El Jai

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tobyw
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Postby tobyw » Thu Jun 05, 2014 6:14 am

Since the clock seems to be ticking faster and faster as the launch date for Rubicon Round 2 draws nearer, I had to do some serious noodling on my shovel, err, skid plate issue. I love fabricating stuff as much as anyone, but at the end of the day sometimes it's hard to beat what is readily available in the aftermarket, especially if your time is of any value whatsoever. In this case, I simply couldn't make the math work out any better than with an aftermarket solution, specifically this one from Under Cover Fabworks. It is there "Extra Clearance" carbon steel unit, improving belly clearance by ~2-1/2". The install was simple, and Danny swung by last night just in time to lend a hand. No real magic to it, but we all like pictures:

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A quick test drive confirmed no driveline vibes, which is a TOTAL win thanks to the extra wheelbase of the LJ 8)

I also dropped the trans pan and changed the filter. When the pan was out, I drilled it for a drain plug and temperature sender port. I'll be installing a trans temp gauge sometime in the next week or so, still mocking up locations to find one I'm happy with.
Yep, I've wheeled one of those, too...
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tobyw
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Postby tobyw » Fri Jun 06, 2014 7:32 am

In my continuing quest to try and save weight on this outfit, I didn’t want to end up with a heavy/bulky rear bumper and tire carrier setup. With the minimalistic rear bumper already in place, it was time to address the tire carrier itself. We all know that the factory tailgate carrier setup is fine for a stock sized tire, but hanging a 35â€
Yep, I've wheeled one of those, too...

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Jafo
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Postby Jafo » Fri Jun 06, 2014 2:30 pm

Only thing that I see that will prolly be the demise of the carrier is access to a soft top rear window to open the tailgate, but I will let your A.D.D. take care of that situation. It looks like it would last, just like everything you build Toby, well done. 8)
2018 JLU-R work in progress.


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tobyw
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Postby tobyw » Wed Jun 11, 2014 8:14 am

Not much to report that is pic-worthy, just getting around to some of the wiring... On the list to wire up:

* CB
* Front E-Locker
* Rear E-Locker
* Transmission temp gauge
* OBA switch/compressor

Here is what I did for my switches:

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Yep, I've wheeled one of those, too...

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tobyw
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Postby tobyw » Sun Jun 15, 2014 7:27 am

Well... It's "done".

Don't have a lot of pictures, but I'll sort thru them and get them uploaded over the next couple days. Regardless, here's a recap of the last week or so:

* Trans skid plate fabricated/installed
* CB antenna mount fabricated/installed
* CB mounted/wired
* Lockers wired
* ARB pump mounted, switch wired
* Front diff skid installed
* Steering gearbox skid installed
* Autometer transmission temp gauge installed
* B&M transmission cooler installed
* Windshield replaced
* Spacer added to tire carrier snubber
* Correct length Gr8 cage mounting hardware installed
* Steering stabilizer replaced
* Headlights replaced
* Factory cruise control system installed

The dust settled in my shop around noon yesterday, after a major cleaning session. I loaded up into the Jeep and took it for a nervous test drive to czek on all of my wiring additions... I found a nearby gravel parking lot, closed my eyes and flipped the Rear Locker button. A little turn of the steering wheel, butterflies all up in my tummy, and I thankfully I was greeted with rear tires scratching at the gravel. SUCCESS!! In similarly scary and mercifully successful fashion, I pushed the buttons for the Front Locker and the cruise control system. All systems GO!

Rubicon Trail, here I come 8)
Yep, I've wheeled one of those, too...

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tobyw
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Postby tobyw » Tue Jul 08, 2014 6:28 am

Here are some quick pics of the trans skid and the antenna mount:

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Yep, I've wheeled one of those, too...

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tobyw
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Postby tobyw » Tue Jul 08, 2014 6:56 am

So after the ~2800 mile round trip to SoCal and back, with a gravel road otherwise known as the Rubicon tossed in somewhere along the way, I learned a few things about the LJ and some of the modifications I've made:

1.) It rides/drives incredibly well for what it is. It'll do 70mph with the A/C cranked in 100+ temps literally all day long, returning just a tick over 16mpg consistently. Engine temps never went over 215*, even pulling the Grapevine on I-5 during the hottest part of the day, and the trans never saw 180* on the entire trip, whether lugging in 4-Low along the trail or blasting up long grades on the freeway. Overall, it actually drives out better than the Grocery Getter v2.0 did :shock:

2.) The rear spring/shock rate needs to be a tad higher. There were numerous ledges that, even though I eased off of them as gingerly as possible, still resulted in banging the bottom of the rear bumper that could have been avoided if less compression travel had taken place. I believe some higher rate coils, perhaps OME versions, and some higher quality shock absorbers may be on the docket...

3.) The soft top is actually a great all-round compromise. The A/C system was able to keep even the rear seat area comfortable in 100+ temps, and on the trail with the windows zipped out it was a nice "safari" top. I'm contemplating selling the uber-huge/heavy hard top and just running the soft top during the necessary months and on trips just like this?

4.) While a lot of people on the innerwebs pooh-pooh at the Silverstar headlights, I'm here to tell you it was easily the best bang-for-the buck upgrade to date. I don't care what anyone else says, what the lumens/candlepower/light color charts say, or anything else, they flat work. For $30, the difference is simply remarkable and exceeded my expectations, providing more than adequate lighting even in pouring rain.

5.) The 4.88's and 35's, combined with the extremely high OD in the 42RLE transmission, are acceptable but not great. It just won't pull a good hill in OD, and when it kicks down into Drive at 70mph it's spinning about 3300rpm. Granted that isn't terribly high, but it's higher than I'd like and I'd much prefer to have a little more mechanical advantage and allow it to lope along in OD. A set of 5.38's would be great, but I can't get there with my D30 front, so I'll just have to live with this.

6.) Selectable lockers are incredible. That is all I can say about this.

7.) There were a couple of times during the Rubicon run that I noticed the power steering pump straining a bit. I believe a power steering cooling may also be on the docket.

8.) My passenger-front bump stop unseats from the receptacle bucket, likely caused by the coil grabbing it during droop travel. Not exactly sure how I'm going to rectify this situation just yet, but it's something that needs addressed.

9.) The spare tire carrier is cautiously going under the "approved" column. I specifically asked Marc to watch it a few times on the trail, and he reported no movement whatsoever, so I'm happy enough with that.

10.) The exhaust needs some attention. With the combination of motor mount lift and the tummy tuck, the crossover pipe is actually hard against the passenger side upper control arm mount at the frame, and the tail pipe is no longer supported by the hangers and is instead just sort of jammed up against them. Luckily I avoided any rattles or noises from all of this, but it will eventually lead to stress issues on the exhaust system and needs to get fixed.

Overall, I'm extremely happy with how the rig has turned out, and how it performs. Looking back, I don't think I would do anything much differently, but that certainly doesn't mean I won't be changing/adding things in the future. For now though, it needs a good bath and some minor tweaking to be ready for the next adventure.
Yep, I've wheeled one of those, too...

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iaccocca
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Postby iaccocca » Tue Jul 08, 2014 7:36 am

Toby, did you do upper and lower control arms on this build? I have my lowers on (please don't ask how many days that took), but the rear uppers have me scratching my head, because of the muffler on the passenger side.
Okay, we're a little crazy to have a Duramax for a daily driver. But if we go off our meds, we might wind up in a Prius.
If you want to hear God laugh, tell Him your plans.
N7EEL WROD249
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tobyw
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Postby tobyw » Tue Jul 08, 2014 9:14 am

Yes, I did all 8 adjustable arms... I was lucky on this one, and that particular bolt slid out juuuuuuuust above the muffler. IIRC on my '03 TJ, I was not so lucky and ended up having to cut the bolt to get it out, and put it back together the opposite way (bolt through the hole in the frame, nut against the muffler).
Yep, I've wheeled one of those, too...

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iaccocca
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Postby iaccocca » Tue Jul 08, 2014 9:18 am

I'm thinking that this is an excuse to cut my Prius muffler (yes it is that quiet) do the job and then get new exhaust. Didn't think about cutting the bolt. :roll:
Okay, we're a little crazy to have a Duramax for a daily driver. But if we go off our meds, we might wind up in a Prius.
If you want to hear God laugh, tell Him your plans.
N7EEL WROD249
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Rottwheeler
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Postby Rottwheeler » Tue Jul 08, 2014 1:50 pm

tobyw wrote:2.) The rear spring/shock rate needs to be a tad higher. There were numerous ledges that, even though I eased off of them as gingerly as possible, still resulted in banging the bottom of the rear bumper that could have been avoided if less compression travel had taken place. I believe some higher rate coils, perhaps OME versions, and some higher quality shock absorbers may be on the docket...


I too have experienced some bottoming out of my rear (RE) springs. Shocks now make squishy sounds. Please let me know if you identify a stiffer alternative. :)
Rottwheeler
White 13' JKU Rubicon, 3.5" Rubicon Express Super Flex suspension, 3:73s, 35" Nittos on American Racing ATX black faux bead locks... for now.

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tobyw
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Postby tobyw » Wed Jul 09, 2014 6:52 am

I've got a full set of brand new Fox 2.0 IFP's sitting in the shop, but they are the wrong length for the LJ... My plan is to spend some time with a frosty beverage and a tape measure and see if I can come up with a way to make them work. If that doesn't math out, I may try to yard sale them and get into a set of Bilstiens or something like that? Another idea I've got is to outboard the rear shocks, as the more upright stance should increase the effective rate... But, I'm not sure I really want to go through all of that hassle for such a mild overall build :?
Yep, I've wheeled one of those, too...

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Rottwheeler
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Postby Rottwheeler » Wed Jul 09, 2014 7:40 am

New shock hoops / towers and Fox spring overs ought to do the trick! :lol:
Rottwheeler
White 13' JKU Rubicon, 3.5" Rubicon Express Super Flex suspension, 3:73s, 35" Nittos on American Racing ATX black faux bead locks... for now.

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tobyw
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Postby tobyw » Sat Jun 27, 2015 3:32 pm

Wow, I guess it's been a while since I updated this build thread... I'll try to catch up here a bit since it's a billion degrees outside (my thermometer tops out at 850 million, but it's pegged so I'm making an educated guess) and I'd rather be inside soaking up the A/C than outside soaking up the heat :roll:

During the Rubicon adventure, I only had one passenger with me and not the whole family. Given that, I was extremely lazy with my packing setup, but knowing that someday I will be taking the entire group on multi-day excursions, something in the way of proper storage had to be vetted out. So, I started with a Harbor Freight ATV rack and made some dimensional modifications to make it fit between the rollcage C pillars. Then I made some simple stand offs and tube clamps, and ended up with a handy trail rack:


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Yep, I've wheeled one of those, too...

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tobyw
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Postby tobyw » Sat Jun 27, 2015 3:33 pm

Last fall I was doing some routing maintenance on the front suspension of the LJ, and upon unbolting my shocks and allowing the front axle to completely droop out, I realized the shocks were too short and were limiting droop travel:

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I put this in the memory bank and went about my business. A few days later, I was sitting at work and began to ponder the droop travel situation. In my haste, I had forgotten to look into the possibility of the trac bar further limiting my droop travel. This seemed to be a valid concern because I’m still running the stock trac bar, which has a TRE on the frame end, and they are known to have a fairly conservative range of motion… So, last night I put the LJ back in the air and methodically unbolted and czeked things for travel and interference. Here is a rundown of what I found, and how I addressed it.

With the shocks disconnected, here is what was limiting my droop travel. You can see the trac bar hitting the upper portion of the axle mounting bracket:

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I pulled the trac bar, and found another significant gain in droop travel:

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As it turns out, the TRE was not the limiting factor at all, and in fact the TRE allows for significantly more droop travel than several other components in my front suspension. The LCA hits the axle mounting bracket, even though I had already carved them out in an effort to gain droop:

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Also, at full articulation, the LCA flex joint body contacts the frame mounting brackets:

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Luckily though, these two points of interference happen at exactly the same amount of vertical wheel travel, so either/both are truly the droop limit of my front suspension. So, it was time to address the trac bar to see if there was any gain to be made without going to an aftermarket setup. I pulled out the grinder and carefully trimmed away the upper bracket as far back as possible. I also carved out a doubler plate for the front face of the trac bar mount bracket, and drilled a new hole to relocate the trac bar toward the driver side and down slightly, trying to gain as much range of motion as possible inside that captured bracket:

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In that picture, you can see just how far down the trac bar can hang, compared to full droop on my suspension, showing that the TRE has a range of motion greater than my available droop travel.

And with the trac bar reinstalled and again at full droop:

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So now the issue was that my shocks were still too short, even shorter than before thanks to the additional droop gained by modifying the trac bar mount. Rewind the clock to August 2012… I was attending the All-4-Fun event in Empire, Colorado and it was door prize night. Up for grabs was a full set of Fox 2.0 IFP shocks. The crowd was hushed as the event host thrust his hand into tumbling barrel to retrieve a lottery ticket. When my name was called, I jumped up and screamed, wildly waiving my hands to ensure I wasn’t lost in the crowd. The gift certificate was put in my name, and some time later a set of Fox 2.0 IFP shocks arrived on my doorstep. Unfortunately, I have changed wheeling rigs since that wonderful day, and I had spec’d the shocks for my prior ride… When I initially put the LJ together, I briefly attempted to measure out the differences between the RC Series 2.2 shocks that came with the suspension system and the Foxes, and determined the Foxes were simply too long. Fast forward to last night, and I pulled the Foxes back out of the box for another round of ciphering.

As it turns out, one of the habits I have gotten into throughout my years of building rigs is taking pictures. Lots of pictures. These pictures allow me to not only regale the glory of my prior steeds :roll: , but also look at potential issues and develop possible ways to correct them from the comfort of my office when work is slow.

I went into the house, grabbed the laptop, and opened up the photo album from the first test run of the new suspension under the LJ.
Here it is, at full stuff:

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You can see it’s hard into the bump stop, and the coil is almost fully compressed, which means its setup nicely for compression travel:

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But wait… what is that in the background? Could that possibly be unused compression travel in my shock, meaning a longer shock could be used? Do I have another angle to verify? Of course I do!!

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Yeah baby, ~3â€
Yep, I've wheeled one of those, too...

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tobyw
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Postby tobyw » Sat Jun 27, 2015 3:34 pm

With the front end under control (see what I did there), it was time to address the rear suspension. Going back to the story of the Fox shocks that I had won a while back, the rears I had on hand would not fit into the LJ upper mounts because I hadn’t spec’d them with bar pins. Granted I could have simply installed some bar pins or lightly modified the stock upper mounts to eliminate the need for bar pins, but where is the fun in that? :lol: I have read many, many accounts of people outboarding the rear shocks in order to help alleviate the “TJ wallowâ€
Yep, I've wheeled one of those, too...

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tobyw
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Postby tobyw » Sat Jun 27, 2015 3:44 pm

Finally got a chance to work on the OBA setup... I’m a huge fan of engine driven compressors for OBA, and have gone to great lengths in the past to develop mounting systems for them on a myriad of vehicles. With all of the available space in the TJ engine compartment this one was a comparative no brainer, although the mockup phase went through a few evolutions because one of my goals was to maintain the factory alternator bracket and auto tensioner for the serpentine belt. In addition to ensuring proper belt alignment and not overstressing any bearings, it also allows me to have all of the necessary parts on hand to remove the OBA compressor and revert back to the stock belt if necessary. From personal experience, if a compressor seizes or the clutch fails on the trail, it’s nice to be able to revert back to stock and get back to camp without causing undo damage to other parts. At any rate, here are some pics…

The bare 4.0L block and head, ready for some beer and tape measure designing:

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Mocking up the final version of the bracket:

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The bracket painted and installed:

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Here you can see how my bracket simply relocates the factory alternator/tensioner bracket, and provides a mounting shelf for the OBA compressor:

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Alternator, idler pulley, and compressor all mounted up:

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Since I didn’t change the orientation of the alternator, the factory wiring hooks back up perfectly:

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And here is the finished product. Plenty of room for the stock air box, perfect belt alignment and tension, and an endless supply of compressed air ready to go:

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Yep, I've wheeled one of those, too...

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tobyw
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Postby tobyw » Sat Jun 27, 2015 3:46 pm

I have to admit... I've got a soft spot for the race-inspired look of the full-width LED light bars on certain vehicles. But, as with anything, my OCD tendencies left me with very limited choices in terms of both the LED bar itself, and the mounting brackets. As luck would have it, the price point on LED bars has dropped like a lead balloon lately, and a 50" bar like this can be had for well under $100 delivered :shock: 8)

As for the brackets, I simply can't live with huge gaps between the windshield frame and the brackets, and unfortunately 99% of the aftermarket brackets out there do in fact leave some pretty substantial gaps. The TJ windshield frame is a complex piece, and trying to mask it with sheet steel of any thickness is kind of a thing. However, the boys at Poison Spyder have it ciphered, and after some exhaustive research, their bracket kit got the nod. They didn't go on without modification, however...

After an initial mockup of the brackets, I found out that the Poison Spyder brackets left 51-1/8" between the mounting ears, but my LED bar was 51-3/4". Sooooo, some modification was in order. I skinny wheeled of the mounting tabs, reshaped the upper section of the bracket, and glued the tabs back in place to give me the space necessary to hang my LED bar:

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With the fabrication/modification out of the way, some Duplicolor Perfect Match paint and clear was applied, and the entire outfit was slapped into place:

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Here you can see what I mean about following the complex shape of the TJ windshield frame. The Poison Spyder brackets have a couple of very well placed bends that allow it to hug the frame better than any others I could find:

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Light bar installed:

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And here it is next to the other light bar project from this morning:

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Wiring to follow, I'm waiting on an OEM Cherokee XJ fog light switch to drop into the dash 8)
Yep, I've wheeled one of those, too...

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tobyw
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Postby tobyw » Sat Jun 27, 2015 3:48 pm

Whew, I think that pretty much brings us up to speed on where the LJ sits today.

Now that it's done, it's probably time to sell it... :lol:
Yep, I've wheeled one of those, too...

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Wrench
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Postby Wrench » Sun Jun 28, 2015 7:25 am

tobyw wrote:Whew, I think that pretty much brings us up to speed on where the LJ sits today.

Now that it's done, it's probably time to sell it... :lol:


I've been stuffing away cash just in case. :D
Paul
'84 XJ, '19JL

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Rottwheeler
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Postby Rottwheeler » Sun Jun 28, 2015 7:46 am

tobyw wrote:Whew, I think that pretty much brings us up to speed on where the LJ sits today.

Now that it's done, it's probably time to sell it... :lol:


Glad to hear your done with yours... when do you want to start on mine??? :yahoo
Rottwheeler
White 13' JKU Rubicon, 3.5" Rubicon Express Super Flex suspension, 3:73s, 35" Nittos on American Racing ATX black faux bead locks... for now.

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tobyw
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Re: El Jai

Postby tobyw » Thu Oct 27, 2016 6:28 am

After blowing out one of the rear Fox IFP 2.0’s a while back, I had been wanting to swap out shocks for some time. I finally pulled the trigger on a full set of Bilstein 5160 remote reservoir shocks, so out came the knife and hot glue gun to fabricate some mounts for the reservoirs:

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Yep, I've wheeled one of those, too...

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