PC1P's 2006 Jeep LJ Build - Brünhilde

Based on the good reviews here, here, and elsewhere, I went ahead and ordered a Sound Ordnance B-8PTD from Crutchfield. They had a Scratch & Dent model on sale for $99.99 with free shipping. I had $20 in Rewards available, so I put that to use and figured I'd give this a shot and see how it works. It seems like these can be tucked under the seat without too much fuss. Alternatively, I see some people replace the factory sub with this (under the console), so I can try it there as well... options are nice (y)

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Should be here by Friday, so it will give me something to do while I'm waiting on suspension stuff :)
 
I needed to pull the wheels off of the TJ so that I could get the Hemi and front axle pulled, so I figured I might as well throw them onto the LJ and see what they looked like and how they fit...

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They certainly look much better, though I still need to figure out what to do with the red rings (maybe just find a nice charcoal or dark silver?). As huge as those flares looked with 33"s on 4.5" BS wheels, they actually just barely cover these up, so perhaps I may end up cleaning these and using them after all (or getting a replacement set if cheap enough)...


I am still waiting on a handful of parts to arrive - my BDO MML and UCF skid plate being the two big ones. I may install the 1" BL and just leave the fan shroud off until the MML arrives. My hope is to get the tuck, MML, SYE, suspension and axle swap done in a single week.
I actually like the stock fender look on a Jeep. I accept that there are some advantages to flats and even more to hi-lines. But it's what I like... I think that looks quite good with those wide flares and that tire/wheel combo. Like Jeep should have shipped it from the factory. :)
 
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I actually like the stock fender look on a Jeep. I accept that there are some advantages to flats and even more to hi-lines. But it's what I like... I think that looks quite good with those wide flares and that tire/wheel combo. Like Jeep should have shipped it from the factory. :)
I actually can't disagree with that at all either - the stock Jeep fenders look, well, very "Jeep" and particularly the TJ stuff has probably the best shape/design of all of the previous and later iterations of the Wrangler.

I used to prefer the wide, Bushwhacker-style pocket flares - mainly due to my time growing up and starting 4x4'ing in PA, but after years in the desert, my preference for short/skinny flares has taken over. I am warming up to these again - and it's nice knowing the cops won't see me as a source of revenue :)
 
Finally got around to installing the Angry Grille...
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Still waiting on parts - hell, I'm waiting for shipping confirmations even - so I'm doing what I can.

I happened to scroll across a thread where someone was installing GraBars in a 05-06 Jeep and saw it mentioned that they only need to drill a hole in the plastic trim piece. It didn't even dawn on me, so I did some checking and indeed the knock-offs I bought on Amazon were listed as 97-06. Using the measurements in the thread, I drilled a pair of 1-1/4" holes and checked fit. I think due to mine being knockoffs, they didn't exactly fit like the GraBars would have. I simply drilled a sister-hole - essentially making an oval - and cleaned up the transition. The trim pieces fit perfectly and I can now get my fat ass in and out of the Jeep much easier! (y)

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I will remove these once I get the top pulled off for paint and clean up the edges, plus properly secure the upper gasket to the channel. While I was already out there sweating my butt off, I took a few minutes to swap out the rear speakers from the ones I had in the TJ.

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I was amazed at how perfectly these fit in place - didn't need to do anything more than mess with some screws. While the old speakers were out, I packed the sound pods with some poly-fill to help with resonance of the pod and give a tighter response. Once these were installed, I took the time to set up proper fade and EQ settings. I can crank the volume up all the way until it becomes uncomfortable with no distortion or clipping. Hopefully my Sound Ordnance sub arrives today and I can get that installed this weekend - I'm looking forward to enjoying a somewhat "complete" sound system soon. With the hardtop and the pending flooring and soundproofing, it should be a decent improvement over stock.
 
Banged out the Savvy taillights - I love how bright these are!
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The Sound Ordnance sub arrived on Friday, just as Crutchfield promised, so I played around with it some.

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I was going to use it to replace the factory subwoofer in the console but after thinking about it some, I really would just prefer to get a standard, non-sub console. I need storage for things like sunglasses, the occasional lens wipe, etc. and that baby storage bin just isn't going to cut it. Also, I have found myself using the center console to support myself as I get in the Jeep. The lid on the factory console appears to be made out of the same material and thickness as a milk jug, so I'm leaning towards a Tuffy (non-sub) just to hold up to me.

I thought about putting it in the rear cargo area, bolted to the side of the wheel well, but was worried that it be too much temptation for a quick snatch when I had the top off. Ultimately, I ended up putting it under the rear seat. It does a real nice job of filling in the low and mid tones that the 5.25" Kickers would struggle with. I've adjusted my crossovers, tweaked fade and bass again, and set the sub output gain to optimize sound and am very happy. There is just a small amount of thump that you can feel but that is to be expected from a shallow 8" woofer.

My only complaint with the Sound Ordnance is that the Auto-On feature wasn't working. Since I had already mounted it and ran power and RCA, I just tapped into the built-in "remote out" feature of the Alpline micro amp and ran that back to the sub alongside the RCA cables. Luckily, the headunit, Alpine amp, and Sound Ordnance are "soft start" circuitry and there are no pops or noises when I turn the radio on or start the rig.

From a sound perspective, I am very impressed with the current setup, particularly considering that I have less than $800 in the entire thing, including the head unit. Back in my hayday, I spent time helping a friend build his Grand Am for SQL and SPL competitions and I spent a crazy amount of time and money making my G35 sound like a symphony hall. While this setup is nowhere near that, it's a huge improvement and will make the drive across the country that much more enjoyable. The only thing I may change eventually would be adding some tweaters (and the appropriate crossovers) in the front for even clearer high's at speed (particularly with the top off).

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Although I've spent a lot of time thinking about getting the big stuff done - axle swap, PSC Saginaw conversion, tummy tuck, etc. - I know the importance of tip-top maintenance especially with summer approaching and our pending move across the country. When I first test drove the LJ, it wouldn't start - heck the dash wouldn't even light up. The seller (actually, the seller's father) had it on a charger to see if it would help.

From the pic above, you can imagine what the problem was. I was able to use some hand tools and get a good contact on the cables, then the Jeep fired right up. I knew this was one of the first things to repair. Thankfully, it was just shady replacement work and the OP didn't modify anything here (his #angrygrillelife was limited to the grille and stupid ass stickers).

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I ended up swapping the Optima battery I had in the TJ with @starkey480 since he got the rest of my GenRight stuff. Luckily, his Group 34 fits perfectly inside the tray of this one. Before installing the new battery, I took the time to remove the tray, clean out below it, and put a fresh coat of SEM and epoxy paint on the tray itself before bolting it all back together.

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Despite what is shown in the FSM, the 05-06 models use a wedge-style battery retainer. I was struggling to get it to actually bite down on the battery. I shifted, removed, replaced, and repeated this process probably 3 times before I came to the realization that the wedge retainer was built upside down! The Dorman replacement came exactly as the image above shows. I took the battery out a final time, removed the bolt retainer, flipped it around, and voila - it worked perfectly. Had I read the reviews on Amazon rather than just looking at the overall rating, I could have saved me 15 minutes of monkeying around - numerous folk had mentioned that the bolt is on the wrong side as well...
 
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I saw someone on one of the Jeep Facebook pages post about a good deal at Quadratec for a set of Truck-Lites. I couldn't pass on the deal - a set of heated LED headlights for less than $320 was something that seemed like one of those things you get excited about, only to have them cancel the order due to the "incorrect price listing"...

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But after confirming that this is indeed for the pair of lights - and after seeing a shipping confirmation # - I'm getting excited to get some good lighting on this rig. I have always struggled between LED and H4. I like the performance of LED (with good light color), especially after wheeling with a few people at night, but love the classic look of a Hella H4 or similar housing. These TL's are more on the modern side but still less modern looking than something like the JW version.

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In preparation of the new lights, I figured this was a good time to repair the headlight connectors. These have seen better days - they're full of mud (really the only thing that was muddy under hood) and have damaged wiring. I saved the Novita-brand ceramic connectors that I installed on the TJ and soldered them in place. These are the only set of connectors that has true 14 AWG wiring. Probably overkill now with the LEDs, but they're solidly built and should last forever...

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While I was down there, a buddy suggested I look and see if I had factory fog lights. Much to my surprise, I had the wires and what appeared to be cut off leads. After doing some checking, I already had the fuse in the fog-light position and had a loose relay in the ABS spot. It didn't take me too long to figure out that the spare relay in the ABS spot (my rig doesn't have ABS) was the fog relay.

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I plugged the relay in and immediately heard a click. Going back to the cabin, I could see the fog light indicator on the dashboard come on. I checked voltage and there was indeed 12V at the connector even with the rig turned off and the lights turned off. Doing some research, this appears to be a common failure of the headlight switch. I checked and couldn't find any Mopar replacements, so I ordered one from AutoZone with a lifetime warranty.

My intent was to run a set of Rigid 2x2 cube fogs that I bought off a friend. However, I don't believe they will work without at least a 2" spacer with my current bumper (Dave's Custom Unlimited). The shackle D-ring is quite tall and blocks the face of the light. I am going to hold off on these at the moment (until I decide what I'm doing with my front bumper) but have already prepped a set of extensions/adapters using the old plug ends...

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"my MetalCloak fender flares did after just a few weeks (they were fading and there was rust developing in the edges where the tube met the panel)."

Yeah mine as well. Really disappointed in the powdercoating.
 
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I swear, us TJ'ers in the Phoenix valley swap parts more than ASU baseball players swap STDs! Thanks to @Chris selling @starkey480 his NV bumper, I was able to buy Starkey's Dirtworx bumper. It fits my needs perfectly in the short term and will serve me well while relocating back to PA.

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I pulled the factory bumper off and gave it a good wash. I then taped off the tub itself, then gave the crossmember a quick touch up with some rust-converting primer and my favorite chassis paint (VHT Epoxy Paint in Gloss Black).

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For the bumper itself, I hit the edges with a 60-grit flap disc and smoothed the bottom-side out. A few quick hits with some VHT SEP followed by VHT epoxy paint and she was ready to be bolted in place.

I ordered a new trailer wiring harness and should have that all done this weekend. My plan is to tap into the trailer harness and convert the ground-lead on the tailgate pins into a parking-light lead and will use that to power the JKS license plate light.

On Saturday, I'm helping my landscaper swap a set of axles I built for him under his XJ. After that, I'll be tearing the LJ down! UCF says that my skid plate should be shipping today and based on what people have told me, Brown Dog Offroad ships within 10-12 days, so I'm expecting them any day now.

Over the next two weeks, I'll be...
- installing the MML (when it arrives!) and UCF skid
- installing the NP231 from my TJ (already with JB SYE, 6p planetary, 1.25" wide chain and a fresh set of bearings)
- swap over my Savvy t-case shifter
- send driveshafts (likely just the rear but I need to double check) back to Adam's so he can adjust from TJ length to LJ length
- convert to the Saginaw steering box and add my PSC box, as well as the rest of the hydro-assist setup
- since I need to remove the radiator to properly install the PSC cooler and bracket, I'm going to flush and fill the cooling system and replace the fan clutch while I'm at it
- swap over the D30HP/Dana 44, control arms, and 3.5" springs
- flush frame clean and powerwash everything again, then add Eastwood frame coating as well as my preferred undercoating (3M Professional) to the wheel wells, under tub, etc.

It's a lot of work but should be relatively straight forward. This rig is rust free and the suspension components have already been swapped out at some point, so it will just be a matter of unbolting stuff and bolting new stuff in (fingers crossed!).
 
I swear, us TJ'ers in the Phoenix valley swap parts more than ASU baseball players swap STDs! Thanks to @Chris selling @starkey480 his NV bumper, I was able to buy Starkey's Dirtworx bumper. It fits my needs perfectly in the short term and will serve me well while relocating back to PA.

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I pulled the factory bumper off and gave it a good wash. I then taped off the tub itself, then gave the crossmember a quick touch up with some rust-converting primer and my favorite chassis paint (VHT Epoxy Paint in Gloss Black).

View attachment 244256

For the bumper itself, I hit the edges with a 60-grit flap disc and smoothed the bottom-side out. A few quick hits with some VHT SEP followed by VHT epoxy paint and she was ready to be bolted in place.

I ordered a new trailer wiring harness and should have that all done this weekend. My plan is to tap into the trailer harness and convert the ground-lead on the tailgate pins into a parking-light lead and will use that to power the JKS license plate light.

On Saturday, I'm helping my landscaper swap a set of axles I built for him under his XJ. After that, I'll be tearing the LJ down! UCF says that my skid plate should be shipping today and based on what people have told me, Brown Dog Offroad ships within 10-12 days, so I'm expecting them any day now.

Over the next two weeks, I'll be...
- installing the MML (when it arrives!) and UCF skid
- installing the NP231 from my TJ (already with JB SYE, 6p planetary, 1.25" wide chain and a fresh set of bearings)
- swap over my Savvy t-case shifter
- send driveshafts (likely just the rear but I need to double check) back to Adam's so he can adjust from TJ length to LJ length
- convert to the Saginaw steering box and add my PSC box, as well as the rest of the hydro-assist setup
- since I need to remove the radiator to properly install the PSC cooler and bracket, I'm going to flush and fill the cooling system and replace the fan clutch while I'm at it
- swap over the D30HP/Dana 44, control arms, and 3.5" springs
- flush frame clean and powerwash everything again, then add Eastwood frame coating as well as my preferred undercoating (3M Professional) to the wheel wells, under tub, etc.

It's a lot of work but should be relatively straight forward. This rig is rust free and the suspension components have already been swapped out at some point, so it will just be a matter of unbolting stuff and bolting new stuff in (fingers crossed!).
See how this all works out between you, me, and @starkey480 😆
 
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Well I'm slowly getting my yard and garage back...

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Spent 12 hours on Saturday helping my landscaper install a set of axles under his XJ. This was a Dana 30/8.8 that I built for him a while back that I'm just now able to help him with. The front went easy, basically bolt-in but we did end up replacing some control arms while we were there (which is good since his were totally destroyed!!). The rear took some work - we had to make sure the pinion angle was correct, which required a SYE install as well as the removal of the crossmember spacers. Overall, he should be quite happy with the gearing (5.13's on 33"s with an AW4) and addition of a rear locker (Detroit full case).

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Also sold what was left of the TJ and my spare TJ parts - my wife is ecstatic that she doesn't need to see a junkyard out the side window anymore :) #rednecksgonnadoredneckshit

On Sunday, I tried my best to get done early to that I could lend Starkey480 a hand, but fate intervened. I had to run a bunch of errands around lunch time, then had a bunch of people schedule pick-up times for other stuff I am getting rid of (spare welding tank, some Dodge stuff, etc.). I did manage to get some work done in the AM though:

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I started pulling the flares and wheelwell liners in preparation for my undercoating (and also so I could give it a thorough cleaning before pulling the axles later this week). After dropping the one liner, I realized I probably should have done this outside. Once everything was off and I cleaned up my mess, I headed over to the local coin-car-wash...

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"My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard..." started playing in my head for some reason once I took the pressure washer to the frame rails. I'll say it once more - mud if f&$#!@* gross... This is by far the part of the move back east that I'm dreading more than anything.

After almost 12 minutes of power washing, the water coming out of all the frame holes was clear. I figure I need to do this about 3-4 more times before I can confidently assume the frame is squeaky clean enough to use the Eastwood Frame Coating inside it. Luckily, the dry climate of AZ and the fact that Hawaii didn't let the previous owners drive on the beaches means that this is nothing more than an inconvenience.

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After a few extra days worth of shipping, my headlights arrived just before dinner time (on a Sunday noless). I couldn't wait to install them, so I ran to the garage with my Torx driver in hand and swapped them out, then quickly took a test drive...

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I need to aim these properly but the light output is impressive and the color isn't bad (for my eyes at least). My first attempt to aim them didn't work well since the adjusters inside the buckets appear to be cracked. This was the same issue I ran into with my TJ - luckily I saved the replacement headlight buckets from the TJ and will swap those over.

I can see what people say by the pattern having some distinct lines in them. There are 2 very distinct squares" when next to a flat surface (like my garage door) but on the road, they aren't nearly as visible.

With my landscaper's parts out of the garage and his Jeep done, I'll be bringing the LJ into the garage this week and will start tearing down the axles and suspension. I noticed a fairly large puddle of oil under the engine for the first time yesterday. I double checked and it doesn't appear to be the valve cover, so I'm guessing a RMS replacement is in order. I've never done one on a 4.0L but apparently it's fairly easy. While I was down there inspecting the leak, the throwout bearing is making more noise than it probably should, so I may end up doing a clutch kit too. I'll already have the t-case, driveshafts, and t-case shifter out anyways - what's a few more bolts :ROFLMAO: