mods you wouldnt do again ...

[ChrisInVT]

I didn't install it, but the popup sunroof in my truck. I hate that thing with a white hot firey passion.

 

[Photomike]

Great post makes me happy with what I have now.

 

[7wt]

The Leer 100R I had on the back of my Tacoma last summer. I never could get it to stop leaking. It absolutely ruined a trip to Vermont after getting caught in a 3 day rain storm. It was heavy, hard to load and I couldn't see out of it to save my life. It looked good though. I have a constant reminder of it, my bed rails have serious gouges in the paint where the thing once sat. One day I will get it fixed, that's just how I roll. The tool box I have back there is so much better in every regard.

 

[Overland Hadley]

Great thread. Somehow I missed this one before.

 

[Wyowanderer]

Or a HAM antenna... Two of them!

My head still gets wet when it rains.

I only get a drip. But I hate it.

Frank

 

[Seeker]

1) Roof rack. You just never use it as much as you think you will.
2) 33x12 BFG AT's. Sure, they're quiet, but the MT's were so much better in all other respects.

 

[teotwaki]

Rear springs from Downey Off-Road. First set settled quickly and lost all of the lift. Same for the second set. Downey solved the problem for me by going out of business.

 

[a.mus.ed]

I like most of my mods, but some of the money would have been better spent going over the drivetrain a little more carefully. I've been lucky with only one disabling malfunction (the infamous PHH), but I would like a little more peace of mind. The few things I regret:

Paying 4Wheel Parts to install my lift. I kick myself every time I think of the money they stole from me there...

The construction of my storage/sleeping platform. When I rebuild it I will remove the 3/4" base plate, cut the front portion into two individually mountable sections, and add better access from inside the vehicle. It would have been a lot easier to build it right the first time.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

I have to go with Scott on this one. Aftermarket changes to the engine also make it increasingly difficult for shop mechanics to work and troubleshoot a vehicle, such as when you are on a long trip and have a road side emergency. Even if you usually do most of your work yourself, when you are without all your shop tools in the middle of no where on an interestate, you will end up relying on a mechanic. With enough modifications, the factory shop manuals no longer apply.

I think it just depends on how you approach this issue. My truck is stock, just because I don't need more power. But I have a highly modified car that has no heat issues or other issues at all. And no problems with repairing it, since I did it all myself, and know the entire thing like the back of my hand.

If you approach the modifications like an OEM engineer, you'll have OEM engineering reliability. It takes lots of research, and really nitpicky parts choices, but it can be done.

 

[mr.shrek]

Lifting a Cherokee over 2". The thing was slower then anything on the freeway and a hill would almost stop it. Combine that with the dreaded death wobble and you have one hell of a pile of junk.

The right gearing and adjustable suspension components (LCA's, trac bar, etc) and you can fix both of those problems. I'm running 6" of lift with 35" BFG AT's and my 4.10's make up for it.

 

[wjeeper]

I really like this thread! Ha ha where do I start with my last jeep............pretty much the whole thing!

I got so tired of how it was set up I unloaded it for a mere $2000.......just 81,000 miles too:Wow1:

• • Going to long arms front and rear (it was way more fun to drive nearly stock)
  • The three sets of bias super swampers I ran (fun on the rocks but about as street worthy as a tractor tire.....they were cheap for a reason)
  • Building a unibody vehicle (its hard to attach anything to tin-foil construction, frames win hands down)
  • K&N Filter/ cold air intake (couldn't stand the sucking noise and it let a lot of dust past the filter element, I would NEVER EVER buy a vehicle that ran one!)
  • X2 on the roof rack (I put something up there once for about ten minutes)
  • Downturn tip after the muffler (on a dusty trail the exhaust hitting the ground would stir up tons of dust)
  
  I kinda got bit by the rock crawling bug.....built it accordingly.....and ended up hating how I built the Jeep later on down the road. It broke down frequently, got bad gas mileage, looked ugly and did I mention it ate parts like CRAZY?

 

[SWbySWesty]

- HID conversions instead of purpose built HIDs. Just saving the $ to switch.
- While I don't regret the automatic lockers, they ARE a PIA, but since my Jeep isn't a daily driver, I'm OK with it; however it's getting old having to explain lockers to everyone that rides in the Jeep or asks "What's that noise?!?!"
- Lifting BIG. I actually lowered the Jeep after my initial lift because it was WAY too much; as said above, I was bit with the rock crawling bug and shouldn't have been. I recouped most of my cost for that though by selling off the brand new parts for a little less than purchase price, but still...

I think that's it. Since it's not a DD, I don't really have any regrets because when it gets driven, it goes to dirt and it shines there.

 

[Tripp]

Thinking to myself that I needed to wait to get one more thing done before I could safely take it out on the higher rater trails instead of just shrugging it off and hitting the lower rated trails and still having fun and meeting cool people. Can't begin to imagine how much fun we missed out on because I was screwing around in my shop worrying about some stupid issue instead of just enjoying it for what it was.

Regardless, agree wholeheartedly on the wiring regrets. Have everything you could possibly need on hand and then step back and ask yourself if you are certain that you have enough materials. Great entertainment can be had driving a truck without a dashboard back into town to get more wire.

Back in 1992 skimping and getting the "good enough" parts to just get by and frustrating everyone, including myself, when they graciously assist me in getting back to the highway when I was younger. And if you are reading this... I apologize for screwing up your weekend when you were so cool about helping a total stranger, mental midget like myself get unstuck, running again, and back on the road using heaps of your spare parts and taking three months to actually pay you back.

Not checking the true status of the assorted mounting hardware included with aftermarket parts to make certain that it isn't unadulterated crap requiring an entertaining mid project trip to a local Fastenal shop that's only an hour and a half away to get the good stuff.

And in closing probably forgetting the most important rule. Always modify the cheapest part if given the option.

 

[Chris85xlt]

i would have to say i regret getting the K&N drop in filter.
After the Death Valley trip i noticed a ton of dust had passed the filter and into the intake.

 

[Backwoods Rambler]

I wanted to take the time to do this because many (including myself) underestimated what a PITA an auto-locker would be on a DD vehicle or a vehicle driven on the interstate; especially one with sweeping turns, but even just when accellerating/decellerating to pass someone. The problem is that they're so darn affordable that they're hard to pass up. Do yourself a favor and keep saving your $$

I will never have an auto locker again. LSD's or Selectables only. YMMV

Detroit locker on a truck that see's a lot of street. Loved cruising my 75 Jimmy all over the place right up till the Detroit. It was awesome off road but on road in a curve you could steer the truck with the gas peddle. You always had to keep after it to go down the road straight. It made driving it a chore.

Automatic locking differentials, lunchbox or otherwise.

Mods I wouldnt do again are any mods that would make my vehicle less than desirable to drive on the interstate....... I probably wouldnt do another auto-locker.

- While I don't regret the automatic lockers, they ARE a PIA, but since my Jeep isn't a daily driver, I'm OK with it....

Root Moose; regarding my hybrid spring pack you asked....

Curious about this. What is your concern?

Sorry I missed this way back when... Most XJ hybrid packs us the stock main leaf (as does mine) and the arch of the added springs against the relative flat plane of my stock leafs are causing the ends of those added springs to dig into my main leaf. It will break some day, I just hope I have the cash to replace them before that happens, or else I will have to stop driving it at some point. Oh and, yes, I did hit the ends with a grinder and then a flapper wheel which I thought would prevent this....:snorkel:


Oh, and more recently I built a roof rack. It looks cool and works VERY well, but it weighs about 70lbs! So I would have to add: Not using the proper material for the job.