SHYUperman

iTrader: (1)

Beefed up my steering with a synergy tie rod, drag link, SS relocation and a fox SS. Definitely more stable and less flighty driving.





Removing the drag link end at the pitman arm gave me some trouble and took way longer than intended. Thankfully a bigger hammer and a pickle fork rental tool from advance auto got it off. Sadly... the drag link wasn't able to be saved :P





Installed my backup sensors, thankfully no false positives or issues with the spare tire. Installed some a pillar lights but found out that the light mount could crack the weld under the cowl, so I uninstalled them and looking for a better solution.






Going wheeling this weekend, hope to have some non mall crawling pics posted

Costco

Never seen a broken pickle fork before. How big was this hammer, exactly?

Keep the shiny side up

Costco

Damn, I didn't even see the pics on the last page. Fuck, your JLU looks awesome!! Love the no doors look.

CCColtsicehockey

Can't wait to see some pics of it in action.

I am with Costco how big of a hammer that you managed to break a pickle fork?

SHYUperman

iTrader: (1)

just a 16oz hammer It was a harbor freight pickle fork so I question the strength/quality, but we were hammering the hell out of it. Wasted two hours trying to figure out why that end wasn't coming out. Soaked it with PB blaster and got a mini sledge and a smaller pickle fork and it broke loose after three hits. I think it was the mini sledge and right sized pickle fork that did it, where my buddies think it was the pb blaster. I was hoping to save the drag link as a spare, but we destroyed the boot and took out some rage on the pit man arm end

SamDoe1

Awesome build man. What sort of deals are you seeing for black friday? If I'm going to build up, that sounds like a great time to stock up on things...

SHYUperman

iTrader: (1)

Thanks, I stocked up from BF last year. Northridge4x4 and River City Offroad should have the best deals. On BF, typically the manufacters have anywhere from 10-25% off. If you're itching to buy stuff sooner, NR has a discount code that gets you up to 20% off, but there are a lot of restrictions (current codes are sharktank, litebrite, jlwranglerforums). Quadratec is also great with their forum discount with really fast shipping.

SamDoe1

What's the Quadratec discount? I'll definitely try and pick up some parts over BF though. Unfortunately I'd have to wait for 6 months to install anything

SHYUperman

iTrader: (1)

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/for...-quotes.12940/

You might be able to find some good deals from now and BF. All depends on how long you can wait

SamDoe1

Well this is about to get more dangerous...

I've been wanting a new front bumper too but I need to stick to my plan!

SHYUperman

iTrader: (1)

Pics from wheeling at Rausch Creek over the weekend:








Attachment 97752

00TL-P3.2

Looks like a blast, wish we had stuff like that here.

CCColtsicehockey

Man that think just looks so mean. Love it

SamDoe1

Looks like so much fun, I'm jealous.

SHYUperman

iTrader: (1)

Just past my first year of ownership of the JL. Dropped it off to get it regeared over the weekend. I was debating between 5.13s and 4.88s and I'm glad I went 4.88s. While driving home and breaking in the gears I was able to maintain 8th gear consistently and it was definitely noticeable the improvement in performance.





I have a couple of things that I got during black friday that I haven't installed. But last time I went wheeling, I noticed noise coming from my front end. Turned out I popped the bushing out of the front sway bar while wheeling. Ended up upgrading to a beefier front sway bar that allows more articulation while using the rubicon electronic sway bar disconnects.

CCColtsicehockey

Dang those things are beefy

SamDoe1

How much did it cost to get the Jeep re-geared and what front bumper are you running?

I hit the BF sales hard and snagged some Ace Engineering rock/step rails, adjustable front LCA's, and a Teraflex tailgate hinge. I got the rails and control arms installed before it got super cold but it's looking like the tailgate hinge is going to have to wait until spring.

SHYUperman

iTrader: (1)

~1800, it was 800$ for the gears and 500$ install per axle. I'm running the poison spyder crawler bumper. How are you liking the 4.10s with your 35s?

Nice, I had the ace sliders and TF hinge on my JKU, Two great products. Do you still need to grind down the bolt mount bolts to install the ace sliders? Do you have more mods plan for your build?

SamDoe1

Hmmm...I may do that but we'll see. I don't daily the Jeep so it's not a huge deal for me to regear but I'm guessing it'll make the drive a lot better. The 4.10's are solidly ok, still a bit slow and gas mileage sucks but such is life. I really like that bumper though, did you have to get it painted as with most PS stuff or did it come like that?

You don't need to grind anything now, they changed the design of the mounting points to make it way easier to install. Hoping for another "warm" day soon so I can get the hinge installed...

I don't have a ton planned now. I do want to switch to a stubby bumper to get more clearance for the tires since they rub a bit when flexed, will probably swap the front driveshaft for one with more articulation, get an oil pan skid, new diff covers, and maybe add some lighting/winch/whatever unnecessary style mods. I want to get the important things done before going into cosmetics. Oh and I'm going to swap the freedom panels over to a Bestop partial soft top for the summer so it's way easier to go topless.

What all do you have left or are you good now?

SHYUperman

iTrader: (1)

The newer PSC bumpers come powdercoated and it's a really durable PC with a warranty. I had the PSC brawler lite bumper on my JKU that I painted with duplicolor bedliner. I went that route because it was cheaper than getting it PCed and I could touch it up easily.

What diff covers and skids are you looking at? Rockhard4x4 has a great skid for the JK and there's an ebay version that's basically the same but a fraction of the costs.

I'm pretty much done now, wasn't expecting to do the regear but glad I did. I've been debating beadlocks, but I'm not sure if I really want to open that can of worms. I had a trip planned for Moab in the summer but that fell through. Just want to wheel it and put these new mods to use. I'm planning a wheeling trip for early march

SamDoe1

I haven't decided which way I want to go for the skid plates/diff covers, just want to protect the belly so I'm open to suggestions. Shoot me a link to the ebay version if you can...

Beadlocks aren't really worth it IMO. They're just heavy and crazy hard to get right.

We are heading to the Jeep Jamboree in Wyoming this August if that's your sort of thing, you should sign up and join in the fun. I'll be doing Moab next fall though, it's on my bucket list. Where are you heading in March?

SHYUperman

iTrader: (1)

I had Riddler diff covers and loved their customer service (had an issue with the fill plug and they sent me a new diff cover no questions asked). They're a no thrill diff cover that's cheaper than others. I have buddies that run ARB, Solid, PSC, all good options, just depends on how much you want to spend. Running Motobilt on my JL, but that's because that was the only option on the market.

Looks like the EAG JK skid is no longer on ebay, wonder if Rockhard had something to do with that since it was basically a complete copy. I had the EVO skids and will not recommend them if you have exhaust spacers installed. The mid pipe will rattle against the skid and I end up adding washers to create spacing. All of the rest of my buddies with JKs ran RockHard and they definitely put those skids to the test. Looks like they are a lot of more affordable options for the JK.

Agree with the beadlocks, I originally purchased Method 105s for the JL but decided to go with a nonbead wheel.

We're going to Rausch Creek up in PA in March. Unfortunately it's a 30hour drive to Moab from VA and a 28h drive to Jeep Jamboree. Have fun at those events and make sure to post pics

1StGenCL

God damn I'm jealous, thing looks awesome. As I got more involved in the Wrangler community, I realized what shit parts I had and wanted to upgrade but the house is still taking my time so I'm just going to have to keep following your build for my fix; don't stop.

SamDoe1

I'll look into Rockhard and Riddler for springtime upgrades, thanks!

28h isn't bad, there are people driving out for the Jamboree from Jersey. More driving, less excuses!

I'll definitely post pics though.

SHYUperman

iTrader: (1)

Thanks,I think I'm pretty much done with the build. I wish there was a good high tuck exhaust that doesn't drone or sound too loud (I'm old). I'm actually surprised how good the stock exhaust sounds.

You have a good JL build. Your house is probably a better investment than throwing money on a Jeep :P Good news is there's more parts coming to market, better inventory and prices. So you'll have more options when you're ready to continue your build

1StGenCL

The older I get, the more I question how anyone can live with drone. That being said, you aren’t finished.

On another note, that sounds like something my wife would say about the house; I didn’t think she knew about this site but she got to my E friends, shit.

Yumcha

Looks great!

Keep it going!

SHYUperman

iTrader: (1)

Spent the long weekend in WV for a ski trip. Fortunate to get snow the night we arrived. Haven't had any snow in VA, mostly all rain this winter

Attachment 97436

00TL-P3.2

Truck looks great, nice shot.

Yumcha

Awesome shot.

SHYUperman

iTrader: (1)

Added two more cylinders to my JLU...



After a year of convincing my wife, she finally approved letting me upgrade to a 392 in Dec 2022. I factory ordered a Punk'n (non xtreme recon due to it being discontinued for the 392) in Dec and it was delivered in March. I decided to pass on it because I wanted to find an used 392 XR (didn't want to deal with regearing and wanted the additional upgrades that came with a XR). Actually signed the paperwork for an used 2022 392 XR when they announced the refreshed 2024. Walked away from the used 2022 and put in a factory order for a 2024 in May. The new one was built at the end of August and waited 15 days for it to be delivered (dealership was 7 hours away from Toledo). Came in late last week the morning before the UAW strike. It was frustrating watching other people with 392 orders who ordered weeks/months after me getting them sooner and some even ordered from the same dealership.

Fate would have it that when the 24 was going through PDI, the owner of the Punk'n I previously ordered happen to bring it into service and park righted behind


Anvil wasn't my first choice in color, I normally would go with something louder (previous JKU was Crush and JLU was Hella Yella), but with the standard red seats with the 392s, I thought Anvil was the best choice. Especially with the combo with the 10th anniversary JKs.

I have to say this is probably the first Wrangler I've owned that I would be happy keeping stock. The exhaust tone is amazing in person. I kept a lot of the mods from my previous JL to throw onto this once the break in process is done.

Spent a couple weeks earlier this year completely stripping all of the mods off my old JL and returning it back to stock. I got to enjoy driving a stock wrangler and forgot how fun a stock JL was to drive. And how much better my fuel economy was without all the armor/weight and 37s.




I'll post more updates once I get through the break in procedures so far. First 100 miles had to be below 3500RPMs and 55MPH, thankfully the next 400 miles are not as bad.

PhilB81

That’s so sweet congrats! That 392 is a beast!

I’ve been out of the loop with Jeeps a while, but looong ago I had a Jeep ZJ with the 5.2L v8 and off-road even in the mid 80s I would start to overheat (AC off).

I look forward to more pics of the monster!

00TL-P3.2

Welcome to the low teens MPG club...
Commuting for a week in the Denali netted me under 15mpg

SHYUperman

iTrader: (1)

With a full tank of gas my range was ~250miles

I started a new job that is no longer remote, so picked the wrong time to buy a thirsty v8

00TL-P3.2

Yeah, I'm already missing the 24mpg of the Explorer.

SamDoe1

Holy crap, that's amazing! Love the Anvil color, one of the best ones for a Wrangler IMO. Best part is you can add some accents here and there and it'll look even more boss! You're definitely not going to keep it stock, keep dreaming lol.

This is making me want another Wrangler like something fierce...

00TL-P3.2

I've been eyeing JLUs, just not sure I can justify it once the Explorer is back to 100%

SamDoe1

A Jeep is not about justification. On paper it's a horrible idea all around.

SHYUperman

iTrader: (1)

The JL is a huge improvement to the previous models, it's much more "refined" but it's still a wrangler. The safety and tech upgrades with the 2024s makes it nicer. But the price for wranglers have just kept going up. The good news is that Wranglers hold their values, though with the 24s the 2018-2023 did drop some in value.

Yeah, I'm thinking red will be the minor accent I add. Debating about deleting the bronze 392 accents and changing them to red, but that's probably low on the priority list.

You're right, I have my 37s and bumpers/sliders waiting to go on once I have get through the break in process. I have a bunch of other stuff too, but I need to slow down and start an OnlyFans so I can pay for gas and other mods. The price for jeep mods have gone up insanely since I bought stuff back in 2019.

Come back to the jeep family, you won't regret it, especially if you get a 392

00TL-P3.2

True, I'd need a few days in one to see if I could DD it long-term.
I do like the '24 redesign, but wouldn't be mad at a '23 either. Just the overanalysis of which trim to choose.