Aaron's Yellow Submarine

[MeanGreen86]

I finished another project that I started 2 years ago. I put the rest of my BedRug kit in. It looks great and hides the shit bedliner job the PO did. fenders flares are notched for the sliders, savvy skid plate is back on and we are ready to go wheeling this weekend. Time to put some scratches in the new belly skid.

 

[MeanGreen86]

Good times at Anthracite Off-Road park on Sunday. Our group had a beginner in it so we kept it fairly mild but the belly skid proved it worth a few times. No scratches on it but I went over stuff the shovel would've caught.

I'm at a crossroad right now where I love the look/performance of my 33's and Jeep but not having lockers has held me back often. I'm definitely going selectable, probably air. I'm not ready to open the can of worms that is 35's, gears, lockers, shafts....There's alot of fun to be had with lockers and my current setup.

Finally got a shot with the jeep inside the AOAA coal bucket too.

 

[chili_pepper]

Coal bucket shot is wicked cool...photo of the month candidate?

 

[MeanGreen86]

Haven't done much to the jeep lately. I need to trace the tail light wires because my left tail light randomly went out and I know its not the tail light.

Snapped this the other day because it was nice.

 

[MeanGreen86]

I finally got the chance to test out the tummy tuck properly at Rausch on the 30th! I also picked up some minor trail damage on the passenger front flare. My spotter neglected to yell "tree!" early enough.

Happy to say I made it up this spot with a couple adjustments and a spirited bump of the gas pedal. This was on crawl daddy. There is one spot on the trail I had to take the bypass. Lockers are really whats "holding" me back at this point but I can't complain. This thing is a beast and alot of fun!

Currently I'm fighting a clearance issue between my barnes gas tank skid and a motobuilt dana 44 cover. I re-adjusted my axle and spun my lower control arms in to 15.25" bolt-to-bolt and it still hit on bumps.

 

[MeanGreen86]

My christmas present I bought myself finally came in last week. I've wanted a proper tool box for awhile now so I picked this up.
February's upgrade goals:
-XJ Steering
-Rock Jock rear bumpstops
-Relocate rear spring perches
-Weld in raised body mounts
-Replace all body mounts

 

[MeanGreen86]

Small update: I've had an issue with my diff skid (motobuilt) hitting my gas tank skid (barnes4wd).
I adjusted the control arms- no dice
Added Rock Jock rear bumpstops (i had none before) - no dice
Black max shocks and barnett skid-- winner winner, chicken dinner.

Still needs a proper trail test but I'm liking the new rear shocks.

I also had to use the jeep last weekend to rescue my daily. zero traction in the yard uphill.

 

[MeanGreen86]

Good news- the bump stops and new diff skid fixed my contact issue with my gas tank skid. We tested it out properly at Rausch creek. I was the trail leader so all I got was pictures from the back side. On the plus side I was able to take my dad up with me to the park. He had a blast.
I found my next project. Do I pound this out or do I need to weld in a new bracket?

great pic ha

 

[AirborneTexasRanger]

I found my next project. Do I pound this out or do I need to weld in a new bracket?

View attachment 531873

I'd check for any cracks first

 

[FarFire70]

Good new- the bump stops and new diff skid fixed my contact issue with my gas tank skid. We tested it out properly at Rausch creek. I was the trail leader so all I got was pictures from the back side. On the plus side I was able to take my dad up with me to the park. He had a blast.
I found my next project. Do I pound this out or do I need to weld in a new bracket?
View attachment 531872
View attachment 531873

great pic ha
View attachment 531874

Rausch Creek gave me the same damage on the rear control arm mount years back. Was able to drive on it for many miles as it didn't throw off alignment.

I tried MAPP gas and hammer to fix it but gave up pretty quickly and decided it would take too much heat and hammering that the metal would be fatigued. I figured the repair would just guarantee it happening again.

I went with new mounts from Iron Rock Off Road. Haven't banged on them yet but they are stout!

 

[MeanGreen86]

I'd check for any cracks first

I agree. I think the best thing to do here is replace them. I ordered a set from barnes4wd

 

[MeanGreen86]

A few wheeling shots from a group trip to AOAA. I recieved my first real body damage...it was the lightest tree bump ever.

Its a small dent but I'm scared to pull the soft top right now. I'll wait for spring before I mess with this

Two cool wrangler forum buddies that set up the wheeling trip

 

[FarFire70]

A few wheeling shots from a group trip to AOAA. I recieved my first real body damage...it was the lightest tree bump ever.
View attachment 573750
View attachment 573751
Its a small dent but I'm scared to pull the soft top right now. I'll wait for spring before I mess with this
View attachment 573752
Two cool wrangler forum buddies that set up the wheeling trip
View attachment 573753
View attachment 573754

Looks like a great ride on the rock!

Sorry for the damage. Hopefully you can knock it back out. Good excuse for corner armor...

 

[MeanGreen86]

Markeplace strikes again. I picked up these poison spyder fenders from a great seller for $325 but I'm at a cross roads for armor. I have genright boatside sliders (which may have been an impulse buy) on my jeep now and it looks like I'd have to trim a decent amount to make the fenders fit.
At this point I like the idea of running the fenders more, having bumped a few trees. After wheeling with the sliders for a few trips I'm nervous about how the tubing is ran. I feel like it should be longer with the LJ.

So I turn to you wrangler forum.
Option 1- trim the sliders to make room for the fenders
Option 2- trim the fenders to make room for the sliders
Option 3- Get new sliders and sell the genright boatsides

 

[FarFire70]

Markeplace strikes again. I picked up these poison spyder fenders from a great seller for $325 but I'm at a cross roads for armor. I have genright boatside sliders (which may have been an impulse buy) on my jeep now and it looks like I'd have to trim a decent amount to make the fenders fit.
At this point I like the idea of running the fenders more, having bumped a few trees. After wheeling with the sliders for a few trips I'm nervous about how the tubing is ran. I feel like it should be longer with the LJ.

So I turn to you wrangler forum.
Option 1- trim the sliders to make room for the fenders
Option 2- trim the fenders to make room for the sliders
Option 3- Get new sliders and sell the genright boatsides
View attachment 597782

Option #1

That's the way I went. I still need to finish cleaning them up and paint them. Here's how I trimmed them:

Post in thread 'Building Homer (2005 TJ Build Thread)'

Jun 29, 2024

Of course it wasn't going to be that easy... And mostly due to my poor memory.

I'd forgotten the rust here on the driver side, just in front of the rear wheel well. The gasket clearly held in moisture.

Not so bad as it's mostly surface rust. Plenty of metal here so I'll hit it with the wire wheel and flap disk to clean it up. (You can also see the leftover glue that was easy to clean off)

—-

Where my memory really got me in altering today's quick plan to getting to paint — I forgot I needed to trim the front of each guard before they cam be install. At...

• FarFire70

• 

 

[MeanGreen86]

@FarFire70 thank you for the pictures and reference.
Option 1 it is! Stay tuned to the 4 people watching this haha.

 

[MeanGreen86]

Another good trip to AOAA. Kept it pretty mild since we had a WJ on 32's but it was fun.
Mod plans are:
-Weld in raised body mounts and replace old bushings
-Weld in rear control arm brackets
-Test fit poison spyder fenders then off to powdercoat
-Remove genright boatsides and send to powdercoat
-MAYBE relocate rear spring perches

I need to square away the front rake as I imagine it will only get slightly worse when I put 50lbs worth of fender on.

We found a cool little man made water tunnel back in the trails.

 

[MeanGreen86]

I said it almost 4 years ago on post #30, yesterday I finally completed the task. I replaced my cracked and jacked body mounts. I plan to weld in a small gusset on the top section of the mounts later when I replace the other body mounts.

I'm pretty happy with the vertical welds.
This one was cracked into the bolt hole in the center.