Dezert's 06 LJ Rubicon

[Dezerttj]

Adjusted the front arms today and cycled the suspension to see what hits. I moved the axle back quite a bit to help keep the RC trackbar from hitting the diff cover, but no luck there even with 2" bumpstops. The Metalcloak rocksports have a lot of travel for a 3.5" lift off the shelf shock. With no bumpstop extensions, the shock is mostly compressed. When extended, the control arms contact the axle mounts before the shock is completely extended, but is nearing full extension. Right now, the uptravel is limited by the RC trackbar requiring extended bump stops, so that'll need to go at some point. The fenders give plenty of room with 37s.

Full bump without extensions, except for the broken bolt acting as a bumpstop (that was fixed).


Full bump with 2" extensions. Slight contact at diff cover.


Fully extended


Full bump with 2" extensions. Tons of room.



Also found a crack starting on the tailgate from the weight of the 37, so tire carrier came off. I'll be on the lookout for either a good bumper mounted tire carrier or a strong body mounted carrier to replace the MorRyde unit.

 

[G Beasley]

Tight fit back there!

 

[Dezerttj]

Snagged a wireless android auto headunit and got that installed this afternoon. The Metra double din dash panel and wiring harness made the install simple. The radio has provisions for front and rear cameras, so I may need to wire in some trail cams. The old single-din was replaced because this can run offline onX maps for trails. Simple but modern.

 

[green50gt]

Can I ask how much that cost? The factory radio in my white LJ is awful. Oh, do you have a USB port also?

 

[Dezerttj]

Can I ask how much that cost? The factory radio in my white LJ is awful. Oh, do you have a USB port also?

The radio was $179* and the install kit was $79. There are a lot of decent radios in this price range, so you might find something better than the Atoto unit I've got. *This was a free radio in exchange for a review, so see what else is out there. It does have a USB port on the back that you can run through the glove box or install a port on the dash.

The radio kit was through "Proscenium", but everything in the kit was Metra.

The Sony DSXA415BT I took out with wiring and mounting plate is free if you want something to get you by.

 

[green50gt]

OH man that would be awesome thank you!

My khaki TJ had a Alpine double din thing and it was amazing! Mainly I like the USB port.

 

[G Beasley]

Radio looks good , its amazing how factory the double dins look.

 

[Dezerttj]

500 miles in, the break in process is finally complete. Oil looked good and the gears have a nice pattern from what I can tell.

Still working through axle positioning to dial in the caster. Got it to 5°, but still floaty above 55. Toe in set to 1/8". Uppers fully collapsed, so the lower needs to extend a bit to get it closer to 6-7°. We'll see if the little tweaks do anything. The tires can use a balance as well. Getting there slowly.