nk24's 2004 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon

[nk24]

After the swing out bumper was removed, I could install:

• MORryde tailgate reinforcement kit (aka Exogate)
• stock spare tire bracket
• stock 3rd brake light
• stock rear bumper
• stock recovery hook

I'll probably look into getting a Dirtworx rear bumper sometime down the road.

You have to remove the seat belt boot and pull back the carpet to add this reinforcement bracket. Mine called for a 45 torx on both the bolt holding the seat belt boot and the bolt next to the roll bar.

Exogate snubber extensions added. It was handy as they included longer bolts along with the extensions.

The flange at the top of the tailgate plate is shaped in a way that you have to raise the 3rd brake light about 3" above the spare bracket in order to make it fit. It needed to be raised anyway for the 33" spare, but I wanted to point out that it needed to be raised more than the tire required. I used some PVC and longer bolts to do so.

The spare tire wouldn't fit with the Exogate snubber extension on the bottom, so I substituted a slightly thinner hockey puck. Seems to work fine, but I'll definitely want to cut it to match the shape of the OEM snubber.

 

[KCNoDots]

nice work, looks great!

 

[nk24]

Hewitt Canyon Road on the way to Rogers Trough Trailhead in the Superstition Wilderness.

 

[nk24]

Installed Rancho RS5000x on all four corners. Didn’t know for sure that my old Rubicon Express shocks were bad, but I had a sneaking suspicion that turned out to be correct.

My TJ has been in Arizona since the beginning, therefore I was fortunate to have little trouble with the bolts. The passenger front upper bolt was the toughest to break, as I had to use a channel lock to hold the shock body while wrenching on the bolt. I was prepared for the worst on the rears, but they came out without trouble. Plenty of anti-seize on all the bolts going back in.

There are a few specific locations on my commute that I used to brace for. The new shocks just smooth it all away. Amazing how much of a difference they have made.

 

[nk24]

Finally got around to adding the Wyoming and Arizona flag decals that I custom ordered from pixeldecals almost two years ago. The colors aren’t perfectly matched, but I think from a distance they look ok. Also added a Wyoming bucking horse badge.

 

[Chris]

Holy cow... look at that clean frame!

It's an awesome thing to have a Jeep from the West Coast or Southwest, that's for sure!

 

[nk24]

Today's the day! I just dropped it off at the shop to get regeared. Went with Revolution 5.13 gears to pair with the 42RLE and 33" max tire size.

Should have it back tomorrow afternoon. Fingers crossed it comes out the other side vibe-free!

 

[nk24]

Took the Jeep for a spin this evening to get it up to highway speed and also to correct the speedometer. I had installed a SpeedoHealer prior to the regear but I hadn’t had a helper to check the speed on gps for me yet.

The SpeedoHealer was simple to program and the speedo was dead on with gps for the second drive after adjusting it to -19.5%.

There was a hint of vibration around 70 mph, but hardly noticeable compared to what others have gone through post regear. I’ll probably start with rebalancing the driveshafts and go from there. Still have about 40 more miles to go on the initial break-in period, so I won’t try a faster speed quite yet.

Prior to getting the speedo calibrated, I felt like the transmission was shifting too quickly. This was probably the result of the speedo being almost 20% high. After the calibration it seemed to shift more properly.

 

[nk24]

A while back I bought a few sets of stock wheels: 16" Rubicon Moab wheels and 15" Ravine wheels. Today I put one of each on the Jeep to see how they looked.

I've always loved the look of the Rubicon Moab wheels. I wish the tire selection for 16" rims was better.

Ravine wheels always catch my eye. My current wheels are 15", so I could directly swap the tires over to the Ravines. My current wheels have 3.75" backspacing though, so I have a feeling I would need spacers if I went to the Ravines. The Ravines would place the tires inside the flares, which would help keep the rocks and mud from slinging all over the sides.

 

[nk24]

Got a great deal on Craigslist for a pair of AEV Mopar rock crawler bumpers in excellent condition. The seller had them in his closet for several years so they look great.

Mounted up the rear bumper today. Looks pretty good!

I almost want to paint the rear cross member with the body matched touch-up paint so the laser cut “Jeep” logo stands out a bit more.

The spacing between the mounting point and the tube makes it difficult to tighten the top bolt because you can’t get a socket in there. Plus the bolts I was given were 18mm and that seems to be an oddball size so I didn’t have a wrench either. I also had to remove the body mount bolt to get to the top nut.

The bolts had attached washers, and I had to alternate their direction in order for them to fit.

I don’t know yet if I will install the front bumper. I would prefer to, but the Antirock creates some interference and cutting up the bumper would feel almost like cutting up a piece of art!

 

[rubicube]

I like that color mine came from flagstaff.live in Payson and wheel the rim and Roosevelt/four peaks all the time.pyatte draw ,the filter.

 

[nk24]

I like that color mine came from flagstaff.live in Payson and wheel the rim and Roosevelt/four peaks all the time.pyatte draw ,the filter.View attachment 101108

That's impressive if you've gone through The Filter at Pyeatt Draw in your TJ. I haven't seen it in person but the photos of it look daunting!

 

[rubicube]

my wife screams all the way like she's on a roll coaster,,,weeeeeeeeeee I live bout 10 min.from Pyeatt draw road...

 

[nk24]

Today I removed the front driveshaft to see if that was the source of the vibes. Got it up to 75 on the freeway and it was smooth as glass. Crossing my fingers that the driveshaft just needs to be balanced.

 

[nk24]

I spent some time Sunday replacing the O2 sensors. I hadn’t had any problems or codes, but I was about to hit 134,000 on the odometer and the sensors appeared to be original.

For some reason I decided to do it in the middle of the day when it was 112° here in Phoenix. My garage isn’t insulated nor does it have very good ventilation, so it was brutally hot. I don’t usually sweat much and my shirt was soaked afterwards.

I bought an O2 sensor socket to assist in the removal and installation. Three of the sensors came out without much of a fuss, but one needed a bit of penetrating oil. The hardest part was getting to the plug between the block and the firewall. I’m not sure why it had to go there when the other three were very accessible. I tried many different ways to get to the plug and finally got lucky reaching from above. I was also able to determine that my oil leak is for sure coming from the valve cover gasket because my arm was covered in fresh oil after I got the plug undone.

I took the Jeep out that evening to pick up some pizza and to see if everything was in good order. On the way back, the dreaded check engine light came on. I checked the code when I got home and it was P0138, something about high voltage bank 1, sensor 2. After eating I started searching for the solution. I couldn’t find anything definitive so I decided to take a quick look to see if everything was still in good shape. When I lifted the hood, I practically burned myself; somehow it was still very hot. I decided to wait until today to take a look.

The TJ isn’t my daily driver, and I needed to get to work early today, so I didn’t get a chance to look until tonight. I first checked the fuse and it was still intact. I looked at the sensors from above and they were all still in place. When I crawled underneath, it almost literally hit me in the face: the plug of the faulty sensor was dangling loose. When I installed it, I left the plug end off so that the wires didn’t get twisted up. I must have forgotten to plug it in.

I didn’t get a chance to drive it yet to see if the code goes away, but I would imagine that was the problem. I caused quite the headache for myself and I hope it has been solved.

 

[Grey_Machine7.3]

When you first posted your latest Rubicon, I thought the same thing. Very similar rear bumper with tire swing too.

Unfortunately, whoever installed my bumper decided to weld it to the cross member instead of drilling and bolting. I want to remove the bumper so I can install the Exogate that is waiting in a box in my garage. I'm tired of swinging the tire out first to get to the tailgate. I've been quoted about $100 to break the weld and remove the bumper.

View attachment 70656

If you were local I'd cut that bad boy off for free /:
I have still to make any new friends due to my Wrangler. I THOUGHT IT WOULD MAKE ME POPULAR

 

[nk24]

I have been looking forward to Labor Day for a few weeks. My significant other was working, so I spent a good four hours in the garage today. It was 103° in Phoenix today, which means it was about 120° in my detached, non-insulated garage (next project). Needless to say, the sweat was flowing heavily.

Today's goal was to overhaul the cooling system by replacing the radiator, radiator hoses, radiator cap, water pump, serpentine belt, and fan clutch. The radiator was original from 2004, and after 133,000 miles it was probably due. The temperature gauge would hover closer to the zero most of the time, which always made me feel a bit uneasy. The previous owner told me that the water pump was replaced in 2016, but I could tell it was not a Mopar pump, so I decided to bite the bullet and do it all at once.

I went with a Mopar radiator and water pump, Stant radiator cap, Hayden fan clutch, Gates hoses and belt, Zerex G-05 coolant.

Hoses, fan shroud, and fan removed

Water pump installed

Radiator installed

New serpentine belt

Everything buttoned back up

Old parts

Temp gauge after 15 minute test idle. Thankfully no leaks! I should have turned on the A/C to see what effect that would have had.

I was disappointed with the hose clamps I bought, which were recommended in another thread. They were the largest clamps I could find that were like the factory clamps, but I could only get one of them to fit (top radiator hose barb). I had to reuse the worm drive clamps on the other three, which were on there already so apparently they had been replaced at some point.

Other than the hose clamp issue, the most difficulty I ran into was removing the transmission cooler lines from the old radiator barbs. They were a bear to pull apart, even after removing the barbs completely from the radiator.

We have a trip coming up at the end of the month to Telluride, Ouray, and Durango, so I’m glad I was able to get this done.

 

[Chris]

Damn, look how clean that water pump is! It puts into perspective how dirty everything else is

 

[nk24]

Damn, look how clean that water pump is! It puts into perspective how dirty everything else is

Right? After I got everything buttoned back up, I wished I would have cleaned things up a bit, especially the fan shroud. It looks awful next to the brand new black plastic top on the radiator. Also, I have a valve cover leak that has allowed oil to seep all over the block. That’s on the list as well.

 

[Grey_Machine7.3]

I just redid my engine cooling system. And aside from it not boiling over when I'm sitting idle for 10+ minutes on a 85degree or higher day. No change. The temp gauge still sits a little to the right during the day. I just shrug. Guess that's where it's supposed to ride. I feel better knowing it's all fresh and done right.