RubiSc0tt's Big Orange Jeep build

[RubiSc0tt]

Quick update: I’m posting from shitty hot wifi, so this is going to be short: I’ve been so busy wheeling and road tripping this summer, I haven’t had much time to update. Have a pic of the Jeep parked in Short Sands Beach in York, ME.

I’ll post a better update once I get a chance.

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[RubiSc0tt]

Long time, no update.
Currently just waiting on the Software to be released to get my Jeep in to my dealer for the clutch update, and waiting on my turn to get it in for the corrosion Warranty. My Jeep club is working on the calendar for 2024 and we've got some good stuff lined up, and my wife and I have booked our family vacations for us and the kids, so there will be some good Jeep adjacent adventures once things get warmer and dry out for the season.

Also worth mentioning:
I've been window shopping:
- KC Gravity Fog lights
- Armorlite Flooring
- Teraflex HD Tire Carrier

Additionally, I have some projects I've been planning out:
- Cleaning up my rusty bumpers/ sliders
- Fixing my saggy tire carrier (last try before dumping it and buying a new one)
- Installing a hoist on my tire carrier to help lift my spare

Also, at some point, I'll have to tell you all about how I broke the rear back up camera during maintenance, and how I fixed it with JB Weld.

 

[RubiSc0tt]

Well gang, life comes at you fast. Here's a quick update:
EDIT: Forgot, to add: Did Brake pads in March. That fully sucked. Day of a snowstorm, we were in my buddy's heated garage. Had to let the Jeep dry before attempting that.
- Had my first trail ride of the season w/ my Club in April
- Found out about the complications to the OEM clutch recall: TL;DR: I can't get anyone to confirm Jeep has actually changed the problematic materials (so it's essentially the same clutch that fails, just a new one) and then they put in the PCM flash which is causing all sorts of limp mode problems for everyone (there are millions of discussions in any JL focused community, you can read them there). I've spent the last month reading and researching, and getting quotes from shops. My Jeep will be going in for an ACT JP6 kit within the next week or so, then going for reimbursement via Mopar.
- I've replaced my dented steering stabilizer with a Crown Automotive one and added the Clayton Off Road relocation brackets. This vastly improved my steering feel, and this is how I know that the dented one was causing a problem.
- Tire rotation and oil change complete.
- Picked up a ShadeIdea rear tonneau from FB Marketplace for $50.
- I will have write ups/ reviews/ etc coming for a bunch of the stuff for the Jeep.

Additionally, the Jeep probably won't be seeing many upgrades for a while. Lots of big important stuff going on in my personal life. Can't say too much yet, but I will update when it's all sorted.

Here are some pics of the trail ride, and a friend we made in the parking lot when we took the kids to the Zoo:

Inside, on the gatekeeper. Note the gauges on the dash

Waiting for the winch line to get hooked up selfie. Yep, that's the ground in the rear window.

Outside the gatekeeper. Winching. Photo Credit to Bobby!

Posing with the mountains in the background

Dance party, waiting for Tim to fix his WJ.

It was cold and very wet. Seasonal runoff was probably some of the most I've ever seen, volume wise. It rained hard the week leading up to this ride, and even on and off on the day of the ride.

V Notch. I would have made it if it was dry. Photo credit to Rob.

The friend we made in the parking lot when we took the kids to the zoo:
Wife: I think I know where your dad is going to park....
Son: DAD CAN WE PARK NEXT TO THE OTHER ORANGE JEEP?
Daughter: Dad it's the same color as yours!

 

[RubiSc0tt]

Big update: Clutch and Steering Stabilizer.
Clutch has been replaced! I went with an ACT JP6 kit. Dalton @ Tinkered Performance in Burnt Hills got it done for me. Shoutout to him and his shop. If you're in upstate NY, near Saratoga, Check them out.

The Jeep drives totally different, but in a good way. It drives more like a Jeep than a car. Pedal feel is much heavier. It's going to take more getting used to, as I stalled it 3 times before I left the shop. First gear is aggressive. That said, once I got used to it, it's a smoother transition between gears due to the heavier flywheel and better clamping power of the clutch. Much less weird creaky, tinny noises when using the clutch as well, which... there were a lot of before with the OEM clutch and it wasn't confidence inspiring.

I've submitted for reimbursement, and other than a few of the file names being longer than 40 characters (oops), I confirmed they've been attached to my case. So we'll see.

Other than that:
Steering Stabilizer replacement and relocation:
Took care of this 2 weeks ago. I used the Clayton relocation kit and a stabilizer from Crown Automotive that I ordered from Quadratec.

Very straightforward: Zipped the old stabilizer off, popped the Trackbar bolt out, put the new bracket and bolt back in, and attached the U bolt braces to the tie rod. Measured roughly 17.5" centerbolt to centerbolt from the old bracket, and adjusted the new bracket properly. Put the new steering stabilizer on, and torqued everything down. Test drove it for a few about a week, went back, checked all the measurements and torque specs, drilled the extra hole in the axle end like the instructions said, painted it (to prevent rust) and torqued everything down again.

The Jeep drives straight- no more wandering. The feel of the wheel is much better, it's not difficult or resistant to turning (like the old, damaged one) and it's up out of the way from damage.

Overall, I'm very happy with both so far. More Pics and write ups to come. Stay tuned.

 

[RubiSc0tt]

it's been a while, so here's an update:
It's been a busy summer. First off, had to replace the drag link to solve the beginning of a case of death wobble. Ordered from Rock Auto and they got it here in a few days. This thing SUPER SUCKED to replace because:

- The nuts on the knuckles are 21mm and in order to get them off, you have to put an 8mm wrench on the end of the bolt and keep turning them- so you can't get them off with air tools.
- I could not get a puller on the pitman arm side because it's jammed up right between the frame and the radiator.

Thankfully the new one comes with castle nuts and cotter pins. This cured my death wobble for the most part.

More updates coming.

 

[RubiSc0tt]

So, then:
My wife sold her car and the Jeep (and by extension, me) were on taxi/ School bus duty for the summer.

Then, We bought a house:
the Jeep did a fair amount of work moving/ helping with renovating the house we bought, including but not limited to:
- Making trips Hauling a borrowed trailer with a bunch of our stuff on it
- Running to Lowe's/ Home Depot to get supplies
- Winching the entire roll of nasty, 30+ year old carpet out of the liviing room (because my carpet cutter sucked ass and that shit was HEAVY).

I guess I need to update my list of "Jeep stuff" to include doing these things.

Next update: First Trail ride with the new clutch (Finally)

 

[RubiSc0tt]

So, I finally managed to get out and test the new clutch. For those just joining us:
My Jeep is a 3.6L 6 speed manual transmission. Back in May, I had the factory clutch replaced with an ACT Jp6 clutch and flywheel kit. It's pretty aggressive compared to stock as it bites hard, but much better to drive. I wouldn't hand it off to a first time manual driver or someone just learning, but someone who is accustomed to how Jeep clutches should handle will figure it out quick.

So I've been driving it since and haven't had a chance to get out on the trail (because houses are a ton of work, see previous post).

That said, managed to get out on a beautiful September day with my Jeep club to my buddy's mountain property to test it on a new trail.

The clutch performed flawlessly. Crawled through everything in first gear without having to worry about anything other than keeping the engine idling. No stalls, no almost choking out like the factory clutch, which would inevitably have to feather between throttle and clutch in the middle of an obstacle to keep it from stalling. This clutch has made all the difference in the world and made my jeep fun to drive again. It definitely felt more like my old TJ's on the trail, and that's a good thing.

Up next: Tie Rod replacement to fix the remaining wobble.

 

[RubiSc0tt]

So, Still had some wobble after replacing the drag link and it continued to get worse. Spent a little time checking stuff under the Jeep and found out the tie rod had some play in it. Since that's the next most likely culprit, I ordered the Mevotech TTX from Rock Auto. It came same as factory but side by side comparison and holding them both seems that the TTX is the same dimensions and similar set up, but beefier.

So, a few thoughts on this one:
- Take the wheels off, it's easier.
- This also replaces the stupid factory set up of a 21mm nut that needs a 10mm wrench on the end of the TRE bolt so it doesn't spin. It uses castle nuts and cotters, again, FAR better because you can use air tools for them.
- I remeasured and adjusted the steering stabilizer relocation bracket as I think that was a bit off based on my last calculations, and I can't really explain it but it felt like it was pulling on the wheel a bit when trying to get it to return to center.
- I cheated a bit with the alignment, measuring center joint to center joint and making sure to adjust them as close as possible. I measured the tires after and it's close, but I need someone else who knows what I'm doing to help with the measurement as my wife and kids can hold the tape measure where I tell them, but when I check what tread block it's on, they don't really know how to answer that. (even with grease pen markings).

Took it for a test drive after- it tracks pretty straight and there's no more wobble. New tires coming in the near future so I'll get an official alignment when those go on.

Much quicker and straight forward than the drag link fiasco, Thank the Jeep gods.

Pics:

 

[RubiSc0tt]

Forgot to add: some storage and organization to the Jeep.
All Amazon finds. The door pockets were maybe $120 total, and secure the saggy nets. The front ones can actually hold a slim travel mug, water bottle, or can- which is part of the reason I got them.

The zip bags were the bags I used for change of clothes when the kids were in diapers/ potty training. Repurposed them as “toy bags” for the Jeep. Basically anything that entertains them and fits in there can live there. They each have a couple fidget toys and a bunch of ducks to keep them busy while driving around/ on road trips. Clips were from Lowe’s. Since the rear seat doesn’t have as much storage, this is what they’ll continue to use as they get older.

Relatively cheap and insanely useful for those who pull daily driver duty with their Jeep.

 

[RubiSc0tt]

So… I kinda forgot to update. Oops.
Gonna try to get some updates in.

So back to October:
My Milestars were SMOKED. They wouldn’t grab on the trail anymore, and they were starting to get real sketchy on wet pavement.

So after much research, I pulled the trigger on some Mickey Thompson Baja Boss MT’s in 37x12.50x17R, shipped to me from Beadlock Marketplace for a discount. Mounted, balanced, and aligned at a local shop.

I’ve put a few thousand on/off road miles on these tires since October and I absolutely love them. I immediately noticed they roll smoother and quieter on the road than my Milestars (even when they were new). My wife confirmed this on our first trip in the Jeep, 2 hours to pick up a puppy. She isn’t into Jeeps, and the louder and rougher it rode, the less she liked it. She immediately commented how smooth and quiet the tires were. True to size is also a nice bonus.

on road:
Dry pavement: quiet and smooth rolling on the road
Wet pavement: quiet and sure footed. No sliding.
Snow: we had a brutal winter with a lot of snow and ice. These didn’t even flinch. Over 18-24” of unplowed road, dusting with wet road and black ice. I only slid once and that’s because I was on the highway and had to slow down quick on slick pavement and grab 4WD as the snowstorm was beginning and an SUV went off the road in front of me.

Off road:
Mud: I had the chance in April to run my buddy’s property. Lots of slick, muddy hills in the wet snow and ice. These things didn’t stop. They clean out well with minimal wheel speed and just kept clawing ahead regardless of what was there. I painted my Jeep with mud on a few of the hills and they never lost traction.
Loose dirt: I ran the same property a month later while it was hotter, drier, and buggier. similar to the mud, they clean out well and just keep clawing with the axles locked and in low range. I even managed a few tight, pivot style turns bordering on a dig with the tires providing the pulling force and holding the line. The only time I had to pull a winch cable is when I got high centered and that is a driver error.
Rocks: at 15 psi, I could probably let a few more out and get a better contact. They grab well and hold lines on rocks for non-sticky tires. The lugs flex just enough to help climb and grab edges of boulders and keep crawling. Interestingly enough I don’t have to worry about them slipping off a rock and losing a line nearly as much as the milestars, which results in less “try again” moments. I just have to pay attention and steer more carefully. The sidewalls seem to stand up to abuse much better too, as they don’t scuff or chunk as much after dragging across rocks.

also: main Battery died. Had some suspicion after I ran the compressor totally off the battery to air up (because it was on a crazy hill and my wheel chock already sunk into the mud once and Jeep tried going for a walk. But that’s another story…). Regular battery was $300, Optima Yellow too was $370. At that point, it was a no brainer.

Anyway, I'll post some trail pics from a few weeks ago as well. Nothing crazy- Class 4 roads in VT but it was fun and had some good shots.

 

[RubiSc0tt]

A few from back in June. We did 25 miles on the trail, plus a 10 mi on pavement connector. This was a test of OnX Offroad Navigation and route builder. It worked great, and we even switched some stuff on the fly. It's all 3/10 rated or less, and the trails were all trails we had passed previously in Southern VT/ Western MA. We even went to visit the Hoosac Tunnel. It was cold and reeked of diesel. The kids thought it was cool but didn't want to explore any further like Bobby did.

The Jeep performed flawlessly as expected. Didn't even lock the lockers.

My son helped me fix the pressure washer so he got to use it while helping with clean up the next day. "Dad, I'm going to get my chair so I can sit AND spray the Jeep". He's 8. This kid's thinking is next level sometimes.

 

[grandsrus]

it's been a while, so here's an update:
It's been a busy summer. First off, had to replace the drag link to solve the beginning of a case of death wobble. Ordered from Rock Auto and they got it here in a few days. This thing SUPER SUCKED to replace because:

- The nuts on the knuckles are 21mm and in order to get them off, you have to put an 8mm wrench on the end of the bolt and keep turning them- so you can't get them off with air tools.
- I could not get a puller on the pitman arm side because it's jammed up right between the frame and the radiator.

Thankfully the new one comes with castle nuts and cotter pins. This cured my death wobble for the most part.

More updates coming.

Impact gun rips it right off.

 

[RubiSc0tt]

Had some random electrical issues with the Jeep freaking out, shutting down then coming back.

See here: https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...mly-tries-to-shut-down-another-thread.157903/

Spoiler alert/ TL;DR: It was the ESS battery going bad. Replaced and so far all is well.

Next update I'll hopefully have some vacation/ wheeling pictures and mod info on some fog lights: Harbor Freight Roadshock with side shooters.

Life is busy, but it's all been good.

 

[RubiSc0tt]

OK.. .long overdue update. I'll try to keep it to the important stuff.
September: Got to go wheeling. Drove almost the entire trail, only had to winch the gatekeeper.

October: Replaced ESS Battery

December: The day i brought the Jeep home, Clutch Positioning sensor died. Had to get that replaced as it was the coldest day of the year at that point and I had to work. Of course, FB had jokes about that, posting this picture next to the one of me taking delivery saying something stupid like "Time flies- 7 years!"

Everything was good until March-ish, Jeep wouldn't start in the grocery store parking lot. Would not crank. Still had dash cluster, radio, etc. I thought it was the ESS battery so I disconnect the cable, tape it off, and pull Fuse 42 hoping to just get it home. I ran in to get more electrical tape, when I came back it was DEAD-DEAD. Bricked. I had the guy from Walmart try with a few jumper packs- nothing. Tow truck guy tried with the BIG semi jump pack- nothing. Had it dragged to the shop again. A few days later, I had it back; turns out it was the Z-Block fuse blew and was not charging the ESS battery. All good, right? No so fast...
Jeep is acting funky over the weekend. blinking, not shutting down, etc. So I start running a bunch of info I had found for troubleshooting through chatGPT to organize it, and make sure to watch that it doesn't come through with anything too batshit crazy. Re-seated and tightened all Z-Block fuse cables, tested with my multi-meter- Batteries were good, connections were good. Jeep would start and run but would not go to "off" position without cycling the engine.
Went through the disconnect the battery, let it sit for 20 mins, reconnect, lock/unlock, then try again several times. Finally I get it working mostly normal but it's still jumping past Aux position on the ignition. Upon further research I found it was a "Run state mismatch", which basically means one of the 4 brains in the Jeep is still out of synch (pissed off) from the Power Crash event with the ZBlock fuse the previous week. The only way for this to be corrected is with a dealer service visit (YUCK. Most of mine in my area are terrible).
So, I drive it to work (120mi round trip) that week thinking I'll get it in to a dealer next week. Apparently driving it was all I needed to do because after a couple days it was back to normal. Reading more, apparently sometimes it just needs drive cycles to reset the computer.

While in for the ZBlock, I talked to my shop about fixing. my clutch, as it's difficult going into gear and i'm getting the groaning sound, typical of the ACT kit. They also pointed out my oil cooler has developed the signature Pentastar leak. Currently looking into parts for that and doing it in the driveway.
As for the Clutch, there's no way around it- I'm going to have to have the shop do that.

April- the slight wobble has been getting worse. So I had my kids help me by shaking the wheel- drag link is the culprit. So i ordered a Mevotech TTX from Rock Auto (just liek the tie rod) and swapped it on my lunch break one of the days. Much better once I had it torqued down and adjusted, but there was still a wobble.

On the heels of this, my passenger side tail light died. Blinker and brake lights still worked thankfully, but the running light was out. So I ordered a new one off ebay for ~$120. It's a Chinese knock off but it works well enough, with the exception of one of the marker lights and it throwing "Tail light out" warning , which it didn't do when the OEM light went out.

So, a few weeks later, after some house projects and foul weather, i had the kids help me out again- same deal: Shake the wheel while i check the suspension underneath. We found it! Bushing end of my RK trackbar needs to be rebuilt, and the bracket clearanced (which either wasn't in the instructions at the time, or we missed on our 18 hour thrash fest to get the lift installed). I have the new bushing on my bench, I just need the time and weather to cooperate so I can install it.

It's been an expensive few months, and I'm still casually shopping used 392's on Autotrader, while also shopping Trucks and debating on whether or not I should just go buy a $1500 72-75 CJ5 off Marketplace and build that into a trail rig. But I know myself and I know how that's going to go: I'm going to get tired of the antiquated bullshit, TJ frame swap it, give it a TJ based long arm kit from RK, tons, and a Gen 3 Hemi because I want power and fuel injection. I don't have a shop, the tools, the time, or the money for that though hahaha

Honestly? Jury is still out. Probably just keeping this Jeep and fixing it. But the repair money would go nicely into a trade for a 392 to keep the payment "affordable".

 

[RhinoJLU]

OK.. .long overdue update. I'll try to keep it to the important stuff.
September: Got to go wheeling. Drove almost the entire trail, only had to winch the gatekeeper.

October: Replaced ESS Battery

December: The day i brought the Jeep home, Clutch Positioning sensor died. Had to get that replaced as it was the coldest day of the year at that point and I had to work. Of course, FB had jokes about that, posting this picture next to the one of me taking delivery saying something stupid like "Time flies- 7 years!"

Everything was good until March-ish, Jeep wouldn't start in the grocery store parking lot. Would not crank. Still had dash cluster, radio, etc. I thought it was the ESS battery so I disconnect the cable, tape it off, and pull Fuse 42 hoping to just get it home. I ran in to get more electrical tape, when I came back it was DEAD-DEAD. Bricked. I had the guy from Walmart try with a few jumper packs- nothing. Tow truck guy tried with the BIG semi jump pack- nothing. Had it dragged to the shop again. A few days later, I had it back; turns out it was the Z-Block fuse blew and was not charging the ESS battery. All good, right? No so fast...
Jeep is acting funky over the weekend. blinking, not shutting down, etc. So I start running a bunch of info I had found for troubleshooting through chatGPT to organize it, and make sure to watch that it doesn't come through with anything too batshit crazy. Re-seated and tightened all Z-Block fuse cables, tested with my multi-meter- Batteries were good, connections were good. Jeep would start and run but would not go to "off" position without cycling the engine.
Went through the disconnect the battery, let it sit for 20 mins, reconnect, lock/unlock, then try again several times. Finally I get it working mostly normal but it's still jumping past Aux position on the ignition. Upon further research I found it was a "Run state mismatch", which basically means one of the 4 brains in the Jeep is still out of synch (pissed off) from the Power Crash event with the ZBlock fuse the previous week. The only way for this to be corrected is with a dealer service visit (YUCK. Most of mine in my area are terrible).
So, I drive it to work (120mi round trip) that week thinking I'll get it in to a dealer next week. Apparently driving it was all I needed to do because after a couple days it was back to normal. Reading more, apparently sometimes it just needs drive cycles to reset the computer.

While in for the ZBlock, I talked to my shop about fixing. my clutch, as it's difficult going into gear and i'm getting the groaning sound, typical of the ACT kit. They also pointed out my oil cooler has developed the signature Pentastar leak. Currently looking into parts for that and doing it in the driveway.
As for the Clutch, there's no way around it- I'm going to have to have the shop do that.

April- the slight wobble has been getting worse. So I had my kids help me by shaking the wheel- drag link is the culprit. So i ordered a Mevotech TTX from Rock Auto (just liek the tie rod) and swapped it on my lunch break one of the days. Much better once I had it torqued down and adjusted, but there was still a wobble.

On the heels of this, my passenger side tail light died. Blinker and brake lights still worked thankfully, but the running light was out. So I ordered a new one off ebay for ~$120. It's a Chinese knock off but it works well enough, with the exception of one of the marker lights and it throwing "Tail light out" warning , which it didn't do when the OEM light went out.

So, a few weeks later, after some house projects and foul weather, i had the kids help me out again- same deal: Shake the wheel while i check the suspension underneath. We found it! Bushing end of my RK trackbar needs to be rebuilt, and the bracket clearanced (which either wasn't in the instructions at the time, or we missed on our 18 hour thrash fest to get the lift installed). I have the new bushing on my bench, I just need the time and weather to cooperate so I can install it.

It's been an expensive few months, and I'm still casually shopping used 392's on Autotrader, while also shopping Trucks and debating on whether or not I should just go buy a $1500 72-75 CJ5 off Marketplace and build that into a trail rig. But I know myself and I know how that's going to go: I'm going to get tired of the antiquated bullshit, TJ frame swap it, give it a TJ based long arm kit from RK, tons, and a Gen 3 Hemi because I want power and fuel injection. I don't have a shop, the tools, the time, or the money for that though hahaha

Honestly? Jury is still out. Probably just keeping this Jeep and fixing it. But the repair money would go nicely into a trade for a 392 to keep the payment "affordable".

Ah good old F road. That gatekeeper has gotten me every time. It’s our four-door wheelbase with our crappy break over. There’s one other tough ledge on that trail. It took me a few tries, but I got over. that gatekeeper though I’ve had to winch every time.

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