"Yes" I exclaimed, My first trip of 09 and my first -20 adventure.

[ollllo]

   "Yes" I exclaimed, My first trip of 09 and my first -20 adventure.   

It was beauty we left @ 6:00 on Saturday the 14th of Feb.  we drove out to turner valley and black diamond and made our way through to Bragg creek nothing to serious just exploring.  My wife passed my the chips as we drove thru the four way stop.   we decided we would go thru to canmore.  and make our way back to forestry trunk road the trunk as we call it.   we found a few good spots but nothing that was as bumpy or as challenging as we had hoped we'd find.  when we hit the trunk i was in my full glory snow and open trails everywhere!!  we stayed out of the ruts as much as possible and went thru some deep snow drifts.  Wow if you wanna adrenaline rush in your jeep drive thru deep snow in minus 20 that get the blood pumpin as you never... quite... sure...Yup, she made it whoa!  Last thing i wanna do is get out and try and hook up.  so I'm relieved.  so we are on our way back out about 45minutes later and i just have to drive up that slope (harsh angle) that we came down to get in.  what i am unaware of at this point is that the ledge has an upper lip, a minus 20 frozen upper lip.  we approach it, a little quickly in hindsight..  and up we go and WHAMM! dead stop!  i was surprised the airbags didn't blow.  got out wheels are straight.   no Visual damage.  get back in and my steering wheel is still turned to the right, wait ...What?!?  my wheels are straight and the steering wheel is still sideways hmmm, "Kara's Hurt were going home" :'( i say with a sigh.  Kara is the name of my Jeep FYI.  She rode fine all the way home about 70 kms out of town still.  took it in on Monday to the dealership.  and the told me i had Dented my diff housing, but the good news is you own a jeep so its not leeking you don't have to fix it now if you don't want.  i said "what about the steering", "well" he said "you kinda bent your steering knuckle.  but again he tells me as long as i don't mind having a sideways steering wheel and didn't take her out to waiprous that i could drive her for quite some time.  that's not gonna work. ITS TIME TO UPGRADE.   

See i have this rule that as things break i will replace them and upgrade if possible.  so far i have upgraded my brakes, and done some simple cosmetic stuff but its time ti get serious so I'm looking for ideas.  here's what i roll with 
2003 rubicon She is my second wife and the best part is my first wife loves her as much as i do!!
i wanna put a airlift suspension with 6 or 8 inch lift
new rubber Mickey Thompson's or interco Iroks
new diff housing
Skidding everything i can
new clutch

Any Ideas What else i can do while I'm under there, let me know id love to here

Thanks all

ollllo 


 

[fug]

You sure you bent the knuckle and not the track bar?  Stock track bars are known for bending when they take a hard hit.

If you did bend the knuckle... I have an extra set of stock calipers I can sell you... or if you want to upgrade I'll be selling off a Vanco big brake kit in a few weeks.

I think you'll find that 6-8" of lift on TJ with a stock wheelbase is a bit much.  If you shoot for 4" suspension lift with 1.25 body lift and a flat skid you should be able to run 35-37" tires with no problem. 

Is your Jeep a daily driver?  Weekend toy?  Do you want to stage the build up or go full on all at once?

[ollllo]

Fug Yes Im Sure, but fair enough.  the reason i know is i was having my track bar and tie rod replaced when they noticed all this other stuff.

here is a better breakdown of my rig

    Jeep Wrangler TJ Rubicon =
TJ Sport + 31" tires + dual Dana 44 axles + air lockers + EBC HD Off road brakes (first Mod) + rocker sill guards + 4:1 transfer case + 4" lift + Rear Tail light guards + Warn Winch (power plant) w/ air compressor( 2nd Mod) + custom Front bumper incl tree guard (to accommodate for winch) + High rock fuel guards + rugged ridge light guards.
 
 4.0-liter PowerTech™ I-6

So thats why i wanna go 6 or 8 now on the lift.  and yeah im gonna go all out at once. i use it as a toy,  in the city i only drive it to the grocery store Only.  im one of those lucky bastards who can walk to work.

Meeting with a buddy of mine this afternoon to plan  the reconstruction.  ill think about the knuckle offer, Thanks

[fug]

What kind of lift do have right now?  I assume with your new lift you are going long arm?  What size tire are you thinking of going to?

[Bnine]

A steering knuckle is cast. It would be extremely difficult to bend a knuckle without it snapping. Its very unlikely that your knuckle bent.

Regardless, you need to to do some research before making the leap.

Dont forget to address your steering.

[hps4evr]

ummm... i just have to ask, but where were you? pm me if its a place that you may not have supposed to have been...
i agree with fug, 8" of lift on a stock rubi is a lot. why not go with a 4" long arm and use the hi fenders from AEV or Gen-right? heck with the gen-right fenders you can run 35" tires with no lift.

[Spinalguy]

i ran 1" body and 5.5 lift. i did not need the body lift to run 37's.

[P-Dubb]

Stock track bars are known for bending when they take a hard hit.

i know that all to well 

[ollllo]

Hey Everyone! 
My story has a happy ending after all.  i took my 03 rubi to the dealer and turned it in to an 09 rubi!!!  monthly payments are the same!!

thanks for the advice i will forsure skid my steering this time around

peace out
ollllo 

[Mikes off road]

How much would you want for the Vanco brake kit? When and if you are looking to sell it.

[fug]

Actually sold it off a while ago so its already gone.  Sorry about that