So i have posts and pictures all over the board, but dont have an actual complete build up. So i thought while i have some free time, ill compile a picture post of my entire buildup process.
So here it goes:
This is the first and probably only vehicle that we bought brand new. Here it is just four days after taking delivery of it:
So after a miserable 13 months of driving it stock, we finally decided that the new vehicle was out of it and it was time for a lift and some tires. We went with a 4 Wheel Drive lift, Spidertrax wheel spacers, and Mickey Thompson 305/75/16 Baja Claws:
Before:
After:
After tires:
The Rubi pretty much stayed this way for a good length of time. We joined TORC and went to the 2006 LSJC fathers day run at the wheeling ranch. On the third trail, we bent our factory tie rod. It got replaced with a HD version.
Finally in April of 2007, we got to go to Clayton! After three days wheeling we came home with a tweaked fender. It was actually caused by the tire being at full stuff and turning. This caused the tire to contact the inner fender brace, and bend it. But it was a good excuse for something a little stonger. One call to TNT customs and we got the answer:
The winking Rubi:
The fix (you can also see the addition of a 1" body lift and 35" tires with Champion beadlocks):
And the JK blinker mod, it looks almost stock...:
With the new fenders, i had to change up the stock intake and decided on an AEM Brute Force dry filter Intake:
I started getting the dreaded death wobble. Not the slight vibration in the steering wheel, it was the kind of violent, almost bracket ripping wobble that renders the rig uncontrolable. The first thing i tried was repacing the entire steering linkage after bending the drag link at the rock crawl for kids in December of '07 :
Stock linkage:
The gently used ORO U-Turn system:
Installed:
I then decided to bite the bullet and get the Antirock offroad swaybar (dont have an actual install picture :| ):
After the steering upgrade i had been fighting bumpsteer for awhile and finally started getting tired of it and started investigating. Here is what i found:
After a trip out to buffalo lake, i had a tie rod end go out. This was the last of the steering issues i wanted, so I called ORO and they said that the best thing to do was to upgrade to the 3rd gen drag link, so i did. At the same time i found a used Rubicon Express adjustable track bar for the rear. I bought it and also bought a new Rubicon Express heavy duty adjustable front track bar with a heavy duty frame side bracket. In addition, i also added one inch spring spacers so the track bars would fit. :
The new draglink (the black one):
The new trackbar and bracket (you can see the spring spacers on the upper spring perch):
Steering and track bars completed:
Notice the draglink and trackbar are now ALMOST parrallel (no more bumpsteer!!):
This all but ended the steering issues i had, but the next issue was the stock control arms were at the max amount of lift for them to handle. Not to mention slinging around 35's also. I found a used set of Rubicon Express control arms on LSJC, the deal included all four rears and two front lowers:
(the stocker was for comparison)
The good thing about them was that they were still set up for a 4 inch lift when i got them. All i had to do was bolt them in. The driveline angles were perfect!
