Hi all,

After purchasing my 2018 JKU Sport S in July, I kept him stock for about a 11 months I caught the mod sickness. I figured that I'd document some of these here in a bit.

The goal of the build is a lightweight adventure rig and off roader that I drive to work every day with minimal changes to the stock ride quality, road manners, fuel economy, and off road reliability while exceeding the vehicle original curb weight by no more than 10%. The tire size will remain at 255/70R17 or may jump slightly to 265/70R17 and there will be no regear, but I'm not ruling out an axle swap.

These are the components as of 8-30-19

Installed (easy cosmetic stuff)
-Rough Country Grab Bars
-Overland Outfitters Molle Tailgate Panel
-Bartact Fire Extinguisher Mount
-EVO ARB Air Compressor Engine Bay Mount
-Yakima Spare Ride Bike Rack (see next section)

On hand and about to install (tougher mechanical stuff)
-Onboard tire inflation system (designed by me and already installed on dad's 4Runner) I will document this one closely on this thread as I install it.
-Teraflex 2LO kit for NV241OR
-Low mile NV241OR ready for direct swap
-Teraflex 2" Front, 1" Rear spacer kit
-Yakima tire rack mounting plate (the original universal plate was a poor fit on the rear carrier and had some interference with the spare tire. I just finished painting a new mounting plate I designed, which will be installed between the tire and carrier soon)

Planned Components (expensive optional stuff)
-255/70R17 BFG KO2s or KM3s
-2nd Gen 2 Tone Rubicon Wheels
-Teraflex Nebo Rack for Hardtop
-Detroit Locker up front
-Eaton Truetrac at the rear
-JKS sway bar disconnects

Let me know if you have feedback or suggestions as pictures roll in within the next week or so.

Happy building

shoe

Building Jeeps is good for the soul

Good luck and have fun!

Go with some 255/80-17 tires instead. You will like the extra height.

Waiting for that air system build!

Ditto!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Some pictures from the transfer case 2Lo and swap project. Currently on the late stages of the 2LO kit swap. Please excuse the massive mess.

In order in case anyone is curious:

1. Case as unboxed
2. First removal of sprocket and chain assemblies, some snap rings, lo range selector, 4WD selector, sensors, and ball detents.
3. Some guts removed as well as the aftermarket output yokes and flanges
4. Old shift sector
5. New Teraflex 2LO shift sector.

One more until the RTV is applied and the case closed!

Retrofit Offroad Molle HD Tailgate Panel with some Amazon molle bags for tools and first aid kit:

Yakima Spare Ride reinstalled with improved bracket (pictures later). No squeaks on threads or interference with the hub opening anymore:

Will they clear the frame without wheel spacers? Under full flex?

Great write up and build!

Take a look at Facebook Marketplace. I’ve bought a ton of stuff for my Jeep. Got a ARB Twin brand new for $400. 17’s with new BFG AT 35’s for $900.

Lots of stock take offs too.

yes but 1.5" spacers will make them look better.

2LO kit finished. Unfortunately, I realized that in the input gear spline shaft looks a little shorter than in pictures on the internet. I'm actually wondering if this will fit my NSG370. It's a 23 spline output. I've been scouring the internet a bit to try some info to no avail.

I'll gladly laugh this off if it's a rookie mistake...

Quick updates and questions.

Transfer case: The input shaft is a 23 spline female so I don't know the engagement length. There is little to no information on the internet as to whether or not this works so I'll probably go for it this weekend. If anyone has information on whether that input shaft face fits the manual transmission, let me know.

1.5" Teraflex spacer kit. Likely, this one will get installed first, It'll make access to the transfer case parts easier. If not, the Jeep will be on Jack stands. Likely, I'll be installing both of these this weekend.

good luck.

No bueno on finding time for the lift and transfer case but I figured I'd get started on the air system.

I first worked on this design for dad's 5th Gen 4Runner and it's worked well so far, whether we find ourselves on the trail or helping a stranger with a flat tire.

In designing the system for any vehicle, I like to work backwards. We start with the mounting points on the frame; in this case, I have Mopar aluminum tubular side steps and can use the existing mounting hardware to fit a rough shrader valve mount. The mount is just stainless steel formed on a brake. 304 works quite well under salt spray.

The valve mount is low profile so it does not compromise ground clearance and the sides of the steps give good protection against road debris. A shrader valve will be mounted at the inner corner of the side steps closest to each tire.

I'm using simple push-to-connect fittings that you would typically see on airbag suspension systems. I found these cheap to buy and easy to replace if any issues come up. I'm using a combination of coated and uncoated nylon air brake lines:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The push to connect shrader valves are the following:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

T connectors and 90s are any 3/8" connectors from utah pneumatic.

Working from the shrader valves, I would also like to find any parts of the frame which make safe tunnels from heat and road debris; the air lines and fittings conform to ANSI and DOT standards but sometimes, it doesn't hurt to find keep things low profile. In this case, I used the frame rails below the passenger compartment to run a line to the rear tires, running the line above the rear driveshaft from the driver to passenger side, while a second line runs to the front drivers tire, and continues to the passenger tire through the transmission crossmember. I could have used a single line and another T connector but this system puts the least amount of stress on the output line to the tires (neglibibly so actually, but any leaks are easier to diagnose through multiple output lines.) Note the two zip ties above the driveshaft that are mere inches from their impending rapidly rotating demise.

Today I finished up a good portion of mocking up the delivery system. Using an EVO compressor mount, the compressor unit, switches, manifold, and all associated components will be in one place and can be removed together if the master cylinder were to require service. The function of this section, as well as the entire system itself is to:

-Pressurize the output line
-Pressure the chassis mounted hoses to equalize the pressure in all 4 tires
-Allow for simultaneous inflation and deflation of all four tires
-Measure the individual pressure in a single tire, measure the front or rear tire in cases of towing or carrying heavy loads, and measure the equalized pressure all 4 tires to account for temperature changes.

Some notes nobody asked for:

The ball valve just isolates the compressor from the rest of the system. These compressors can be relatively leaky so I will typically turn the switch on and operate the compressor with the valve. Again, just a safety feature and it's fun to use.

For anyone curious about the line path. One output is in red, another in yellow, with purple indicating the T connectors and pink showing the location of the compressor/manifold assembly.