My JKU Build

[matt28493]

A while ago I wanted to set myself the challenge of building my own rear draws for the Jeep. I did my research into materials, designs and sliders. I bought all the materials, but they have been sat at work and I hadn't got round to doing it until last week.

 

I settled on using 18mm plywood all round, heavy duty locking latches and 50kg sliders with a Hold-out and Hold-in option. Overall I'm really happy with the way these turned out. They are very sturdy and have a really nice feel to them when opening and closing.

I carpeted the front, sides and back using a reasonably similar carpet to the Jeeps. I then added some 3mm rubber to the top, to finish them off I added some right angled aluminium to the edges to help strengthen and finish it all off. I also added some stickers and painted the insides red... making them atleast 9.88% stronger  :icon_lol:

[Patrick]

Nice job  :great:

[Fourpot]

Looks really good!

[Tony Bennett]

Very tasty  :coolphotos:, wish I had a huge hanger type place to put mine in and work on :icon_cool:

[matt28493]

Cheers guys :) she's getting there! It's in for surgery tomorrow aswel :)

 

Thanks Tony, yeah I'm lucky we have plenty of space at work. Which is where it lives as it's very safe and secure there :)

[matt28493]

Truss kit- D30 by JFT Fab

 

Just a update-

 

I Sent the Jeep down to my friend Joe at JFT Fabrication (Same guy who built my sliders).

He's currently got the front D30 out from under the Jeep to truss the tubes and gusset the C-ends. He's sending me updates as he goes. I can't wait to get this back end of the week to test her out down at Tong on Sunday (13th If anyone is around and would like to join us)

He's constructing it out of 5mm steal, same material and design he uses on his race buggies... These things are running 40's and 3X the horse power as my Jeep. So I'd say this thing will be pretty bomb proof as a casing now!

[Chrisby]

Had mine done too Matt.

Running 37's plus 400kg additional constant load ,so far indestructible . 6mm Plate kit welded on axles plus axle tube inserts "frozen" in with liquid nitrogen then pool welded in place . With ARB diff internals ,uprated shafts, and 1 Ton rated steering arms, adjustable top and bottom arms along with Rzeppa driveline cv's it's pretty much indestructible on what you'd throw at it in the U.K. Unless you driving like a safari comp driver :great:

Looks like you guys doing a lot more than my off the shelf kit , looking forward to seeing it complete ...  it's just the start ! Lol [emoji23]

 

 

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[matt28493]

Had mine done too Matt.

Running 37's plus 400kg additional constant load ,so far indestructible . 6mm Plate kit welded on axles plus axle tube inserts "frozen" in with liquid nitrogen then pool welded in place . With ARB diff internals ,uprated shafts, and 1 Ton rated steering arms, adjustable top and bottom arms along with Rzeppa driveline cv's it's pretty much indestructible on what you'd throw at it in the U.K. Unless you driving like a safari comp driver :great:

Looks like you guys doing a lot more than my off the shelf kit , looking forward to seeing it complete ...  it's just the start ! Lol [emoji23]

 

 

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Hi Chris, good to hear from you mate.

I remember reading about all yours mate and being in amazed haha. Im pretty sure yours was the first build thread I read through in depth!

I think this will be as far as I go with my front axle. I just want the casing to last until I get a D44 stuffed under there. I actually have a D44 casing at home, but it needs a lot of fab work to make it fit. So it wont be for some time. After stripping my crown wheel the other month I'm conscious of the D30's weaker links, such as the crown and for me saving the 'dollar' and putting it into a new or refurbished 44 would work best for my piece of mind. Saying all this, my mind seems to change like the wind does, so who knows... What I do know is that it will have a similar set up to yours, lockers, HD steering, HD shafts etc...

Wish me luck (And my bank account HA)

 

But yes, Im getting my fabrication work done by my friend Joe at JFT Fabrication and Motorsport. He's a wizard when it comes to this stuff, he's a good friend so I also know it will be done right and it will last. He churns out some fantastic race winning buggies, so I know he's good haha. 

[Chrisby]

Yes seen his fab work does look top notch ! Slowly working your way like me to a pair of  super D60's lol

In all honesty your approach like mine will see you good on anything the UK has to offer unless your either racing or crazy right footed ! I've beat mine now for 2 years as is and replaced stock with upgraded as it's needed and would say now all the weak links are gone ..... I'm actually considering a stereo upgrade as there's been nothing broken for so long lol

 

 

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[matt28493]

Yes seen his fab work does look top notch ! Slowly working your way like me to a pair of  super D60's lol

In all honesty your approach like mine will see you good on anything the UK has to offer unless your either racing or crazy right footed ! I've beat mine now for 2 years as is and replaced stock with upgraded as it's needed and would say now all the weak links are gone ..... I'm actually considering a stereo upgrade as there's been nothing broken for so long lol

 

 

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Yes, he's very good! I wouldn't go anywhere else personally. But I think he's bit for away for some of the people on here (Haha)

Hmmm, not sure on that. Personally I'd like to upgrade to the D44 upfront and then upgrade all internals on both axles. But that will be a long way off...

Like you say, for what the UK has to offer you don't need to go to mental with it all. Plus Id like to keep the axle weight down.

What about your Ring and Pinion? Have you got a uprated set-up?

 

For Stereo- Can I recommend you look at a Pioneer with Apple play? I have their Pioneer SPH-DA120 Car Stereo with Apple CarPlay. Its a great radio, easy to use and its a good price. Its cheaper that the other pioneer radios as it uses your iPhone for the maps and extras. You still get all the Pioneer mod-cons. Its just a all round great set-up. You can also watch films on it! Well not that I'd recommend that whilst driving!!  :gasp:

[matt28493]

Final shots of the truss

 

So I got the Jeep back from Joe on Friday. Overall I’m really pleased with the overall job Joe did on the truss and gusset. Driving home on the Friday I had a small issue of a Un-straight steering wheel. Obviously a easy fix (Tightening up the draglink)… However this was a no no. The sleeve was that packed full of mud that it would only tighten so far. When I got it home I stripped it all apart and cleaned it out. However it still only went so far. Turned out the threads that had never been used had rusted into a pile of mess… So with some persuasion and a lot of grease I managed to clean them up enough to get the wheel straight. Saying this, I think its time for a new sleeve! I also re-centralised my axle after the High-steer, I’d say its almost there but I was running out of light and time by this stage so it may be one or two millimetres out. Saying this, Ive spoken with Chris Coyle and when I get round to buying a new track bar (Mines seized up) Ill be getting pointed in the right direction of who to go to locally to me and getting full alignment on the front end.

[matt28493]

Sunday the 13th Aug at Tong

 

I met up with a few fellow Jeepers down in Tong and tested out the latest mods on the Jeep! We had a great day and the Jeep performed great. I brought my mate down who has a very heavily modified Navara, before you say it, no his hasn’t snapped yet. He has looked after his from day one and the chassis is yet to show sign of worrying rust or snapping. He also manufactures and installs the bracing kits needed to keep them going for many years to come, he is yet to put one on his vehicle- goes to show if you look after it, it will look after you. Anyway, this thing went everywhere mine did as usual. The drive down and back up was so much better with the high-steer, Id recommend anyone reading this who has more than a 3.5” lift to invest in this… You’re missing out otherwise!

[matt28493]

So I picked up a few missing essentials this week for the Jeep. Along with one item of 'Bling' which I'm rather fond of.

So as followed -

•1x Terriferma 11,000kg snatch Strop

•1x 7,000kg 10meter recovery strop

•1x 7,000kg 5meter recovery strop

•2x 2,000kg 2meter recovery strop

•4x Green pin 4.75T shackles

•2x Green pin 3.25T shackles

•1x Hi-Lift Winching Kit

•2x Safety Hammers

•A pack of door handle trims

 

I should be pretty set now to recover any broken down Landy's  :rofl:

[matt28493]

TLC for the Wheels

 

So the other month I noticed that’s the steel wheels on my JK were starting to rust. I was a little shocked by this as they weren’t even a year old. I ended up ringing Tyres Direct (which is where I’ve always bought my wheels and tyres from) and spoke with Greg. I explained that they had started to rust, not to complain but just to let them know they may have a issue. I also explained that I would be repainting them myself to sort the issue.

Greg was very helpful and offered to either replace the two effected wheels, or to send me the money to buy the paint. I opted for the money and bought the paint. It’s this kind of customer service which is why I’d go no where else and always point friends towards Tyres Direct. 

 

I got round to painting the wheels this weekend. I had all five wheels off the Jeep and removed all the valves to completely empty them of air. By doing this, it meant I could then insert playing cards between the rim and tyre. This created a clean edge and made the process a doddle.

 

I treated all five wheels with Kurust by Hammerite. I then proceeded to layer them up with primer. Five coats later, I then applied a fair few layers of flat black. The paint I used is Upol Power cans, they are easy to get hold of and they aren’t too pricey. I painted my sliders and light brackets using this exact process (Bar the playing cards) and thus far they have lasted me the summer and most of last winter with out any corrosion. So Id say its a trusty process.

 

All in all, Im really chuffed with how this all turned out. Tyres Direct sorted me out, even though I wasn’t after that and the wheels look a lot more tidy.

[Fourpot]

They look good mate, good to hear of the good service too!

[matt28493]

Photos Of the Day

 

So I had been going through my computer when I stumbled across these shots of the Jeep. Id taken these last time I was down at TONG, I thought they looked pretty bad ass and deserved a share (As they should, seeing as thats what I do for a living lol)

I think I will have to start to bring a camera out more often, maybe even bring the Drone out on the next trip!!

[matt28493]

UJ fun!

 

So I walked over to the Jeep the other day, I was looking at the front axle as something didn't look quite right...

Turns out I had lost a C-clip on the drivers side UJ, resulting in loosing the cap off the joint. Luckily nothing bad happened because of this.

I spent this morning before work replacing it, just in time for the Kielder trip this weekend!

Ive been doing some research on this, turns out you can loose a C-Clip reasonably easy. From what I've read and been told you can shave the inside of the yoke (Theres a 'nubbin' on the inside that the C-clip contacts) and replace the poxy C-Clips for Retaining Clips. I think this may be the next mod I do to the Jeep, however I think Ill wait till its a tad warmer as it was baltic underneath there this morning!!!

 

 

On the plus side- I can now strip it down and have the shafts out in just 30mins  :great:

[matt28493]

iPad Mounting

 

So one of the things I use whilst I’m out green laining is View Ranger. For those that don’t know, its a OS mapping system that you can download onto a smart phone or tablet. There’s both basic and premium maps that you can use, I have the full premium maps for the UK, very very worth while! Originally I’ve used it on my phone as that is mounted using RAM mounts to my dash. This worked okay but I found the screen to be way too small. I decided I need to invest in a iPad... but how to mount it?

 

After some digging I found that you can modify the passenger dash grab handle to take a RAM mountings 1” ball base. Using a Drill bit and Tap, I enlarged the near side mounting hole and tapped it to a M8. Using a M8 piece of threaded bar, I trimmed it down to around 145mm and threaded the ball mount onto it and secured. With an arrangement of nuts I was able to secure both the grab handle and the ball mount. I then simply attached and secured the short RAM arm and the RAM iPad cradle. All in all I’m really happy with the way this has turned out and it will come in very handy this week when we hit the trails!

[matt28493]

Interior Lights/Glove Compartment mod

 

So im not too sure if I have ever posted about this... One of the things I think we all find is lacking in the JKs is interior lighting. One of the things I have done to combat this issue is to buy a bunch of these little LED trailer light strips. I stuffed two into each dome light which has made a massive difference, sadly I have no images of these, but its a simple mod. Simply remove the Dome light and then the stock bulb, stuff the LED lights into the dome and just simply shove the positive and negative cables into the terminals and off you go.

 

The glove Compartment is terrible at night, you can never find anything. So I added another LED light into there along with a push/plunger switch. This takes its feed directly from the constant feed power outlet on the dash. The switch is activated when the compartment is opened and then deactivated when the door is closed in turn compressing the plunger switch.

 

As you have seen I installed a mounting for my iPad. I found that when I was last out the iPad wasn't charging when plugged into my radios dash mounted USB ports. It turns out that most car USB ports produce 1amp as thats all a mobile phone needs to charge. However a iPad needs double that at 2.1amps. Meaning the iPad was registering as 'charging' yet it wasn't increasing in percentage. I installed a Blue Sea 2.1amp dual USB port into the glove compartment. Now my iPad will charge up throughout the day and I won't have any more issues. Im pleased with how this turned out, as its out the way and neat.

[TimC]

Very useful series of mods Matt  :great:

 

I notice in an earlier post that you have black steel modulars from Tyres Direct, as had I, GoJo 17x8. The only issue I had with these wheels, and I know it's pure vanity, was the lack of a centre cap for the wheel. When I asked TD about it they did sell me some centre caps but since they fitted behind the wheel there was no room for them between the wheel and the end of the axle and they just popped the lip and fell off  :icon_e_confused:  :icon_e_sad:

I can't see if you have centre caps or not, do you have any ( that work! ) or don't you bother?

 

Cheers

Tim

[matt28493]

Hi Tim,

 

Thanks mate  :great:

 

Yeah I have the 16x8 modular rims from Tyres Direct. Brand wise, I don't have a clue what they are. Sadly I don't have any centre caps, I bought these rims because at the time I got one of the first sets of Cooper STT Pros in 35s. Sadly TD only had them for a 16" rim. So I bought them and these rims, but I'm looking at selling my tyres late this year to go up to a set of 37s on 17s... hopefully I will have a d44 fabricated and under the Jeep by then also.

I doubt I'd buy steel modulars again. I may go to something fancy with a centre cap.

 

Cheers,

Matt.

[matt28493]

Rear Draw modification

 

As you will be aware I built some draws for the back of the JKU last year. They have been working brilliantly and have held up to a fair bit of abuse and weight!

One downside of them was that if you went to grab something at night, you couldn't see a thing. I came up with a plan to wire in some lights to solve this issue.

 

First step was to remove the draws and then empty them. After that I ran a fused +/- cable from the battery to the boot. I then added a plug not to the end so that I could remove the draws if needed.

Next I started building up the loom for each draw, this incorporated four LED lights per draw and a Push switch. Once this was done I pinned all the cables up and re installed the draws. All in all im super happy with the outcome, the LED lights produce mountains of light and in my opinion they look rather professional. Maybe I should start taking orders?  :icon_lol:

[matt28493]

So it has been quite some time since I last posted in here. 

Since then, there has been a few upgrades and teething issues with the Jeep. 

 

Front axle Shafts

Ive had to change out my front axle shafts as I kept spitting out caps on the drivers side. Turns out this had been happening due to a damaged yoke, I was on my second stub shaft and UJ in just a few months and Id had enough! I spoke with Steve at FTE and he sent me up a set of his old shafts which have been great! No more issues on that front! 

 

Steering

I decided to take the plunge and upgrade my steering. Ive gone with a Moog Drag-Link/tie rod end. This is a great piece of kit, well priced and seems to be very well made! 

I then upgraded to a 1-ton tie-rod bar, I got this from the US. Its made my Supreme Suspensions and comes with a life-time warranty. I also managed to wrangle a set of spare ends out of them for free!! 

 

 

Ball Joints

My Ball-Joints were also shot so I punched them out and swapped them for a set of Moog joints. Again a very nice piece of kit, stronger over stock and well priced. So far, so good! The Originals didn't want to budge, we asked nicely but they still didn't pop so out came the fire and out they came! 

 

 

Morris 4x4

(I hope admin don't mind this, one off mention!!) When over in Florida I took a trip to Morris 4x4 and picked up some Kentrol Door Hinge bushings. Great kit and worth every penny! Now my doors don't rattle and slide on and off with ease!! I would highly recommend!!! I bought a set Lube locker Gaskets for both diffs, I love these. The clean up was a pain the get the surfaces clean. But now its done I'm very happy! No more faffing on with RTV! I also picked up a bunch of spare UJs to keep in the draws. 

 

 

Door Stand

I also built a stand to keep my doors safe for the one day a year I take them off! 

Edited July 17, 2018 by matt28493
Adding photos and more info which I missed.

[matt28493]

One of my shots from a recent off-roading weekend! I do love my Jeep! 

 

[KelvinJ]

On 25/05/2016 at 20:14, matt28493 said:

During the tare down. The Lift took a total of 10 hours to complete, start to finish.

I had a basic set of tools- Spanners, Wrenches, a Socket set, one pillar jack and breaker bar.

I was pretty pleased with how it went, it was the first full lift I've ever done.

Hi Matt,

After reading this, it inspired me to look at several aspects of my jeep in particular the replacement of my shocks (also as the wife was complaining that the ride in the jeep was too bumpy.... So with only 40,000K on the OEM shocks I switched to Terrafirma adjustable shocks.

 

http://jeepspares.com/

With 4 stage settings: Comfort, Standard, Firm and Sport.