Jeffro06's 2006 Rubicon

[Jeffro06]

Since I'm late to the game here, I figured I'd give you a condensed version of my build......


Before my Rubicon I had a YJ. Here's one last shot of it....
 

 
I always wanted a Rubicon, and was able to aquire this one:
 

 

 

It's first dirt....lol.
 
It's a 2006, Automatic, air, cruise, 6-disc CD, Canadian model. Being from Canada it has daytime running lights, that you can't just turn off. It had the instrument panel swapped out when it crossed the border as well. It had around 27,800 miles on it when I picked it up, and the MTR's were wore pretty good, so new shoes will be coming soon.
 
I decided he milk jugs needed to go asap....
 

Now you see them....
 

Now you don't.
 

They don't even look good laying in the grass.
 

 

My customary night shot.
 

I didn't waste anytime taking it wheeling, this was @ The Badlands.
 
The only "mod" I've done so far is getting a set of Husky Liner's for the interior. I had them in the YJ and loved them.
 
Now that the YJ is gone, and I have a few bucks to spend, I'll be making some more changes in the very near future. This build will be more towards how I actually wheel, based on what I learned over the last 3 1/2 years with the YJ. I probably won't go as tall as I had before. This will be my daily driver and see trails on occassion...maybe 6 times a year on average.

 

[Jeffro06]

New MTRK's

BEFORE:

AFTER:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

They are quieter at hwy speed. My speedo is off, so I may attempt to fix that someday. But then again I was used to it with the YJ. You can notice the power difference even with only moving up one tire size, I'm glad I didn't choose 33's. 

I found me some fresh snow to play in.....:laugh:

Can't wait until the lift goes on Wednesday.

 

[Jeffro06]

2" OME HD lift:

It's still not done, but it was sitting on it's own weight so I snapped a couple of shots....
 
Here it is with just the tires:
 

 
Lift on, kind of, still needs the rear shocks....
 

 

 
Things seem to be going better today.....so I'm hoping.

 

[Jeffro06]

Antirock: 

Tonights progress....more cellphone pics....
 

 

 

Got the antirock on, as far as I can without the jeep on the ground. Installed the steering stabilizer and put the front tires back on. 

My friend had a busy day, and wasn't able to spend alot of time on my jeep until after 5pm, and some of that time was spent helping me with things up front. The rear upper shock bolts all broke off, all need to be drilled out and re-done. Hopefully tomorrow will be better than today was. I'd like to get this sucker on the road by the weekend......I kind of need it. :laugh: I'm not going to get too bent out of shape, because there's no way I would be able to do this in my garage. :nono:

 

[Jeffro06]

Skidrow stuff:

I installed my Skidrow radiator and steering box skids today. You can kind of  see them in some of these pics:
 

 

 

 
Ok, you can't see them here, but so what.....
 

 

This is as close to wheeling as I can get right now....😡

 

[Jeffro06]

LoD rear bumper: 

Well when it comes to jeeps I should know nothing is easy. This LoD Xtreme duty rear bumper is no exception. 4 holes need to be drilled on the rear crossmember. I attached the bumper with the two frame bolts and it looked as though I wasn't going to be able to mount the bumper low enough to keep the spare from hitting it. 
 
When is came time to drill I drilled the holes as low as I could, then sat it in place. The passenger side is pretty easy. The driver side sucks. There are two options, drop the gas tank, or squeeze your finger in between the tank and the rear of the crossmember.....there isn't much room. There is a trick about putting a rope through the mounting bracket, tie a not on the end so it doesn't pull through the bracket, then pull it up into place. That part works. The problem is you then have to feed the bottom of the two bolts into the hole and into the bracket.....forget it. I tore my left index finger up trying that. 
 
I went ahead and snugged up the 2 passenger side crossmember bolts and both frame mounting bolts. Just as I feared the bumper is up above the crossmember by about 1/4" and causes the spare to hit the bumper, enough to push the tire up...me no like that. 
 
I think I'm going to see about having it welded to the crossmember, instead of using those 4 bolts. Dropping the gas tank would allow me to install the two driver side bolts, but I don't want the bumper that high....that's kind of the reason I didn't buy a carrier style.
 

Hey does that bumper mount up? 3 bolts a side? Or am I missing something

 
Yep, 3 bolts per side.
 

Do you think the LoD shackle tabs are thick and strong enough? Been considering my options for a rear bumper. Savvy's is mighty close on my list but 500 bucks is a lot to shell out then another 700 or so for a tire carrier.

 
I'm not sure if the two frame tabs and the mounting brackets would be strong enough for a good hard pull, but I wasn't going to leave it that way anyway. My YJ had the bumper bolted to and welded to the frame. It wasn't going anywhere. I went with this bumper for the cost, simplicity and I have heard good things about LoD, but I was going to have it welded no matter what.
 
One thing I will knitpick about is there is a small piece of metal inside the bumper, when I was carrying it I could here it sliding around. Not that I'll ever hear it when it's on the jeep. Like I said, knitpick.
 
The bumper is "on" the jeep, secured by 4 bolts, so I won't be pulling anything just yet.
 
Here's what it looks like...and no I haven't cleaned up the bumper yet. 
 

 
I need to talk to a welder guy I know and see what he thinks about welding it. I figure it can be welded around the two mounting brackets and hitch bracket that all rest against the crossmember, and maybe even around the frame tabs as well. The frame tabs are nothing compared to what I had on the YJ, so the more welds the better to me.
 
I'm tired, my left finger hurts....I squeezed it in there pretty good, then almost got it stuck...😱...and I didn't even get dinner. 🙄
 
Ah, the fun of jeep ownership. :laugh:

 

[Jeffro06]

Rokmen bumper / Superwinch: 

I picked up the bumper and sliders after work, wasted no time getting the winch on the bumper.
 

 
I also wasted no time getting the old bumper off and the new one mounted up.
 

 
After wiring up the winch I spooled the line on, but not under load.
 

 

 
A little HDR so the winch will show a little better in the darkness.....
 

 
Here's a shot with the flash on....
 

 
 
After taking these shots I found me an anchor point and spooled the line on under load. 
 
I had no problems with the install at all, went smooth as silk. I'll get some more shots when it's daylight.
 
The sliders will have to wait a little while longer.

 

[Jeffro06]

Rokmen sliders: 

It's getting there......
 

 
I worked on it for a couple hours, almost got the passenger side done, broke a bit, need to run to the store tomorrow and get another one, or two. 
 
The hardest part so far is the stupid fender flares. What a pain in the butt to get off, and I highly doubt the screws that came out will actually go back in, at least they don't seem like they'll want to. They don't appear to have anything to grab on to. 
 
I've got the next two days to finish them, and not lose my temper. :laugh:

 

[Jeffro06]

Skidrow engine skid:

I managed to remove the factory skid and put on my "new" Skidrow skid today. 
 

I even threw a new sticker on it, to make it look new. :laugh:
 

I no longer have to worry about the front drive shaft rubbing on the cross member of the old skid! :2thumbsup:
 

 
I decided to put some grip tape on the rock rails...they get slippery when muddy.
 

 
The good new is I didn't hurt myself this time, no cuts, scrapes, bumps or bruises. Some of the bolts on this thing aren't the easiest to get to either, so I'm kind of surprised I'm not bleeding.:laugh:

 

[Jeffro06]

Rampage top:

The sun came out today, for a few hours, the temps hit the mid 60's, so........
 

 

 
I stopped by the house at lunch today and backed the Jeep out of the garage so the top could get some sun and stretch a bit. By the time I got home the sun was hiding behind the clouds, but I managed to get it on. I'm sure once it warms up a bit more I'll be able to fine tune the fitment of it, but so far so good. It's pretty darn quiet even at 70. I'm not sure the hard top will ever go back on...lol.

 

[Jeffro06]

CB:

So here's the CB set up. I used a fuse adapter to run the power right from the fuse box, so the CB powers up when the jeep is started.
 

Teraflex mount.
 

The power box is hid under the dash.
 
I looked and looked for the best place to mount the CB/mic and this is what I came up with.
 

 

The keys are close, but I have no issues starting the jeep, or grabbing the radio. It's easy to reach and the cord isn't in the way of anything.
 

I just velcro'd the external speaker to the dash, I can hear it at hwy speeds with the windows down.
 

 
I did have some issues getting the antenna tuned, but I think it'll do just fine now. I took it out and tested it, I had no trouble hearing trucker traffic and when I got on 19 and asked for a radio check all was good. I may change my ground, it's just grounded behind the glove box, as I have a bit of interference. If I can find a way through to the battery I'll ground it right to the battery. I really like being able to quickly disconnect the radio/mic and store it out of sight. I'd like to give it a trail test before Moab, but I just don't see that happening.

 

[Jeffro06]

Custom trunk:

I worked on my trunk today.

This is how it looks right now.

How I keep it from being lifted out.

With my tool box, tool bag and camera bag inside. There's still room for more stuff.

Things are pretty safe in there. I plan on painting it, adding a cooler to the top, and who knows what else.

Had the windows off today....:cheers2:

 

[Jeffro06]

Rokmen 1" Billet spacers:

As you saw in a previous post my Rokmen 1" billet spacers came in today. I have my son-in-law a shout, he wasn't doing anything, and has a nice clean 2 car garage, so I headed up to his place. 

Looking at the bumpstop and all inside the coil spring I really wasn't sure how what was connected to what, but figured this shouldn't be too hard to do, even without any instructions. I've read plenty of threads on this, but still would have liked some instructions with pictures....I'm a visual person. :laugh:

Anyway I took a pre-install measurements on the nice level garage floor:

4.5" in the front.

5 3/4" in the rear, with a full tank of gas, tools and some floor jacks in the rear.

We jacked up the Jeep, through some jack stands under the frame, removed the wheels were ready to dive in.

We supported the axle and loosened the bottom of the shock and the bottom of the sway bar link. We let the axle down, slowly, but found there wasn't enough droop to remove the spring. Not having a spring compressor we came up with this:

We jacked the axle up, compressing the spring, then ran two lengths of chain through the coil, bolted it together and dropped the axle. Presto, the spring came right out, no fight what so ever. (mind you this was on the second side, the first time we used one length of chain, which caused the spring to arch a bit. It still came out, but was a bit tough to get back in.)

We pulled the bump stop out, removed the bolt holding the bump stop extender in and removed it. Next was the rubber isolater. We stared at that for a minute, since it wasn't moving at all. Undaunted we grabbed a couple of screw drivers, gave it a good pry and it broke free.

We slid the new Rokmen spacer on (which did measure exactly 1" btw), put the isolater back in place.

We put the bump stop back in place, slid the spring back into place, jacked the axle back up to the spring and released the chain. 

From there is was simply bolt the shock and swaybar back up and we were done.

It took 1 hour and 2 minutes from the first measurement, to the last.

I gained exactly 1"....what a surprise :laugh:

Before

After

No more front rake. :thumbsup:

Anyone that is thinking of doing a spacer and is thinking of paying someone to do it, needs to think again. The tools you need, if don't have any, are cheaper than what a shop would charge you.

 

[Jeffro06]

JJ Adjustable track bar:

Here's my new Johnny Joint adjustable track bar.....

Some flex shots....

I love new stuff. 🙂

 

[Jeffro06]

Rokmen adjustable control arms:

I tried working on the CA's, but they got the best of me. I was only able to get one of those bastards replaced. I managed to get the DS lower replaced. Tried the PS lower with no luck. The rear bolt loosened, but the front bolt isn't moving at all. I need a good impact gun and or some heat, neither of which I have. 

Here's the old DS CA compared to the new Rokmen CA:

I did use anti-seize on the CA threads too.

 

[Jeffro06]

Control arms cont:

I got that last lower CA on, thankfully. 

Here's a peek:

Flexing it:

The Currie Currectlync:

 

[Jeffro06]

Currectlync steering:

All the lower CA's are on, as are the rear upper CA's. The Currectlyn steering is on. I still have to figure out the front upper CA's, but so far everything seems to be working fine. 

Just touching the bump stop, no fender rub or track bar rub.

 

[Jeffro06]

Rokmen trail corners:

Boooo :thumbdown:

:laugh:

It's alright, I'm procrastinating on my corner install as well.

I'm not procrastinating.....I'm waiting for warm weather. It's freaking cold out. :chilly: If I had a big old warm garage I'd be all over it, especially since I'm on call at work and can't really go anywhere. 

Can we get some sneak peek picture of the corners?

Sure, why not....

They aren't perfect....but once I do the install, I'll take them off and give them a final coat of paint. I may even sand them a bit before hitting them with the final coat.

 

[Jeffro06]

Metalcloak Overlines:

The install will be a PITA if you don't remove the sliders.  Sometimes you have to go backwards to move forward.  I did my entire install with a 3/8" ratchet...in my garage.  You got this man.  Sent you a PM.

I need to repaint the sliders so, off they came.

Then I removed everything from the inner fender and off it came.

Then I removed the battery tray and zip tied everything out of the way.

The fender liner, fender and everthing I had taken off was put back where it needed to be.

The hood closed without any rubbing. 🙂

For the life of me I cannot figure out how to get the hood latch off the stock fender. 😕 Any tips you have here would be appreciated.

Right now I'm taking a break, eating some lunch, then I'll start on the driver side.

I'm liking the looks of it already.

Still a long way to go....cutting the sliders, installing the JK turn signals.......such fun. :laugh:

 

[Jeffro06]

Overlines cont:

After lunch I removed the driver side slider and fender....quite the pile of parts in my front yard.

Taking everything off and zipping it out of the way was easier the second time around...go figure.

The only real problem I ran into with the fenders themselves was the driver side fender's front mounting tab was bent outward...a quick smack with a bfh fixed that. The washer bottle was probably the biggest PITA to put back. I've got my compressor down on the accessory tray for now, there's no way it can go on the inner fender anymore.

Here's a view from the front. I did tweak the sides of the hood in just a bit. EDIT: These are the 4" flares.

From the side, sans sliders.

I think I'm going to order some Kentrol black stainless hood latches...actually I  know I am. 🙂

I'm still not sure if I'm going to copy Fuzz's slider mod, or just cut them straight down at the body seam.

I don't think the tires look too small, but this is a step towards bigger tires, but these need to wear out first. 

Now I need to get my sliders blasted and repainted. The guy who painted them tried a new paint...it sucked, so he's going to redo them. Eventually my front bumper will get redone too. 

Now I need to go clean up my front yard.