s. A tuck changes everything.

 

[psrivats]

Thanks guys. For the lift I am wanting to do the Rough Country 2.5" X series as well as the 1.25" body lift from JKS. This setup will solve a lot of maintenance issues as well as give me a lift

@DavidBT is the MML really necessary since I have a fixed yoke transfer case or wouldn't I need to lift the transfer case as well? I am going to go with 285/75r16 on the stock wheels so not exactly a 33 but dam near.

Do not do the JKS BL - that is not the right material and it will damage your tub. See photos here from @jjvw.
https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/jks-1-25-body-lift-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly.27626/


Use the BMB body lift instead. This is what you need.
https://blackmagicbrakes.com/ols/pr...its-97-06-tj-and-tj-unlimited-all-trim-levels

 

[SiezTheCarp]

One of my best friends drew penises and wrote "I'm gay" on all of my muddy soft top windows once and scratched them permanently. The guy who bought it didn't notice but boy I sure could tell.

Nice jeep. Crazy how capable stock Rubis are. I'm on 3" with 32s and it's pretty capable. I'm going to be doing a tuck soon and I think I'll leave it for awhile until the tires are shot and then I'll move to 33s. A tuck changes everything.

Lol, I had "I yearn for cock" and another dick on the driver door, funny enough it was the original owner that did it. I live in an apartment with little kids so I at least had to wash that off but thank God he didn't scratch it into my windows.

With the 3" lift you have: is it all suspension? And either way do you get any rub? I have yet to disconnect my sway bars at all, might just take them off but I do like to rally this thing so maybe get the rock jock and powder coat the arms gold, that would be sick.

 

[Jamison C]

Lol, I had "I yearn for cock" and another dick on the driver door, funny enough it was the original owner that did it. I live in an apartment with little kids so I at least had to wash that off but thank God he didn't scratch it into my windows.

With the 3" lift you have: is it all suspension? And either way do you get any rub? I have yet to disconnect my sway bars at all, might just take them off but I do like to rally this thing so maybe get the rock jock and powder coat the arms gold, that would be sick.

It’s a 3” combo lift. 2” of spring lift and 1.25” if body lift. The body lift is necessary if you’re doing any sort of tuck, and it also allows a little more tire clearance without sacrificing drive shaft angles. People worry a lot about center of gravity but that’s a stigma that’s still around since the CJ days. Our TJs are extremely stable if the suspension is set up right.

What do you mean by rub? Like tires on the control arms? Or wheels stuffed in the fenders? My first TJ I removed the front sway bar entirely. As long as you’re not an idiot it handles fine. Maybe consider the Antirock in the future. At the very least some JKS disconnects.