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I thought I would share with you all what I have done with my little 2 door Rubicon.
When the JK first came out I had a 2004 TJ that was very well equipped. It had Currie axles, 4.88 gears, Detroit lockers, 6" suspension lift with long arms and coilover shocks, and 37" tires. It was my fifth TJ, and it worked very well off road, although it was not the most pleasant vehicle in the world to drive on road. I have always been able to build great off road performing Jeeps, but when I look back over the years, and analyse why I sell them, it is because I get tired of their lack of power and poor handling on road. I wanted to focus more on performance and handling if I bought a new vehicle, and less on pure capability. I didn't want another vehicle that followed the "bigger is better" philosophy, with 37" or bigger tires. I wanted a vehicle that would be great to drive every day, but still be capable enough to make it through most anything I might encounter while exploring the backcountry.
I looked around at every vehicle I could think of, trying to find the best base vehicle to set up for back country exploring. I looked at Toyota FJ Cruiser's, Toyota Tacoma's, Ford Ranger's, Chevy Colorado's, and even a Land Rover. The Jeep JK has a few minor shortcomings, but all of its shortcomings can be addressed, unlike the shortcomings of the other vehicles. The Rubicon was the best choice for me.
The two main flaws with the JK Wrangler are: 1) Pretty much the whole front axle was under engineered; the tubes are weak and can bend or even break, the c-gussets bend, and the axle shafts break easier than they should. The axle shafts themselves are strong, but the axle u-joints have a half circle style c-clip that keeps the u-joint cap on. The half circle clips tend to come off, which lets the cap come off the joint, then the joint binds in the axle and breaks the ears off the axle shaft. 2) The steering box is also under engineered, and even a stock JK can break the sector shaft.
Here is what I did to make my Rubicon work a little better.
Teraflex Elite LCG 2.5" long arm suspension
Dynatrac Pro Rock 44 front axle w/ Motive Gear chromolly shafts
5.38 gears
Tom Woods driveshafts
35" Goodyear MT/Rs
Rock Hard 4x4 Parts front bumper w/ Warn M8000
Expedition One rear bumper
By purchasing the chromolly axle shafts I now have the stock axle shafts that can be used for spares if I ever have an axle shaft problem on the trail. I have also obtained an OEM steering box and power steering pump from a friend that upgraded his JK's steering with a PSC hydraulic ram assist, so I have spare parts for the steering.
Here is a photo after welding on the new brackets for the long arm suspension.
New JB Conversions spring perch used on rear axle.
Checking the contact pattern on the new 5.38 gears.
Completed rear axle / suspension.
Completed front axle / suspension.
And here is the finish product.
The work was done by Impulse Off Road, in St. George, UT. I've only put 500 miles on the Jeep so far, with 100 miles being off road miles, but so far I'm very happy. This is the best driving Jeep I've ever owned, and it is still very capable.
Thanks for reading.
When the JK first came out I had a 2004 TJ that was very well equipped. It had Currie axles, 4.88 gears, Detroit lockers, 6" suspension lift with long arms and coilover shocks, and 37" tires. It was my fifth TJ, and it worked very well off road, although it was not the most pleasant vehicle in the world to drive on road. I have always been able to build great off road performing Jeeps, but when I look back over the years, and analyse why I sell them, it is because I get tired of their lack of power and poor handling on road. I wanted to focus more on performance and handling if I bought a new vehicle, and less on pure capability. I didn't want another vehicle that followed the "bigger is better" philosophy, with 37" or bigger tires. I wanted a vehicle that would be great to drive every day, but still be capable enough to make it through most anything I might encounter while exploring the backcountry.
I looked around at every vehicle I could think of, trying to find the best base vehicle to set up for back country exploring. I looked at Toyota FJ Cruiser's, Toyota Tacoma's, Ford Ranger's, Chevy Colorado's, and even a Land Rover. The Jeep JK has a few minor shortcomings, but all of its shortcomings can be addressed, unlike the shortcomings of the other vehicles. The Rubicon was the best choice for me.
The two main flaws with the JK Wrangler are: 1) Pretty much the whole front axle was under engineered; the tubes are weak and can bend or even break, the c-gussets bend, and the axle shafts break easier than they should. The axle shafts themselves are strong, but the axle u-joints have a half circle style c-clip that keeps the u-joint cap on. The half circle clips tend to come off, which lets the cap come off the joint, then the joint binds in the axle and breaks the ears off the axle shaft. 2) The steering box is also under engineered, and even a stock JK can break the sector shaft.
Here is what I did to make my Rubicon work a little better.
Teraflex Elite LCG 2.5" long arm suspension
Dynatrac Pro Rock 44 front axle w/ Motive Gear chromolly shafts
5.38 gears
Tom Woods driveshafts
35" Goodyear MT/Rs
Rock Hard 4x4 Parts front bumper w/ Warn M8000
Expedition One rear bumper
By purchasing the chromolly axle shafts I now have the stock axle shafts that can be used for spares if I ever have an axle shaft problem on the trail. I have also obtained an OEM steering box and power steering pump from a friend that upgraded his JK's steering with a PSC hydraulic ram assist, so I have spare parts for the steering.
Here is a photo after welding on the new brackets for the long arm suspension.

New JB Conversions spring perch used on rear axle.

Checking the contact pattern on the new 5.38 gears.

Completed rear axle / suspension.

Completed front axle / suspension.

And here is the finish product.

The work was done by Impulse Off Road, in St. George, UT. I've only put 500 miles on the Jeep so far, with 100 miles being off road miles, but so far I'm very happy. This is the best driving Jeep I've ever owned, and it is still very capable.
Thanks for reading.