With the help of TJ and Rob, we got the Rock Hard 4×4 Sport Cage installed, or at least fitted. Mostly. Once I get the trim and the roll bar pads and covers cut to fit, I’ll disassemble it and get it powder coated.
I still have to figure out one issue. Neither of the lower bolts on the door seam are lining up properly in the tapped holes in the uprights. I need to shoot an email to RH and see what my options are. I may have to plug weld the old hole in the upright and drill/tap a new one.
You can see in this photo where the hole isn’t lining up. I double and triple checked the location of the drilling template. Unless I did something wrong, or the template is off, or something. If the hole was in the “right” place, there wouldn’t be any way to get the button head screw in there, it will be too close to the corner.
Picked up some of the parts from the powder coater. They look factory fresh! They were media blasted and then coating with a zinc rich primer first, and then top coated with a layer of textured black.
The rock sliders were the worst of the bunch. All that salty slush that sat on them last winter just ate away at them. I’m doing things differently this winter. I’ve actually considered taking the steel off again in the fall and storing it in the basement. I wish I didn’t feel like I have to resort to such measures.
They screwed up on the rear bumper and tire carrier a bit. Even though it was clearly marked in photographs, and I masked these areas with blue tape, they powder coated part of the spindle and the machined bearing races in the carrier. Ugh. They’re fixing it, which means I have to make yet another 45 minute drive each way to pick them up.
I can’t wait to get this all (and more) back on the Jeep.
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.
Removed all of the aftermarket steel off the Jeep over the last couple of weeks.
I’ll be taking it all to be media blasted, zinc plated, e-coated and then powder coated. I figure it will be my best defense against rusting. I’ll still have to do some touch up of scratches, but the NE Ohio winters are murder on these things.
Picked up a set of Sahara bumpers in the meantime. Where’s the mall?
With the rock sliders gone, it’s a little bit of a pain for the wife to get into the Jeep. Picked up some Mopar side steps.
Ugh. I feel like I am going backwards in time!
My Rock Krawler lift is awesome. But the powder coat did not hold up well at all. Took a wire brush to them and broke open the Rust Bullet with an over coat of Rustoleum.
Replace the rear tail light that some tree in Tennessee tried to hug. I still need to find a replacement clip for the lower right screw.
Without a tire carrier, my spare is in the back on top of the Tuffy deck. I added some Jeep style tie downs to the deck and have the spare ratchet strapped to the deck.
Since there’s no spare on the tailgate, I decided to ditch my broken license plate bracket. Mounted up a Poison Spyder tramp stamp with an Off Road Only third brake light and license plate light. I intend to move this to the spare with the tire carrier goes back on.
I live in NE Ohio and we love to salt the roads around here in the winter. I hate it. It makes everything rust. My daily-driven Jeep is no exception.
After returned from an awesome wheeling trip in Kentucky and Tennessee last week, I decided it was time to start removing the steel from the Jeep, have it blasted and new powder coat applied. This time, I plan on having it zinc plated, then e-coated, then powder coated. This should protect the steel from everything that’s not scratched. I can touch up the dings and scratches with POR 15 and paint, but the zinc and e-coat will keep the rust from spreading too far, too fast.
I’m going to be building a license plate bracket for my spare (need to practice my welding!), so I will be losing the antenna mount for my CB that currently resides inside the stock bracket, shown in this photo from a while ago:
After I removed the JCR tire carrier, I fabbed up another tab for a second antenna mount. I have two radios in the Jeep, a VHF/UHF radio for HAM and GMRS, and the CB (yuk). I want to get rid of the CB, but it is a bit too popular. These are not ideal antenna locations, but they seem to do the trick anyway.
My welding skills still suck, but my grinding is getting better!
I haven’t seen temps below 220 in a looooonnnnnng time. Never at 75MPH. This was on the way home, 81 degrees outside, with the A/C on. Normally, this would be 226* plus. As high as 235*.
Some of you know I’ve been having some minor heat issues while daily driving. My coolant temp gets hotter than I would like it. Not dangerously hot (240 max) but hot enough that I wanted to try my hand at seeing if I can shed a few degrees. The option of a heat reduction hood is out of the budgetary question right now, so I decided, based on a friend’s recommendation, on a Hyline Offroad hood louver. It’s aluminum and comes bare or powder coated. I opted for PC. Ordered from Hyline directly and had it in two days.
I like this design over the Poison Spyder louver because the bolts are welded to the louver itself. I think it’s a much cleaner install. Plus Hyline sends along a steel template that makes locating the few dozen holes that have to be drilled painless.
Things didn’t start off too great. While removing the footman loop off the hood, one of the bolts busted off. Cheap junk. I’ll be ordering a replacement soon.
Got the hood off, and with the help from T.J., we got it done in about 3 hours. Some things that are noteworthy.
The instructions have you drill 1/16″ pilot holes. Have a few extra drill bits on hand.
A good hole saw could not be more important. But even if you are off a little, it’s all hidden.
The outer sheet metal is glued or double-stick taped to the supporting structure. Took as a minute to figure that out.
Paint the exposed edges and the hood structure black or some other color.
Make sure you thoroughly test fit everything. I ran into some issues with the threads on the welded-on studs catching on the holes, making it nearly impossible to secure it flat. I had to remove it, enlarge the holes, and the test fit again. You don’t want any binding at all.
Take your time, go back and forth between each side, front and rear, securing the studs with the nuts.
Here are a few photos and a short time lapse video.
Been doing more things around the house and just haven’t had a ton of time to work on the Jeep. I’m behind on so many projects.
I did manage to get some stuff done today, with the help of my friend TJ. My stock cross member was in pretty bad shape. It’s hard to tell from the photos, but there’s some serious dents and damage there. That thing is a bit of a joke. Ordered a new one from JCR Offroad.
Not only is the JCR cross member made out of thicker material, and it’s welded all the way around, the put reinforcements on the inside of the box to give it some additional strength. It was an extremely easy install, overall. Much easier than I had expected.
Plus, I got a great deal on a JCR Offroad engine/transmission/exhaust loop skid from a JK Freaks forum member. I had to clean up the rust on it and repaint it, but I like this color better.
I had an engine skid on it before, but the JCR design is so much sturdier. The brackets that hang from the engine mounts look like it would take a brick of C4 to bend them.
While I was at it, I installed an aftermarket gas tank skid as well I picked up a while back. My stock “skid” was in really bad shape. I guess I need to pick better lines.
The only real issue we had during the install was getting the stock gas tank skid bolt holes to line up with the ones in the cross member. Not sure if the cross member was off, or the stock skid shifted. I only had a half tank of gas, but that might have been enough of it to shift a little. Plus, it was so bent near the front, that it mad have changed shape. Nothing a die grinder and grinding stone can’t fix. I also painted over the rust spots on the stock skid before installing the aftermarket skid.
I did cut off the ears of the stock transfer case skid so it would fit flat under the engine skid. At some point, I’ll replace it with something that covers more. I like the idea of a flat belly.
It’s too bad I almost have to driving over top of you to see these logos.
