This 'Old Guy' build thread is late in coming. I purchased my 10th Anniversary Rubicon JKU back in February. I'm coming from YJs mostly. I purchased my first YJ in 1991, and have always had a YJ for wheeling; for a time I lightly wheeled a Commander too. My last YJ was an 89 and was built for hard-core rock crawling: ARBs Front & Rear, 4:1 Tcase, Dana44 rear, 35s 6" lift, winch, the works...
The Jeep came to me with 70k miles and is in decent shape. It is currently all stock with the exception of the tires, 265/70R17 General Grabber mx3s that are new with only 4K miles on them, and a Fox 2.0 ats steering stabilizer ($$$).
I’m learning all about the 10a springs and the pixie dust they must have been sprinkled with. I’m still trying to determine if they are taller or just rated higher thus resulting in a mild lift.
My plans involve leveling it and using it for mild wheeling. I’ve already installed a CB antenna and bracket. I’m looking for a decent internal hi-lift mount until I can install a winch. My gear all fits nicely and stays in place securely. My old YJ box did not fit in the jku.
Change diff fluid/install Lube Locker gaskets
Change Xfer case fluid
Change Trans fluid
Change Oil
I need to check the coolant because I'm beginning to suspect I have the drive side heat issue.
I did locate a set of Rubicon take-off shocks off a 2018 Recon. I only swapped out the rears since I believe the 10A front shocks are longer than other rubicons.
I've settled on the TeraFlex 2.5" lift w/9550 shocks. I know a lot of people bash these shocks, but I ran them on my 89 and had no issues with them. If the YJ ride was acceptable, I'm sure the JKU ride will be too.
Rear is Done
Front stalled due to mangled OEM bushing...
Decided to remove and hang doors on wall...
Doors were never off and man they were hard to take off. I used my thigh to push up on the door as I moved each back and forth, so now I have a massive bruise there. I ordered the Delrin bushings to make this task as easy as possible going forward.
Also found a set of two piece soft doors on FB Market Place at 50% cost of new. The fabric is not twill, but I'll run them as 1/2 doors mostly with the top down while wheeling, so matching is not a concern. I don't like the doorless look of a JKU for some reason, but 1/2 doors look awesome. Still on the hunt for OEM 1/2 hard doors. I will sell my full hard doors to swap any day.
I finished tweaking my lift. I was not happy with the ride at speed, so I added TeraFlex sport front lower control arms to bring the geometry back in line. I also added TeraFlex 1.25" wheel adapters so the rear sway bar links will not rub, and the allow for a future tire purchase. I like the wheels as they sit now, so I do not plan on getting new wheels. I'm a fan of the OEM rubicon wheels anyways.
First Wheeling Trip under my belt now. I'm happy with this Jeep. I want to get 33/34" tires, but these 32s did very well and don't look hateful with the 2.5" lift. I'll save up and see how the future trips go with these tires.
I just finished installing a 430N radio and installing a backup camera. I only wired it to come on when I go into reverse. I’m very happy with the results.
8 TeraFlex Sport Control Arms. These are the ones sold with their ST1/ST2 kits. The Front Lowers help with caster and the rear uppers help with driveshaft angle. The other 4 are just beefier. Found on FB Marketplace for a steal and they were barely used.
Kenda Klever KT601 RTs 35x10.50R17 tires. Finally a 35" Pizza Cutter. I did trim the rock rails just in case...
TeraFlex Monster Front adjustable track bar. This had about 10k miles on, but did not fit with a new lift the guy was installing. I've wheeled with this guy in the past, so I know it was not trashed.
I'm pretty happy where my build is now after 6 months of ownership. Time to start hitting the trails, but I do like how the road manners remain in place with my setup.
Forgot to add the TeraFlex HD Alpha hinged tire carrier upgrade. I did not get the TeraFlex tire mount as I feel this is over-kill for my pizza cutter 35. I trimmed the stock CHMSL and installed one on top of my backup camera.
I also removed the Aries security lid to allow my to carry our dog back there. This allowed me to install a rear sear recline kit. Big difference for our 17yo son now.
Here's a recommendation if you're still looking for a Hi-Lift mount.
Made by Dominion Off Road. Bolts into existing unused holes. Isolator will keep the handle from rattling. When wheeling gets rough you will get a small rattle from the base. One zip tie cured that
^^^ Thanks for the post. I'm not a fan of that mount as it requires you to take the jack off to put the top up/down. I'm now leaning towards making my own storage bag from old soft top material I have and storing it under the back seats. I only take when I go wheeling, so I can slide it in an out when necesary; then secure it to the seat brackets.
Now if I can just find a good way to securely store my 10lb Power Tank. My old YJ rollbar mounts don't work well on this JKU....
So, I ditched the first set of two piece soft doors. They were an impulse buy and I overlooked how badly they were bent. It was so bad you could only close them if you pulled out the top left corner as the door was being shut. I ran full doors for the past couple months and started saving for mopar half doors.
During my daily cruise of fb marketplace I found a set of twill ones that were supposedly only used once. I arranged to look at them and to my surprise they were practically brand new. They still had the little green qa stickers on and the windows have that new look to them. The person selling them said she ran them once and did not want to spend the time adjusting them because it was too hard. She put them in the basement and forgot about them. She sold her Jeep and is unloading all her left over stuff.
I spent 5 minutes per door to align them and they close perfectly on the latch with very little effort. I added a set of windshield mount mirrors and I’m set with summer doors that I can run as half doors and be prepared for unexpected rain.
I'm happy with the flex and the pizza cutter 35s tuck up nicely into the stock fender flares. I still like the High Top flares, but I wonder if they will look funny with my 35s.
Latest activity is the installation of Mopar High Top Fender Flares. Through a series of amazing internet deals and combining damaged front ones with a never mounted set from a JK, I was able to cobble together a full JKU set, and have a slightly damaged JK set to sell.
Also scored Maximus-3 rear bumper plates for less than 1/2 price!
I'm happy with the results and the Maximus-3 rear bumper cap makes the rear flare/bumper lines much better.
So, one month later and I find myself not liking the Mopar High Tops like I thought I would. I think the only way I will is if I move to 37s. That is not part of my build plan with this Jeep. So, off with the High Tops and on with a set of OEM flares I picked up from a club member who had them sitting in his shed.
I took this opportunity to straighten the metal bracket for the flares too since the passenger side was bent down pretty badly. I like the proportional look of my Jeep with 35s and the OEM flares.
Now to focus on finding a way to get my Mopar half doors from their location in Florida to me here in Maryland before Spring.!
I saw a high top fender flare up close recently and realized as I looked at the front set, I did not fully appreciate them with 35s on them. Your rig looks great with the OEM flares!
I noticed one one of your original posts That you stated you put new shocks on the back but not the front. I did the same however I replaced all four of them with Recon shocks when I look them up they all had the same replacement # through mopar. I replaced all of them without issue. My only had 30,000 miles on it but it's amazing how much better the new OEM seem. The oem shocked were shot when I took them off. I measured and there was no difference in the height on front or back . I could sit on my front bumper and the vehicle would barely move down before it would drop an inch or two at least.
Keep them coming...the updates.
I didnt get the seats ,but trying to get recon red belts from Santa.
Eads
you are correct! i had to go back and reread that post. i did start out with a new set of recon rear shocks. they did not last long since i moved to a lift soon after.
It is hard to see fully, but I just completed installing a TeraFlex Monster Adjustable track bar in the rear.
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