IPerkWVU's Shale Green 04 Rubicon Build

Tested out the antirock today, felt more stable on the trails and I loved not messing with my disconnects. Heading up to Badlands in Attica IN was the first time on the interstate, little more sway but nothing too bad.

Good time with a few jeeps, got some trail riding in and tackled a few obstacles.


A nice TJ we wheel with, currie lift on 35s done right. I was able to follow him up the "waterfall".
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Cool vid. We took my stock LJR up the concrete hill on 31's....more of a crawl (I'm an old man!). No spotter, got hung up at the top break over. Backed down a little and took another line and made it over.
(After harvest, I've got a low pro transfer case skid to go on)

I've got to get a proper rear bumper added to the build pile with an integral hitch. I can't attempt the "waterfall" with the trailer hitch below the stock bumper.
 
Cool vid. We took my stock LJR up the concrete hill on 31's....more of a crawl (I'm an old man!). No spotter, got hung up at the top break over. Backed down a little and took another line and made it over.
(After harvest, I've got a low pro transfer case skid to go on)

I've got to get a proper rear bumper added to the build pile with an integral hitch. I can't attempt the "waterfall" with the trailer hitch below the stock bumper.
I've gone down the waterfall when my TJ was stock with a receiver hitch, it definitely scraped, didn't attempt going up when stock. Since the lift I can go up and down without too much trouble now. Badlands is fun just because how close it is. We had planned to go to Haspin Acres this past Saturday but the rain kept us away.
 
A few small updates from the past few weeks. Got a Teraflex hand throttle installed, tested it out in 4 low and like how consistent I can set throttle is, especially in 1st gear. Won't be using it much unless I'm in 3 pedal situations but it's nice to have.
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Also finally got the Mopar Rock Crawler bumper on. This one was a project, found it rusty at a scrap yard, had it sandblasted, cut a small amount of rust off the tubes then coated it in rattle can bedliner. Happy with the outcome.
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Well I finally sold the E36 M3 I had for around 10 years, took a little longer than expected but I wasn't in too much of a hurry, I knew where the local BMW club was having their Christmas party so I went and parked it in the lot ahead of time with a for sale sign. It worked, sad to see it go but didn't need both the M3 and the TJ.

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The BMW allowed me to pay off a few things and some funds for jeep mods, specifically a TT.

Planned out a budget friendly, hopefully install friendly Tummy Tuck. Ordering has started, most parts should be here within the next week or two.

With the jeep having some miles on it, frame in OK shape I looked for a few areas to save some coin. The 2"+ gains I'll receive should meet my wheeling needs just fine.

Previously installed
+JKS 1.25 BL
+Brown Dog 1" MML

Parts Ordered
+Core 4x4 Tier 2 adjustable rear upper control arms -$170 w/ eBay coupon
+UCF Original Extra Clearance steel skid w/ locker mount - $320 w/ holiday sale
+Savvy cable shifter -$170
TW driveshaft - will order once measured

I'm sure I'll have some questions as I put it all together, with the weather it may take me some time to get it all sorted but wanted to take advantage of the holiday sales.
 
@IPerkWVU
It was pretty easy to relocate the locker pumps to the ABS tray under the hood. Save a couple $$ not buying the UCF bracket and get the pumps out of harms way.
 
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Got the Warn sliders on, the 03+ Versions dont have the rear most hole drilled out (it is centerpunched under the PC) since you have to drill out an access hole by the seat belt. Warn gives you good instructions on how to do so. I don’t see how you could actually use them without drilling the last hole so that’s what I did. I’m referencing the bolt that is circled in red. I do think they could have added one more bolt location underneath the Jeep logo, there is a small gap there. Also needed a few additional thick washers shim the tubes that brace the gap between the tub floor and the slider. For the price I’m happy with the results, much stronger than the OEM Rubicon sliders.

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Got the trektop NX in Black Denim on last night, really like it. The jeep didn't come with a softtop so this was the most economical / quality compromise in my opinion. The sunrider and bakini top features are great. A kahki diamond version would have been preferred but bestop doesn't make one (other suppliers do). I'm good with black with the cost savings. All in for under $550.

Be sure to set it out and get warmed up for several hours first, was lucky to have 80 degree weather in Indiana. Other than that, it went on smooth.View attachment 40309View attachment 40310

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Really digging your build and how good your TJ looks. Wanting to add the trektop nx to my rubicon.
 
Really digging your build and how good your TJ looks. Wanting to add the trektop nx to my rubicon.
Thanks, definitely been fun building it up the last 12 months. That picture is fun to look at back before the lift and tires. I like the trek top, probably took the windows off / on every weekend last summer. Also love the sunrider feature. It’s obviously louder than my hard top but well made. I don’t have any data to compare the noise level to a traditional soft top but I can’t think it would be TOO different.

Hope to have a big update post here in the next few weeks on the TT install and a few other mods getting bolted on.
 
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The TJ went into a local jeep guy's shop, got ready for 2019.

The front end got refreshed, new ball joints and axle ujoints installed. My front ujoints were rusted out pretty bad and the ball-joints we're the originals I think.

Got the UCF original extra clearance skid installed along with a Savvy cable shifter, adjustable upper rear control arms and a new CV driveshaft.
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Also got the Savvy Gas Tank Skid installed. Really impressed with the build of it and clearance gained. My rear track bar was touching the original skid at full droop and now I have plenty of room back there.
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To all the body lift haters, the 1.25 BL is definitely worth it, couldn't run 33's or do any of these mods without it.
 
Nicely done! Yes, a body lift for a TJ should be an absolute requirement. It opens up the possibilites ten fold.
 
Nicely done! Yes, a body lift for a TJ should be an absolute requirement. It opens up the possibilites ten fold.
Yeah, really checked off most of what I wanted to do with the build with this round of mods. Still need a few bolt on items, now that I have the Savvy GT skid I'm looking at either the Barnes or PSC BFH II bumper to have better recovery points and tighten up the departure angle, the OEM tow hook is sticking out pretty far. It never ends.
 
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Believe me, I know better than anyone it never ends :ROFLMAO:

These things are just money sucking in every way.
 
Few more projects the past two weekends to get the TJ ready for the season, it’s neverending.

—Installed a ARB diff cover on the rear that a friend was selling, needed a cover with a higher fill plug with the pinion rotated upwards and I had not changed the gear oil since getting the jeep last year.

—Flushed the cooling system, I had used the wrong type of coolant to top it off in the past. After the flush, replaced with Zerex G05. Still need to fix a leaky lower hose but didn’t have the parts at the time.

—Installed a new Champion AGM battery from Pep Boys, originally $189, got 25% off + $40 mail in rebate. Should come out just over $100. Gave me a bit of a scare this morning when it didn’t turn over until getting jumped but the Jeep hadn’t run for more than a minute after the install.

—Installed Polk 5.25” speakers in the dash and soundbar, definitely an improvement. They work well with the Alpine head unit and can handle the Powerpack if I go down that route. Need to do something about the sub....

—Prepped for the new PS BFH II rear bumper install that’s in the powdercoat shop. Cleaned up a bit of surface rust on the cross member and shot it with rust converter paint, unbolted the recovery hooks and painted the PS frame tie ins.

Should have a few items going up for sale on the forum soon, need to clean out the storage garage!
 
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-Bought two 36" aluminum bars and did my first self-alignment. I was about 1/4" to out, I'm guessing when I did the ZJ tie rod swap my measurements weren't completely accurate. The ZJ assembly makes it very easy to adjust.

-Installed Synergy 1.25" wheel spacers for the 16" Moabs & 285/75r16 MTs. I had gotten by with 2 washers behind the steering stops but my tires have been rubbing my AR arms so needed to do something. Also allowed me to remove the washers. Like others I found my rear disc brake studs were a bit shorter than the front. I was able to get plenty of threads (more than 7) and locktite on so I think I'm OK.

-Installed the Poison Spider BFH II rear bumper. Really like that it's got some style while being very low profile.

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Also got the oil changed and tires rotated.
 
Drove the TJ down to the TN Mountains Jeep Jamboree, about 6 hours south of Indy. The Jamboree operated on Windrock and Royal Blue OHV. I went down solo, I was very impressed with the JJUSA organization and trail guides that assisted. I had a blast.

I’ll post more pictures soon but below is a video documenting our trip in Royal Blue OHV, called the Sand Mine Trail, it took you to a top of a mountain that has white sandy beach, pretty awesome trail.

@3 minutes we tackled a pretty cool obstacle.