Sometimes you kick a can all the way down the road, other times you kick a bunch of cans halfway down the block. This week was the latter for me...
The BDO MML arrived and was swapped in without any fuss, but I'm still waiting on the UCF skid, which was supposed to arrive by today (Friday), but was delayed and now won't be here until Monday (which sucks killing a weekend!). While I'm waiting for that, I was at least able to mock up the t-case location and got my updated measurements off to Adam's Driveshafts. Knowing Adam's, I'll likely have the driveshafts back before the skid!
I spent another hour or so removing the hood parts (latches, bumpers, etc.) and got the front half of the Jeep fully compound-cut and cleaned up. I put a little synthetic wax over it and then installed the front fender flares. While these aren't my favorite look, they perfectly cover the tire tread and will be PA legal
I did manage to hook up the Savvy shifter and while I was messing with that, I replaced the lower shifter boot... this should work better than a giant hole and I'll start working on getting the floor prepped for noise and heat insulation, as well as the new BedRug install.
With the flares done and nothing left that I can do mechanically at the moment, I went down my "to do list" some and started working on the wiring that needs to be completed - specifically both lockers, off-road lights, rock lights (aka "camping lights"), and the trigger for my OBA system. The locker wiring is fairly straightforward - simply run the harness to the axles and secure out of the way. Luckily, I had incorporated a "loop" into the rear harness (rather than shorten it like I did the front), so the length was perfect for the LJ.
I modified the cowl panel similar to exactly how I did on my TJ and smoothed out the corners to allow the wires to be run without being pinched.
I did one thing different this time around - rather than run the wires back into the cab via the grommet for the wiper motor, I didn't want to compromise the seal there and ended up drilling a small hole in the firewall. I used a 1/4" ID grommet to pass the wires from the cowl area to the firewall and will hide the wires alongside the factory loom for a near-factory appearance.
I was originally planning on running my windshield lights (currently factory fogs as a placeholder) as a set of auxiliary driving lamps. PA code allows for an additional pair of SAE driving lights that must be triggered by the high-beam circuit. Unfortunately, PA code also says that aux driving lights must be 42" above level surface or less. Obviously, these won't meet that criteria, so they will now be dedicated off-road lights (and will need to be covered while driven on-road). I'm sure the Truck-Lite headlights will do a good job even on rural roads where our new house is, but I was hoping to get some added help with a set of KC Gravity Pro6 SAE LED lights. I'm going to order the KC's but will wait until after the move (they are back-ordered a few weeks).