..CHUGGY.. a JL Sahara tale

[Chuggy]

How it started... A 2018 JL Sahara, 6spd, stock 18x7.5" wheels, 285/65/18 super cheap MTs that get the job done ?

Bought Sept. 2022 with 50k miles, and we are at 74k today. Had a warranty transfer case replacement a month in, and just had a recall replacement of the whole clutch assembly last month. Yay for free parts! We are brand new and thriving! ?

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[Chuggy]

Parts are coming in! Ordered some tires today (35x10.5 Kenda Klever M/T to go on the steelies...) Was nervous I wouldn't be happy with the width but my cheapo tires are 285 width and its plenty. So... I don't think it will be noticeable in regard to "looks" or even trail performance. Maybe even be a smidge kinder to my mpg's

We've been experimenting with different paint effects on the wheels... will upload photo of that chaos sometime soon. Parts for the lift are in boxes... stuck with the budget kit, Zone 3" lift with Fox shocks... had thought about sending it back and paying a little more for some Clayton stuff and Bilstein shocks but..... we rollin' with it. I like to commit to my decisions, wise or not

Spent the money I saved on tires. Anyway, got some Core 4x4 front lowers sitting in a box, and a JKS front trackbar. Regear is on the list but we're running out of time for Trailfest (April 11th) so I might wait till after that depending on what the shop says for break-in time. Build journals are fun!

 

[MIKKY Slim]

Looks nice !

Kodi​

 

[Chuggy]

Behold! The roller skate!! We did the lift back in May (2024), just finished painting the steelies a couple weeks ago but haven't had time to mount/balance all that. What you don't see is a mismatched tire on the passenger side, which is an a/t tire rather than a m/t like the rest. Why? Because it was the spare. Why did I need the spare? Ran over something on the highway, no idea what, put a bullet-sized hole in my tire. Where I live maybe it is a bullet hole. Who knows. I also have a tire with 2 plugs in it. But while I was trying to save up to regear and do tires (35s) at the same time, that's not gonna work. I need to put my new tires on now. So I took these photos real quick, as I'll be getting new wheels/tires put on in a couple days....

See what I mean? It looks like a roller skate...... lol

 

[Chuggy]

Gladi spares (17s) painted in a custom color combo by me... Not a professional job but good enough! Rocks are gonna tear it up at some point anyway. No regerts. Hard to capture the colors, varies depending on lighting. Was a proud member of the rear bumper delete group for awhile Tires are Kenda Klever 35*10.5. Quiet and cushy so far.

What I can now laugh at is how nothing ever goes smoothly for me... Dude who mounted/balanced my brand new wheels/tires put hammer on weights on my custom paint job. Working at a high end euro shop who should know better. Manager saw it and gasped and immediately comped the mount/balance so it worked out. Stay tuned for more fuckery every time I need something done

Anyway, wish these photos would go in an order that makes sense but, oh well

 

[Chuggy]

Regear done on Saturday 12/14 ! Swapped 3.45 for 4.56 (Dana/Spicer gears). However, did not get my Jeep back until 12/20!! Gear swap went fine, programming did not. I was advised the dealership could program, which I wanted vs. using an aftermarket tuner. As it turns out, they no longer have the permissions/capability in their system to do it.

Jeep was throwing Serv trans, clutch hot errors and going into limp mode. I left the jeep to sit at the dealer, ordered ObdlinkMX+ and used with Jscan (once Amazon sent me the parts days later) to set gears (dealer set tires at no cost to me). Had to do a battery disconnect, then drive for a 6th gear relearn procedure, and voila runs great no errors. Love it and very happy with 4.56/35s so far. Can't wheel it yet but will update when I do.

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