There I was, looking at repairing the 17 year old, 200k+ mile XJ I had been driving for 5 years. I loved it, but felt like I was ready for an upgrade, so I started shopping. And ,man, did I upgrade! I have always loved the Wrangler, just couldn't afford one, not practical for little kids, etc. I found an '08 2 door Sahara with 6 speed 1.5 hours away. After some negotiating, I asked a friend (who is the sales manager at the CDJ dealership here), he said "GO BUY THAT RIGHT NOW". So I did.
It only had the hard top, so I sold the VERY dependable XJ (with cosmetic issues) to my step-daughter for 1/2 what I was offered by others. That was just enough for the Bestop Supertop NX. I like the look of the Trektop, but being able to fold down the top wherever I am was more important to me.
I freaking give up! I have tried dozens of times to upload pics, but can't seem to do it from my phone! I've tried on the app, the mobile website, and the full site, but to no avail. I really enjoy checking out everyone else's builds and was looking forward to doing my own, but I give up.
One last effort. .. and it worked! First mod was a comfort measure. I don't know what kind of ape-man designed the center console armrest, but it is way to low! The color doesn't look as good as it did on the Internet, but it does serve it's purpose.
Thanks! I Jane chronicling the mods I have done in order so far. Got so much more done than I have had time to list so far(Just got the 35s yesterday). from here on it will be much slower build.
April 26, first time with hard top off... and staying off. Installed the Supertop NX. Installation went well, not too difficult for my first time. There were a few steps that the instructions and the video differed, but still done in a little over 1/2 the time it says it takes.
This gorgeous thing did have one flaw when I got her, she needed tires. Still had the original tires, which were almost down to the wear bars. Now for the big decision! Do I want 33s (Which don't require a lift and fit stock wheels that could be easily plasti-dipped)? Or 35s (which look awesome and will increase off-road performance)?
After much deliberation, and reading dozens , maybe hundreds of threads here, I decided I HAD to have 35s! Next decision was "how do I get there?". I knew I needed to lift it, and originally thought budget boost. However, after even more WF readingredients I decided on a coil lift. I was originally leaning toward Rubicon Express, but after countless hours of trading WF threads, I decided on Teraflex 2.5" coil lift. Days later, the tax check arrived!!!
Went to 4 wheel parts a few days after the tax refund arrived and ordered the TF lift. They said there was a part on back order. .. NBD, a lot had to come together before I NEEFED it. In the next 2 weeks, I worked A LOT of overtime to subsidize the coming mods. With that check, went back to 4WP and ordered 5 18x9 XD Monsters!
Now, what tires? Really like the Duratracs, and it seems that 75% of everyone on here has then and lives them. Started shopping for those. Found the best Internet deal I could find and took it to the local tire store that has always been good to me, but he couldn't touch that price. It was going to be close to $400/tire after install. He suggested Mastercraft Courser MXT. OK those look decent. Read reviews and people seem to like them. A week later I decided to order them, of course I needed 5 of them. Got all 5 305x70r18 (35x12.50)for $1500 out the door. And they moved the TPMS and put new stems on the old ones!
time to install the TF coil lift! It was time consuming, but all in all pretty easy (other than some bolts that refused to cooperate!) . I did it at my patents' house b/c they have a level basketball court and my dad has every kind of tool imaginable. It took about 8 hours by myself, a lot of that time was spent looking for the right tools b/c while he has a crap load of them, there is little organization!
Lift is done, I got 3"in the front, 2.75" in the rear (not really a way to say that without sounding dirty). Now just have to wait for the tires to arrive. I feel like a kid anxiously awaiting Christmas! Every time I let the dogs out I peek in the box at my wheels sitting in boxes in the garage. It's killing me!
The tires finally arrived, but only 4 of them. Screw it! That'll get me on the road! Had them installed and she's FINALLY looking like I had envisioned!
5th one came in 2 days later! I had purchased the lug nut 3rd brake lights on an impulse, not thinking about the center caps on the wheels. To bad, they were really cool. Also got a smittybilt spare tire relocation bracket, but with the backspacing, the tire was 6-8 inches away from the tail gate. So I took those items back. A few washers pushed the tire back far enough that it kinda rides against the bumper for the time being.
Got a rattle in the front end when I hit bumps (and the roads in this town are TERRIBLE, so the are a lot of them! ) that I need to track down now. Re-torqued everything and found the trackbar bolt was slightly loose. Took it out for a drive, and hit a big bump, hearts the same rattle and a big clank . Back to the drawing board. The clank was easy to find, the bushings in the drag link are work out and there is a bit of play in it, not the end of the world. That small rattle still persists tho. I cannot find anything loose that I touched during the install. I don't really want to just start throwing new parts at it, hoping to fix it, but I'm afraid that's what is going to come to.
Other than the small rattle over bumps (which I can't feel), she rides and drives great in town! When I went to 4WP to return those items, I definitely noticed decreased acceleration when going up the ramp to get on the interstate. Not terrible, but noticeable. Everything was ok until I reached 60ish. Then I started feeling a little shake in the steering wheel, wick increased as my speed did. At 75 it's pretty bad. I don't think it's the dreaded death wobble, it really feels like unbalanced tires. Got home and inspected the wheels, not a single sticky weight inside the wheels. Took it to the tire store, they explained they don't fit in their balancer, but they used something called "leveler" inside that supposedly balances them somehow. I told them I would pay to get them balanced if I need to, I just need it done. The manager actually seemed more than happy to take care of me on this issue, he just isn't sure where to send it.
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