'22 JLR 2.0T build progress/wheeling thread

[Jim1964]

Great plan. Smart to wheel it for a while before getting in too deep.

One thought is maybe check your spring rates and consider uprating to compensate for the weight of added armor etc. Otherwise the sag and dragging the belly might push you into lifting sooner than you otherwise might.

OEM springs are cheap.

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[Remorseless]

Great plan. Smart to wheel it for a while before getting in too deep.

One thought is maybe check your spring rates and consider uprating to compensate for the weight of added armor etc. Otherwise the sag and dragging the belly might push you into lifting sooner than you otherwise might.

OEM springs are cheap.

The total sprung weight of the armor I've added is only ~120lb (benefit of a smaller 2 door), so it's less weight than an adult passenger thankfully. I'll keep an eye on how the suspension feels during the trip, but I anticipate it won't be as bad as some of the 4 doors get due to the extra weight of their systems. I do also pull the rear seat out before I wheel, which drops another 60lbs or so off the total sprung weight. I replace it with a bunch of tools, so it goes back up, but overall before the tools and such I'm starting at just +~60lb over stock.

When I pull the springs out, a lift's going in if I'm doing that work lol. My reticence to go ahead and lift is more because I want to make a thoughtful decision on what goes in than anything else - my last Jeep I picked a setup I'm not entirely sure I would have picked had I thought about it longer. Truth be told, the wife'll honestly want to lift before I will probably even with the belly dragging, I'm a horrible window shopper and I hem and haw constantly, but she's all about just going ahead and doing the thing. The belly dragging doesn't concern me too much, the extra skids were specifically because I knew I would be dragging and so I shored up the areas I knew I'd drag most.

 

[Remorseless]

Finally, a wheeling update. Got to go to Uwharrie this past Saturday and ran trails in the following order: Wolf's Den > Falls Dam > Dickey Bell, lunch at the Outpost, and then Rocky Mountain Loop > back side of Daniel. The JLR did great, better than expected actually. Before Saturday the smallest tire I'd run there was a set of 35" KM2s (small for a 35, admittedly, but bigger than the stock JLR tires) and on a 3"-ish lift. I was expecting to have to take a good number of bypasses or to be scraping bottom constantly, but thankfully that wasn't the case. Don't get me wrong, we used the skid plates a good amount (a "carnage" post will be following this one), but nowhere near as much as expected.

My wheeling buddy runs a JKUS on a 4" Mopar lift, with 35" Toyo AT IIIs. I'll have a few pics of him in the following as well, it's a fun point of comparison. The weather was perfect (sunny, low/mid-80s, and only roughly 50% humidity - a rarity this summer for NC). Only thing I wish was that the rain we've been having would have kept the dust at bay. It was an extraordinarily dusty day.

Dickey Bell:

My buddy's Jeep makes this look easy, but as can be seen below, it's not an insignificant climb for a stock Jeep on this line.

From a clearance perspective, the top section is relatively easy for a lifted Jeep. However, being open/open does introduce more challenge given the verticality of the trail (hard to see in pictures, but it's really hard to walk up/down, super steep) and the general lack of consistent traction on our rocks.

Lockers definitely helped the JLR pull itself up.

Rocky Mountain Loop:

These two shots really show the differences in clearance between a lifted and unlifted Jeep. Even with the longer wheelbase, my buddy's Jeep has no issues clearing this rock, while the short wheelbase two door just kisses the LCA skid.

Daniel (top):

We usually don't run the front of Daniel due to it getting super rutted out and always being a traffic jam. However, the top is a nice place to sit and get a nice view of the hills. The other nice thing about the back side of Daniel is the plethora of lines you can take. Everything from stock truck friendly to fun, short-but-challenging obstacles. No pictures of this, but on the way down we got adventurous with the lines and found a few spots that pushed the limits of the stock JLR, used the skids a fair amount, and even the rock rails.

Overall a great day on the trail!

 

[GATORB8]

Well, got the Rusty's frame-side LCA skids put on this past weekend. Passenger side definitely needed a little grinding and is a little jankier than I'm happy with, but will have to do for now.

The supplied hardware is nice enough - all grade 8 stuff, nylon lock nuts.

Again, keeping the axle from moving too much with the jack to keep the LCA from being too misaligned with the bolt hole on the frame side. Stock bracket is fairly light duty.

Driver's side goes on stupid easy. Yes, I did rattle can the bolt heads - washers pulled up paint off the skid while torquing down, didn't want the bare steel to corrode/rust. Just easier to rattle can over them than it is to be uber precise with it. Skid lines up well and should do good to protect that bracket from getting mangled.

The passenger side, above, is where the dilemma can be seen - the forward-most bolt used to locate the skid on the bracket and to keep it from rotating around has less than 1/4" clearance between the stock bracket and the gas tank skid.

Solution was to Dremel back the lip of the gas tank skid to clear a low-profile 1/2-13 nylon lock nut. Gas tank is close enough to the skid I wanted to clearance as little as possible, even though a nut with no washer is less than ideal - fortunately all this bolt does is locate the skid and prevent it from flopping around. That skid may be thin, but it's hard steel. Chewed through 3 Dremel grinding bits - although they did have to be narrow bits in order to fit in the space.

Cleaned it up with a bit of rattle can to cover the bare steel.

Nut now barely clears the skid, just a few thousandths really - but clearance is clearance and she fit. Packed it full of thread locker, should hold.

The other part of the workaround is to stack washers beneath the bolt head for this bolt - it's an odd sized bolt, like 4-3/4", and if you're hitting this issue you really need like a 4-1/4" bolt. Nobody carries a 4-1/4" 1/2-13 grade 8 bolt in your standard hardware stores. So, stack washers we do to shorten it up so it holds tight. You can order a 4-1/4" bolt and I might do so if this gets hung up on stuff or bothers me too much, but for now it's in and holding tight.

Another option may be starting with a stubby 1" or 1-1/2" bolt inserted from the inside of the bracket and through the outside hole with the nut on the outside instead of the inside, or a stubby bolt threaded into a flag nut where the flag sticks out the front of the bracket.

Probably going to send this info to Rusty's - either the clearances between the bracket and skid are different on a 4 door (everyone seems to be oriented towards 4 doors these days), or this is one of those rolling changes Jeep has made with the 21's/22's, or it's just a Jeep-to-Jeep variation in clearance. Either way, skids are on, but something's up with passenger side clearance.

Damn, not sure how I missed these being available. I've done some damage to the passenger side already. Thanks for posting this!

 

[Remorseless]

Alright, so it's a low Jeep and I ran mostly the same lines I'd have run in my previous lifted Jeep, so how did the underside fare? Surprisingly well, actually. Definitely contact, but nothing seemed to be overly stressed. So, consider this a first-use review of the skids I've installed and of the factory protection - let's dive in!

Axles:

Not pictured: two lug nuts smashed by rocks. Apparently I'm bad at keeping my wheels out of rocks. It was a thing with my JK too. Maybe it's actually me? Nah.

Front diff took a glancing blow, direction of travel didn't peel the cover away from the gasket so it doesn't look like it's seeping. Once @RanchoShocks gets their updated front diff skid actually in the hands of retailers, that will be going on:

Rear diff skid took a decent hit or two, got through the powder coat in a few places:

One LCA/shock skid took a slight rub:

Undercarriage:

M.O.R.E. Engine Skid:

This skid is the one I would deem the most critical if you're going to do fun stuff in a stock Wrangler. Took a couple of hits near the oil drain port and near the trans crossmember that would have been uncomfortably close to the oil pans. There's always the question of whether or not the hit was because of the lowered clearance from the skid or if it would've actually been dangerous to stock components. Either way, was happy to have it.

M.O.R.E. Gas Tank Skid:

Not going to dwell on this one too much, the gas tank skids on newer Jeeps always get beat up due to location and length. The M.O.R.E. skid held up well.

Rusty's LCA Skid:

This took just a kiss. Nothing bad.

Body:

Rock Rails:

Took a few hits on the Mopar rock rails. The liner they use on them kind of chunks off when it gets hit, not sure if I like that, and it makes a really disconcerting crunching sound when a rock punches through the liner. Regardless, they held up decent enough and it doesn't look like they pushed into the body any. Still thinking the Shrockworks rails are going to be a good upgrade.

Bumpers:

Managed to punch the passenger side fog light/crush can bezel right into a rock on Dickey Bell on the front bumper, and caught the rear coming down a ledge playing around on the back of Daniel. Both held up OK, not much to worry about. Rear did not deflect much - it was a glancing blow.

Overall, she held up pretty good I think considering that she's stock and what I asked her to do. The powder coat on the M.O.R.E. skids is definitely the best of the bunch, and held up really well. Only one or two of those hits may have gotten through the powder coat, with all the dirt in them it's hard to tell, but they were definitely shallower than the others. The Rancho diff skid held up pretty good too, I knew when I hit it that the line I took was risky (watched my buddy drag his Rancho skid over the same rock I hit, was just hoping that my shorter wheelbase would've let me turn a little tighter, but alas not). The Rusty's skids didn't really get pushed, so not much of a review there.

The factory equipment held up fine - there's just more plastic than I'd prefer. The front bumper sticks out further than I'm used to, which coupled with the lower ground clearance, leads to mistakes. Jury's still out on the factory Mopar "performance" rock rails - pretty lukewarm on them. The wife likes having something, ANYTHING, to help her in and out of the Jeep on the trail, but I think the aftermarket provides a better product.

 

[RanchoShocks]

I am betting this week folks have them in stock and out their doors.
I have an e-mail in with my Sales Director as to who gets them first as well.

Alright, so it's a low Jeep and I ran mostly the same lines I'd have run in my previous lifted Jeep, so how did the underside fare? Surprisingly well, actually. Definitely contact, but nothing seemed to be overly stressed. So, consider this a first-use review of the skids I've installed and of the factory protection - let's dive in!

Axles:

Not pictured: two lug nuts smashed by rocks. Apparently I'm bad at keeping my wheels out of rocks. It was a thing with my JK too. Maybe it's actually me? Nah.

Front diff took a glancing blow, direction of travel didn't peel the cover away from the gasket so it doesn't look like it's seeping. Once @RanchoShocks gets their updated front diff skid actually in the hands of retailers, that will be going on:

Rear diff skid took a decent hit or two, got through the powder coat in a few places:

One LCA/shock skid took a slight rub:

Undercarriage:

M.O.R.E. Engine Skid:

This skid is the one I would deem the most critical if you're going to do fun stuff in a stock Wrangler. Took a couple of hits near the oil drain port and near the trans crossmember that would have been uncomfortably close to the oil pans. There's always the question of whether or not the hit was because of the lowered clearance from the skid or if it would've actually been dangerous to stock components. Either way, was happy to have it.

M.O.R.E. Gas Tank Skid:

Not going to dwell on this one too much, the gas tank skids on newer Jeeps always get beat up due to location and length. The M.O.R.E. skid held up well.

Rusty's LCA Skid:

This took just a kiss. Nothing bad.

Body:

Rock Rails:

Took a few hits on the Mopar rock rails. The liner they use on them kind of chunks off when it gets hit, not sure if I like that, and it makes a really disconcerting crunching sound when a rock punches through the liner. Regardless, they held up decent enough and it doesn't look like they pushed into the body any. Still thinking the Shrockworks rails are going to be a good upgrade.

Bumpers:

Managed to punch the passenger side fog light/crush can bezel right into a rock on Dickey Bell on the front bumper, and caught the rear coming down a ledge playing around on the back of Daniel. Both held up OK, not much to worry about. Rear did not deflect much - it was a glancing blow.

Overall, she held up pretty good I think considering that she's stock and what I asked her to do. The powder coat on the M.O.R.E. skids is definitely the best of the bunch, and held up really well. Only one or two of those hits may have gotten through the powder coat, with all the dirt in them it's hard to tell, but they were definitely shallower than the others. The Rancho diff skid held up pretty good too, I knew when I hit it that the line I took was risky (watched my buddy drag his Rancho skid over the same rock I hit, was just hoping that my shorter wheelbase would've let me turn a little tighter, but alas not). The Rusty's skids didn't really get pushed, so not much of a review there.

The factory equipment held up fine - there's just more plastic than I'd prefer. The front bumper sticks out further than I'm used to, which coupled with the lower ground clearance, leads to mistakes. Jury's still out on the factory Mopar "performance" rock rails - pretty lukewarm on them. The wife likes having something, ANYTHING, to help her in and out of the Jeep on the trail, but I think the aftermarket provides a better product.

 

[Remorseless]

I am betting this week folks have them in stock and out their doors.
I have an e-mail in with my Sales Director as to who gets them first as well.

That'd be great! Figured y'all were dealing with supply chain issues as much as anyone else is, so was expecting it to be a hot minute before people were actually able to get product on shelf.

 

[GATORB8]

Damn, not sure how I missed these being available. I've done some damage to the passenger side already. Thanks for posting this!

@Remorseless Dude, these are beefy, now for 8 coats of paint…so many tight spots to spray.

 

[Remorseless]

@Remorseless Dude, these are beefy, now for 8 coats of paint…so many tight spots to spray.

Hell yeah they are! Hope you dig them man! And if it helps any on the painting, my redneck paint booth didn't do horribly IMO. Bent up a coat hanger and hung it from one of those metal shelving racks in my garage with a box behind it. Way easier than trying to flip it over and all that by hand.

As an aside, pretty sure you're going to be the first person with a 4xe that I've seen install a set. Curious to see if there's any differences vs a normal Unlimited there.

 

[Remorseless]

Small update - Northridge was the first to show RS62148 (glide plate for the plugless axle casting) as an item in their inventory, but has shown out of stock since it showed up. However, 4WP shows it as orderable for drop shipping (Rancho rockGEAR Front Differential Glide Plate (Red) - RS62148 | 4wheelparts.com). Since it's drop shipping from Rancho, no idea on actual stock availability, but hoping it'll come in before early Oct, which is the next wheeling trip.

For anyone else who's been eyeing this for their plugless axle casting, the Northridge link is here as well: Rancho Performance Rock Gear Front Differential Glide Plate - Jeep Rubicon 2018-2022 | RS62148|Northridge4x4

Anywho, not much going on with the Jeep. Back seat's been removed. Replacement one-piece lug nuts came in and waiting on a free weekend to swap them out, gotta figure out how I want to try and get a socket on the ones that I boogered up. Wheeling trip second weekend of October is coming up, just not fast enough. Will be hanging out on the beach for a long weekend in September as a last hurrah before it gets too cold, so Jeep will get some use in Sept at least.

 

[RanchoShocks]

We have a TON in stock, what happens (as @Remorseless knows) it takes a bit to get from us to businesses to order them and for them to stock the product. They are getting dropped shipped sometimes from us though, and that happens pretty fast!
Matt

Small update - Northridge was the first to show RS62148 (glide plate for the plugless axle casting) as an item in their inventory, but has shown out of stock since it showed up. However, 4WP shows it as orderable for drop shipping (Rancho rockGEAR Front Differential Glide Plate (Red) - RS62148 | 4wheelparts.com). Since it's drop shipping from Rancho, no idea on actual stock availability, but hoping it'll come in before early Oct, which is the next wheeling trip.

For anyone else who's been eyeing this for their plugless axle casting, the Northridge link is here as well: Rancho Performance Rock Gear Front Differential Glide Plate - Jeep Rubicon 2018-2022 | RS62148|Northridge4x4

Anywho, not much going on with the Jeep. Back seat's been removed. Replacement one-piece lug nuts came in and waiting on a free weekend to swap them out, gotta figure out how I want to try and get a socket on the ones that I boogered up. Wheeling trip second weekend of October is coming up, just not fast enough. Will be hanging out on the beach for a long weekend in September as a last hurrah before it gets too cold, so Jeep will get some use in Sept at least.

 

[Remorseless]

We have a TON in stock, what happens (as @Remorseless knows) it takes a bit to get from us to businesses to order them and for them to stock the product. They are getting dropped shipped sometimes from us though, and that happens pretty fast!
Matt

Yeah, not much you guys can do on the reseller side, so I'm glad someone who allows drop shipping updated their product list to make it orderable. Looking forward to having that extra protection up there. Last thing the wife says we absolutely have to have before planning a trip to Windrock in the spring.

 

[Remorseless]

My other favorite way to use the Jeep: sitting on the beach with the wife and our goober.

Looking forward to the day I've got a better tuned suspension system sitting under it, undulating ruts on the beach are rough with the stock suspension. Still planning on running stock suspension through next spring, giving us a full year with the Jeep without suspension mods, but both the wife and I are looking forward to pulling it apart and getting some aftermarket goodies in there.

Anywho, front diff slider comes in this week, so I gotta get off my ass and get that installed along with the lug nuts before the next trip to Uwharrie.

 

[jlcalifornia]

Sweet, congrats. It will definitely help that you have experience with your JK, so you have a better idea going in of what worked and what didn't to inform decisions on your JL.

 

[Remorseless]

Got a little done on the Jeep this weekend. Replaced all the lug nuts with the black Gorilla single piece units. Hopefully they won't deform as bad as the OEM ones when I inevitably ram a wheel into a rock again.

However, more importantly, I also got the Rancho front diff skid installed. Install was smooth, hardest part was juggling the u-bolt at the back of the axle casting while getting both nuts started. Definitely pay attention to the instructions and start the u-bolt nuts when you've only got the first two diff cover bolts in so you've got some wiggle room with the skid. Straight forward install as usual with these things, hardware was all present, and everything fit nicely.

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