"Bruce" the 2014 Jeep JKUR Build Thread

[KlausVanWinkle]

Poodles are supposed to be the second smartest dogs after Border Collies and before German Shepherds. My wife want's something cute and fluffy to replcae the rabbit when she passes but I still want it to be something I can be seen with. Also the German Shepherd is more neurotic than I expected. I'd like something more happy go lucky. So a mini GoldenDoodle might be the compromise. My brother is in vet school and claims that all poodle hybrids are nuts but I think that might just be all dogs.

Our Bella, who is a total bad ***. She's been on road trips, flown across the country, visited 12 states and could care less about the dog. This is where I find her when I come home. On top of the coffee table hanging out. The dog comes up and licks her and she doesn't flinch:

But we don't have room for any more animals. We'll have to wait until we have a yard or something.

 

[Comanche Scott]

OK, that is one cute rabbit. They make great Therapy pets too.

Over the years of training and observing, I've learned that while breed makes a difference, each dog is it's own entity.
If there is one lesson I have learned loud and clear, it is to get a real pro to evaluate the dog, and make the decision from the head not the heart.
The trainer who did the evals on dogs that hit my "short list", saved me from a big mistake on a Lab I fell in love with. She also set Super-Mutt 2.0 and I up for success before I even brought him home. Night and day difference between trying to do it on my own, and getting professional help.

 

[KlausVanWinkle]

We might get professional help with the German shepherd. She's very obedient except for when it comes to barking at "intruders." She comes to work with us every day. So her barking at people who come up to my desk at work doesn't really fly. We can't seem to get her to stop. Anywhere that we sit for 10+mins she starts guarding.

I don't know that we can get her to stop. But I want her to stop when I tell her it's okay or to stop.

 

[kojackJKU]

The Doodle dogs ARE all nuts. A family had one near us, it was pretty well insane. As for your german, Call Ceaser Millian. ha ha. Its awesome to see that instinct at work tho. My son has autism, and having that sense of security would be awesome, BUT>>>>>>>>>>he is deathly afraid of all dogs. No matter what size. A former neighbour who had a little yorkie that came after him one day. My son literally climbed up me so fast. She laughed and said you would not know if it was a big dog. I looked at her and said, would it matter if I held a pistol to your head compared to an assault rifle? That's how my son views all dogs. So a GSD is not in the cards.

 

[KlausVanWinkle]

That's interesting. Most of the autistic children I know really like dogs. Caesar Milan actually did come to my old agency and trained some dogs, including a dog my dog used to stay with. We had the Pedigree, Best Friends and NKLA accounts, and the head boss guy was really into German shepherds.

 

[da10A]

My guess is that your son would be fine if he experienced the dog from 6 weeks old and see it grow into an adult dog. Dogs being what they are instinctively, they would become inseparable.

 

[kojackJKU]

That's interesting. Most of the autistic children I know really like dogs. Caesar Milan actually did come to my old agency and trained some dogs, including a dog my dog used to stay with. We had the Pedigree, Best Friends and NKLA accounts, and the head boss guy was really into German shepherds.

I think what happened to my little man is when he was in therapy, he and his assistant used to go out for walks and a certain dog used to run at them yappin. After that, All dogs are off limits now. No changing him. Well not yet anyways!

 

[unkamonkey]

You need to find the right sedate dog and work from there, let him choose his own pace. If he sees you scratching a peaceable animal, over time he may get brave enough to touch it and decide he likes the furry critter. Puppys are fun but they aren't quite civilized yet and might be a bit alarming to him. The puppy idea is good, but it might be a later idea.
I still dislike Chihuahuas.
A friends son was afraid of dogs and my neighbors had an older Black Lab. It took a few visits but by the third visit he was down on the floor rolling around with her.

 

[kojackJKU]

If he even see's one across the street, or when we are crusing around on the golf cart, he literally looses his mind. Dogs are out. Plus, with autism you cannot just ease them into things. it's not so easy as it is with a neuro typical child.

 

[KlausVanWinkle]

Not that I can do anything about it. But I've been thinking about lifts lately.

Now that I know that I'll probably go with 35" tires, I could go with a 2.5 or 3.5" AEV lift. AEV claims that the 3.5 handles better and is better engineered. Originally I wanted to do a moderate build. But lately I'm thinking I'd rather go with more clearance so I don't have to worry about banging and scraping as much with the JKU's high price tag, low hanging underside and long wheelbase. IT sems like I'd still be able to fit into parking decks and not experience much downside other than cost.

I know that the 2.5" kits yields more like 3" on unbuilt up rigs. But I think my build is heavier than I thought. If you add up the weight of the dual battery, evo skids, Front Runner shelf, dominion hi lift/shovel/axe mount, and future front winch, I'm probably at the weight of dual AEV bumpered Jeeps.

Seems like a perfect stance with 35s.

The only other downside is not being able to lift the Jeep unti I swap out the tires and wheels. 3.5" lift on stock tires looks ridiculous. I'm leaning toward 35x12.5r17 BFG MT KM2 since they're only 2lbs heavier than the ATs. And Quadratec's 17x8.5" moab style rims in machined aluminum unless I can find some cheap used AEV wheels.

What say yall about reinforcing the fron axle? I'd rather not totally void my warranty by hammering tubes into my axles and welding gussetts. But I'm having a hard time telling if it's necessary or internet folklore. AEV warranties their builds and they don't reinforce the stock Dana 44 to run 35s.

If I do need to I guess going with Synergy ball joints, Nitro axle sleeves, knuckle gussetts and lower control arm skids, and an AEV diff cover woudln't be that big of a deal.

 

[MTSN]

Not that I can do anything about it. But I've been thinking about lifts lately.

Now that I know that I'll probably go with 35" tires, I could go with a 2.5 or 3.5" AEV lift. AEV claims that the 3.5 handles better and is better engineered. Originally I wanted to do a moderate build. But lately I'm thinking I'd rather go with more clearance so I don't have to worry about banging and scraping as much with the JKU's high price tag, low hanging underside and long wheelbase. IT sems like I'd still be able to fit into parking decks and not experience much downside other than cost.

I know that the 2.5" kits yields more like 3" on unbuilt up rigs. But I think my build is heavier than I thought. If you add up the weight of the dual battery, evo skids, Front Runner shelf, dominion hi lift/shovel/axe mount, and future front winch, I'm probably at the weight of dual AEV bumpered Jeeps.

Seems like a perfect stance with 35s.

The only other downside is not being able to lift the Jeep unti I swap out the tires and wheels. 3.5" lift on stock tires looks ridiculous. I'm leaning toward 35x12.5r17 BFG MT KM2 since they're only 2lbs heavier than the ATs. And Quadratec's 17x8.5" moab style rims in machined aluminum unless I can find some cheap used AEV wheels.

What say yall about reinforcing the fron axle? I'd rather not totally void my warranty by hammering tubes into my axles and welding gussetts. But I'm having a hard time telling if it's necessary or internet folklore. AEV warranties their builds and they don't reinforce the stock Dana 44 to run 35s.

If I do need to I guess going with Synergy ball joints, Nitro axle sleeves, knuckle gussetts and lower control arm skids, and an AEV diff cover woudln't be that big of a deal.

I've decided to run the AEV 3.5" lift with 35x12.5x17 BFG AT KO2s, and I asked the shop about sleeving, gusseting, ball joints, etc and they steered me away from it. I asked why, and they explained that by the time you do all that work you've dropped quite a bit of coin into it, and for not too much more you can buy a pretty decent new housing with ball joints from Currie or Dynatrac or Teraflex. I'm pretty well convinced to leave the axle totally stock until I see what kind of wheeling I'll be getting into and then just upgrading the entire housing down the road if/when things start bending or breaking. It reminds me of what people used to say long ago when some chose to build up the Dana 35 in the rear of older Jeeps - "you shouldn't polish a turd". I think the D44 front end is markedly better than the D35, but I certainly don't want to drop money into something that I could see myself replacing down the road.

 

[KlausVanWinkle]

I've decided to run the AEV 3.5" lift with 35x12.5x17 BFG AT KO2s, and I asked the shop about sleeving, gusseting, ball joints, etc and they steered me away from it. I asked why, and they explained that by the time you do all that work you've dropped quite a bit of coin into it, and for not too much more you can buy a pretty decent new housing with ball joints from Currie or Dynatrac or Teraflex. I'm pretty well convinced to leave the axle totally stock until I see what kind of wheeling I'll be getting into and then just upgrading the entire housing down the road if/when things start bending or breaking. It reminds me of what people used to say long ago when some chose to build up the Dana 35 in the rear of older Jeeps - "you shouldn't polish a turd". I think the D44 front end is markedly better than the D35, but I certainly don't want to drop money into something that I could see myself replacing down the road.

That's a pretty huge price gap though. Nitro Sleeves are $120, and you can install them in your driveway. Idk how much ball joints are, but the skids and gussetts are another $100 and probably $100 to have a professional welder install. So we're talkinga bout spending $300 vs like $3000 on a new axle.

I'm sure I don't need a dana 60 axle or a truss. But I'm not sure if I need to reinforce the Dana 44. The other issue is that the C-gussetts get in the way of some of the AEV bolt on bracketry.

@MTSN, are you planning to go to the 50th Anniversary EJS next year? I'd like to go to moab the week and stay for some of the maddness.

 

[Comanche Scott]

Saw a lot of Jeeps running 35"s at EJS on stock axles. They were doing some of the tougher trails without issue. It really comes down to how much punishment someone wants to dish out.
.
If you aren't doing the other axle mods, I'd just upgrade the ball joints when they get loose.
.
I'm seriously considering the current Mopar 3" kit with the Teraflex bump stops. Would be a nice kit for fast fire roads, desert washes, and whooped out trails. But with it, I will reinforce the stock axle housing. The speeds attainable with this lift could easily bend the axle, without reinforcement.

 

[zigsrig]

I have wheeled my JKUR all over Colorado and Utah. It has the aev 3.5" lift, front and rear bumpers and the zeon winch. When loaded down with myself, and my gear ( not to mention a passenger or two) it's heavy compared to stock.

Having said that, I have never had any issues with, not have I seen any issues with, the stock d44.

Most of the time wen you see someone break, a lot more had to do with the driver than the gear.

I have personally seen several jk's with stock d44's run some extreme trails with out any issues. Some even on 37's.

You should be perfect on your jk.

Some inspiration for when you finally get to lift it






Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[KlausVanWinkle]

Hey ZigsRig, I was just admiring your truck in the AEV 3.5 pic thread on the AEV forum.

I've read about the axle tubes bending from fairly reliable sources like Four-Wheeler. They were saying in an attempt ot lessen unsprung weight, Jeep made the axle tubes thinner on the Dana 44 and 35. This causes them to bend when paried with heavy tires or used in severe conditions.

From Four-Wheeler: "There are only three types of JK Dana 44 front axles: bent ones, ones that will be bent, and those under Jeeps that will never go off road."

You can see it on some rigs when their front tires start to tilt in at the top.

If it is a real thing, I'd rather spend the $250-300 to nip it in the butt now, then bend it and have to replace it later. But I also don't want to fall victim to forum world "over-buildery."

Article about the bending: http://www.fourwheeler.com/how-to/transmission-drivetrain/129-0903-jeep-wrangler-jk-dana-44-axle-upgrades/


I've noticed a lot of the AEV 3.5" lift pictures seem higher in the front than the rear. Is that normal? I like to maintain some positive rake.