Billet Sport S- Rubi Axle/T-Case Swap

[ChattVol]

I have the 285/70/17 KO2's and I didn't have any problems. Aired down to 20psi and I was good to go for the trails we did. With those tires and stock rubicon suspension I probably scraped about 35 times but that's what the skids are for. Funny thing most of the scraping was done on these little mounds of dirt that you go up and immediately go down the other side. On the rocks I was scraping but nothing bad at all. Still makes me want a lift and bigger tires though

You'll be there soon enough with the lift/tires..

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[ChattVol]

I'm saving up for a steel stubby bumper and winch and found a killer deal 2 hrs away on a takeoff rubi plastic front & rear bumper with led fog lights and red tow hooks. The rear sport bumper doesn't allign well with the rubi wider/taller fenders and I mainly bought this for the rear bumper allignment and will probably sell the front bumper and LED fog lights and put the proceeds towards steel bumper/winch. Here's the sport rear bumper that sticks out about 2" past the rubi fender reducing tire clearance.

Here's the takeoff rubi bumpers:

 

[ChattVol]

Added the takeoff rear rubi plastic bumper to allign with the wider fenders. Bumper was free...going to put caps in the sensor holes.

 

[ChattVol]

Added 4 black plastic caps from Ace Hardware to fill the rear bumper sensor holes. They were $.59/ea and the 11/16" size fit like a glove and snapped in place. Looks finished now..

 

[ChattVol]

Had the steps/sliders sandblasted and powdercoated and added some red accents with new trail rated badge and the willys silhouette red decals on the wheels. I'm eventually going to replace the black jeep letters with the rubicon black/red outlined letters...it's about $70 and I feel that's a bit high for a few sticker letters.

View attachment 176841

 

[ChattVol]

Added a black spiderweb shade to help during the hot Tennessee summers. Removed the top and took the kids on an adventure...was an easy install taking about 20 minutes following a youtube video. I also didnt have to remove the windshield wipers and fully drop the windhshield. Going to try keeping it installed when the hardtop is on...may remove it in the winter so I can see the hothead liners. The shade is pretty transparent, but does reduce the airy feeling a bit when topless and makes the ceiling feel a little lower. Overall, I like it so far bc my kids' carseats weren't blazing hot after parking topless in the sun and it is nice staying out of the direct sunlight when driving.

 

[Krondor]

Added a black spiderweb shade, went topless and took the kids on an adventure...was a easy install taking about 20 minutes following a youtube install video. I also didnt have to remove the windshield wipers and fully drop the windhshield.

Cuteness overload!

The Jeep is looking bad ass man. Hope it's every bit as enjoyable as it looks for you and the family.

 

[ChattVol]

Thanks @Krondor
Also, exciting bumper/winch mod coming soon. I received the Quadratec Stealth 10k synthetic winch and a front steel bumper/skid/bull bar is being made next week by a local company called Cavfab. It's pretty low profile and allows the winch to recess into the bumper like this:

And they're welding on a bull bar with gussets like this Motobilt bull bar:

 

[ChattVol]

Great day today...High of 81, might as well take the doors off

 

[ChattVol]

Bumper is ready for powder coat

 

[ChattVol]

Cavfab steel bumper/skid/Quadratec Stealth 10k synthetic winch added! Had the bumper sandblasted, primed and 2 coats of powdercoat applied. The finish looks consistent...should hold up for a long time. The bull bar didnt turn out looking quite like the Motobilt bull bar pic I asked them to replicate...it's a little wider and doesn't have the same angles, but it'll work. This was probably the biggest & heaviest mod that I've taken on by myself...took about 5 hours bc I didn't have directions for the new bumper and this was my first time doing anything with a front bumper/winch. I followed @TTEChris helpful tutorial to remove the stock bumper and text with Cavfab's owner to mount the new bumper. Here's the tutorial if you're interested:
https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/roam-front-bumper-install.16011/

To clean up the look, I ordered a red Factor 55 flatlink, 2 silver shackles, tow strap and tree saver. The bumper weighs 61lbs, skid 30lbs and winch plate 9lbs = 100lbs total. Winch was 61lbs. Total weight of bumper/skid/winch = 161 lbs. It looks like the extra weight may have compressed the front coils a 1/2" or so...had alot of fender clearance before adding the bumper/winch, so the minimal height reduction is fine.

Removed front plastic bumper that weighed about 30lbs

Tiny gap between grill and winch

There was a good bit of extra slack with the winch electrical lines...cable tied the lines to the frame and then wrapped the slack in the battery box.

 

[ChattVol]

Added a flatlink and d rings. Removed the black plastidip on the grill and added black grill trim

Built a angled sealed box out of 3/4" birch plywood for a 12" sub...going to cover it with black carpet so it blends in with stock trim.

 

[JakeWcs]

Good stuff man keep it up.

 

[ChattVol]

Good stuff man keep it up.

Thanks...it's been a fun build

 

[ChattVol]

I wasn't crazy about the red d rings bc they looked a little pink and the color clashed with the flatlink's red. Returned them and picked up some 3/4" silver ones at Home Depot for $7/ea and ordered some black isolators coming today. They're rated at 57,000 lbs breaking strength...stronger than I'll ever need.

Carpeted, wired and mounted the subwoofer and grill to the box and positioned it rear facing in the corner up against the backseat and wheel well. The box weighs about 40lbs and the angled back and depth fit well while still allowing access to the floor compartment and allowing a good bit of open trunk space. Anchored it with industrial velcro on the bottom and sides as well as a 750lb steel cable and eye bolts connected to the bench seat mount...will definitely stay in place offroad and should keep it from moving in a minor/moderate accident. @Sting_NC_USA was awesome to help me run 4AWG wire from the battery to a new distribution block, new remote wire and mount the sub amp under the rear seat. The 12" sub sounds alot cleaner than the 8" and fills the space very well.

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