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Janesy's 03' Rubicon Build

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#1 · (Edited)
Janesy's Hylined '03 Rubicon Build

Been wanting a Jeep forever and I finally got it, since the Trailblazer that I had was starting to have too many problems. Found a 03' Rubi in nice shape with 100k on it that will only be my DD for a few months and then a weekend and trail toy.

The plan for it is to be a capable trail rig and weekend cruiser. LCG is the long term plan. For now will be 2" suspension lift, 1.25" BL, 1" MML, sitting on 33's. Once those wear out I will plan on flat fenders and 35's. No rush on that as first I want to armor it up and beef up the axles with some RCV's up front...

Here it is the day I picked it up:

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Updated: Pretty much how it sits today:





2003 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon

Drivetrain Specs:
o 4.0L I-6 engine
o NV241 Rock-Trac 4:1 transfer case
o Dana 44 front and rear axles w/ Tru-Lok selectable pneumatic lockers
o RCV Performance CV axle shafts
o Ten Factory Rear chromoly shafts
o Motive 5.13 Gears
o 42rle Transmission
o Novak shifter

Suspension/Steering/Brake Modifications:
o BDS 2" suspension lift
o Zone 1.25" BL
o Savvy 1" MML
o Currie HD steering
o Synergy ball joints
o RE 3/4" spacer (front)
o Black Magic brakes
o YJ Brake lines
o Currie AntiRock
o Metal Cloak Control Arms
o Metal Cloak adj. front trackbar

Exterior Modifications:
o A to Z front builder bumper
o Rampage Frameless Soft Top
o 35x12.5x15 MTR's w/ Kevlar on MB TKO wheels
o Rear bumper plate w/ D-ring & Swag frame tie-ins
o JK Turn signals
o CJ Tailgate

Armor
o Rokmen Steering Box Skid
o Smittybilt Crusher Corners w/ 3" flares
o Rokmen hilines w/flare
o A to Z Fab sliders
o Savvy GTS
o Savvy Under Armor
o Barnett Diff cover (front)
o Riddler Diff cover (rear)
o Poly Performance Front cage & extra DOM for custom rear additions

Engine Modifications:
o AEM Bruteforce CAI

Recovery Equipment:
o 12' Wheeler's Tree Strap
o 20' & 30' Wheeler's Straps
o 9k lb Engo winch w/cable
o Smittybilt Snatch Block

Electrical Modifications:
o iSimple
o Uniden Pro 510xl CB
o 3' Firestick Firefly CB Antenna
o Scangauge II
o 4" LED tails
o Rigid Ind. Dually's - Flood
o Nalin Speaker/Tweeter adapters w/ Polk db Component Dash System
o Polk db speakers in soundbar
o Roadless Gear In Cab winch control

Misc.
o MV50 air compressor
o Oasis Trailhead Tire Deflators
o Mostalined Tub
o Corbuea Baja SS seats

To Be Done
o F250 shock towers and BBCS 11" shocks for outboarding
 
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#4 ·
Homebrewed CB bracket, well, stole the idea from a buddy... Just picked up a 2" u-bolt I believe and a couple wing nuts w/ bolts. Already had the piece of aluminum. Bent it to my liking, drilled a few holes and viola:





Want to cut the threads down a bit and paint it all black, but you get the idea..
 
#5 ·
Went to MaBell over the weekend, here are just a few pics... But, the Rubi was awesome out there, just crawled right up anything. Looking foward to getting out again, hopefully soon.







 
#6 ·
Picked up a rear bumper plate w/ a tow point off a club member for $20. Still need to drill a few more holes and add more bolts/nuts, but I'm happy to get rid of the ugly rear bumper...



Also decided to move the plate to the tailgate, now that I'm not running a spare back there and got rid of the 3rd brakelight, so I picked up one of these that I'll be installing soon to stay legal:

Off Road Only LiteDOT Plate Light



And my Monstaliner kit came in! Just doing the tub in black, nothing crazy, just need to find the time and have a good weekend to get it done...

 
#7 ·
Brown Santa just dropped this off at my place:



A Tuffy Security Deck!

My girl got it for me as a early b-day present, as she didn't like how when the top was off/down, or really even with the soft top up, there was no safe felling to leave anything in the jeep that wouldn't fit in the console or glove box. I had been thinking off getting it, but didn't want to spend the coin myself...

I don't plan to run the rear seat ever, so this will be a nice addition and make me more secure and I can leave my tool box in there now, since I took it out ever since I switched to the soft top.

Photos to come upon install, hopefully this weekend!
 
#8 ·
Got the Tuffy security deck installed, not bad at all, since I already had the seat and brackets out. Feels solid and I wont worry about leaving anything in the Jeep now...





 
#9 ·
Some pics from the run I went on with WM4x4 at a place called the Summit. Not a bad place, really slick with decent sized rocks and a few fun rock gardens.

Also hit Mabell after that run, with another kid from the run, as it was 5 minutes down the road. Got some GoPro footage of that, but my comp sucks so it'll prob be a while before I get that footage.

On to the pics! Not the best of pics but got a step by step of of of the guys flop. Lost all oil, and from what he says, ended up hydrolocking his engine and had to get towed out.









 
#10 ·
Scored some Smittybilt corners off CL for $100. Brand spankin' new, still in the original packaging! I know they have a bit of an issue with their factory powdercoat, so I'll be stripping them down and finish them up myself, just for piece of mind.

Didn't come with the flares, but figure I'll just use my stockers as they use the same bolt holes on the corners as their flares do.

 
#11 ·
Ended up replacing the inner axle seals over the weekend. Over the last week, one of the u-joint bearing caps decided to jump ship, so I had a good bit of play in the shaft and must have worn out the inner seal, letting some gear oil to drip out the end of the tube.

Decided to to do both seals while I was in there, I mean, might as well right. As I was pulling the shafts I noticed the other side had excesive play in the u-joint as well. So after replacing the seals, I decided it would be better to pull the inner shafts and stuff rags in the end of the tubes. This is just for the time being, since I decided this was a great time to upgrade! Can't wait to get these in, pics to come!

Overall not as bad of a job as I was thinking it would be, since I hadn't yet got into the diff yet. I was thinking pulling the axle shafts and carrier would be a lot more work than it turned out to be.

Also while I was under there, I also did the ZJ tie rod upgrade, since the last time I went out I tweaked the stocker a lil bit. Definitely a great way to get a beefier tie rod without breaking the bank! Will post up a pic of the difference later on.
 
#15 ·
Pics of the ZJ tie rod:







And look what Brown Santa dropped of today!!! No more messing around with axle u-joints for me!



Decided since I blew the u-joints and the yoke ears are a little wallowed out, I might as well upgrade, and while doing that just go all out... I think I'll be happy in the long run.
 
#16 ·
Ughh... So yesterday after work I take a ride to my parents house to install the RCV's, so I can use my dads air tools. Everything is going well. Ground down the knuckles, slid in the shafts, buttoned everything back up.

Now I go for a test ride and as soon as I'm trying to back out of the driveway, it feels as if I'm locked up front, but I'm in 2wd so theres no reason it should be. After some research. I'm lead to believe when I pulled the carrier last weekend to replace the inner axles seals, I fubbar'd the install of the locker and the plunger in stuck letting the locker stayed locked, but since I had pulled my stock shafts as well (blew u-joints and waiting on RCV's) to drive, I hadn't noticed it.

So I ended up having to pull the RCV's so I could drive home and go to work today, since I ran out of daylight. And now I need to pull the carrier again and make sure I get the locker actuator set up properly and reinstall the RCV's again...

At least I'm getting quick with pulling axle shafts now, haha. Rant over.
 
#17 ·
Jeep is no longer the daily driver! Just was handed the keys to a company F150, which I'll be driving for work and long trips that I don't want to take the Jeep on, as they pay for all gas...

But I can't pass up driving the Jeep after work/ weekends when we have a nice day. And now I wont have to worry as much about any down time with it, if I need to make any repairs after taking it offroad!

 
#24 ·
Figured out the front locker, with help from a bit of seaching on here, and that it happens often when reinstalling the Rubi carrier back in.

Didn't take too much time, just had to pull the carrier again, and make sure the sensor/plunger in the housing was on the correct side of the actuator plate.

Once that was all back in place, I put the RCV's back in again and too for a spin. Back to normal! And now I got some BA axle shafts to test out soon!

 
#26 ·
B-day $$ bought me a winch!

9k Engo w/ cable. Wanted to get a winch on the cheaper side, so when I decide I want synthetic, I'll just replace it. But this will do the job. Paired up with a Smittybilt raised winch plate. Also have some RE 3/4" spacers to make up for the weight.







And all packed up, spare tire on top the Tuffy box for some night wheelin' tomorrow night, with WM4x4 at Gremlin Graveyard. Will try to get some pics, not sure how they will turn out...

 
#27 ·
Night wheelin' was a blast! Gives an easy place a whole new aspect to it in the dark.

Overall the main loop is stock friendly, does have some long hill climbs that are fun, but the dark makes it much more interesting . And there are offshoots with some rock faces that even a built buggy would have a good time on.

Me:






A couple of the other rigs:






 
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