Brandy's 2012 JKUR Build
- Thread starter James Pierce
- Start date
James Pierce
Adventurer
Vague post for the day 
west_ok
Adventurer
Awesome!!
B.J.
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toxicity_27
Adventurer
I saw on another forum that Mark was getting your stock one.
James Pierce
Adventurer
Yep, We'll beef it up for him with c gussets, some form of backbone or sleeves, gears and locker. Think he's wanting to wait until later this fall which is fine by me.
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That roof rack turned out awesome! Nice work!
How is the plate you made to mount the AT Combo Slide working out? I'm trading in my JKU for a new one soon and looking to build something similar. Does it have any other mounting points besides the two bolts in the rear behind the seats?
Thanks!
How is the plate you made to mount the AT Combo Slide working out? I'm trading in my JKU for a new one soon and looking to build something similar. Does it have any other mounting points besides the two bolts in the rear behind the seats?
Thanks!
James Pierce
Adventurer
Thanks Matt. I couldn't be happier with the Combo Slide and base plate. Most of our rigs see more miles as daily drivers than overlanding. The base plate makes it simple to slide out when were not traveling. It is held in firmly by the two bolts at the front. The drawers and fridge are tight against the back seat as well.
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Thanks for the info!
I'm in the same boat as you. I made a storage setup out of 1/2" birch plywood with a large drawer and combo slide mounted next to it. Worked great but it was WAY too heavy to easily take it in and out. I'd like to steal your idea with the plate and either make a smaller removable drawer or just use a couple totes.
I'm in the same boat as you. I made a storage setup out of 1/2" birch plywood with a large drawer and combo slide mounted next to it. Worked great but it was WAY too heavy to easily take it in and out. I'd like to steal your idea with the plate and either make a smaller removable drawer or just use a couple totes.
James Pierce
Adventurer
The drawer system I made for my D90 was 1/2 Birch. Like yours it is heavy and a difficult 2 person job to remove. If I remove the fridge and empty the drawers this one can be removed easily by 2 people.
da10A
Adventurer
Really enjoying following your build, as it is in par with my way of seeing what an expedition JKUR should be built like, "à la Land Rover", with everything calculated and most of all, nothing overkilled, like overlifting, undergeared and/or way over sized tires. But I saw that you are or were a Land Rover owner also, which explains the mentality behind the build. Very awesome Jeep, and most of all, jut as capable if not more that those overbuilt jeeps.
James Pierce
Adventurer
Thanks da10A. Rovers are my first love but sometimes you need something a little more comfortable and reliable for those long trips.
James Pierce
Adventurer
Since you brought up over built Jeeps this next mod just might throw me into that category.
It all started with the dreaded death wobble Brandy began noticing it on her way to work and over the course of a few weeks it progressively got worse. If you begin to notice even the slightest hint of a shimmy in the front end park it or get it fixed immediately! Do not continue driving it. It doesn't take long once the violent shaking begins for it to play havoc on all of the steering components. By the time I got around to diagnosing the wobble so many things needed to be replaced I couldn't tell which came first the chicken or the egg.
I began with the drag link. Both ends had significant amounts of play. I upgraded it to Rare Parts Fab Series ends and I fabricated a 2" 1/4 wall tube for the link. In hind sight I would have gone with 1 5/8 and threaded the tube to accept the rod ends. 2" is serious overkill for overlanding. I will probably remake the link once I get caught up on a few other projects and get the next couple of trips behind me. For those of you who aren't familiar with the Fab Series ends they supply Currie with the parts to build their Currectlync tie rods and drag links.
Installing the drag link helped to tame the death wobble but there was still some play in the front end. After further inspection I realized the ball joints were worn out as well. I still cannot believe Jeep uses a nylon cup to support the weight of the vehicle. Talk about poor engineering. Replacing the ball joints opened a whole other can of worms. If I'm replacing the ball joints which required removing the axels shafts should I gusset or sleeve the axel at the same time? I've yet to bend an axel housing or C but there's always the chance... Also if I'm removing the axels do I swap in 4.56's gears to get the gearing back closer to stock? This would help in pulling our new to us Horizon AT. And if I'm replacing the ball joints do I go with synergy, which I've read mixed reviews on or something better... This was truly the pandoras box that pushed me over the edge. Or at least it helped me justify my call to Dynatrac. I ended up ordering a Dynatrac Pro Rock 44 Unlimited housing which has 3" diameter 1/2" thick wall tubes, raised track bar bracket, and seriously stout C forgings, not to mention all of the other bracketry being thicker and stronger in every way. The center housing has huge gussets cast in for additional strength not to mention the additional ground clearance which is a nice bonus. I also order Dynatrac's Pro-Steer ball joints, Crush Sleeve Eliminator Kit and Big Brake Kit. For gearing I ordered Yukon Gear's 4.56's and Timken Bearings.
One last weak link that needed to be addressed. The OEM steering stabilizer. With the extra work out it had been getting it had begun to leak. Upon removal I found about a 1” dead spot in the middle. I purchased a Fox ATS stabilizer to go back in its place.
The morning I removed the axel from the Jeep Mark stopped by to use my blast cabinet to sandblast some parts. I snatched up his new Canon 11-24 EF lens and shot the first two pics with it. Very nice and wide...
And back to my shop camera. A little Canon point and shoot.
Dynatrac Crush Sleeve Eliminator Kit
I've never been a fan of the AEV sway bar extension brackets so I took the opportunity to replace them with Synergy extended sway bar links. For the most part AEV does nice work but somethings are just cheap. I've not been impressed with the Bilsteins either but that's for another post.
It all started with the dreaded death wobble
Brandy began noticing it on her way to work and over the course of a few weeks it progressively got worse. If you begin to notice even the slightest hint of a shimmy in the front end park it or get it fixed immediately! Do not continue driving it. It doesn't take long once the violent shaking begins for it to play havoc on all of the steering components. By the time I got around to diagnosing the wobble so many things needed to be replaced I couldn't tell which came first the chicken or the egg.I began with the drag link. Both ends had significant amounts of play. I upgraded it to Rare Parts Fab Series ends and I fabricated a 2" 1/4 wall tube for the link. In hind sight I would have gone with 1 5/8 and threaded the tube to accept the rod ends. 2" is serious overkill for overlanding. I will probably remake the link once I get caught up on a few other projects and get the next couple of trips behind me. For those of you who aren't familiar with the Fab Series ends they supply Currie with the parts to build their Currectlync tie rods and drag links.
Installing the drag link helped to tame the death wobble but there was still some play in the front end. After further inspection I realized the ball joints were worn out as well. I still cannot believe Jeep uses a nylon cup to support the weight of the vehicle. Talk about poor engineering. Replacing the ball joints opened a whole other can of worms. If I'm replacing the ball joints which required removing the axels shafts should I gusset or sleeve the axel at the same time? I've yet to bend an axel housing or C but there's always the chance... Also if I'm removing the axels do I swap in 4.56's gears to get the gearing back closer to stock? This would help in pulling our new to us Horizon AT. And if I'm replacing the ball joints do I go with synergy, which I've read mixed reviews on or something better... This was truly the pandoras box that pushed me over the edge. Or at least it helped me justify my call to Dynatrac. I ended up ordering a Dynatrac Pro Rock 44 Unlimited housing which has 3" diameter 1/2" thick wall tubes, raised track bar bracket, and seriously stout C forgings, not to mention all of the other bracketry being thicker and stronger in every way. The center housing has huge gussets cast in for additional strength not to mention the additional ground clearance which is a nice bonus. I also order Dynatrac's Pro-Steer ball joints, Crush Sleeve Eliminator Kit and Big Brake Kit. For gearing I ordered Yukon Gear's 4.56's and Timken Bearings.
One last weak link that needed to be addressed. The OEM steering stabilizer. With the extra work out it had been getting it had begun to leak. Upon removal I found about a 1” dead spot in the middle. I purchased a Fox ATS stabilizer to go back in its place.
The morning I removed the axel from the Jeep Mark stopped by to use my blast cabinet to sandblast some parts. I snatched up his new Canon 11-24 EF lens and shot the first two pics with it. Very nice and wide...
And back to my shop camera. A little Canon point and shoot.
Dynatrac Crush Sleeve Eliminator Kit
I've never been a fan of the AEV sway bar extension brackets so I took the opportunity to replace them with Synergy extended sway bar links. For the most part AEV does nice work but somethings are just cheap. I've not been impressed with the Bilsteins either but that's for another post.
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James Pierce
Adventurer
A few comparison shots of the stock housing vs the Dynatrac.
And the Big Brake Kit.
And the Big Brake Kit.
Comanche Scott
Expedition Leader
If that doesn't give the "death squeeze" to the death wobble, nothing will. :beer:
Really like where you are going with this. All very functional, no matter if it's a weekend of garage sales, or a trip across the TAT.
Really like where you are going with this. All very functional, no matter if it's a weekend of garage sales, or a trip across the TAT.
James Pierce
Adventurer
Thanks, Scott. Wouldn't the TAT be fun! Maybe in 10 or 15 years when I retire I'll have that kind of free time...