DuncLJ's Big Bolt-On Bonanza

[DuncLJ]

So I finally decided to do a build thread. I've been posting updates in the "What have you done to your TJ today" thread. I figured I'd put them all in 1 place and document from here forward.
I won't bore you with the minutiae of every little last thing I've done, but I'll give a speed-read brief of what I've done up till now.

Here's the day I bought my 2005 LJ on Dec 7, 2012. It had 32,000 miles and was bone stock. I bought it as a third family vehicle for my 3 son's to drive back and forth to high school. It came with the understanding that they would get their own cars after graduation, and I would reclaim the Jeep and it would become my toy.

Fast forward to 2015. All 3 of my son's graduated High school, they got their own POS cars, and I reclaimed the Jeep as my own.
I used my tax refund to add my 1st round of mods. I didn't know much about quality parts back then. I just bought what was cheap on EBay. Some of it wasn't bad, but a lot was.

2.5" OME HD coils
Rancho 5000x shocks
RE front TB
OME rear TB relocation bracket
32's on Cragar steelies
Rampage frameless top
EAG sliders
EAG front tube bumper
painted the flares and grill black

At the time I thought it all looked great and was perfect.

 

[DuncLJ]

I spent the next 2 years driving it everywhere, exploring, and discovering all the new places I could go. I added some tube doors, an Aussie front locker, and a Detroit Tru-Trac in the rear. I was amazed at where I could now go with confidence.
Kayaking is one of our hobbies, and we set the Jeep up with a lightbar/rack in the front and a goalpost rack in the receiver hitch. It got us everywhere we needed to go.

 

[DuncLJ]

February 2018 I joined this forum. By this time I added some Poison Spyder fenders, a tube rear bumper and a Fishbone front bumper.
This was the first pic I ever posted on the forum.

The LJ was starting to take shape around this time and I started figuring out the direction I wanted to go with it. I started really paying attention while I was off-roading too. What was working, and what wasn't.

Late 2018 I added the reinforcement plates onto the Poison Spyder fenders. For no other reason than that I like how they looked.
I installed the nutserts, sprayed a little PlastiDip for contrast and installed the plates.

 

[DuncLJ]

The mods to the interior consisted of Bartact seat covers, Pioneer single din stereo, some billet do-dads and I repainted all the interior plastic trim.

Next up was a ZJ steering upgrade. Cheap, easy install, and much stronger than stock.

 

[DuncLJ]

March of 2019 I got called to go to Iraq for 9 months. This will be my 4th (and final) deployment. I planned to use the time and extra money to save up for the next round of mods.
This was a pic of the day I left for Iraq. I left the keys to my 21 year old son. I hoped no damage (to myself or the Jeep) would be incured while I was gone.

January 2020, Home safe and sound with a pile of Jeep parts waiting in the garage for me.
I posted the next pics in this thread:
https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/combat-pay-put-to-good-use.29749/

4" RE coils
Longer Rancho 5000x shocks
1.25 Savvy body lift
Savvy transfer case shift cable
JKS MML
MetalCloak front and rear track bars
Core4x4 control arms
BFG 35's on Ansen 969 wheels
Grabars
Rock Hard Dana 30 Diff guard
UCF skid Plate
Dorman extended brake lines
Pioneer Double Din Stereo and center bezel

I had 2 months of paid leave from work, so I spent the time drinking beer and working on the Jeep. I was very pleased with the results.

 

[DuncLJ]

Last month I started to notice a slight vibration on acceleration. It wasn't bad, but I knew what caused it and what needed to be done to fix it.
I just put on a 4" lift and a 2" tummy tuck; so even with the LJ's longer driveshaft, it still caused a vibe.

I got an Advanced Adapters SYE and a Tom Woods CV driveshaft. Installation was not difficult and it made the vibes completely go away.

 

[DuncLJ]

So with my new lift, driveshaft, track bars, control arms, and pinion angles; it was time to pull the springs and properly set the bumpstops.
I ended up with 2" bumps in the front and rear. With that I had 5.5" of uptravel and 5" downtravel without any contact. It's not quite 50/50 but it is what it is.
These are a few of the pics.

 

[Cross-Threaded-06TJ]

Last month I started to notice a slight vibration on acceleration. It wasn't bad, but I knew what caused it and what needed to be done to fix it.
I just put on a 4" lift and a 2" tummy tuck; so even with the LJ's longer driveshaft, it still caused a vibe.

I got an Advanced Adapters SYE and a Tom Woods CV driveshaft. Installation was not difficult and it made the vibes completely go away.

View attachment 153037
View attachment 153038
View attachment 153039

Nice Jeep/work. I just ordered that same rear driveshaft/SYE combo. Same here, slight vibes with a 4" SL even with the Unlimited.

 

[Chris]

Looking good so far.

Yep, even on an LJ you'll get vibes with a 4" lift. That tummy tuck is the equivalent of another 2-3" of suspension lift in terms of angles.

Fortunately you have an LJ though, on my TJ it turned into a huge nightmare.

 

[DuncLJ]

After all these mods, I am still on factory axles. Time to start changing that.

I got a good deal on some Ten Factory front Cro-Mo axles. They came fully assembled and ready to install.
While I had everything opened up, I cleaned, inspected and repainted everything.

 

[DuncLJ]

Up till now, I've had MetalCloak sway bar QD's. They have worked great, but I always knew I would eventually get a Currie AntiRock.
I searched high and low for the best deal and eventually got one through Summit Racing for $400.
Mine is the first one that I have seen without the Currie logo. It is now in RockJock packaging with new decals. It's exactly the same, just a different look I hadn't seen before.
I've been messing around with the different hole settings, trying to find my sweet spot.

 

[DuncLJ]

April 2020, we are now current and up to date.

I bought this tube bumper about 4 years ago. I thought it was cool back then, but realized it is about the worst bumper ever as far as clearance and departure angle goes. It sticks about 10 inches out past the crossmember, and about 3 inches below it. It is always the first thing to catch and drag across the rocks.

Time to ditch that bitch.

I researched just about every bumper that I could find. I wanted one that bolted right to the crossmember, but still had a receiver hitch.
I won't do any towing with it, but I want it for my kayak and bike rack.

I decided on the Swag Big Hit bumper. It is just what I was looking for and looks great.

 

[DuncLJ]

Next up is a bit of an experiment. I don't have a full size 35" spare tire yet, let alone a proper carrier for it. Until I do, I decided to ditch the 32" spare and do a spare tire delete. I relocated the license plate frame up onto the tailgate and it really cleaned up the rear end along with the new bumper.
It probably won't stay that way forever. I will eventually get a legit 35" spare and a proper carrier.

 

[DuncLJ]

Well that is current up until 4/15/2020. Anything from here on out will be new stuff.
The next planned mods are:

Rear axle shafts
Replace rear Tru-Trac with a locker
Replace 3.73's with 5.13 gears
New front bumper
Winch
Engine/Trans skid plate
Tub mounted sliders




I just got my $1200 Corona-Check today.
Hmmmm, what to do, what to do....

 

[kmas0n]

Great jeep, keep up the good work. I've always liked that rear bumper.

 

[DuncLJ]

Great jeep, keep up the good work. I've always liked that rear bumper.

Hey thanks, I appreciate it.
Btw, that bumper shipped out less than an hour after I ordered it. Great customer service from Swag.

 

[DuncLJ]

So I just did my part to help stimulate this economy.

I ordered a UCF aluminum front bumper with winch plate and winch bar. Combined weight is advertised at about 25 lbs.
Pretty excited to lose some weight off the front end, considering I'll be adding some back with a winch.

Here is a pic from UCF's website of the bumper I ordered.

 

[DuncLJ]

So I slept on it and changed my mind about the bumper.

I called UCF and changed my order to their Ultra High Clearance aluminum bumper. It is a stubby design with an integrated larger winch mounting surface and mounts further back on the frame. The bumper is 10 lbs. and the aluminum fairlead adds just a few more.

https://undercoverfab.com/jeep-tj-l...er.html#/36-fairlead_mount-add_fairlead_mount

 

[bobthetj03]

I like that choice more better, but I'm partial to minimalist bumpers. It certainly isn't cheap though. Yikes!

 

[DuncLJ]

I like that choice more better, but I'm partial to minimalist bumpers. It certainly isn't cheap though. Yikes!

Yeah, I was torn between several bumpers and researched every bumper thread on here. Ultimately I wanted a minimalist lightweight one.

UCF website has a 10% off code with no tax and free shipping. So that helps.