Category: Misc

I was recently asked this question:

So even though with every Jeep build there is always one more thing after that one more thing that is added. But from a new Jeep owner to a experienced one, what would be your words of advice & your best & favorite mod?

I’m not sure just how experienced I am. But, these are good questions. Each mod has its own purpose, and to isolate most of them individually would be almost futile. But I’ll try and answer them in reverse order.

My favorite mod, today, is the one I had the most hand in creating, my corner armor. And I hope I don’t need to use it. 

 It’s only my favorite because I built it (well, cobbled together some parts someone else made – lol) and I think I did an OK job. I’d love to go back and change a few things. Someday.

Best mod? Hmmm. Depends on perspective. I might say the trail cage if I was talking about safety. But then I might say the winch if I’m talking about recovery. I can’t really say what one is the “best.” Maybe the lift since it gives me the flexibility I want for the kind of wheeling I like.

Words of advice – take your time. You don’t need to rush into anything. Unless you have buckets full of cash to buy the most expensive stuff and then replace it when it doesn’t satisfy you – don’t go out and buy that widget too fast. Wheel your Jeep the way it is. Find out what you WANT to do and then work your way into it. Learn things, like, there is NO SUCH THING as a complete lift “kit” and changing any aspect of your suspension will affect every other aspect. Ask questions and expect competing opinions. There is nothing wrong with civil disagreement.

If you look at this thread, you’ll see I started as a novice (still am, sorta) and I wheeled on 33″ tires and a budget boost. I hate mud, love rocks, so I new I wanted a high articulating lift. I drive it every day, a mud terrain tire would be noisy and uncomfortable. 

But most importantly, keep these two things at the forefront of every decision you make

1. Safety. Make sure what you are doing is safe and won’t cause problems.
2. It’s your Jeep.

Build it the way YOU want to build it and anyone that gives you grief about it can screw off. If you want a mall crawler, build one. You want a show Jeep, build it. You want something that looks pretty good and can crawl, build it and wash it every week. You want to rip the carpet out, throw away the top and let the mud dry on the seats – go for it. 

It’s been a many months long process. Between disassembly, having things media blasted, powder coated, making new parts, it’s been time consuming, frustrating, and fun.

But I finally have the Jeep put together they way I want it …. for now. 

There was more I was hoping to do this year, but those projects will have to wait. Time to have some fun!

Decided I was done with my Jeep being Goth. Got rid of the matte black stickers and replaced them with some medium charcoal.

Not for my Jeep, by for my friend TJ’s. Put together a license plate bracket for his spare tire carrier.

Got the 240v outlet wired in. I only put in a 20 amp breaker, as that is what this welder is rated. But I used 10 gauge wire, so I could swap it out for a 30 amp breaker later. Now I need to make a 15-20 foot extension cord.

No major updates. A lot going on in the next couple of months. All of that rusty steel is at the powder coater. Hoping to get that back this week. I won’t put it back on just yet. Still waiting until I am sure the snow is gone, even though the temp on Friday is supposed to be near 70. This is Cleveland. If you don’t like the weather, stick around for 15 minutes. There may actually be snow yet next week.

I did install a set of heated Truck-Lite headlights in the Jeep, however.

Here’s what I still have planned other than reinstalling the front and rear bumpers, tire carrier and rock sliders:

* LED Fog Lights
* JCR Rocker Armor
* JCR Flat Fenders (Front & Rear)
* JCR Inner Fender Liners (Front)
* RH 4×4 Sport Cage

I was hoping to get hydro assist installed as well. We’ll see.

I also picked up a set of AEV corner armor for a steal. But I’m not going to install them as-is. I’m having them blasted to I can fabricate them into something a little better. They don’t make builder panels for the 2 door anymore and some jackass off road company bought out AEVs remaining stock and doubled the selling price. Since I refuse to buy anything from those asshats, and AEV tells me the 4 door corners supposedly won’t fit, I’m going to modify the AEV corners myself.

But before I can do that, I needed to take care of some stuff in the garage. My 240v panel in the garage was undersized. I needed to pull some 6 gauge wire so I would have a full 60 amp feed. Now I have more than enough juice to hook up the welder I picked up from Andy’s cousin.

I wanted something the would prop the Tuffy deck open when I needed to get into something in the back. Got this idea from a Jeep forum.

A little aluminum angle iron, a hinge and some super lock velcro.

Tuffy sells some material to go on the deck for a non-skid surface, but it is uber expensive. This is tool box shelf material I picked up from Harbor Freight.

Took it to Southington for a dry-run. Everything seems to work as planned. I didn’t go too rough on any trails. Just enough to see how the lockers were working – and they did great! Can’t wait to push it even more.

The paranoid part of me was feeling a slight vibration at around 65 Mph after installing the lengthened driveshaft with the conversion u-joint on it. So I took it off and took it back to Cleveland Clutch. They rebalanced the shaft. Put it back in and I still feel the same, very slight, vibration. It may just be in my head, or it could be something else. Not sure. The front pinion angle looks OK, but I don’t have an accurate enough angle finder to trust it. I know it should be a couple degrees off from center, and my bubble gauge seems to read just that. It’s a double cardan joint at the t-case, so I know that input/output angles do not need to match. My mechanic seems to think that it’s OK. It could be a tire ever so slightly out of balance, pinion bearing, or my imagination.

Leaving for Tennessee on the 27th. If my t-case doesn’t explode, I guess I’m OK. 

I finally installed my Ace Engineering door hangers I bought last July. These things are really nice. I mounted a couple of sections of 2×12 to a couple of the studs, then mounted pieces of 2×4 to them vertically. I lagged the hanger into the 2×4’s. Without the 2×4’s I wouldn’t be able to flatten the doors against the wall without the mirrors hitting. They’re pretty much going to stay here 90% of the summer. For longer trips, the doors go back on. The soft doors are too damn noisy.