Aonarch's 2025 JLUR '41 Build

[Aonarch]

This story starts out with me hunting for a cheap 4xe lease for my partner to occasionally commute to work in. My brother had leased a leftover '24 4xe Sahara for $125 a month drive and sign. Pretty impressive. I tried working with a couple of out of state dealers, but quickly grew frustrated. I then got local quotes for 2025s and was in the $400 range. I didn't want a 4xe anyways, so we moved on.

That took us to looking for a stripper two door Sport. Surprisingly enough, dealers actually had plenty of them in stock. So we drove to a high volume dealer an hour away and test drove one.

Yuck! What did Jeep do to the manual? Horrible. The clutch pedal was overly light and vague. The clutch had no measurable bite/ take up point. The shifter feel was terrible and I kept punching the hazard button while shifting. I stalled the thing three times! Ok, fine an automatic is no problem. My Gladiator was a 3.6 auto and I liked it.

We then quickly realized that we were no longer looking for a stripper, because I also wanted a hardtop for security. We now were squarely in the mid to high thirties price wise, which was defeating the purpose of a cheap commuter. We drove home and I continued to do more research.

I then realized the Willy's trim would be perfect. I didn't realize for 2024 that the WIllys become a Rubicon-lite. They were quite a bit cheaper than the Rubicons as well.

However I decide that since we were going up in price I wanted a four door, for more practicality. I had a two door Bronco, which is bigger than the two door Wrangler, and that was a little small. The four door Wrangler is still smaller than a 4runner for example. They aren't huge.

Even funnier, since we were going up in price, significantly, I decided that this was going to for me instead, a new daily driver. I was alternating between driving my track car, a Mustang Mach 1 and my overlander F-150. During our car hunt, my partner got a new project at work that meant, she didn't need a commute car anymore, just a Skymiles account and Uber One membership.

I was thinking of ordering a Willy's from Gupton, but my local dealers had major discounts on Wranglers, so I decided to find one locally that I liked. Oddly enough, all of the 4dr Willy's within 200 miles or so were all either black, white, or gray. My truck is black, my Bronco was gray, and my Mustang is white. I wanted a fun color this time around.

I was looking at localish inventory for a couple of weeks and keeping a spreadsheet of contenders, going back and forth with options that I liked. I was thinking of a Willys with the Xtreme 35 package, but decided against it, because that was Rubicon pricing territory.

Last Wednesday morning comes around and I decide to check out inventory before starting my work day. Boom, a 4dr Rubicon pops up in the cool '41 color at my local dealer of choice. It's a hard top, automatic, and has the power leather seats, which I really wanted for extra comfort, plus some other options. The advertised discount was massive, eye raisingly so. I go through the pictures and see that it has 3000 miles on it. Ahh it's a demo, fantastic. I love buying demos. Demos equals big discounts. My last three cars were demos.

So I call up my salesman and ask if it's still available. He tells me that it's actually the owners demo and lets me know that he is there today. So I drive over and sign the paperwork. Sure enough, it was the owners demo, because I watched him take his personal belongs out of it. Pretty funny.

End of the day I bought it for $11,000 off MSRP without any markups or addons.

First picture at the dealer.

Officially in my garage!

Got ducked for the first time ever, after owning Jeeps for 20 years...

This is my daily... I have built Jeeps before. I've had quite a few in the 20+ years of modifying cars and off-roading. Including a Gladiator on a 4.5" Clayton lift and 37s, plus a bunch of other goodies.

With that said, there are some serious quality of life mods that I want to get done.

Check the rest of my thread to follow along.

This is my overlander and tow rig. I do one big trip each year, then 3-4 day trips once a month or so.

It is pretty heavily modified. Eibach Stage 2R suspension, 35" AT4W, custom winch plate with a Warn EVO-10s, bed rack with RTT, Rotopax mounts and a 270* awning. Volant intake with the offroad focused Donaldson Powercore air filter, Raptor transfer case, Raptor front LSD, Tremor CVs, Raptor steps, fridge, etc, etc. I really want to supercharge it, but am waiting on the ECU unlock to come out hopefully later this year.

My old Gladiator that I sold, because it just wasn't very comfortable on long overlanding trips.

This is what I sold for my Wrangler:

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[Aonarch]

Build List:

• Spigen screen protector for the Uconnect screen (Has significantly diminished touch registration)
• Quadratec JL-24KWR5.25 Kicker Overhead Sound Bar Speaker Upgrade Kit
• Kicker KSC350 speakers for the upper dash
• DS18 JP6 Plug and Play Dash Speakers Enclosure Pods with 6" Speakers
• Quadratec Dead Pedal with Pad (Crazy these don't come with a dead pedal)
• Mopar front air deflector (Can save you from rock chips!)
• Grimm Offroad Brake Lines
• Hawk LTS brake pads
• Motul 5.1 brake fluid
• Mishimoto baffled catch can (I am not sure this fits 2024+)
• Tazer Mini with extension cable
• Security bypass cable to use J Scan
• Rock Stopperz Door Hinge Protection Kit
• Door Latch cover trim
• Door sill guards
• 392 XR Springs and Shocks
• Bilstein 5160 shocks
• Mopar lift sway bar end links (Rear only now)
• Clayton Offroad Front Adjustable Sway Bar End Links
• Synergy Mfg front sway bar end link insert (M12 > M14 adapter)
• Mopar lift front LCAs
• Teraflex front track bar
• Teraflex rear track bar bracket
• Teraflex rear track bar
• Hotheads Headliner with Assassin strips and window panels
• AEV Steering Damper
• Threedom Keyfob

 

[Aonarch]

First up was brakes... They suck. Terrible pedal feel, poor bite, underboosted. I really wanted the Teraflex Delta brakes, but didn't want to change up my wheels, yet... So after looking at what is out there, I went with Grimm Offroad Teflon core and stainless steel braided lines. I chose some Hawk LTS pads and used Motul 5.1 fluid, even though I highly doubt I'd ever get to the boiling point of that fluid. When in Rome.

I didn't take any specific pictures, it is very straight forward, they even have the factory brackets on them. I installed them at the same time I did the springs and shocks. Then I used a Motive power bleeder to bleed the system, doing two rounds of bleeding. Not pictured, but after bleeding and checking for leaks, I zip tied everything nice and clean together.

The brakes feel better, but not amazing. Whenever I end up going with aftermarket wheels and bigger tires, I'll do the Teraflex Delta brakes at the same time.

At least now I have these brake lines installed, future proof!

Second up was the stereo. Stock stereo was pretty poor, even compared to the base stereo in my F-150 XLT. I ordered the Northridge soundbar kit with Kickers, Kicker knee speakers, and DS18? dash pod speakers. As of writing this, I haven't installed the knee speakers yet.

I'll edit this post and add pictures later.

Quadratec dead pedal, took minutes to install, fit and finish are excellent.

Mopar air deflector, which can save you a windshield:

 

[Aonarch]

Late one night I decided to yolo and buy 392 XR FE take off shocks and springs, to do a OEM+ suspension setup. A long side those, I purchased the Mopar lift front lower control arms to add caster and the Mopar lift sway bar end links.

I decided to install the Mopar front LCAs first, and then check my caster. That puts me at a rough 5.8* before the lift. Seems about right based on others experience.

I didn't take many photos while installing the lift, because I was going fast. It took me 3 hours to do the springs, shocks, and brake lines! Cooking! Wranglers are so easy to put suspension on.

One tip, instead of trying to droop the hell out of the axle and loosen control arms, I simply used my super awesome spring compressor to slightly compress the springs, and the slid right in, making sure to align the coil ends and rubber isolators.

This kit from Vevor is really easy to use. Seriously took me seconds to compress the spring with a 22mm socket on an impact.

Looks like I lost half a degree of caster with the lift kit. It tracks well though. Crazy enough the XRs have the same LCAs as every other Wrangler.

Post lift!

Looks like I gained 2.5" in the front. It is perfectly level with a full tank of gas.

That was more lift than I thought I'd get. SInce my curb weight is so high, I was thinking I'd get 1.5" of lift.

So now I had a conundrum. Are my shocks now too short? Shoot I probably need a rear track bar bracket...

After driving it a couple of days, I decided on keeping the springs. I'm happy with them.

I did order Teraflex front track bar, rear track bar bracket, and rear track bar.

I also ordered Bilstein 5160s for 2-3" of lift. Based on their sizing guide, these should be spot on for my level of lift.

I do have some 1" longer Metal Cloak durobumps, but I haven't installed them yet. I'll probably keep those on my shelf, until I decide to go 37s.

 

[Aonarch]

I decided to do some post break in maintenance.

I changed the engine oil with Amsoil Signature 5W-30 (Yes, I'm an Amsoil fanboy) and the Amsoil oil filter.

My transfer case was being a major pain in the ass to shift, I figured it's either not broken in at all (Probably never put in 4WD), or maybe low on fluid.

I did a quick fluid change with Amsoil ATF.

Instead of removing the skid plate, some tin foil works amazing as a drain funnel. I used liquid thread sealant on the plugs and torqued them to 21 ft lbs.

I also changed the diff fluid with Amsoil 75W85.

I didn't take pictures of that, but some advice on how to:
Since we have reusable gaskets, you don't need to remove the cover, unless you want to inspect the ring gear. I didn't feel the need, so all I did was loosen all of the bolts and pop the cover off a tad. Then torque the bolts to 30 ft lbs. Drain plugs are 25 ft lbs. I used liquid thread sealant on the plugs.

 

[Aonarch]

To celebrate my work, I drove it to a mall.

I'm proud to report that it is officially #MallRated

 

[Ron Texas]

Nice. I guess the OP is looking for a set of 35's to go with the lift.

 

[TheBirdie72]

37’s.

 

[Aonarch]

Nice. I guess the OP is looking for a set of 35's to go with the lift.

37’s.

JL is my daily, so sticking with stock 33s for now. Might go to a 35" pizza cutter later.

I have a F-150 for overlanding.

 

[JLUR Farout]

This story starts out with me hunting for a cheap 4xe lease for my partner to occasionally commute to work in. My brother had leased a leftover '24 4xe Sahara for $125 a month drive and sign. Pretty impressive. I tried working with a couple of out of state dealers, but quickly grew frustrated. I then got local quotes for 2025s and was in the $400 range. I didn't want a 4xe anyways, so we moved on.

That took us to looking for a stripper two door Sport. Surprisingly enough, dealers actually had plenty of them in stock. So we drove to a high volume dealer an hour away and test drove one.

Yuck! What did Jeep do to the manual? Horrible. The clutch pedal was overly light and vague. The clutch had no measurable bite/ take up point. The shifter feel was terrible and I kept punching the hazard button while shifting. I stalled the thing three times! Ok, fine an automatic is no problem. My Gladiator was a 3.6 auto and I liked it.

We then quickly realized that we were no longer looking for a stripper, because I also wanted a hardtop for security. We now were squarely in the mid to high thirties price wise, which was defeating the purpose of a cheap commuter. We drove home and I continued to do more research.

I then realized the Willy's trim would be perfect. I didn't realize for 2024 that the WIllys become a Rubicon-lite. They were quite a bit cheaper than the Rubicons as well.

However I decide that since we were going up in price I wanted a four door, for more practicality. I had a two door Bronco, which is bigger than the two door Wrangler, and that was a little small. The four door Wrangler is still smaller than a 4runner for example. They aren't huge.

Even funnier, since we were going up in price, significantly, I decided that this was going to for me instead, a new daily driver. I was alternating between driving my track car, a Mustang Mach 1 and my overlander F-150. During our car hunt, my partner got a new project at work that meant, she didn't need a commute car anymore, just a Skymiles account and Uber One membership.

I was thinking of ordering a Willy's from Gupton, but my local dealers had major discounts on Wranglers, so I decided to find one locally that I liked. Oddly enough, all of the 4dr Willy's within 200 miles or so were all either black, white, or gray. My truck is black, my Bronco was gray, and my Mustang is white. I wanted a fun color this time around.

I was looking at localish inventory for a couple of weeks and keeping a spreadsheet of contenders, going back and forth with options that I liked. I was thinking of a Willys with the Xtreme 35 package, but decided against it, because that was Rubicon pricing territory.

Last Wednesday morning comes around and I decide to check out inventory before starting my work day. Boom, a 4dr Rubicon pops up in the cool '41 color at my local dealer of choice. It's a hard top, automatic, and has the power leather seats, which I really wanted for extra comfort, plus some other options. The advertised discount was massive, eye raisingly so. I go through the pictures and see that it has 3000 miles on it. Ahh it's a demo, fantastic. I love buying demos. Demos equals big discounts. My last three cars were demos.

So I call up my salesman and ask if it's still available. He tells me that it's actually the owners demo and lets me know that he is there today. So I drive over and sign the paperwork. Sure enough, it was the owners demo, because I watched him take his personal belongs out of it. Pretty funny.

End of the day I bought it for $11,000 off MSRP without any markups or addons.

First picture at the dealer.

Officially in my garage!

Got ducked for the first time ever, after owning Jeeps for 20 years...

This is my daily... I have built Jeeps before. I've had quite a few in the 20+ years of modifying cars and off-roading. Including a Gladiator on a 4.5" Clayton lift and 37s, plus a bunch of other goodies.

With that said, there are some serious quality of life mods that I want to get done.

Check the rest of my thread to follow along.

This is my overlander and tow rig. I do one big trip each year, then 3-4 day trips once a month or so.

It is pretty heavily modified. Eibach Stage 2R suspension, 35" AT4W, custom winch plate with a Warn EVO-10s, bed rack with RTT, Rotopax mounts and a 270* awning. Volant intake with the offroad focused Donaldson Powercore air filter, Raptor transfer case, Raptor front LSD, Tremor CVs, Raptor steps, fridge, etc, etc. I really want to supercharge it, but am waiting on the ECU unlock to come out hopefully later this year.

BUT....how do you overland without a roof rack on the cab, lights on the bumper, and A-pillar lights? Don't you also need more ground clearance? First part is a joke . I do not know, what is special about the Raptor transfer case? I know about the front diff. Nice color, for both vehicles.

 

[JLUR Farout]

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...r-package-a-running-saga-of-evolution.130802/

^^^My build thread, you may get some nuggets of knowledge from it or some ideas. The XR springs are not the long-term solution. Nor are Clayton 1.5" springs.

 

[jadmt]

JL is my daily, so sticking with stock 33s for now. Might go to a 35" pizza cutter later.

if you go 35 pizza cutters with stock wheels it will look better and actually give you better clearance between your rear lower control arms if you use a set of quality wheel adaptors like BORA and you can use 1" without having to trim the factory lugs and still keeps your tires inside your flares.. I use them with 255/85-17 which is a 35x10 and actually taller than most 35's. Not a look everyone likes but to me looks good.

 

[Aonarch]

BUT....how do you overland without a roof rack on the cab, lights on the bumper, and A-pillar lights? Don't you also need more ground clearance? First part is a joke . I do not know, what is special about the Raptor transfer case? I know about the front diff. Nice color, for both vehicles.

It has a 4Hi Auto clutch based 4WD/AWD ANDDD actual locked 4WD High. Most 4A systems can't do a true locked 4WD without using the clutches. This TC doesn't use the clutches in 4Hi and 4Lo, so its mechanically locked with no risk of burning clutches.

People bolting on 2,000 lbs of crap to their 4Runners always make me laugh. 90% of my miles are on the interstate. My F-150 drives like an absolute couch on the road and can handle up to level 4 or 5 trails.

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...r-package-a-running-saga-of-evolution.130802/

^^^My build thread, you may get some nuggets of knowledge from it or some ideas. The XR springs are not the long-term solution. Nor are Clayton 1.5" springs.

Thank you for sharing! I'll give it a read.

if you go 35 pizza cutters with stock wheels it will look better and actually give you better clearance between your rear lower control arms if you use a set of quality wheel adaptors like BORA and you can use 1" without having to trim the factory lugs and still keeps your tires inside your flares.. I use them with 255/85-17 which is a 35x10 and actually taller than most 35's. Not a look everyone likes but to me looks good.

Perfect! I love pizza cutters, they are so misunderstood. Tinkerer's Adventure did a pretty good video on them recently.

 

[jadmt]

It has a 4Hi Auto clutch based 4WD/AWD ANDDD actual locked 4WD High. Most 4A systems can't do a true locked 4WD without using the clutches. This TC doesn't use the clutches in 4Hi and 4Lo, so its mechanically locked with no risk of burning clutches.

People bolting on 2,000 lbs of crap to their 4Runners always make me laugh. 90% of my miles are on the interstate. My F-150 drives like an absolute couch on the road and can handle up to level 4 or 5 trails.



Thank you for sharing! I'll give it a read.



Perfect! I love pizza cutters, they are so misunderstood. Tinkerer's Adventure did a pretty good video on them recently.

 

[Grateful1]

Mopar air deflector, which can save you a windshield:

[/QUOTE]

Unfortunately, the big trucks / the rocks on the road, construction / etc. the deflector helps but is not a guarantee. I had three hits that made the round crater crack. The third was the one that hit in the black on the drivers side. Then the right bump at the right time and crack crack crack into my field of view. Which means in Alabama, if you do not get a replacement windscreen, you get a ticket. The windscreen does have a slight rack and most rocks bounce off but others do the damage. I would look into the film that goes over the windscreen. When it gets grimmy you can peel it off. I will probably do that on my next windscreen.

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