My 05 Rubi build and picture thread

My hub centering rings were in the mail when we got home from vacation, so I put the rims on today. Must say I really like the looks of them!
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Well I haven't posted here in a bit, but haven't really done anything to the Jeep. Right now, I'm in the process of putting a Windstar cowl intake in, looking for a hitch and ZJ hood louvers.

I still need to get a couple of things for the cowl intake, but I'm on vacation this week, and hope to get it done. I know that I won't see much, if any increase in mileage or power, but I'm not doing it for that. I just don't really care for the location of the stock intake, and how it sucks in hot air.

Same goes for the louvers. The under hood temps are pretty damn hot, so I'd like to help let that heat escape a little easier. I know it's survived 11 years as is, but doing it will make me feel better, lol. :)
 
Lol, nope. You take the intake from a Windstar, and use it instead of the TJ intake. You need to drill a hole in the firewall as the Windstar intake will draw the air from the cowl instead of under the hood.

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Ohhh... I thought you were referring to a hood scoop or something.

What you're saying now makes complete sense.

But now the question is why do people do this? I only ask because @Jerry Bransford, @mrblaine, and others have pointed out that the intake on the Wrangler TJ is by no means insufficient, and CAIs don't do anything in terms of power (which I can attest to from personal experience on my TJ).

I'm mostly just curious now...
 
Yeah, the stock setup flows more than enough air, but it also sucks in hot air. If it's sucking air from the cowl, it'll be cooler, and my main reason, less of a chance of sucking in water. I don't do deep water or mud crossings, but have noticed dirty water streaks going into the stock horn. That makes me feel a little uneasy. The whole project is more just for peace of mind for me. It'll benefit me more than the Jeep. :)

I believe @mrblaine runs (or did run) a cowl intake.
 
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derekmac said:
Yeah, the stock setup flows more than enough air, but it also sucks in hot air. If it's sucking air from the cowl, it'll be cooler, and my main reason, less of a chance of sucking in water. I don't do deep water or mud crossings, but have noticed dirty water streaks going into the stock horn. That makes me feel a little uneasy. The whole project is more just for peace of mind for me. It'll benefit me more than the Jeep. :)

I believe @mrblaine runs (or did run) a cowl intake.
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If @mrblaine is running one, then it's got to serve a purpose. I always look to him for what works and what doesn't.

Either way, I can see the benefit!
 
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After going for a good drive, both backroad and Hwy, it drives the same, with maybe a bit better throttle response (probably all in my head though). The intake air temp is way lower though! Driving it's around 3-5 degrees above ambient, and sitting idle, around 10 degrees above. In theory, it should run more efficient with the cooler/denser air.
 
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mrblaine said:
Don't always count on that as a reason to do something. Sometimes I run stuff just to prove that you shouldn't.
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Don't worry, I'm not running half the stuff you are, nor do I plan on it.

I just meant to imply that you're one of the few people I actually trust when it comes to whether a product actually has any merit, or whether it's just smoke and mirrors.
 
I was looking for a hitch so I could use my cargo carrier that I have, but I happened to find this. I really didn't want to put a hitch on the Jeep since it's just something else to get hung up on off-road, so I was quite happy when I spotted this!
 
Well scratch what I said about not getting a hitch, lol. I was given one for free, so I put it on. There was a reason it was free though. The draw bar is rusted into the receiver. I tried pounding it out, and heat cycling it while spraying penetrating fluid down in it. I couldn't get it out, so some weekend I'm going to take it back off, and take it to a buddies and try his 20 ton press.

I also ordered a Tow Ready 118409 T-One Connector Assembly from Amazon, and got that installed tonight. Man, getting my big hands up on the passenger side to pull the harness down was a major PITA!!!

I needed to get it on so I could haul this:

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From cleaning this up:

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So we could do this:

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Chris said:
Now that's a full garage!
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Yup!! There's still a bit of cleanup left to do too. Once the kids are done using their bikes, they'll migrate to the shed. The back room in the garage still needs sorting, so once that's done, more stuff in the garage can go back there. I have a work bench on the pass side of my Jeep, which makes it a bit tight for both rigs, and storage behind the Jeeps. The Cherokee JUST fits in!! Since it has remote start that also can turn on the heated seat and heated steering wheel, I wasn't too worried if it didn't fit. Don't tell my wife that though!! lol

This will be the first winter in 5 years that we'll be able to fit two vehicles in the garage, and I'm looking forward to having a clean/warm Jeep to get into!!! My snowblower tucks in behind the TJ nicely too.
 
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I don't blame you. I always keep the Jeep in the garage just because it's nice to have a nice, clean, warm Jeep to get into when it's really cold out!

Congrats on getting two cars into the garage. I need to work on that myself before Winter sets in.
 
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