Jeep Wrangler Forum banner
10K views 69 replies 11 participants last post by  stillcrazyman 
#1 ·
OK, so this isn't going to be an extreme build thread as I've seen and admired from many members here.

I purchased a 2017 Willys (please pronounce it as " willis")Wheeler, 6spd manual JKU and have plans to do some mild modifications to make it a comfortable and reliable Daily driver and yet have a rugged look and better than stock off-road capabilities.

I decided to name the rig "Silver Wolf" simply because my son Kyle (who is a fantastic kid with Autism and loves Wolves) gave me the absolute thumbs up on that name. We go to visit the Lakota wolf preserve (in New Jersey) and love the pack mentality and tight family cooperative nature of wolves.

When I took delivery of my rig in October, I was prepared for a rough and noisy ride as this was my first Jeep ever. My girlfriend and I had been driving a leased 2014 Ford Focus (which is a great car except for its lousy DCT tranny) and I kept telling her we have to prepare for a rough and noisy ride with the new Jeep. (This was cemented in my brain from all those stupid Consumer magazine reports) She was fine with that. When I picked it up from the dealer and drove it home, I was puzzled. It wasn't noisy, it wasn't a rough ride, and in fact, it felt smooth and a heck of a lot more enjoyable to drive than the Focus.
Wow, I thought. This is friggin great! I loved the feel of the ride (wonderfully refined yet still recognizable as a light truck). The stock Mud tires were quiet!!
How can this be?! Those BFG T/A KM tires are extremely quiet on road and look so aggressive and badass. We had some light rain a few times while driving with stock tires and yes they can be slippery at times (although it could also be partially due to the LSD rear diff) but I loved them.
I did want bigger tires (also mud terrains) and so have since replaced the stock with Cooper STT Pros 295/70/17 and although they are a slight bit "noisier" than the stock BFG, they are still very quiet, IMO.

In my order I opted for the LED light package, the reinforced swing gate and the Mopar EVTS (Electronic Vehicle Tracking System)
The LED head lights are simply fantastic. They illuminate about 45deg from side to side and everything in front with no dead spots. The brights are amazing.

So, here are a few pics of the stock Jeep Willys. I also added a 12" stubby antenna.
 

Attachments

See less See more
4
#5 ·
One of the first "mods" I did after taking delivery was to replace the stock antenna with a 12" stubby from AMI. They're available on Quadratec.
The stubby came packaged with several various adaptors however they included a separate bag of adaptors that specifically fit the JKU. I was happy to see that they made certain the right adaptor would be included.

I haven't noticed any hit on radio reception so far. I live in Brooklyn, New York so the radio signals are local and strong. It might be that when traveling further outside the range it might not pick up as well as the stock antenna, but I'm really not worried about it...

The stubby has a good clean look and fit the bill.
 

Attachments

#6 ·
While we were waiting for our 2017 Willys JKU to arrive we had some accessories laying around the living room starting to pile up. Included in that pile were a couple of Rugged Ridge eye glass pouches that attach to the padded sport bar.
When these arrived we were impressed. They have two pouches actually, one in front that will fit most sunglasses and another larger area accessible from the top that can hold quite a bit more stuff. They are of good quality and inside is lined with a soft felt or microfiber material that will not scratch your eye glass lenses.
I like that they fit right alongside the grab handles and do not intrude our vision out the side windows in any way.
This is a (lousy) pic of the drivers side pouch.

Next to the pouch you can also see a RR Visor storage cover, fitted on the visor. It has a flap that folds down that will hold two pens/pencils and other things as well as a insert for insurance ID that has a clear window making it very easily accessible. I figure that's a good place and will keep The Law less nervous if they can see my hands reaching to the visor rather than going to the glove box or under my seat...
 

Attachments

#7 ·
I wanted a quick, simple and sturdy solution for my iPhone as I use it sometimes for navigation and I thought the Rugged Ridge Dash Multi Mount Phone system was ideal.
I like the location at eye level and it allows me to simply move my eyes to see the phone while my peripheral vision is still seeing out the windshield. It holds my iPhone 6 Plus securely and allows me to rotate it easily into landscape position. In addition, it also can mount a dash camera in front of the phone mount. I also like getting rid of the stock tray that has that center divider and having the RR tray that is flat open.
I don't like mounting my EZ PASS to the windshield, I prefer to simply hold it up as I pass a toll and so when I'm going on trips I can just place the EZ PASS tag in the tray where I can quickly reach it when needed. It wasn't able to fit too well in the stock tray.
 

Attachments

#8 ·
Another goodie we had laying around in our pile waiting for Silver Wolf to arrive.....some tail light guards. I went with the Rugged Ridge guards. They fit well and look good I think but I wish the spacers that come with the guards (they keep the actual guard off your lens to prevent cracking them) were attached. Installing and removing the guards can be a PITA because you have to catch those little plastic spacers when removing the screw or reinstalling.
I plan on using a dab of silicone to adhere the spacers to the guards so I don't have to mess with trying not to let them fall and get lost.

Also in this pic, you can see where on my early 2017 Willys production the factory screwed up and covered up the neat little 4WD retro decal that is part of the Willys appearance package. A new option for 2017 was the reinforced swing gate. This swing gate covers up the original location of that decal.

I purchased an exact duplicate on Amazon from Skull Daddy Graphic and applied it under the tail light. I may eventually remove the original decal showing under the swing gate, but for now I'm leaving it be. I'm hoping FCA gets this straightened out eventually in their production line.

I also installed the Mopar Fuel door. To install, you need to remove the tail light assembly and remove the stock Bezel by squeezing two clips accessed through the tail light area and rotate the bezel at which point it will come off.
Remove the rubber gasket from that bezel once its off that surrounds the filler neck and place it on the new Fuel door assembly and then install by pushing in the clips and rotating into place. Use a small screw driver to work the rubber gasket under the filler neck and its done.
 

Attachments

#12 ·
Nice Jeep and great story. My family does many walk for autism events due to a member in the family who has the condition.QUOTE]

That's awesome, glad to hear that!


Yes, I've heard the tires start getting noisier as they wear down but I'm really not bothered by road noise much. In fact, I just replaced them with with Cooper STT Pros 295's which I can actually hear a bit now and I like the feel of rolling along on wide rubber and the sounds that go along with that. It just adds to the thrill! lol
Honestly though, I still have to listen for it to notice
 
#11 ·
Our accessory pile also consisted of decals that I wanted to apply, besides replacing the 4WD decal.
I always liked the Allied Star and Circle insignias and so I applied a large Star and Circle on the hood, and then a simple star on the rear sides (rear doors). I also applied the USA flag on both sides above the Wrangler decal.

Visible here in the pic of the hood decal is a Rugged Ridge bug/wind deflector.
It attaches simply with no drilling. there are two plastic nut inserts that go into two opening under the hood. The deflector screws into those inserts, and also has two squares on each side underneath of double sided tape that adds additional adhesion.
 

Attachments

#13 ·
Another mod in the pile up, a Bolt Hood Lock and a Rugged Ridge Grill insert.
The Bolt Hood lock required a heavy duty rivet gun to install the 1/4" rivets that come with the lock. I purchased one on amazon for about 19 bucks. The Hood lock installed very easy and coding the ignition key to the lock was simple as well. Make sure of course to code your key first, you want to make sure your key works before riveting this thin on!

The RR grill guard insert is very nice looking and sturdy however I'm not happy with the way it attaches to the grill. You have to drill 4 holes (2 on top and 2 bottom) to mount the brackets that hold the grill screen in place behind the grill.
The head of the screws on the top get sandwiched in between the grill and the Jeep when replacing the grill and it makes it a very tight fit. I wound up drilling a small hole in the plastic under the hood so the head of the screws recess into it and reduce the tension and allow a more stock fit again.
I also had to snip away the screen around the Bolt lock so that its accessible again. I didn't do such a neat cutout but I'm ok with how it turned out. I applied some semi gloss black rustoleum paint to the edge where I cut so they wouldn't corrode.
 

Attachments

#14 ·
I ordered the Barricade Rock sliders and installed them. After removing the three body mount bolts (these were a bit of a pain as they require downward force as you unscrew them) I laid down length wise under the side of the Jeep and placed the Rock slider on top of me. I was able to hold one end up on my feet as I started the middle bolt by hand. Once that bolt was started it was an easy 1 person job. The body bolts gave me a tough time going back in, as it seemed that the nut on the inside would free spin as I tried tightening. I found that applying downward pressure using the slider helped secure the nut and allow me to get it threaded and tightened.
The instructions that came with the Barricade sliders mistakenly instruct to torque to 35 ft lbs but that is wrong. 80 ft lbs is correct.

The sliders look great and double as a step, but most importantly they install with the factory Rubi Rails and look very finished together.

Also seen in the pics are the Rugged Ridge Rain guards. Come to think of it, I should add that I had the front side windows tinted with a ceramic tint one shade over the legal limit. they're noticeably lighter than the rears and so I shouldn't have any issues. hopefully.
 

Attachments

#15 ·
Looking for a bit more storage in the Jeep, I decided on the Smittybilt GEAR Tailgate storage Molle System.
The install is pretty straight forward. I utilized the two bolts on the Tailgate check strap. The upper bolt goes into the existing hole in the GEAR panel that mounts to the tailgate. Then mark the bottom hole and drill out a hole in the GEAR panel for it. After those two bolts in the check strap are reinstalled but not fully tightened, tape the panel into position and mark the holes to be drilled.
After drilling the holes I applied silicon in them before screwing the panel on.
Its a nice clean look and the bags are of great quality with various pockets and flaps. They mount very securely and cam be removed to take with you. I think I will get another bag to fit on there somehow.
 

Attachments

#16 ·
Another item awaiting to be included was the Bartact Front Seat Covers.
These are truly great quality and fit nicely. They also came with two small storage bags to hang on the Molle straps incorporated into the seat covers.

Afterwards, I installed the WAR PIG rear seat recline kit. I used 7 spacers. My suggestion to WAR PIG and anyone installing this would be to cut a slot on the side of three of the spacers to meet the hole for the bolt. The 3 middle seat mounts gave me a hard time getting the bolts in without stripping them as the spacers raise them enough to the point that they don't line up right with the holes in the floor.
If the spacers had the open slot on the side, one could just loosen the bolts enough without removing them to tap the spacers in with a hammer and then tighten the bolts without any trouble. The 4 spacers and bolts in the front of the rear seat support were no trouble, just those 3 middle supports were a PITA.
They do help recline the rear seat to a more comfortable position.
 

Attachments

#17 ·
Silver Wolf was up on the lift at Hilna Tires in Brooklyn, NY. Original BFG tires coming off and already sold and waiting to be picked up.

I had ordered 5 Cooper Discovery STT Pros in 295/70/17. This should put me just over 33" and a bit more than 11.5" wide. I love the look of these tires and from all the reviews I've read they are supposedly quite good as a M/T and a DD.
I already installed Spidertrax 1.5" Wheel spacers before going to Hilnas.
While the Jeep is on the lift, Ronnie will drop the front axle for me and install the Rugged Ridge front leveling pucks. I went with 3/4" pucks.
 

Attachments

#18 ·
Just spoke with a rep from Cooper Tires to get their suggested PSI for this tire and Jeep. After telling him the size of the original Willys tires and the Jeep door placard indicating they be run at 37 PSI, he begins running through charts and doing calculations and determines that the Cooper 295/70/17 Light Truck tire should be set at 45PSI to match the load handling setting that Jeep indicated with 37PSI on the stock 255/75/17 tire.
I know a lot of Jeepers at running tires this size at about 28-30 PSI and feel they are best in that range but that seems way too low.
They are on and I have been running them at 35PSI and they seem fine although a slight bit squirmy. I will set them at 42 PSI and see how they feel.
 
#19 ·
Cooper Discoverer STT Pros mounted and rolling. I like the look of these tires. I have been running them a few days now at about 35 psi and they feel good although initially they felt a bit squirmy. That squirmy feeling seems to be diminishing the more I ride on them.
After speaking with the Cooper rep who figured out that these tires should be set to 45psi to match the load rating of the stock tires at 37, I will try running them at 42 for a while and see how they feel.
These tires give me a slight tread noise as I get up to highway speed which I didn't have at all with the stock BFG KM but then again these are wider with more tread on the ground so I expected that. They are still relatively quiet, and honestly for me, the mild tire hum is like music to my ears. I like it. There are no interior noise issues at all for us.
Here are some shots with the new rubber on.
 

Attachments

#20 ·
The only issue I have now is the tires coming out beyond the flares about 1". I had a 250lb passenger in the rear yesterday and as I had accelerated on the entrance ramp to the parkway there was a dip in the road and this cause the rear of the Jeep to squat just enough that I could hear the tire touch the flare.
I'll have to figure out what to do about this. I don't want to throw a lift on the ride, although something like a Teraflex level kit might be ok with me but that still wont fully resolve the issue, just give me another inch of squat.
Could go with flat flares in the rear. I've seen a few Jeeps, one locally with just flats in the rear and OEM flares up front and they look good to me.
Its not a dire situation right now so I have time to see where I'll go with it.

Heres a sideview shot showing the tires just past the Flares.
 

Attachments

#23 ·
Just picked up a Barricade Trail Force HD full width winch bumper from my local UPS depot. We live in a CO OP apartment and having huge shipments delivered to my place is not practical so I had them hold it so that I could pick it up.
Box was huge, of course. Just wouldn't fit in the Jeep so I removed the bumper from the box and set it down in the Jeep on the styrofoam boards it was packed with.

Weather is great today and will be in the 60's tomorrow so I'll be installing it first thing in the morning.

No winch yet, I'll likely get a WARN M8000 s next spring.

All the while that I'd been waiting to take delivery of SW I was looking throughout all the various bumpers available. I knew I wanted full width and something that matched up to the flares. I was initially going with the AEV or ARB and Barricade Trail force. I liked the AEV, but didn't love it enough to dish out 1500.00 for it. The ARB looks great but those turn signals built in turn me off. I considered painting them black. On both AEV and ARB, The grill guard is huge and very close to the grill. I've read that it interferes a bit with a Mopar or BOLT hood lock, but its still doable.
The Barricade was not perfect but I think it does look good and I like the size and placement of the grill guard. Another selling point on the Barricade was the fact that the lower front comes down enough to add some lower protection. They also make a separate skid plate for additional protection.
I have read threads from others who have installed the Barricade that they cut and mount the factory air dam up to the bumper, which is something I'd like to do.
Ill have some pics up tomorrow once I get it mounted.
 
#25 ·
Thanks, I was initially going with an all black rig but changed the color at the last minute to Silver. The black and silver combo got me.
Your "Armada replacement" looks excellent! :)

Coincidentally, I'm the one you emailed back this morning regarding the custom engraved vent covers. I'll be sending you a design in the near future.

Gary
 
#26 ·
Haha, I did not connect the email to this thread. Are you thinking some type of wolf theme? Wolf head or paw print perhaps? I did the House Stark wolf sigil for someone and it came out looking really good.

I used to own a black sports car and it looked great when it was clean, but it was almost impossible to keep clean... even just on the street. I know it would be even worse for a Jeep that I planned to taken in the mountains all the time. I'm also a fan of white cars, but again, the same problem. The silver is really nice as it can be dirty and not look too filthy. I do like the slightly darker silvers they used on the later models like yours though.

Regarding the tire carrier covering the sticker on the tailgate, I don't think they are going to "fix" that. I'm sure those are applied as standard on the assembly line long before the optional tire carrier selection by the customer is looked at.
 
#27 ·
Good points about the practicality of the Silver. I was thinking the same way when I decided to go with it. The ease of keeping it looking clean was just an added bonus.
I wasn't aware they changed the silver color making it darker but I was noticing that mine appeared darker than I remember seeing in some older Jeeps, thought I was just thinking about it too much lol. It actually appears to be gray at night or in the dark shade.
I like white vehicles as well. There was someone on one of the forums that ordered a White Willys. I haven't seen many of those but I bet it will look fantastic.

You could be right about the Willys rear decal. It would be easy for them to just make all the Willys, regardless of option reinforced swingate or not, to place the decal under the tail light. However, if they don't receive many complaints they may just let it go. Sloppy

Yes, I'm thinking either a Wolfs head or the paw print. Possibly the text Silver Wolf above the graphic. Simpler and less cluttered the better though.
I'm going to pass by some designs to my son to see what he gives his thumbs up to. He's gotta like it. If you can come up with anything I'm open to suggestions.

Thanks again
 
#28 ·
Too keep the vents simple and clean looking, I'd put the Silver Wolf name over on a grab handle cover. I'm a big fan of clean and simple in the interior and that's the option I went with....



On your Jeep I would go with silver engraved on black for the vent covers (opposite of what I have in this photo).
 
#29 ·
On your Jeep I would go with silver engraved on black for the vent covers (opposite of what I have in this photo).

Good ideas, I think we'll be doing Wolf paw prints on black vent covers (paw prints can be silver?) and on the grab handle wed like to keep the "Jeep" on the left and "since 1941" on the right, but in larger possible elegant font "Silver Wolf "in the middle.
Will email you soon.
 
#30 ·
Yep, all of that would be doable. You should be able to find wolf paw prints on Google and have a look at dafont.com for more font options then you will want to look though. lol
 
#31 ·
Barricade Trail force HD Full width bumper installed

Got the chance yesterday during our nice weather to install the Barricade Trail force HD full width bumper.

I dig the overall look of this full width, and the grill guard is just the right dimensions as well as being tilted forward slightly. The bottom of the bumper is extended in the middle enough so that it adds protection below.
I plan on trimming the OEM air dam and mounting it back, or, I have been interested in the Hanson front skid plate (available on Hansonoffroad.com) which according to some bolts right under the Barricade bumper and looks as though they were made for each other.

Removing the stock bumper was fairly easy. I then removed the LED fog lights from the stock bumper and they easily mounted on to the Barricade bumper with small screws and lock nuts.

The fog lights are located further away from the middle on the Barricade than was on stock, and I've read where some people actually cut the wires and add extensions.
I found I could remove the fog light wire from the passenger side loom by cutting some tape and opening the loom. You can get about 10" more wire from there. I added some more loom and taped it all up again and was able to make the connections.
Sorry that all these shots are with my iPhone, but they give you the idea.
 

Attachments

#33 ·
The Barricade bumper comes with bare 3/4" D Rings but I purchased some OFF-Camber MBRP black powder coated D Rings and fitted them with Daystar isolators.

Mounting the license plate without a winch (winch coming next spring) Fairlead requires either drilling holes in the bumper or zip tying the plate to the Fairlead mount holes, which I did for the first day until my Tuffy #333 Flip Up License Plate holder arrived from Quadratec. The holder is designed for use with Hawse fairleads which can be directly mounted to the bumper without having the Hawse Fairlead yet (unlike plate holders designed for Roller Fairleads). The winch I will be installing will be using Synthetic line so I'll be all set with this Tuffy plate mount.
 

Attachments

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top