Grubb's 2004 LJ

[redneckrapunzel]

while it does hurt the front drive shaft, its not that bad cause it should be a CV driveshaft and much longer than the rear. If the front was as short it would be a problem but since its twice the length it works ok. That being said i wouldnt recommend spending money on it unless you have to just save up for an SYE kit and install it when you get a chance. Its by far the best option.

[grubb]

Been doing some research, looks like KM2's tend to run small(er) compared to other 35" tires. If this is true, then at least from what I've read a 35" KM2 would actually run about 33.5" or so on a 15x8 wheel. Without regearing (I'm still on stock 3.73s and don't have the thousand bucks to drop on regearing to 4.88's) I'm thinking this is the best choice. I do a decent bit of highway driving and this is a DD so I have to maintain a certain level of streetability.

Thoughts? Im new to the whole TJ/31"+ tires thing so you guys know a lot better than I do

[redneckrapunzel]

my 33 km2 where 32.75 when i got them, there is no way that km2 would run over an inch small I would think. Ask collision he has them, see if he will measure his. Also they do hold up very well on the road, at least from everything i have seen and experienced they do

[turnbull]

Been doing some research, looks like KM2's tend to run small(er) compared to other 35" tires. If this is true, then at least from what I've read a 35" KM2 would actually run about 33.5" or so on a 15x8 wheel. Without regearing (I'm still on stock 3.73s and don't have the thousand bucks to drop on regearing to 4.88's) I'm thinking this is the best choice. I do a decent bit of highway driving and this is a DD so I have to maintain a certain level of streetability.

Thoughts? Im new to the whole TJ/31"+ tires thing so you guys know a lot better than I do

Depends on what kind of transmission you have. If you have the 5 speed, it will be sluggish but driveable. I ran 35s with 3.73s on a 5 speed. If you have the 4 speed auto, you need to regear first if you want to be able to use your OD.

KM2s are a good choice though. They are very highly rated on Tirerack. They probably have the best road manners you will get in an offroad tire. If you want better road manners for slightly less offroad capability, I would think about some all-terrains like BFG TA/KO2's (also very highly rated on Tirerack) or Goodyear Wrangler Duratracs. I'm not sure if Duratracs are considered all-terrain or not, but they are also highly rated on Tirerack and supposedly perform well in the snow. Since my minivan is a DD, I went with Duractracs, but may end up getting TA/KO2s when I lift it. And I plan to stick to 33s this time around instead of 35s since it is a DD.

As far as driveline goes, I think you are fine with the LJ, but if you do end up experiencing problems, I just would just cough up the money for the SYE and CV shaft. It cost me $1300 for a SYE, CV shaft, and install from some company in NOVA, but I am pretty sure that is on the high end.

[redneckrapunzel]

it 490 for the kit at rusty's offroad, it can easily be installed with minimal tools if i remember correctly all you really need is a socket set, some swivel adapters, extensions and a good set of snap ring pliers.

[alk1174]

https://blacksburg.craigslist.org/pts/5055799517.html

[grubb]

Met a couple guys up here in NOVA that run a jeep fab shop and are helping me build my tire carrier. In the middle of designing it right now, but stumbled across this thats almost identical to my goal.

http://www.jk-forum.com/forums/jk-show- ... er-297073/

The difference between this build and the one I'm doing is mine will be a heavy duty bolt-on adapter like this http://goo.gl/BPqzTs so that I can convert it back to a vertical stance when I swap the hard top on in the winter. I'll also be building a hi-lift jack mount on to it, a new CB antenna mount, and possibly adding some roto-pax mounts under the slanted tire since there will be a ton of extra space.

I've never seen it done on a TJ/LJ so hopefully it'll turn out pretty cool. As far as the rest of the jeep is going, I've decided just to stick with going to 33's and I'm probably throwing a Banks Power catback on too with my next paycheck. I also just rolled 100k so I'm probably going to do a full fluid flush and tune up.

[grubb]

Quick update. Put 33" DuraTrac's on a couple weeks ago and absolutely love them. They ride like a dream.



My stock muffler developed a rust hole, so I grabbed a cheap Thrush Welded from AutoZone and added a 6" downpipe. Doesn't sound quite like a Banks system, but for $30 it sounds halfway decent so I'm happy until I can afford a real catback.

Also replaced the gauge cluster backlighting with some sweet white LED's from superbrightled.com since mine were so dim I could barely read them. 100% worth the $10 I spent.




They're now bright enough to see even during the day, and at night they're perfect.

Since the big 100,000 mile mark I've been slowly replacing fluids and doing a full inspection of seals/gaskets, etc. I have a front pinion seal leak and a passenger side rear axle seal leak. Once I find the time I'm gonna try to replace those.

I'm ordering Bilsteins with my next paycheck so stay tuned for those. I can't even tell what shocks are on it now through all the rust and squeaking

[turnbull]

I hate to say it, but it looks like your engine might be running a little warm, based on the picture of the temp gauge.

[grubb]

It does that from time to time when it's been running for awhile. It usually hovers right over 210.

The Bilsteins are ordered and will be here in 5-8 days. 4 wheel parts is running a pretty good deal on them ($70/piece).

[grubb]

Sam's old Bilstein 5100's are on finally (after fighting the stupidass relocation brackets in the rear that the PO installed).

Sold the hard top and ordering a nice new Trektop NX to replace the piece of shit Rampage top that's currently on it. Bought Max's old tire carrier and am currently modifying it to slant fastback/prerunner style like JK's with the Trektop. Think I'm gonna pick up some hood mounts for the hi-lift and mount some rotopax on the exposed tire carrier frame underneath the slanted tire.

I'll get some progress pics soon as I get some more work done. Trektop will arrive right after fall break and slanted tire carrier will happen after the metal order gets in. Also thinking of picking up a U-Pol Raptor Liner kit and bedlining the tub before it gets too cold but I'll wait until the tire carrier is done to make that decision.

[turnbull]

Just out of curiosity, is there any advantage to the slant tire carrier? It looks nice, but it looks like it would get in the way if you tried to take the top down.

[grubb]

I mostly just like the look. I have a frameless top so there's no frame to fold back, and even if I did it'll be part of the swing out tire carrier so I can just swing it open and get to the top that way. With the added length of the LJ and the way the roll cage is shaped, I think it'll look pretty cool. Never seen anybody do it so it'll be kind of unique. I passed the idea by the co-owner of JCR offroad (I chat with him occasionally on reddit) and he loved it so I figure why not.

I have a couple rudimentary blueprints that I'll upload later.

[FJCcrawler]

blueprints? you mean napkin drawings?

[grubb]

I'll be lucky if I can work up a napkin drawing.