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Colomatt's WK Build Thread

12K views 24 replies 9 participants last post by  Vertisce21 
#1 · (Edited)
Decided to log my build on my 2008 Limted WK. I bought it back in April 2015 with 80K miles. It had absolutely everything I wanted. I wasn't too fond of the color at first but it grew on me quickly after hardly seeing this color on other WK's in my area. I was really considering getting a four door JK but I was having a hard time finding one within my price range that had a Hemi. That was an absolute must!

____________________________
2008 Grand Cherokee Limited
Color: Jeep Green Metallic
Two tone Leather Interior
125,000 Miles (04/2017)
____________________________
Mods
____________________________

Suspension:
OME HD Suspension (04/2017)
JBA 1/4" Strut Spacer (04/2017)
JBA Upper Control Arms (04/2017)
Front Pinch Weld Mod (04/2017)

Wheels and Tires:
Stock Limited Wheels with G2 1.5" Spacers (Current)
Black AEV Pintlers +10mm offset (Pending)
Tires - BF Goodrich All Terrain KO2 275/70/R17 (Current)
Hankook DynaPro AT 245/70/R17 (Old Setup)

Lighting:
Aftermarket HID Replacement Headlights (05/2015)
Osram 5500k Xenarc Bulbs (05/2015)
Morimoto 55W Ballast (05/2015)
Morimoto XB LED's for High Beams (05/2015)
Complete Philips LED Interior (04/2017)

Engine:
Volant Cold Air Intake (05/2015)

Armor and Recovery:
4xGuard Matrix Brush Guard (05/2017)
4xGuard Hoop (05/2017)
Smittybilt D-Shackle Hitch Receiver (05/2017)
Smittybilt Hi-Lift Jack (05/2017)

Miscellaneous:
Rola Roof Rack (06/2017)
SRT8 Front Grill(05/2017)
Bed Lined Rear Step Pad (04/2017)
De-Badged all Emblems except for "Jeep" Front and Back (04/2015)
Front Windows Tinted to match Factory Rear Tint (04/2015)
_____________________________

So here she is the day I bought her.

1 by matt morris, on Flickr

When I first got it, I was flying through my mod list that I wanted to get done on it. First off, I had always loved the Overland model with the projector HID headlights. Having several cars previously with retrofits or stock projectors, I knew that was one of the first things I wanted to address when I bought it. So I bought a pair of aftermarket replacement HID projectors and started from there. Nothing fancy for a projector set up but enough to make me satisfied. I kind of went crazy on the bulbs and spent a good amount of money on them. I went with a pair of Osram 5500k Xenarc bulbs paired with Morimoto XB Ballast 55W. I also got a set of LED XB bulbs for my highs. Absolutely love this setup, I might upgrade the projectors in the housing later down the road but for now these do just fine!

headlight by matt morris, on Flickr

output by matt morris, on Flickr

While I was addressing my light situation I went ahead and redid my interior with Philips LED bulbs.

interior 2 by matt morris, on Flickr

I also took out the metal reflector in the map lights when I upgraded to the LED's and that made a huge difference by itself!

interior by matt morris, on Flickr

Next thing up on the list that I couldn't live without was getting the front windows tinted to match the factory tint on the rear windows. And I also had ordered a Volant Cold Air Intake around the same time and that made a slight improvement performance wise. But most definitely gave it throatier sound!

(Picture pending)

So now fast forward two years (April '17) and I am finally getting around to getting it lifted. This took way longer to achieve than I wanted to but other hobbies and getting engaged took precedent over getting the Jeep lifted. I sold my motorcycle back when I first got the Jeep to fund the lift and tires but I got into woodworking and went on a tool shopping spree! So after waiting long enough and gaining more interest again into getting her lifted, I finally pulled the trigger and hit up Kolak and got the OME HD kit ordered. I also ordered new isolaters while I was at it. Two weeks later I had all of my goodies ready to go on!

goodies by matt morris, on Flickr

I was debating on if I should pull the trigger on getting JBA UCA's too while I was at it. I was going to have the front end torn apart anyways, so I went ahead and just ordered them. I'm super happy that I did! Peace of mind knowing how beefy and effective these things will be! And of course how beautiful they will look installed!

uca by matt morris, on Flickr

Last minute before the lift went on I decided that I did not like the rake, so I ordered some JBA 1/4" spacers for the front and received them just in time before the lift went on!

spacers by matt morris, on Flickr

Here's everything installed.

begin install by matt morris, on Flickr

install begin 2 by matt morris, on Flickr

A cool little jig my buddy fab'd up real quick to compress the springs.

press by matt morris, on Flickr

And finally everything installed!

install front by matt morris, on Flickr

install rear by matt morris, on Flickr

finished by matt morris, on Flickr

I wanted to address the tire and wheel setup. Last summer I had a un repairable flat so I upgraded the tires to Hankook DynaPros All Terrain and went one size up from stock. I got 245 70 17. So at least they weren't entirely tiny!

tire by matt morris, on Flickr

When I first bought the jeep and had everything planned out I found a killer deal on a single 275 70 17 BF Goodrich All Terrain KO2, so I just bought the one at the time. I eventually found another great deal and bought the other three. And for wheels I'm going with Black AEV Pintlers with +10mm offset, I have one in my possession already, just need three more now. So unfortunately I haven't finished this part quite yet. After I got the lift installed I was anxious to get the tires on so I purchased some G2 1.5" wheel spacers and threw the tires on the stock limited wheels. This look is growing on me more and more but I still want to do the Pintlers.

IMG_3592 2 by matt morris, on Flickr

IMG_3593 2 by matt morris, on Flickr

IMG_3881 by matt morris, on Flickr

Back when I first started following the WK threads I fell in love with the 4XGuard Matrix. I knew I wanted one but wasn't sure where at in my build that I would eventually add one. I finally pulled the trigger on one and also added the Hoop kit to it. I absolutely love this look! I was a bit sad to notice a slight decrease in height in the front but I'm happy with the end result.

image by matt morris, on Flickr

oldflowers by matt morris, on Flickr

I also added a Smittybilt Rear Receiver D Shackle.

image by matt morris, on Flickr

rc4 by matt morris, on Flickr

I was planning on doing the Metal Sheet Grill mod but figured I'd give eBay a chance before I went through with that project. I scored a used grill off of a SRT8 for $50 shipped! Unfortunately I didn't pay attention to the year it came off of. It came off of a 2006, I have a 2008. So the fitment isn't perfect. I'm Still debating on what to do with it but for now I'll rock it. With the Matrix on there its hard to tell that the fitment isn't perfect.

After going back and forth and whether to get a roof rack or not I finally went ahead and ordered the Rola Roof Rack. It will definitely free up more room in the cargo area for camping this summer. We went on numerous camping trips last year and I had to have rear seats folded down to get everything in there, so hopefully that won't happen this summer and we can actually have our nephews or other family members ride with us.

IMG_4256 by matt morris, on Flickr
______________________________________
I'll keep updating this first post as I add things!
 
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23
#2 ·
Good job, Colomatt. Which LEDs went inside the cab?
 
#4 ·
Thanks! I've gone through a couple different bulbs. My first set I ordered a kit off of Precisionled.com, I wanted all of the bulbs to be the same color and unfortunately I was replacing the bulbs way too often. So this go around I went ahead and ordered all of my bulbs off of amazon and went with Philips LED's and Im super happy with the output and quality. These were less expensive than the kit I got off of pricesionled.com too.

Nice work! How do you like the LED high beams? Do you have the auto high beams? If so, do the LED bulbs dim when set on auto? I'm putting in the HIR bulbs in mine. I went with black bezeled halogen style figured I could retro fit projectors later if I wanted.
Thanks! I love my high beams! Only flaw is if I use them then turn them off, the stay on. They aren't at full output, they're probably at 25% output when they aren't in use for the highs. I have a resistor harness for them to eliminate that issue but I haven't gotten around to putting them in and mounting the solenoid to a place in the bay where no plastic touches it because it definitely gets extremely hot and I don't want to melt any wires or plastic in the bay.
 
#13 ·
Man, I really want to make another trip to Colorado. I haven't been there for a few years. Ever since my dad moved out of there, I haven't been back. I never went in the summer either

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
 
#14 ·
Hey Colomatt, I got the lights and everything except for the LED highbeams. I've staged everything in the engine bay of the car but now I am unsure of what needs to be cut and what doesn't.

The first pic is coming off of the ballast, I can't figure out where to plug that into. If you are still willing, would you snap a few pics of your set up for me and I should just be able to copy it. Finally did you just cut a hole through the rubber cap on the back?

Thanks again.
 

Attachments

#15 ·
You're going to love the difference once you get everything installed!

I'll see what I can do tomorrow in day light to get you a picture. Everything in the second and last picture I cut out. Just use your current oem harness for the high's and turn signals. I would either go get new lights from your closest auto part store or wal-mart or just use your old ones. I threw away the ones they came with. I knew they would just burn out three months into having them installed so I saved myself from that headache.

And as far as to what that is in the first picture, do you mind taking a side shot of it? I'm having a hard time figuring out what that is? I want to say its probably just the fuse from the relay harness but don't quote me on that lol. And as far as installing the relay harness is pretty self explanatory, it's nice that they label things now but if you have any questions regarding that just let me know and I'll help you out as much as I can!

And yep, I just cut a sliver at the bottom of the rubber shroud to get the wire through to the ballast from the bulb.

-Matt
 
#17 ·
I see the problem, I just ordered what you had linked to in the other thread. I didn't order the D1S ballast. Simple mistake. Just need the pic of your wiring and I'll be good to go.

Again, thanks for the help!
Well poop. I thought I linked the right ballast for you, I totally messed that up. My bad dude! I'll have that pic up here soon. Were you able to get ahold of TRS and exchange for the d1s ballast?
 
#19 ·
Well I finally got my tires on! I decided to just put 1.5" spacers on for the time being, I couldn't handle the 245/70 much longer. I'll just swap these tires over to the AEV Pintlers once I finish buying the three others. And I also knocked out the pinch weld today as well. I'll be sealing it with bed liner this weekend.

Drivers Side

IMG_3868 by matt morris, on Flickr

Passenger Side

IMG_3867 by matt morris, on Flickr

And here's some pictures of the new tires

IMG_3892 by matt morris, on Flickr

IMG_3891 by matt morris, on Flickr

IMG_3882 by matt morris, on Flickr

IMG_3881 by matt morris, on Flickr
 
#20 ·
I finally pulled the trigger on a 4XGuard Matrix. It came in yesterday and got everything put on this morning. I got a Smittybilt D shackle for my rear receiver this week as well. Two years later and this thing is finally starting to come together! Can't wait to hit up some trails here soon! I was kind of sad at first as I noticed it lowered my front as to be expected but I didn't think I would of noticed it that much. I was sitting at 23" from hub to fender in the front and now I am at 22.5" with the Matrix on. But after staring at the front end for a bit this afternoon I am really pleased with how its starting to look.

image by matt morris, on Flickr

image by matt morris, on Flickr

Did some mall crawlin!

image by matt morris, on Flickr

I have been doing a few small things in the interior as well. I have some Quick Fist Clamps coming in to mount a shovel and axe on the inside of the rear hatch. I did this to my old WJ and I've been wanting to do this on the WK. Still need to hit up Ace to get the rest of the hardware needed for that project and then I'll have pictures up. I did get my maglite mounted. It wasn't my first choice to mount it there but it definitely works in this location.

image by matt morris, on Flickr
 
#21 ·
So I finally ordered and received my Rola roof rack. I wasn't too sure if I ever wanted one but so far I am glad I went ahead with one. I recently got a Smittybilt hi lift jack and wanted to get some mounts on the roof rack to free up some space inside. While I was at it, I had my buddy weld up a better mounting system for the rack.

Told him what I was looking for and he knocked it out in no time!

IMG_4249 by matt morris, on Flickr

IMG_4250 by matt morris, on Flickr

Here's everything welded up and bolted on! I still need to get some paint on it. Hoping to knock that out this weekend.

IMG_4251 by matt morris, on Flickr

And here is the hi lift jack mounted up.

IMG_4252-2 by matt morris, on Flickr

And a view of the new rack.

IMG_4256 by matt morris, on Flickr
 
#22 ·
Very nice looking Jeep. But sell the highlift jack. You will find that they are not much use and quite dangerous to use. The stock jack that came with the Jeep works better and is far safer. Also, mounting the highlift on the outside of the Jeep will rust it pretty quick and it will probably not work if you do ever try and use it. I carried a highlift inside my TJ for 10 years and only used it twice. It fell off the jack both times. Now I have found that the highlift jack has been perfect for pulling posts out of the ground, jacking up the landing on my deck when the steps needed to be re-positioned, and the handle worked great when I needed a cheater bar on a pipe wrench.
 
#23 ·
So is your suspension currently this below or are you running a different size spacer?

OME HD Suspension (04/2017)
JBA 1/4" Strut Spacer (04/2017)
JBA Upper Control Arms (04/2017)
Front Pinch Weld Mod (04/2017)

Really like the look and stance of your ride. The further I investigate a Wrangler Unlimited the more I realize that is probably not going to happen, so the 05-10 WKs are becoming more of a reality. Plus with having a 97 XJ many years ago I think i would enjoy another SUV, but it will need to have a V8.
 
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