'22 JLR 2.0T build progress/wheeling thread

[Remorseless]

Sweet, looking forward to seeing how these work for you.

Ditto. Not hitting the stock Mopar ones at Uwharrie and these look like they might sit up a bit tighter up, so not sure I'll get much use out of em till Windrock or other trips.

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[blnewt]

Ditto. Not hitting the stock Mopar ones at Uwharrie and these look like they might sit up a bit tighter up, so not sure I'll get much use out of em till Windrock or other trips.

You could go out of your way and high center on something, just for a favor to your peeps
Inquiring minds need to know lol.

 

[Remorseless]

You could go out of your way and high center on something, just for a favor to your peeps
Inquiring minds need to know lol.

lol, that's true. Their first run will be Windrock though. Wheeling this weekend and don't have the free time to install by Sat morning, so going to have to be between now and Windrock. I'll do my best to get some good data for y'all though, either at Windrock or I'll figure something out at Uwharrie lol

 

[Remorseless]

Alright, another Uwharrie trip in the books this weekend and the last before the Windrock trip at the end of July. Met up with @Sean L and @yokramer for a trail ride. Was a great time! Pretty much the only place we take pics is on the Dickey Bell climb it seems and this time was no exception:

We also ran across someone on the trail in an XJ who wanted to attach themselves to a group and do Dickey Bell for their first time, happy to help out with some spotting and get someone doing a trail they wouldn't otherwise have run. Made me miss my XJ though!

My buddy's working on a budget friendly set of improvements to his JKU and recently chopped his stock bumper with the Rough Country plastic end caps. I'm generally leery of RC stuff, but think it came out looking great and will look even better when we pull his bumper and give it a fresh coat of paint so everything matches:

 

[Remorseless]

And now for the damage update - touched a few of the diff and shock skids as usual, but the big hit this time was the rear bumper getting into the tub some when I took a hard shot after a suboptimal line on an optional rock section on Falls Dam:

Not the worst damage I've seen folks report the stock bumper as causing, but frustrating nonetheless. I'm torn on how I want to approach it - I like the look of the OE bumper, but it's certainly not the most optimal off road bumper. I'm also trying to avoid spending much more on parts this year, given that I'm kinda sorta wildly over budget. So, I've been chewing over either not doing anything till next year or doing something that's a little lighter on the wallet like the Metalcloak bumper reinforcement brackets. Long term I waffle even harder - if I do the brackets and they work well, stick with those even though this bumper's going to get tore up with all the plastic on it? Move to an aftermarket bumper - really the only one that's been catching my eye is the Metalcloak bumper given the nice rear pinch seam protection and replaceable nature of the end caps, but I dislike not having a smartly integrated license plate solution. I dunno, things I'll have to mull over I guess.

Anyway, also pulled the stock rails and sure enough they got into the body too, likely from a few hits I took while wheeling stock:

These are the most egregious, but there's also a nice line of scratches down the full length of the driver's side rocker. The "performance" rails were definitely a gamble that didn't pay off. Got some touchup paint coming and then it'll be time to start work on the Metalcloak rails. Hoping to get started with that sometime in the next week or so, and then start in on the rear spring swap to the JKS HD springs.

 

[Remorseless]

So, just as a point of conversation, this video that popped up in my YouTube feed provides some context to the decision to go with the MC body mount sliders:




In particular, this still from the video:

Anyone else noticed how many frame mount sliders follow a similar formula of tying in at the body mount brackets and using super long brackets to reach out from under the body past the pinch seam to hold the tube? Not a dig at Rusty's in particular, I like a bunch of their stuff, and their mounts do appear to be overbuilt compared to some of the others out there:

But the fact that even this is still not enough - at least on a 2 door, no idea if a 4 door might flex less because of more support from the third body mount bracket - to keep the slider out of the body is pretty crazy to me. It definitely seems like a thing that's more common with JLs than I remember being common with the JK. I really don't remember hearing about frame mount sliders flexing with the JK.

Anyway, random ramble lol, this has me even more curious to see if my gamble on the tub mount MC sliders is bullshit or legit.

 

[Remorseless]

Talking the rear bumper over with the wife, I think I wanna keep the OE bumper going as long as I can - 100% admission it's not the most off road ready or capable rear bumper, but I like the way it looks and the steel shell itself is fine enough for the hits I'll give it I think, just the bracing sucks. So, got permission to snag the Metalcloak brackets to strengthen that. We'll see how those go and if I can get them in before WIndrock.

 

[Gmanjeeper]

So, just as a point of conversation, this video that popped up in my YouTube feed provides some context to the decision to go with the MC body mount sliders:




In particular, this still from the video:

Anyone else noticed how many frame mount sliders follow a similar formula of tying in at the body mount brackets and using super long brackets to reach out from under the body past the pinch seam to hold the tube? Not a dig at Rusty's in particular, I like a bunch of their stuff, and their mounts do appear to be overbuilt compared to some of the others out there:

But the fact that even this is still not enough - at least on a 2 door, no idea if a 4 door might flex less because of more support from the third body mount bracket - to keep the slider out of the body is pretty crazy to me. It definitely seems like a thing that's more common with JLs than I remember being common with the JK. I really don't remember hearing about frame mount sliders flexing with the JK.

Anyway, random ramble lol, this has me even more curious to see if my gamble on the tub mount MC sliders is bullshit or legit.

Sometime ago I think we discussed the MORE oil pan skid for the 2.0 turbo JL. I just bought one from another forum member. I hve the passenger arm installed - not too bad. I think I have found the frame horn location for the DS arm. I test fitted it and it looks correct except that it is a very tight fit to get the arm over the frame horn, such that I may have to pound it on with a rubber mallet. Did you have this issue?

 

[Remorseless]

Sometime ago I think we discussed the MORE oil pan skid for the 2.0 turbo JL. I just bought one from another forum member. I hve the passenger arm installed - not too bad. I think I have found the frame horn location for the DS arm. I test fitted it and it looks correct except that it is a very tight fit to get the arm over the frame horn, such that I may have to pound it on with a rubber mallet. Did you have this issue?

Mine was tight, but didn't take too much persuasion. Kind of rocked into place.

 

[Krondor]

Talking the rear bumper over with the wife, I think I wanna keep the OE bumper going as long as I can - 100% admission it's not the most off road ready or capable rear bumper, but I like the way it looks and the steel shell itself is fine enough for the hits I'll give it I think, just the bracing sucks. So, got permission to snag the Metalcloak brackets to strengthen that. We'll see how those go and if I can get them in before WIndrock.

I have had the MetalCloak bumpers saved for a long while because the OE bumpers look good.

Might have to get them braces myself.

After your review of coarse! Thanks for funding my research! ?

 

[Remorseless]

I have had the MetalCloak bumpers saved for a long while because the OE bumpers look good.

Might have to get them braces myself.

After your review of coarse! Thanks for funding my research! ?

Glad to help lol. This thread is what convinced me and discussing it with the wife: OEM steel rear bumper & rock rail improvements | Jeep Wrangler Forums (JL / JLU) - Rubicon, 4xe, 392, Sahara, Sport - JLwranglerforums.com

Some folks taking some good shots in there in this particular post: https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...per-rock-rail-improvements.90638/post-2356131

 

[Remorseless]

Sometime ago I think we discussed the MORE oil pan skid for the 2.0 turbo JL. I just bought one from another forum member. I hve the passenger arm installed - not too bad. I think I have found the frame horn location for the DS arm. I test fitted it and it looks correct except that it is a very tight fit to get the arm over the frame horn, such that I may have to pound it on with a rubber mallet. Did you have this issue?

Can you take a pic? Might can help better if I can see.

 

[Gmanjeeper]

Can you take a pic? Might can help better if I can see.

Good idea. I will take a pic tonight. From what you said, I think I have the right location because I got it on a little way by rocking it a little. Did not want to force it if I had the wrong location. From what I can tell this is about the only place it can attach to be where I can attach the front DS side of the skid. But I will take a pic. One more quick question, were you able to get two wrenches on the two nuts once you threaded the bolt through the holes? I have not tried this yet. I had a bit of a hard time getting A socket on the PS arm nuts. Had to use a couple of extensions and a swivel on the end of my ratchet. I do not see any way I am going to be able to get a torque wrench on them. Will probably hand tighten as much as I can! Thanks.

 

[Remorseless]

Good idea. I will take a pic tonight. From what you said, I think I have the right location because I got it on a little way by rocking it a little. Did not want to force it if I had the wrong location. From what I can tell this is about the only place it can attach to be where I can attach the front DS side of the skid. But I will take a pic. One more quick question, were you able to get two wrenches on the two nuts once you threaded the bolt through the holes? I have not tried this yet. I had a bit of a hard time getting A socket on the PS arm nuts. Had to use a couple of extensions and a swivel on the end of my ratchet. I do not see any way I am going to be able to get a torque wrench on them. Will probably hand tighten as much as I can! Thanks.

I couldn't get a torque wrench in there for mine on the driver's side. Lots of extensions and a u-joint adapter though.

 

[RAO]

Talking the rear bumper over with the wife, I think I wanna keep the OE bumper going as long as I can - 100% admission it's not the most off road ready or capable rear bumper, but I like the way it looks and the steel shell itself is fine enough for the hits I'll give it I think, just the bracing sucks. So, got permission to snag the Metalcloak brackets to strengthen that. We'll see how those go and if I can get them in before WIndrock.

It’s a good add and easy to install.
just wanted to thank you for sharing your research and experiences with us. It has been a tremendous help to me in selecting add ons.

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