SickStringC's '14 JKUR Build Thread

And so it begins . . . Here it is as it came from the dealership:



Standard on Rubicon:
Front and Rear Lockers
Front Push Button Swaybar Disconnect
Premium Alpine Sound
Rubicon Badging
Rubicon UCP
Gear driven LSD
Dana 44s Front & Rear
Rubicon Springs & Upgraded Shocks (gone)

Options Added:
Color Matched Hard Top
5-speed Auto
4.10 Gears
Connectivity Package (voice command control, bluetooth, leather wrapped steering wheel w/ bluetooth/stereo/cruise/voice controls and TP monitoring system)
Max Tow Package (all that's left is the factory wiring harness)

. . . completed mods to date documented in this thread:
Rock Krawler 2.5" Max Travel Suspension Lift w/ High Clearance Lower Control Arms
Bilstein 5100 long travel front and rear shocks
Old Man Emu steering stabilizer
Black Stainless Steel Gas Cap Locking Cover
Black Wrap-around Stainless Tail Light Guards
Rear upper and lower spring retainers (this lift / shock combination allows so much flex people lose springs at full droop without :whaa
Front lower spring retainers
3" Bump Stops Front & Rear (recommended by Rock Krawler to limit up-travel to clear 37s)
Exhaust spacer (relocates exhaust for front drive shaft clearance)
MMATS Ultra Efficient Class D sub amp (installed / transplanted from H3)
TCSounds 10" Dual Coil Subwoofer (installed / transplanted from H3)
60" HiLift (hood mounted / transplanted from H3) ... this is getting switched to a 48"
Front Bumper (Fru assisted fab - complete)
Spidertrax 1.5" wheel spacers
Smittybuilt flat metal fenders
Rough Country Suspension Quick Swaybar Disconnects
37"x12.5"x17" Cooper Discoverer SST tires on spare set of '13 Wrangler Wheels painted black
Superchips Programmer (Crawl tune, Tow tune, Performance tune, Fuel Saver tune)
4" 18W LED Spots (pair)
Poison Spyder Customs A Pillar Light Mounts
Tuff Stuff 9,500lb Winch w/ Wireless Remote
Rough County Dana 44 Front Diff Skid Plate
AntennaX 13" Off Road Antenna
Ace Engineering Pro Series Rear Bumper + Tire Carrier + Jerry Can Mount with 6" Rigid Floods integrated
Rigid rear floods wired to switch to be "on" when switch is on and automatically on when the switch is off, but vehicle is in reverse
Rugged Ridge hinge mounted mirrors for doors off driving
Rugged Ridge bikini shade
SpiderWeb Shade full 4-door top shade

. . . here is the list of stuff I pulled from the H3 to transplant:
MMATS Ultra Efficient Class D 4 channel amp (still in a box in the garage ... the Rubi came with amplified "premium alpine sound"; still may get installed if I replace the stock deck)

. . . and here is the list of future mods I hope to document as I add them:
Rough Country Dana 44 Rear Skid Plate

Let the fun begin!!!!!! :horns:

Looks good. Jeeps are so much fun!

Great project on your hands. Congrats on the new ride

Nice jeep! Can't wait to see the bumpers fru makes

alrock said:

Great project on your hands. Congrats on the new ride

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Thanks! I do already miss IFS - the solid front axle is definitely a different feel.

Same money pit, different brand. LOL. Have fun. The build is half the fun. I am sure it will Be super cool when you and Steve are done with it. Looking forward to seeing the finished product.

Sounds like a nice build in progress... Keep us updated with pics..... I might go that route one day after my funds increase....At least with Jeeps there are tons of aftermarket stuff for them...

Congrats! Looks great!

First mods! Tail light guards and locking gas cap cover. Lift is still in the mail; flat fenders ordered yesterday after I trashed the stock fenders on the trails over the weekend.

Before:


After:

I really like that matching hard top color!!! What's the MPG like on it so fair and what will it be after the lift?

SolidusJ said:

I really like that matching hard top color!!! What's the MPG like on it so fair and what will it be after the lift?

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Sticker said 20 hwy, 16 city for combined 18. I've been seeing about 16, but most of my driving is on tollways where the speed limit is 75-80. It gets closer to 20 at 65 mph. I had to stick with the same color scheme I had on the H3. It was too hard to resist! I don't know what my mpg will be after lift. I'll know in a couple of weeks.


Sent from my mind via telepathy.

Added Smittybuilt powder coated flat metal fenders today:






Sent from my mind via telepathy.

The 4.10 gears and transmission are standard on a Rubicon.

Looks like a cool build, this is exactly how I would build a JK on budget. Well I not sold on the fenders... but they definitely work.

You should do the Rigid Industries SR-M reverse light mod






http://www.rigidindustries.com/SRMFlushMountDiffused-p/sr-m-flmtdf.htm

Schwarttzy said:

The 4.10 gears and transmission are standard on a Rubicon.

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My bad. The 3.73s are optional - I just made sure I got the 4.10s. The 5 speed automatic is not standard. The base model has a 6 speed manual.

Expendable said:

You should do the Rigid Industries SR-M reverse light mod

http://www.rigidindustries.com/SRMFlushMountDiffused-p/sr-m-flmtdf.htm

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That is a pretty sweet idea!!!

Added tint (as dark as legal in TX), installed subwoofer amp (stock 8" still connected, 10" is removable for trips / trails), added a safari strap in rear and completed phase 1 of the front bumper build ... more to come on bumper!






Sent from my mind via telepathy.

looking good!

HiLift mounted. Not too many places to put a 60" HiLift on a vehicle whose top you want to be able to remove easily.

it looks great there!

Rock Krawler 2.5" max travel lift installed with bilsteins! Got about 3.5" up front and 2.5" in rear. Next need to finish front bumper and start working on tires and a rear bumper.




Sent from my mind via telepathy.

Looks like you have loads of room for some larger rubber now!

Looking good!

FINISHED THE BUMPER!! Fru and I did some hanging out this weekend. He probably spent a solid 5 hours cutting and welding on Friday. Saturday I woke up and spent the better part of an hour grinding down welds, then another 5 hours or so sanding / priming / coating / painting to finish it up. Bumper is coated with black Herculiner, OEM Rubicon tow hooks painted with Chrysler color matched Flame Red paint with black accents on the bolts. The lines were intended to be minimal with the skid plate maximizing approach, the sides remaining somewhat stubby to also maximize approach angles while still having a slight angle to add protection for the grill so brush and such will follow the lines of the bumper to the tires / metal fenders while hopefully missing the painted grill altogether. Below is the start to finish progression (added Rock Krawler windshield banner too):

RamRod said:

Looks like you have loads of room for some larger rubber now!

Looking good!

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I scored a set of (5) 2013 Wrangler wheels and tires with only 10k mi on the tread on CL on the cheap last week. This weekend, I sold the tires to my local tire shop that sells new and used tires. I've painted the wheels black and am still in need of doing some minor trimming on the stock sliders as well as a little bit of the body in front of the rear wheel wells to prepare for the 37x12.5 Cooper Discoverer SSTs on the trails. The 37s will be my trail set (maybe ... I may be too much in love with them to take them off) while I keep my stock wheels and BFG Mud Terrains as a city set for daily commuting, etc. I can't wait to see how it performs off road with 37s. Just need to get it into high gear and get all of the above finished before the weekend for the TX group's outing at Hidden Falls Adventure Park!

Sexy lookin Jeep I will not lie can't wait until this weekend!