Peacefrog's tj build up

[thegrinch24]

Originally Posted by fluffernutter

Looks great Carol! I am so happy for you and can't wait to see her on the trails this year! Having driven it this weekend I must say with the D-44 Rear End and new 33" Mickey Thompson's it is a much more powerful and solid riding jeep!

How many times has she taunted you?
"haha...My Jeep is bigger than yours"

[PeaceFrog]

Originally Posted by thegrinch24

How many times has she taunted you?
"haha...My Jeep is bigger than yours"

LMAO! Yes it has finally come to that - competition on who's Jeep is bigger! Rob actually goes out there with a measuring tape....

PeaceFrog added 0 Minutes and 41 Seconds later...

Thanks for the compliments and nice words everyone!

[fluffernutter]

Originally Posted by thegrinch24

How many times has she taunted you?
"haha...My Jeep is bigger than yours"

To be continued.......

[Buck]

The pictures really dont do it justice. Parked next to my Jeep Saturday my Jeep was sending me jealous telepathic messages about its tire envy.
I've driven this Jeep in its before, during and after phases and it just keeps getting tougher, meaner and stronger.
Carol has a good vision of what she wants and is executing it well. I'm glad to have been a part of building this rig and hope to keep being a part of future upgrades. Speaking of which, the exhaust FINALLY shipped today and will arrive on Friday.

Really, I've put together a lot of Jeeps and this is turning out to be one of my favorites. The visual impact from the wheel/tire swap really just makes it look like a whole new animal. And when we get that flowmaster on there its gonna sound like a whole new animal too!

Rock on Carol!

[PeaceFrog]

Well said, Buck, well said! Just antsy wanting to give her a test run and see how she does and handles on the trails! Jeep Jamboree here I come!

[GSSFC]

Originally Posted by Buck

Didnt I tell you? They dont advertise as Yukon because of Yukons minimum advertising rate for their suppliers. When I was talking to Rich he said you wouldnt believe how many people dont evne ask what brand he's selling and just spends the extra money, sometimes $300 on a set of alloy shafts just because theres a the Yukon name next to it. But if you call him, he'll tell you, its all Yukon. I recommend everyone who needs anything from Spicer u-joints to gears, lockers and shafts check out www.completeoffroad.com. $425 for a set of Yukon Dana 30 chromos with a lifetime warranty? You just cant beat that!

And Carol, i'm going to get started on the rear axle, welding, brakes and painting Tuesday night most likely. Matt is going awat for the weekend and he's got a hernia so he's going to be taking it easy for the next few days.

On their site they list gears and yukon gears. Are you saying that the non yukon labeled gears are also Yukon, just not identified due to pricing policies?

Thanks, Tim

[Buck]

Originally Posted by GSSFC

On their site they list gears and yukon gears. Are you saying that the non yukon labeled gears are also Yukon, just not identified due to pricing policies?

Thanks, Tim

Thats exactly what I'm saying Tim.

[PeaceFrog]

I have to return the Rough Country Spacers. The wheel bolts don't go all the way through those spacers and the nuts are only tightened part of the way because of this - they are hanging off the bolts about 1/8". I spoke with Rough Country about this issue and they advised those nuts will eventually loosen -- even with Locktight on them.

In speaking with some other members, they had the same problem and one lost a wheel at 60 MPH! Rough Country will take them back as a return even though they are installed on my Jeep, however, they will charge me a $16 restocking fee and that's not counting shipping them back what that is going to cost me!

I am going to try and see if anything "rubs" with the wheels the way they are without spacers. Modeler (thanks Dave!) gave me some options that would be a quick and economical solution. Will keep you all posted. You live and learn!

[PeaceFrog]

Had to make other arrangements to complete my build due to unforeseen circumstances with an acquaintence, who promised me help in installing the rest of the parts I recently purchased. So I enlisted the help of South Shore Automotive Specialists in Plymouth, MA (508-732-0472 - Mike or Chris). They specialize mainly in building and maintenance of Jeeps and also do welding, fabrication, custom exhaust, offroad accessories, etc. etc. They installed both Rob and mine Aussie lockers a while back and do they great work. Nice to have a local specialty Jeep shop so close to home!

Anyway, first item installed were my heavy duty axle seals (from 4WD) and change the gear fluid in the front diff due to logging in over 500 miles on my new Yukon 3.73 gears. Only problem Mike ran into was my LubeLocker diff gasket - it stuck to the diff and and when they tried to remove it, it ripped. Not sure if anyone else has run into the same problem with the Lubelocker seals. They are supposed to last a long time! I am calling Lubelocker in the a.m. and see if they will send me another one. Mike used silicon sealant and prefers that over the seals.


Next was my new and gently used gas tank skid from Lori. Previously, I sanded it down, power washed it and sprayed several cans of black Rustoleum on it. When the gas tank was dropped, Mike found my fuel pump and sender unit practically toast. Since I bought this Jeep, it has been hard starting and I had to prime it before starting it each time - I figured it had something to do with the fuel pump. While they were in there, might as well replace those things. Now - it fires up like a rocket!


Next was my Off Road Flowmaster Cat Back system. Again, my current one was toast and just a matter of time before it fell off. This new system - WOW - it has a very deep throaty sound and I have noticed considerable pick up and more HP when accelarating from a dead stop plus my Jeep seems to run a lot cooler. It has a nice stainless tail pipe that can be easily kept shiny with a couple of swipes from a Brillo Pad. I would recommend this system to everyone - I got it through Ebay from Performance Curve (Item #140401936101) and cost me $95 + $30 to ship. The Flowmaster muffler that came with it is 16X stronger than average and won't crush like a soda can if you happen to hit a rock. This is made especially for off roading and off road racing. It is pretty loud but I love it!


Next I had to have my bump stops and cups installed. The originals fell off and of course one side was stripped so Mike had to retap it. I bought the cups from Jeep for $10 each and $8 each for the bolts. The Bump Stops themselves I got through Energy Suspension Systems (http://www.energysuspension.com) and they are nice heavy duty polyurethane! I paid $22 for the pair of them. Jeep sell those cheapie foam rubber things for $39 EACH!


I got some very heavy duty rock sliders from Bob @ Bay State Offroad in Middleboro, MA (508-923-0770) for $225 the pair plus tax. Bob bought a bunch of them from a fabrication company that went out of business. They are Custom TJ Rock Sliders and they only need to be finished with a couple of cans of black Rustoleum. You have to buy the hardware as well. As you can see, they wrap around the rocker panels and a good way underneath instead of just bolting on the frame with a few screws. They provide a nice finishing touch too to my Jeep and a lot of protection in such a vulnerable area! They weight a lot too!





My wheel studs on all 4 wheels had to replaced with longer ones since the originals would not go through the Rough Country Wheel Spacers I have currently on - they were too short and the nuts could not be tightened. For safety issues, I had Mike do these as well.

My fog lights would partially work or stop working all together, so Mike ran a diagnostic on them and found the short. They work great now and are brighter than they were before!

Peterson's 4 Wheel and Off Road Mag June 2010 issue ran a story on Mud Terrain Shootout Part 2 - and featured my 33" Mickey Thompson Baja MTZ Radials along with 4 other brands. Good to read that they named the Mickey's King of the Pit due to efficient self cleaning! They indicated the tires "ejected the mud effortlessly and kept both rigs digging forward" where the others tested simply could not. I bought these tires on impulse because 4WheelOnLine did not have my Trexus in 33's that I wanted. So now I need to find some mud and christen these babies and see how they perform!

Next weekend I have a project to sand my frame down and paint it with POR Paint - which is a marine paint and is supposed be impervious to the elements. Chris at South Shore Automotive Specialists recommended that paint for my project.

Last but now least, here is my co-pilot!

[skibum]

Looking good Carol.

[fluffernutter]

Your Jeep looks, sounds and performs so awesome now Carol! Can't wait to upgrade mine just like yours now! (especially the flowmaster off road exhaust) Congratulations!

[5-speed XJ]

i love those sliders nice buy

[EGLESCT]

looks great!

[06kjltd]

Looks great Carol! And also good to see that my old gas tank skid helped you out!

[PeaceFrog]

Next on my to-do list is a 4" lift kit - I currently have a 2.5" budget boost. Talked to a couple of ENH members at the last ride and finally decided on a Rough Country 4" Lift Kit. Been reading up on all the Wheeler Mags we get for the last two months and they've been using the Rough Country 4" lifts on a lot of their projects.

So I won't be stuffing my 33's into my wheel wells any more after next week some time! Ordered it tonight and should arrive by next Wednesday at the latest.

I'll post up pics once I get this on. Should be a big difference than what I have now. And in time for Jeep Jamboree! I'll be selling my gently used Budget Boost after this.

[coolens98TJ]

How much do you think you would be selling the budget boost for kenmastajy on here would probably be interested in it for his new tj.

[PeaceFrog]

Originally Posted by coolens98TJ

How much do you think you would be selling the budget boost for kenmastajy on here would probably be interested in it for his new tj.

I'll take $125 for everything. Springs are from an '02 TJ, 4 Skyjacker Hydro7000 Shocks (bought brand new 2 years ago) and Teraflex Spacers slightly used. Nothing is bent or broken - I can double check when I take them off.

Do you know if anybody needs 31" off road tires?

[coolens98TJ]

Thank you, ill let him know about this next time I talk to him. He should be interested.

[PeaceFrog]

Originally Posted by coolens98TJ

Thank you, ill let him know about this next time I talk to him. He should be interested.

Awesome! Thanks!