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2011 White Sahara JKU build

8K views 58 replies 12 participants last post by  mwg0415 
#1 ·
It's been just over a year since I did my lift. Traded in my BMW 535i for a 2011 Sahara JKU on 9/29/14. On Halloween I added the RK 2.5 Stock Mod with Billstein shocks and the AEV Geometry Correction Brackets. For the wheels and tires I went with Method Double Standards in black in a 17" wheel and Nitto Terra Grappler 305/70/17. Couldn't be happier with the trade or the lift. Loving the Jeep one year later and lots of mods in the works.



 
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#3 ·
Also added the Rebel Restraint braking system with the drilled and slotted discs. Very happy with the new brakes.

Been busy on the mods and have just finished this week: JW Speaker Evolution J (the new ones not requiring the anti flicker module and the half halo), Katzkins leather interior and wired in the Spod in preparation for some lighting. Waiting on some Black Friday Specials to order a PSC Brawler Mid front bumper and a Rock Brawler II rear bumper.

I love how the seats turned out and did it myself:







 
#7 ·
Dropped the bumpers off to the powder coater today and should have those back in a couple weeks. Don't them in Bright White matched to the Jeep.

Also started on installing the Kicker speakers. Not very hard but tedious. I talked the roll bar first since it was the easiest. Surprisingly the magnets weren't that much different in size from the Infinity speakers that were in it.









Also stuffed them full of poly fill.



The roll bar was pretty easy and the harness included by Crutchfield made it really easy as far as wiring goes. The adapter ring worked well attaching the speaker but installing it back in was more time consuming because the screws don't line up exactly so I had to do them a little at a time. The back is done and a very nice improvement in sound.
 
#8 ·
For the front components I just got the passenger side installed due to time. Once the side panel was removed and the glovebox out it was easy enough to remove the speaker box out through the glovebox hole once it was unplugged and the 4 or 5 screws removed.

http://i1342.photobucket.com/albums/o779/Cglennrichardson/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsvrobpc5l.jpeg

After I removed the factory speaker from the box and trimmed off the tabs on the box that aligned the old speaker I had to have a way to wire in the crossover and install it. I took the wiring harness that was supplied for the woofer and clipped off the spades and wired those to the crossover. I also drilled a hole out of the back of the box for the bullet connectors for the tweeter. I feed those through the hole and connected the spade connectors to the woofer and then put the crossover in the back of the speaker box and filled it with poly fill. Once the new speaker was mounted to the box I reinstalled the box and removed the factory tweeter and unplugged it. I ran the wire from the new Kicker tweeter down through the opening and connected it to the bullet connectors. The Kicker tweeter is a perfect fitwith no mods needed.



I put it all back together and I got to say I am very pleased with the sound from the new speakers.

Next up I have to finish the driver side to complete it.
 
#15 ·
Looking great! Looking forward to more pics as you progress.
 
#22 ·
Picked up the Poison Spyder bumpers today. What a great job the powder coater did on color matching the bumpers to the Bright White. He did the front and rear and the rings for the adapters for the Rigid lights for $280. He even put two coats on the front bumper to make sure the welds coated good. I have a friend who owns a business that powder coats and he said that was a great deal.

I have to do everything in my life 5 mins at a time with three kids always on the go. I got the front mounted and the lights wired to the Spod. I didn't want them to the factory fog switch. I wanted them able to be on with bright lights when needed. I installed the Rigid Industries Dually Floods in the bumper.

It's an easy install in the front. The only problem is accessing the innermost bolts. It's just a pain to get to them. Some people have asked what the before and after height is to the front end with this bumper and I took photos but there was not movement.

I love how it turned out.





 
#23 ·
Got the Poison Sypder Rock Brawler II rear installed. This is a substantial bumper, especially when you compare it to what came off stock. I'm can't see the rear bumper protecting anything on the Jeep if you are rear ended. This one took much more work getting off and getting the rear tow hook off so I could get the new bumper on. I ended up having to use a rip saw to cut off two bolts holding on the tow hook. I just couldn't get the backed out.

New bumper looks great and I still have the backup lights to wire. 5 minutes at a time....



 
#24 ·
Got the Poison Spyder backup lights wired in. The grommets can be very frustrating. Not a good thing to do with it being cold. The rubber needs to be warm to get them to fit right. I am not convinced that the passenger side is in just right. The drivers side gave a nice satisfying pop letting me know it was in good. I ran my wire from the passenger side to the driver side and soldered that to another wire going up along the trailer harness through the foam on bottom under the driver's side tail light. I used the vampire connectors to joint the positive to the green and white wire on the reverse light and the ground I connected to the black on the brake light and...it worked. Seem to be quite a bit brighter than the factory reverse lights but not something to light up a significant area behind you.

 
#25 ·
I love what you did, going white with the Poison Spyder bumpers. Looks terrific and gives you a unique look since almost everyone just goes with black. I'll be following your build since our rigs are similar, especially if you add the Poison Spyder fender flares. My brother has a white jku and I'm going to show him this.
 
#28 ·
So I had an engine light come on and was able to pull the code, P0302 cylinder 2 misfire. I honestly thought maybe I got a hold of some bad fuel but researched the code and talked with some mechanics and thought maybe it's time to change the plugs. I researched around a little more and got quotes for the spark plug change and was blown away! The average price was around $400! Then if I wanted to replace the wires it was another $100 almost. These quotes weren't from a dealer either. I thought is is stupid and I'll do it myself!

Researched a little more and found this:
Performance Distributors Firepower Ignition Kit
Performance Distributors Firepower Ignition Kit 3.8L - Red - DUI-KT-9300R

A set of Livewire Spark Plug Wires and a Screamin' Demon Coil Pack. The prices I got above did not include a new coil pack. So I thought for $199 plus another $30 for a set of Champion 7440 RE14PLP5 Double Platinum I'll tackle this project.

I researched a little more and read the biggest pain with it all is the passenger side...and it was but totally doable. The best tip I got was when you removed the wires tape the new wire end to end and use that to guide the new wire behind the engine. Had I not done that it would have been a nightmare getting the new wire behind the engine. The hardest part besides that is removing the clips and tray around the back of the engine that hold the OEM plug wires in place. The new wires are too wide to go into the tray so I pulled that out all together. Honestly that was the toughest part but not too bad.

I figured at 65,000 miles it was worth going ahead and changing the plugs, wires and coil pack and all said and done I saved over $300. I didn't expect any drastic changes that these companies all want to say their product gets. I did set the new gap to .65 as recommended and everything is running smooth. I will keep track of mpg and see if I get better mileage. I would say that would come mostly from the new plugs but I'll give it the benefit of the doubt.

I would recommend this product though based on cost, perfect fit, and quality of product.

I'll keep you posted on performance. I have about 300 miles to put on it on Friday.
 
#29 ·
WOW... I never would have imagined anywhere near $400 to replace the plugs... I guess it's mostly because they require so much labor to install? Thanks for the research and the info. I'm filing this away for future use.
 
#30 ·
Knowing the plugs cost $30 and wires probably around $50-$80 depending on what they go with if not OEM figure around $120 to be generous on parts. They said they billed 1.5-2hrs labor. I did it in under two hours and changed the coil pack. I bet a skilled mechanic could do that in 30-45min unless a plug broke. I just used a 3/8 rachet but I have seen people have to use a breaker bar. I did not use antisieze, so people do but it is not recommended on the champion plugs because they have some coating. Anyway, I thought the quotes were way off. I would be interested to hear what other people have been quoted.

I think it's simple enough for just about anyone without a whole lot of skill to do unless they break a plug and you have to be very careful not to cross thread the cylinder head.
 
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