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Thread: My 2008 JKU Rubicon

  1. #1
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    Default My 2008 JKU Rubicon



    Figured it was about time I share my "build" on here. Its a slow progression of my 2008 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon that I picked up over the summer. I've had a lot of different rigs ranging from Suzuki Samurais, Jeep Cherokee XJ's, and a buggied out Jeep Wrangler YJ on 1tons and 42's. After going the whole buggy route I decided that for now its too expensive and doesn't really fit my desires or that of my family. I first went back to an XJ a built a 2000 into a Adventure Wheeler/Baby crawler of sorts on 35's and beadlocks. I was able to get back to enjoying the easier trails and get into camping with the family (something I hadn't done since I was in middle school) with it. With my daily driver Audi S4 creeping up on 230,000 miles and the XJ at close to 210,000 miles I decided it was time for a new car. I was originally going to get another 1/2ton truck but upon realizing how expensive they had become I decided to get the JK. I'd been drooling over them for years and finally went for it. The following posts will get us caught up to the present.

    Cross Posts will have their original date in bold at the top

    14Oct2013

    This summer I decided it was time to get myself a newer car. My daily driver S4 was 13 years old and had over 220,000 miles on the clock and my family wheeler/camping rig was also 13 years old with over 208,000 miles on it. After going back and forth on what I wanted to do I decided to go with a JKU as my 1 and only vehicle. I wasn't set on a Rubicon or a specific color but I new I wanted the cheapest one I could find that had less than 100,000 miles and was as bone stock as possible. I wound up finding a 2008 Rubicon w/ 72,000 miles on it that was completely stock reportedly never taken off road. I talked the owner down a few more thousand and wound up paying what KBB said the trade-in value was on it. Good enough for me, and bonus it was 1 of the 3 colors on the top of my desired list.

    This is after I got it home


    The first weekend after I got it I took it up to Middle Saint Vrain and Coney Flats for some wheeling. This is a fun trail system for mild to moderately built rigs and I still enjoyed it with my YJ on 1 tons and 42's. Its just a pretty area with a sweet water crossing, good camping spots, and close to where I live.

    Some "carnage" from its first wheeling trip


    Our group


    One of several small water crossings


    A little "flex" shot




    All in all I was really impressed with how it did stock. My only complaint was that there is a significant lack of ground clearance. I quickly got used to hearing the rocker guards or skid plates making contact with the ground. It never did hang the thing up though and despite how much longer than my XJ's or even my YJ it turned amazingly well and didn't seem nearly as school bus-like as I feared when wheeling.

  2. #2
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    Default Re: My 2008 JKU Rubicon



    14Oct2013

    Shortly after that first trip my 2.5" Rubicon Express basic spring lift showed up. For the money I can't complain at all. The install was super simple, it came with everything I needed (springs, shocks, panhard bracket, sway bar links), and it rides as well as stock on the road. Its maybe a little harsher on graded dirt roads but that could also be due to the D-rated tires I'm now running. Speaking of, I initially took the Trail Ready Aluminum bead locks and 35" equivalent KM2's off my XJ and put them on the JK using SpiderTrax adapters. I had made an agreement with a friend as to the purchase of my XJ that excluded the recently purchased wheels/tires.

    Here it is after the lift:






    I had initially planned on trying to find a used hard top for it as my previous soft to rigs were Samurai's and the YJ. One of my Samurais the soft top actually ripped off while going down I-80 through Nebraska and the top on my YJ left a lot to be desired too, although it was a trailer queen so not a huge issue. After driving the JK around a bit I decided that the money I had set aside for a hard top would be better served on a full belly skid system. Knowing that the JKU's are damn near the same weight stock as a 1/2ton truck I new I wanted to keep additional weight to a minimum. I read on here about the different options and decided that the TNT Customs Aluminum belly system was the one for me. I'm glad I got it too because even after the lift and tires this belly sits really low.



    I also wanted a rear shelf to give me more options for storage. I decided on the Rampage one for two reasons. The first being that it was half the price as most of the others I've seen and sorry but some 1" tubing and sheet metal should not add up to a 500$ product. And 2, I like that it can be flipped up and out of the way for taller items.

    It installed easily enough although one issue is that the subwoofer box is in the way of the passenger side latch bracket that bolts to the roll bar. I've been running it for a few months now and it hasn't been an issue. I shoved a sponge between the rack and the sub box to keep it from bouncing into it. So far the sub box hasn't been damaged and the rack is rattle free. The struts have no problem holding it in the up position with my tool bags and straps on it too, so for the money I think its a great product.




  3. #3
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    Default Re: My 2008 JKU Rubicon



    14Oct2013

    I was going to try to get an aluminum front bumper but I couldn't find any that I really liked. I also figured that with most of the aluminum options having a large steel sub-bumper to hold the winch that there probably wouldn't be a huge weight savings over a steel bumper. Instead I took the money I saved by going with a steel bumper and applied it towards a synthetic winch rope for my XRC8 winch I had kept from my XJ. Say what you want about the Smitty Built products but I bought this winch on sale at KOH 2011 and got a free 3yr warranty from 4Wheel Parts. After 2 years I finally used that warranty to get a new controller for it. Other that that issue its worked flawlessly for me and unlike the faithful Chicago Electric/Harbor Freight winch it replaced the winch speed is respectfully fast.

    So here is my JCR Offroad front bumper with skid plate and my freshly spooled MasterPull synthetic winch rope (I went with it specifically for the end on it) and sweet flip off smiley fair lead. As a note on the bumper; The bumper itself installed no problem. All the bolts lined up great, including the fog light mounts. The skid plate though did have a slight issues. The bolts that hold the skid plate to the lower cross member of the JK were just slightly off. I was able to get the bolts in there w/o drilling but I really would have been better off drilling out the holes a bit.



    After that was all done I managed to get out for a trip to Red Cone trail. Its an easy trail that takes you up to the top of the world more or less. What I like about it is that you start out on HWY-285 and after taking Red Cone trail you link up with Radical Hill (not all that radical) and then drop down into Montezuma where you can hop Loveland Pass over to I-70 and back into Denver that way. It also means you can swing into Idaho Springs for some Tommy Knockers, my favorite brewery in CO.

    A few pics of Red Cone/Radical Hill







    A bit after that trip I was able to get a TeraFlex spare tire carrier, GenRight Aluminum rear bumper, and RotoPax holder from Vector Offroad installed. I've since double stacked the RotoPax cans (I have 4 total now) and even with 4 water/fuel cans, high lift jack, and larger spare tire that tailgate opens/closes better than it did with only the stock spare tire on it.

    I really like the GenRight bumper, but I have to ask, "Was there no way to use more of the factory holes to mount the thing?" You wind up drilling a lot of holes into the frame and really there were already a lot of holes there that could have been utilized. Oh well, you only have to install it once so /end rant.

    You'll also notice in this picture that I installed a set of Bushwacker flat flares. I originally want aluminum ones but I talked to a couple of people and they said the tubs on these JK's aren't nearly as strong as the TJ and YJ tubs. They warned that with aluminum or steel flares that a good hit on a tree or rock could result in the tub being damaged where as the plastic ones would just pop off. I'll still probably go with some aluminum corner armor and flares on the rear eventually, but for now I'm happy with the Bushwackers. They installed easily enough despite some of the threads I read on the subject. I did get lazy on the rears and opted to just leave the inner fender liners out. Instead I painted the wheel well with some rattle can truck bed liner. Up front I did trim down the stock inner fender liners.


  4. #4
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    Default Re: My 2008 JKU Rubicon



    14Oct2013

    I have since ran Spring Creek in the JK but I didn't take any pictures. I was too busy acting as impromptu tour guide to a group that came up behind my 2 vehicle group. I put the TNT belly armor to good use in the rock garden, but again it never seemed to hang it up. Even when the jeep would land flat onto its belly a simple push of the locker button and it would just climb right on up. I always harassed the JK guys before but these things really do make wheeling easy. I'm now in the "sipping your latte on the trail" club.

    Yesterday I went up to Twin Cone trail off of Kenosha Pass. Its a lot more dug out than it was back in 2008 when I last ran it in an XJ on 32's. The little rock garden area has actually become a rock garden now. Had a great time and as usual the JK did great. I did have an issue where my t-case shift cable popped off the shifter. Its happened once before and I've since spent the 6$ on the two little plastic bushing that hold the ends onto the shifter and t-case respectfully. Stupid design though, what ever happened to a washer and nut?

    Pics of Twin Cone, not really in order though:

    flexing out the RE 2.5" lift






















    Twin Cone is another one of those "I'm on top of the world!!" trails in CO. Takes you up to 12,000+ feet.



    You'll also notice I got rid of the Trail Ready bead locks. I just didn't like having to run the adapters with them and now that I'm daily driving my Jeep I'm less tolerant of wobbles. With the bead locks on there I couldn't get them perfectly balanced, this was multiplied by how far out the spacers put them. I got some cheaper explorer pro comp aluminum wheels to replace them and now she is smooth down the highway. I did kind of yuppie out and get the fake locks, even I'll admit they're poserish but after running beadlocks on my jeeps for the last 3 years I've grown really accustomed to the look.

    That pretty much sums up where the Jeep has gone since I bought it in August. I did install the bestop under seat storage bins under both of the front seats. I had to replace the TIPM after towing my little utility trailer. Apparently even though there are these things called fuses the TIPM decided that the two little trailer lights were too much of a load on my brake light circuit and shut it off. It wasn't resettable so a new TIPM went in. I also had my BAS/ESP light come on that was fixed by simply turning the steering wheel lock to lock at a stop and then driving. Apparently the sensor got a little upset. I also haven't been able to get my U-Connect to work either. My buddy followed the directions and uploaded the sales code into my VIN on the Chrysler database and then reloaded it into my Jeep's computer. Several attempts and while the TIPM shows its there, and will even show the fault if he shut off that option inside the TIPM, the radio still says its not equipped. These little computer based electrical things are the only issue I have with this Jeep. My S4 wasn't as much of an electronic PIA. Other than that though I'm loving it.

    I have a set of Artec trusses sitting in the garage and this spring I'll be installing those plus re-gearing the axles. At that point I'm thinking of going back to 17's and getting some 37's for it. I'm also looking at different long arm setups. The RockKrawler setups seem to be really popular, but I'm also looking at the TeraFlex ones too. I'm very intrigued by the TeraFlex pre-runner system. I like the idea of being able to go bit faster on the trails without my teeth falling out. I know I should be able to fit the 37's w/o any additional lift but I happen to be a fan of up travel and belly clearance and I'm only looking to go up another inch or so.

    Before I spend the coin to change the suspension I'll be installing some sort of cage kit. I've seen what happens to these things in a roll over and its scary as hell. XJ's hold up better apparently. I am leaning towards the Poly kit but I don't like how it goes through the dash. I just know I'll probably screw that up. I like the River Raider except that it doesn't go all the way through to the floor up front. I'm thinking I might do the Poison Spyder cage up front and then the Poly in the middle and rear. I should easily be able to add the upper windshield tie-ins to it so that my windshield frame doesn't move around as some here have complained about.

    For now even with stock gears and cheap short arm lift its working great as it is. Its a total bolt on queen but after 6 years of fabbing up stuff on both my own and friend's jeeps I wanted to take a break from that and just be able to bolt on something and go wheel. Sure it costs more that way, but it saves me a lot of time and that's worth something too. Instead of spending all weekend making a bumper I spent about 2 hours painting and bolting it on. The rest of the weekend I spent with my wife and kid. Later on down the road I'm sure I'll get back into fabricating stuff, although I'm not sure it'll be on the JK. I'll probably get another XJ or YJ for that. I'm not really sure I want to turn the JK into a buggy.

  5. #5
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    Default Re: My 2008 JKU Rubicon



    26Oct2013

    Added a Poly Performance B-Pillar kit to the JK today. It's 2 1.75OD .120 Wall DOM legs that run from the floor to the stock cage just behind the factory b-pillar. There is a frame tie-in underneath along with the harness bar. I added in a pair of tubing couplers so that I can remove the harness bar easily if it proves to be in the way during daily use.

    Gutted the jeep


    Welding it in to the Jeep after finish weld and paint was done on the add-in.


    After getting the jeep back together




    Here is the frame tie-in. I painted the back side of it and the frame with weld through primer. After this picture was taken I blasted it with some Rustoleum truck bed liner. It's the same stuff I've used on my bumpers and the rest of the cage addition.



    I just got my shipping notification for the rest of my cage add ons. I've got a Poison Spyder Customs C-Pillar kit and their front trail cage kit on the way.

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    Default Re: My 2008 JKU Rubicon



    27Oct2013

    I ran China Wall today. It was a 5hr drive round trip to the trail head but well worth it. I had a great time and the scenery down there is amazing. I had never ran that trail and really liked how it had some good obstacles spread around that were easily bypassed or taken from different angles. Even better is the trail is pretty smooth between the obstacles so you're not spending all day bouncing around. I'm not sure I'll make another day trip out of it, but I definitely plan on going down there to camp out. Its near Buena Vista so there are more trails in the vicinity.







    More pics are here:
    http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1106188

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    Default Re: My 2008 JKU Rubicon



    23Nov2013

    After cracking a tail light and realizing that unlike the previous Wranglers the JK uses a unique tail light that costs 120$ from the stealership (cheaper aftermarket replacements are still 80$) I decided it was time to change the method in which light is emitted from the back of the Jeep. I had 2 goals in mind for the change. Goal 1 was to have something less likely to be damaged in the first place. Goal 2 was to have something more easily (and cheaply) replaced in the event it was damaged.



    I got the kits from RockRidge4WD minus for less than a single replacement tail light. I got the kit minus the LED stop/turn light and decided to instead use standard incandescent ones so that I wouldn't have to deal with adding in load resistors to keep the turn signals happy. The incandescent units are also cheaper to replace and can be found at any truck stop, parts store, or trailer supply facility across the US.



    Step 1 was modifying the factory tail light harness. I soldered the lead for the 4" grommet mount tail light to the stock harness. For the LED reverse light I used spade connectors because the wiring on the reverse light isn't removable from the light itself. This way if the reverse light goes bad I can just crimp on new spade connectors and go.







    Step 2 was modifying the tub a bit. There are raised section where the factory tail light screws onto the tub. I used a 1" hole saw to remove the bumps.







    Then I grabbed the air saw and finished cutting away pesky sheet metal.











    After the cutting is done simply clamp the plate in place and drill your mounting holes. Use the bolts provided to attach it to the Jeep and then install the lights. The reverse light is stud mounted and the tail light is a standard 4: grommet mount light. I taped off the tub and painted the part under the plate with bed liner to cover up the exposed metal where cutting/drilling occurred. I figured the bed liner would also help seal out water from getting behind the plate.



    All done and ready to impress the ladies.












  8. #8
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    Default Re: My 2008 JKU Rubicon



    12Dec2013

    I took it camping the other weekend. High where we were at was about 7deg that weekend. It was a good trip.


















  9. #9
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    Default Re: My 2008 JKU Rubicon



    26Dec2013

    A deal has been made and early Saturday morning I'm heading to Vegas to pick up a Hemi drivetrain that came out of a JK. Radiator, wiring harness, a/c lines, PCM, etc are all there so all I'll need to drop it into my JK is the mounting brackets, exhaust, and a battery box. JSS also has an improved fan shroud and fan setup that I'll be getting as well. The plan is to get those things over the next few months and swap it all into my rig this summer. I've talked to Todd over at JSS and he's going to take care of putting my VIN into the PCM for me, and I'll be getting all the other bits through him as well. Robbi at MoTech has the powertrain and is making me a super deal on it helped by the fact that I'm transporting some axles back here to CO for him. Needless to say I am super excited and really looking forward to getting this bad boy into my Jeep. This saves me a lot of money and puts me into a V8 swap about 2 years ahead of schedule, and I even get to keep both my kidneys.








  10. #10
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    Default Re: My 2008 JKU Rubicon



    28Dec2013

    Yeah, I'll take a double double with a side of Hemi.



    30Dec2013
    Wasn't sure if my engine hoist would reach so we met up at the shop this morning and transferred the Hemi powertrain over to my trailer. Question is, does this count has having a Hemi Jeep or is this a Jeep powered Hemi?


  11. #11
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    Default Re: My 2008 JKU Rubicon



    31Dec2013

    Supposed to be 50 and sunny all week so I decided to tackle the cage add-ons I've had sitting in the garage. I had already done the poly b-pillar kit. Now I am going to add the Poison Spyder Customs c-pillar and front cage kits.

    It only took me an hour to tear it all down by myself. It almost looks like a real Jeep now.



    Here is the pile a crap I removed. I won't be putting half that crap back on either.



    I'll be painting the rest of the factory cage with truck bed liner like I did the Poly Performance b- pillar kit. All those foam blocks and cloth covers are staying off.

  12. #12
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    Default Re: My 2008 JKU Rubicon



    1Jan2014

    Poison Spyder doesn't have any form of directions for the C-pillar kit, I even called to ask. The install is pretty self explanatory but to help others out I took some pics showing where I but them.

    This is the floor mount:




    Here is the distanced between the rear spreader and the new c-pillar tube.


    Once I had them where I wanted them I marked the holes to be drilled into the tub for the foot plates but didn't drill the holes yet. I also marked where the tubes met the factory cage.

    I then welded the tube to the foot plate where it was easily accessible and then pulled the assembly out. Finished welding the joint to the foot plate and then turned them upside down so I could plug weld the holes underneath where the alignment tabs went into the foot plate.

    Once they cooled off I painted them leaving the top inch of the tube unpainted where it had to be welded to the factory cage. I also ground off the paint on the stock cage where the tubes go.

    After the paint had dried I put them in place and welded them to the stock cage. I used the marks I'd made for the holes as guides for where the floor plates went. Once the tubes were welded I drilled one hole at a time and put a bolt through it before drilling the next hole.

    As a word of caution, be very careful when drilling the two holes into the floor on the driver side. They go in very close to where the fuel filler hoses run.

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    Default Re: My 2008 JKU Rubicon



    1Jan2014

    I painted the factory cage once the c-pillar was in. I used Duplicolor Bed Liner, its what I used on my bumpers and it seems to work pretty well.

    Here is how the c-pillars line up with the rear seat




    Here is the rear cage all painted up

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    Default Re: My 2008 JKU Rubicon



    1Jan2014

    After I got the rear done I moved on to the total pain in the arse that is the front Poison Spyder Cage install. I had to chase all the threads on the tubing couplers after realizing the hard way that they weren't tapped worth a damn. The driver side a-pillar fit beautifully where it goes next to the dash, the passenger side one on the other hand doesn't fit worth a damn. I also need to chase the threads in it as well. The dash bar fit well enough once I figured out that I had it flipped around the wrong way. The top piece however doesn't fit worth a damn.

    I finally got it all together just in time to clean up and watch the Avs beat the Blue Jackets 5 to 3.

    Unfortunately it decided to snow today so I have to wait until tomorrow to take it apart, clean it, beat it back together, and then touch up all the paint I ruin beating it into place.







    I'm also going to add in the upper windshield frame tie-ins from my stock cage, and add another hole to tie the top of the dash into the side plate. You can see the small button-head bolts on the side plate, those merely hold the dash to the plate. There is another tab closer to the top that isn't being utilized so I'm going to drill another hole. I'm also contemplating welding the spreaders to the factory b-pillar cross member and eventually I'll be adding a frame tie-in as well. The foot plates are in about the same location as the Poly ones so I can make a similar frame tie-in as theirs.

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    Default Re: My 2008 JKU Rubicon



    3Jan2014

    I got the Jeep all back together today, I'm glad I never have to install that thing again.



    I should have just painted the thing before installing it. It would have saved me from fighting it twice. I did develop a good procedure though.



    Step 1: Use a dead blow to beat the tubing coupler into place

    Step 2: Run a thread chase down the hole for the bolt

    Step 3: Install bolt loosely

    Step 4: Move on to next coupler and repeat.



    The tubing couplers fit ridiculously tight and I broke off 2 bolts in the piss poor thread jobs before I started just chasing every hole before inserting a bolt. I don't know if the threads were tapped that poorly or if it was a result of welding the tube couplers in when Poison Spyder put the pieces together. Either way its over with now.



    Cage painted and installed













    When I put the windshield back up and tightened down the brackets I noticed that it sat a good 1/2" closer to the b-pillar hoop. So I pushed it back forward with a clamp and cut off the upper windshield frame brackets from the factory spreaders. Then I welded them into place.















    Then I began putting the carpet and interior back together. I got a little over zealous with the trimming on the windshield frame surrounds but they're in there and not too bad. I also trimmed down the speaker bar and rear dome light mount. I want to get rid of the rectangular tubing going across the back where the c-pillars are. I think this summer I'll cut it out and replace it with regular DOM tubing. Then I'll relocate the dome light to the Poison Spyder center section that goes between those two cross bars. The rectangular cross bar at the B-pillar doesn't bother me as it is covered up by the sound bar. I also left all of the foam and cloth covers off the cage.



    All in all I'm happy with how it turned out. The front cage was a royal pain to install but after the second time it was done and will never be coming back out. Eventually I'll add a frame tie-in to it as well. Even as it is I'm sure it'll do its job and keep the family safe in the event of a roll over. I'm also going to add a harness bar at the c-pillar for a little bit of extra strength. I don't take it up hard trails but its good to have the extra security just in case.

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    Default Re: My 2008 JKU Rubicon



    18Jan2014

    Ran up to Iron Clads with my buddy Steve from COJeeps. A lot of the snow had apparently melted off but what was left had a good crust of ice and a layer of ice underneath. We got to a point where we just weren't making any progress so we busted out the chains. Here are the few pics I got.









    This was my first time wheeling with chains and man does it make a difference. I wasn't 100% sure on the rules so I aired back up to 25psi prior to throwing the chains on. Still, once the chains were on we could pretty much just crawl right along whereas before we were throttling through the deep sections with lots of wheel spin and backing up. It was like going from open/open to locked/locked.

  17. #17
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Member
    #1224
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    June 8th, 2018
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    Thornton
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    4x4
    86 Ford Bronco, 99 Ford Ranger.
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    javaman34
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    Jerry
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    Default Re: My 2008 JKU Rubicon



    Very cool.

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Member
    #921
    Last Online
    6 Hours Ago
    Location
    Fort Collins
    4x4
    1990 Jeep Wrangler (YJ)
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    Jim
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    Jim Williamson
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    Default Re: My 2008 JKU Rubicon



    One of the fastest builds / threads in a LONG time.


  19. #19
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Member
    #1335
    Last Online
    June 10th, 2015
    Location
    Firestone, CO
    4x4
    2008 JKU Rubicon on 37's
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    Dutch
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    Richard
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    Default Re: My 2008 JKU Rubicon



    Oh it ain't done yet. I'm hoping I can get the rest of the stuff for the Hemi swap and get that done 4th of July weekend. I'll also need new springs at that time. You need an inch taller spring for the front with the Hemi and I've noticed my RE 2.5" springs are only netting me about 1.5" of lift. I still want to get RCV front shafts, Chromo rear shafts, adjustable control arms, hydraulic assist, go up to 37's, re-gear the axles after going to 37's, add aluminum rear corner armor and flares, and so on and so on. It just never ends.

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Member
    #1170
    Last Online
    February 9th, 2016
    Location
    Hudson
    Age
    64
    4x4
    88 ExtraCab
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    284
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    88Toy
    Real Name
    Les
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    Default Re: My 2008 JKU Rubicon



    Sweet Jeep, sir.

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