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...And So It Continues...


Eastcoastcam

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Well, it begins. It's time to start upgrading stuff on the Jeep. It's not much now, as the mere mention of parts upgrades draws Death Glares from my lovely wife :twak: (Thanks John!!! :lol:B) )

It starts with the rear bumper:

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So I took off the POS plastic ends and removed the stock bumper.

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post-480-1291695814_thumb.jpg Looks better without the original

Measure Twice, Drill once!!! and watch out for the tank back there....

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post-480-1291696109_thumb.jpg Get it in place, and start the bolts, make sure its good, and voila...

All done...

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Looks way better than the factory bumper, and now I have rear tow points for when I get hung up :P

More to come later......... hopefullly............. please Tara??? please please please???!!!! :wub:

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looks great! will give you a little extra departure angle behind the tires too with the tapered ends vs. the bumperettes.

I wouldn't have been heartbroken if the bumperettes broke from hitting something. I never liked them from the start. Just too lazy to take them off, the front ones were gone right away though. I mainly got the bumper for tow points and to pull my little cargo trailer when I have to, just got to add some brackets for the safety chains, and get a couple 5/8 shackles for the tabs, as the 3/4 ones I have are too big.

Just got to let some time pass by :twak: and maybe I'll be allowed to get some good stuff (like some lift!!!! :P ), but I would probably have to move into the jeep if i did that anytime too soon B) But when I get the winch on, a set of 2"coil spacers would be barely noticeable with the extra weight on the front bumper!!! :lol:

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  • 1 month later...

...and for my next trick.... tada!!!!!! :smiley-signs115:

post-480-1294574519_thumb.jpg

Gotta get'r installed, wouldn't wanna be caught unprepared if the wife goes in the ditch!!! ;) !

So first get it put together, then mounted on the plate, wired, and fairlead installed

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Then retire the old "Wild Rose Country" Alberta plate, remove the tow hooks and sway bar cover.The tow hooks were a problem. I didn't have a big enough torx bit to take them out. So a drive in to town to a friends place to borrow one. Get home, and ...too small! :help: $hit. Go see a neighbour, no dice, all he had were too small. Went to see another neighbour, and too small again!! f**k!!! B) I come home, and oh well not installed tonite. Then the second neighbour comes over with one he found when he went back to his toolbox to look again. And it fits... WOOOOOHOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Back in business! :excited:

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Test fit

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then run the wires back and hook them up, and done!!

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:smiley-happy091:

Time to get STUCK!!! And I mean buried!!!

Gotta try it out of course!!!

Yeah, yeah I know! Its not much to most of you guys, but its a way to keep track of the changes to my rig.

Now what to do next???? :thinking:B)

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Some accessories like a tree saver ,snatch block ,a couple 3/4" -1" clevises , Hi-Lift jack .....

Hope you have good luck with the winch , Chris(93xj) that went to New Cumberland and blew the rad hose in the mudhole .... he broke 3-4 of them .

Install looks great James.

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Some accessories like a tree saver ,snatch block ,a couple 3/4" -1" clevises , Hi-Lift jack .....

I have a tree strap, and a couple of D-ring shackles. A Hi-Lift would be nice, but that ARB exhaust jack that RattX has for sale would be way better.

Still need to get a snatch block.

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Yeah, yeah I know! Its not much to most of you guys, but its a way to keep track of the changes to my rig.

Now what to do next????

even SMALL steps are a BIG deal, especially self recovery gear. :smiley-signs115: NEVER under-estimate the little improvements

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even SMALL steps are a BIG deal, especially self recovery gear. B) NEVER under-estimate the little improvements

:smiley-signs115: A few well thought out small steps can have great rewards long term compared to big hurried steps. Sometimes is not the difficulty or size of the project that make a step a big one either. The winch will come in more handy than a suspension lift in my opinion for trail running. Gives you a huge piece of mind to that a larger project might not when in the trails. Also gives those you run with some piece of mind that they can be recovered.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Next mod, if all goes right... RUBICON SPRINGS!!! :bravo::blink:

Found a good deal for a set of stock rubi coils, so I'm going to get them. They won't give me much lift (but a little). They have a higher spring rate than my coils now, so under the weight of the jeep, they won't compress as much, providing a wee bit of lift, but better for the front end with the weight of the winch on the front. May also be able to fit s set of 31s with no rubbing to with these, seeing how that is about the stock size tire on the TJ Rubis.

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Next mod, if all goes right... RUBICON SPRINGS!!! :excited: :smiley-dance005:

Found a good deal for a set of stock rubi coils, so I'm going to get them. They won't give me much lift (but a little). They have a higher spring rate than my coils now, so under the weight of the jeep, they won't compress as much, providing a wee bit of lift, but better for the front end with the weight of the winch on the front. May also be able to fit s set of 31s with no rubbing to with these, seeing how that is about the stock size tire on the TJ Rubis.

The Rubi springs measure the same as a TJ spring. They may be a bit stiffer but not much. I think you would be far better off putting a budget boost in. The 2" spacers cost only $50 a pair. If you do still decide to go with the Rubi springs don't buy them as I have a set here you can have.

Daren

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The Rubi springs measure the same as a TJ spring. They may be a bit stiffer but not much. I think you would be far better off putting a budget boost in. The 2" spacers cost only $50 a pair. If you do still decide to go with the Rubi springs don't buy them as I have a set here you can have.

Daren

Wow!! Generous offer Darren... :smiley-dance005:

There you go James, Rubi springs and the spacers for prolly less than you were gonna pay for the first Rubi's

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  • 3 weeks later...

So I got to installing my Rubicon springs (thanks Darren ;) ) and a 2" Budget Boost.

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Before:

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I wanted to see how much lift I would get overall, so I took a measurement to a tab about center of the driver's door

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First I removed the tires, and disconnected the shock and sway bar, and then removed the old spring.

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I removed the bumpstop assembly and installed the new spring and spacer

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Then I reinstalled the bumpstop, reconnected the sway bar and shock, put the tires back on and set it back down.

On to the back...

Remove the tires, disconnect sway bar and shocks and remove the old springs

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Remove bumpstops and install new springs and spacers

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Reconnect sway bar and shocks

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Put the bumpstops back in, put the wheels back on, set 'er back down...

And done!!!

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Final measurement:

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I gained just under 3" with the Rubi Springs and the spacers.

Before / After

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post-480-1298702145_thumb.jpg

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