Jeep Wrangler Forum banner

"That damn Jeep" today....

26K views 119 replies 26 participants last post by  IRQ 
#1 ·
Here it is today, in its less than infinite glory. It's gonna get better, I promise...
 

Attachments

See less See more
1
#3 ·
Thank you Coach! I have plans for That Damned Jeep but not big enough to start a "build" thread. That said, I still wanted a place to post my mod's so I can track progress over the coming weeks.

I have the door panels and most of the dash painted now, just waiting on the clips to arrive so I can put them back on. There was a bit of repair to do to the door panels and had contemplated just buying new ones but decided to use the money on something that I can't do myself.
 
#5 ·
I am using Rust-Oleum paint from Lowe's. The top part of the dash that snugs up against the windshield, the door panels and the glove compartment door will be Metallic and the rest of the dash parts will be Satin Black.

I put the glove compartment door and the spedo/tach cover side-by-side so the color match will be evident.
 

Attachments

#7 · (Edited)
Got everything painted and installed. Now the other stuff really looks nasty. Got to find a replacement for that fugly steering wheel !!! Anyhow, here it is at this point.
 

Attachments

#9 · (Edited)
Spent a couple of hours covering some nasty old speaker boxes that will sit in the rear. Speakers themselves are great but the boxes were pretty worn. Only those who have stretched single piece of carpet over a box with obtuse angles can appreciate the effort that went into this. :) The grills were originally clear but had clouded over the years so they got a fresh coat of paint as well.
 

Attachments

#13 ·
UPS showed up yesterday with new turn signal and parking light covers. Also my Grant steering wheel arrived a day early. I have new Rugged Ridge Flares to install as well.

Unfortunately the bearing cups on the front drive shaft decided to jump ship on the way up the mountain yesterday so now I've got to replace those.

Just another day...
 

Attachments

#14 ·
Work obligations took the better part of the day but I did get to do the 5 minute install of the parking lights. They sure look better than the 28 year old ones! Also mocked up the drivers side Rugged Ridge Flare. They're gonna look good!
 

Attachments

#16 · (Edited)
Worked on the bed today. I took the rear seat out because I have 2 GSD's that ride in the back and there wasn't even close to having enough room back there for them. I picked up a 3'X4'X1/2" piece of rubber padding from Tractor Supply and cut it to fit the rear, then carpeted the sides and installed the speakers.

Cut a piece of 3/4" plywood to fit between the seats and in front of the wheel wells and then glued a piece of the 1/2 rubber padding across it. In the picture it looks like it's carpeted but it's really not.
.
.
 

Attachments

#19 ·
The Good News:
Replaced u-joints yesterday so mechanically, we're back up and running.

The Bad News:
Went out this AM to install my new Grant steering wheel. The directions that were included with the install kit suck so I went to their website and downloaded the most recent. Guess what? The downloaded instructions conflict with the ones that came with the kit. To make matters worse, there are parts are missing from the install kit, most specifically a small black plastic sleeve necessary to make the horn work. I called Grant customer support but was told there is NOBODY IN CUSTOMER SUPPORT TODAY and I will have to call back tomorrow. WTF?

I'll try to fabricate something to make it work but my gut feeling is this turkey is going back.
 
#21 · (Edited)
Got the steering wheel on but the horn isn't working. I doubt the horn issue has anything to do with Grant though.

Horn issue aside, I'm thinking this product was made by an underpaid Chinese dude, inspected by his blind cousin, and packed by some guy who just smoked a bowl of chinaherb... But it does look better than the original one. :)
.
 

Attachments

#22 ·
Looks great!
If you're Chinese and smoke a bowl of chinaherb do you get round eyes???
 
#25 ·
It's been raining, snowing and the winds been blowing like crazy! Going out wasn't going to happen so I pulled off the old fender flares. Took a lot longer than I had planned but it's behind me now. Only had to cut off a couple of bolts, the rest came out with a ratchet. If we don't get snowed in tonight I'll run by the local ACE Hardware and pick up some install hardware and get the new Rugged Ridge flares installed.

If anyone needs a set of reasonably good condition (28 year old) fender flares I'll send them to ya. You pay shipping of course. Which reminds me, I also have a brand new set of stock fender flares that came with the Jeep when I bought it. I'll take $20.00 + shipping for them.
 

Attachments

#26 · (Edited)
Today’s post is both a report on my progress as well as a review of the Rugged Ridge Fender Flare product.

I worked on this install for the better part of the day but I just couldn’t get the fit-n-finish to come out any better than “Just OK”. This is a product that looks better the farther away you are from it. Oh, they’re flimsy too, I’ll be surprised if they hold up very well.

This is not a plug-n-play install, plan on doing a lot of drilling. To RR’s credit, they do say some drilling is required. What they don’t tell you is that finding an existing hole that matches the flare's pattern is an anomaly. Plan on drilling 95% of the holes yourself. You should also know that on the rear you will be required to drill 3 holes on each side that will go into a part of the Jeep there is no access to, so there is no way for you to get a nut on the bolt. Well that’s not entirely true. One of the bolts can be seen through a round inspection hole (in the floor panel) that is about the size of a quarter. I managed to get a nut on that bolt by attaching the nut to my index finger with a drop of super glue. Then I stuck my finger through the hole, pressed the nut against the bolt and tightened it up. :thumb:

When I got to the rear I wasn’t sure which flare went on the drives side and which went on the passenger side. Would it have been too much to put a L&R or D&P? To make matters worse, they don’t tell you which way they face. They are very similar so it’s conceivable that you could wind up with the driver’s side flare on the passenger side and facing backward.

No problem, just give their support team a call and ask. Nope, that doesn’t happen either as there is no support # to call. What you get is a box to fill out a support ticket and somebody will email you back. Screw that, I looked around online, found some pictures, and then counted the bolt pattern to find out which way they faced. But again, would it have been so hard to put a “F”ront and “R”ear on them? :rolleyes:

Sigh, quality products and support are a scarcity in today's marketplace. Anyhow, here are my new flares! :)
.
 

Attachments

#29 ·
A quick update, these are the bolts that will give you problems. From left to right, the first and second arrows are impossible to get at so no way to put a nut on the bolt. The 3rd arrow is the one that I could reach (sort of) by super-gluing the nut to my finger.
 

Attachments

#33 · (Edited)
Got a deal on a Bedrug for the front of my Jeep. Ordinarily $195.00 on Amazon they were giving out $80.00 gift certificates if you applied for their credit card. So I did and applied the gift certificate to the bedrug price and got it for $115.00.

Here is what the manufacture says:
The material used for the BedRug liner is basically a plastic but it has the look and feel of regular carpet. This material is much more durable than normal carpet since it won't rot, stain, mold, mildew. Plus it's also chemical resistant. The 1/4" thick foam provides an insulating barrier against heat and noise, while keeping you comfortable on those long trail rides.

The BedRug Jeep liner is available for Tj and YJ Wranglers and is sold as either a 3 piece front kit or a 4 piece rear kit. BedRug uses 3M hook & loop fasteners to make installation fast and simple. The individual pieces are easy to remove for a quick cleaning with the hose.
I'll post some pictures as soon as I get it installed.
.
 

Attachments

#34 ·
Got a deal on a Bedrug for the front of my Jeep. Ordinarily $195.00 on Amazon they were giving out $80.00 gift certificates if you applied for their credit card. So I did and applied the gift certificate to the bedrug price and got it for $115.00. Here is what the manufacture says: I'll post some pictures as soon as I get it installed. .
that looks awesome, very interested to see this
 
#36 ·
The Bad News: :(

Seems like stuff breaks almost as fast as I can put new stuff in. Today it was the lever that controls the wiper speed/delay high/low beams, and windshield washer. Was taking the dogs to the lower field and my knee hit it when climbing in. It looks like it's going to be a nasty repair as the steering wheel has to come off to get to the components in the column.

The Good News: :)

Light bar and Bed Rug arrived today. Have to wait a week for the light bar mount to arrive but tomorrow I will put the Bed Rug in.
 

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