What did you do TO your Jeep JL today?

[jlewissystem]

Air filter and a bath

And a WK to boot!

 

[CarbonSteel]

Received some Dana Spicer Chrome Moly goodness for my axle build today. The axles are very nice, but the packaging for the rear axles was complete bovine scatology. The front axles came from a different vendor who used high density spray foam and triple density cardboard box that arrived in decent shape.

Northridge just threw each one of the rear axles in a box with some folded paper bag like material and sent them on their way.

Hey @Northridge4x4 - is this really how you package heavy axles and ship them across country? DO NOT say it is the carrier's fault--this is all on you. SMDH

 

[ObtuseMeatball]

Swapped out the factory tail lights for some Amazon LEDs. Super easy install and were full plug and play. Haven't had the chance to use them at night yet, but they look pretty bright so far. Also got to put on a new @JTopsUSA soft top boot. Absolutely love it! Fits perfectly and keeps the top nice and secure. Last bit was to add some pops of color and belt silencers.

 

[Firemadz]

I was going to throw my Rugged Ridge skid plate onto my HD bumper and go hit the trail, but I ended up spending over six hours dicking around with the install. Rugged Ridge keeps saying "it's all explained in step 4" and step 4 doesn't even show a bumper installed, let alone one with the factory LED foglights. The bumper is great, and this part will work with the bumper very well, but it does not fit for jack shit.

The worst problem is that I really have no neat way of making this kind of cut. I can't use my bandsaw on a piece this huge without rearranging my entire shop. I can't use my mill, because the piece chatters all to hell, and I'm guaranteed to break an expensive endmill if I persist. If I took the vise off and used those two slots in the center to bolt it to the table, I don't think I would have enough Y axis travel. I don't know. I just thought of that, and I'm going to go eyeball it tomorrow. I would rather use my mill, and make neat, precise cuts, and I need to make these cutouts yet again larger still. While I'm at it, I should mill out the mounting holes to turn them into slots, and enlarge the access holes for the lower bolts. I'll just wreck the shit out of ALLLLL the nice powder coat.

I paid almost $200 for this piece of shit, and I'm really not happy. Yet I REALLY like how it's going to look, and I could really use the front end protection too.

I had the exact same problem. Rugged Ridge at first refused to do anything because I modified the bumper (butchered the cuts), even though it was their design flaw. even with the cuts I made, it still didn’t line up properly. Finally got them to agree to send me a new one, and I made arrangements at a local shop to install it and make it look good.

 

[Mx5red]

It's hard to say without trying hands on. Maybe. It depends on if you could get it worked around to scoop out the bottom without hitting the housing on the work.

I ended up using a cutoff wheel in an angle grinder, and I made a series of slits down to a chalk line. Then I put it up on my anvil and beat the shit out of it with a rounding hammer, to bend the teeth over, then I cut them off from the back side with a cutoff wheel. The procedure worked okay, but I didn't have the right outline. I think I ended up removing 2" of material. Not even close to fitting.

Now that sounds like my kind of work

 

[Daffydnbugs]

Swapped out the factory tail lights for some Amazon LEDs. Super easy install and were full plug and play. Haven't had the chance to use them at night yet, but they look pretty bright so far. Also got to put on a new @JTopsUSA soft top boot. Absolutely love it! Fits perfectly and keeps the top nice and secure. Last bit was to add some pops of color and belt silencers.

What are you using for the seatbelt silencer?

 

[ObiMatt87]

Thise tires are awesome.

They really are. I totally love the look and feel. Can't wait to try them off-road, but know they'll be perfect for my light-to-medium needs.

 

[ObtuseMeatball]

What are you using for the seatbelt silencer?

I almost went with the Spiderwebshade ones but I didn't like the huge ass logo, so I searched around a little and pulled the trigger on these ones. They ended up being a nice pleather, decent color, with plenty of Velcro. Quick trip out this afternoon and didn't hear any flapping. So far, so good!

 

[omnitonic]

So I FINALLY got that damn skid plate installed.

The cuts I had to make were crazy. I whittled on it with the carbide burr for hours. In the end, I used angle cutters to snip a couple of unused mounting bolt loops off the back of the fog lights themselves. I was at the stage of having bolts threaded, and I was damned if I was going to take it all back off AGAIN.

I ended up whittling on the skid plate while it was on the vehicle. I had to tweak a couple of the bolt holes by a sliver. I also had to widen the slots at the top of the skid plate, so it would have enough give to be able to align with the majority of the bolt holes.

The front definitely looks less naked now, and this doesn't look bad considering parts of it are just hit with some Rustoleum Farm & Implement paint from the tractor supply. I love that stuff.

In the end, I did get it bolted up using the original hardware, without resorting to any whacky substitutions.

Here is the mess that caused most of the trouble. Both sides similar.

 

[Rangemaster]

Thise tires are awesome.

I don’t know much about the tires, but the wheels are my choice.

 

[FinnCustomKnives]

Installed a pair of these Kicker KS 3.5" in the dash corner today. Quick, easy, and an absolute massive upgrade over the stock junk the standard audio system has. Going to tackle the Metra knee pods tomorrow, using an old set of Boston Acoustic 6.5's for that because I already have em!

 

[DanW]

So I FINALLY got that damn skid plate installed.

The cuts I had to make were crazy. I whittled on it with the carbide burr for hours. In the end, I used angle cutters to snip a couple of unused mounting bolt loops off the back of the fog lights themselves. I was at the stage of having bolts threaded, and I was damned if I was going to take it all back off AGAIN.

I ended up whittling on the skid plate while it was on the vehicle. I had to tweak a couple of the bolt holes by a sliver. I also had to widen the slots at the top of the skid plate, so it would have enough give to be able to align with the majority of the bolt holes.

The front definitely looks less naked now, and this doesn't look bad considering parts of it are just hit with some Rustoleum Farm & Implement paint from the tractor supply. I love that stuff.

In the end, I did get it bolted up using the original hardware, without resorting to any whacky substitutions.

Here is the mess that caused most of the trouble. Both sides similar.

What is the model number of that skid plate? Trouble aside, it looks good!

 

[JRod]

I abandoned her...

For this!

 

[omnitonic]

What is the model number of that skid plate? Trouble aside, it looks good!

18003.61

I do feel like it was worth it. I wish it had been easier, and I wish it had been cheaper, but the front end looks a whole lot less naked now, and it's sharp.

 

[somedude922]

I did this a year or so ago...didn't last long. Ended up flying off and getting hard and cracked. Just something for you to look forward too

Same thing happened to me, flew off on the highway within a week. Lol