Silverfox - 2011 Mango Rubi - Progression

[THE GOLD DIIGGER]

Looks good now if i need someone to pull me out  your all set up!!!

[Unknown303]

Holy crap, coming along nicely.

[silverfox]

Tx guys..............don't think much will happen to her for a while.  Pretty much where I want it to be. 

Have a little mod I want to try to the rear bumper but need some time for that, maybe some lights but no rush

[Rubi03 jef]

looking amazing

[JackstandJohnny]

shawn, looks great; 
that bumper looks even better on the jeep than the counter 


so when you goin to one tonnes and 40s?

[silverfox]

Tx guys..............don't think much will happen to her for a while.  Pretty much where I want it to be. 

Have a little mod I want to try to the rear bumper but need some time for that, maybe some lights but no rush

Funny how we say things and then the world throws us a little curve.

Was out riding around minding my own business when the U-Joint decided to let go.  Fortunately for me there were plenty of folks on hand to get it back in workable shape and get me on home.

After checking out a few things it seems like the U Joint on the JK is somewhat prone to "falling apart"  and after some further research it seemed that the replacement parts from Dodge where going to run me in excess of $500.  Now not to be one to pass up an opportunity to upgrade I started to look into some alternatives...........many guys mentioned Chromoly Shafts and after market U-Joints.  I dug a little deeper and found the RCV Ultimate Dana 44 JK Front Shafts.

No More U Joint this is a CV joint similar in principal to the to the Toyota Birfield joint but upgraded by the folks at RCV performance.  The test results claim it will withstand pretty much the same abuse as a 35 spline Dana 60 and is backed by the RCV "you break it we replace it" warranty.  After a ton of reading and discussion with smarter mechanical folk than me I took the plunge and ordered them up.

They came in last Thursday and went in this weekend.

Here are the shafts waiting install.



A couple of the RCV shaft and joint.





Side by side comp with the short side Dana 44



And a couple after I go them in.









After the install I ran them threw the paces and I am very happy so far.  All my front end vibration is gone..........regardless of highway speed, in either 2 or 4 hi.

No crow hop in 4hi even on a tight turning radius.

They just seem to run smoother (maybe my imagination but meh its all good) 

Simple to install.  The biggest issues I had was on the side that threw the ujoint, the dropped joint chewed the crap out of my hub bearing bolts and it took the better part of an hour to get them off.

I am super happy with these shafts and looking forward to giving them a little more of a workout.

So much for being mostly done.........................stay tuned more upgrades/mods to come 

[SwampSinger]

These are some sexy shafts you have Shawn... the rubbers are a matching colour to boot...

[silverfox]

Well after a while the broken fender started to get annoying so after looking into it a bit I was going to pick up some Metal Cloak flares.  I was up to the point of ordering and after reading the installation instructions I got to thinking that if those flares ever got caught on something they wouldn't break or likely even bend.  But the sheet metal on the front of the Rubi would peel off like a banana so I decided that I didn't want my fender flares being the strongest part of the body.

So I called up Stan and settled on the Bushwacker Flat flares.........which was what I had intended to swap out to back February.

The install is a little finicky but that is more due to getting a really good fit and making use of the existing JK splash gaurds (after some modifications)



Getting the existing flares off was fairly simple, pull out the plastic push tabs and then essentially rip it off.  (you don't reuse the factory clips)

It was ridiculous how much mud had accumulated in behind the splash guards but I cleaned em up and cut them as per the instructions.



Which is essentially you cut off anything that would extend beyond the sheet metal.

Putting the new ones on is again a little of a process, you mount brackets to the sheet metal that need to line up just so with the body lines, then reinstall the modified splash gaurds and then put on the Flares.  The fit is very tight and I think they have done a good job with the fit.  Some patience, finesse and force and I didn't have to modify anything that Bushwacker shipped to get a nice fit.







I am very happy with the fit, and the look.  Also on the ride home in the rain today no road spray covered my window so the Wackers cover my 35's where my stockers didn't.

Oh by the way if someone wants 3 and 3/4's lightly used JK Flares (no splash guards) you are welcome to them.............for a small token of appreciation of course

[silverfox]

Looking into the Sway bar skid plate and some new sliders.

Maybe some soft doors and more lights.

Maybe a new rear bumper

Maybe I should rob a bank

[JackstandJohnny]

now you need 37s to fill those wheel wells


if you're robbing a bank soon let me know. i need money for my cage, steering, fenders, an atlas, D60s, stoker, hookers, blow, etc


looks good though:  i like it

[Bone206]

great looking rig Shawn!

[hps4evr]

looks good. i like it. wheels need to be black. black wheels help in the muuuuuud.

[Jeepless]

I have the Bushwackers and I am happy with them but a lil' disappointed with the rears. I'm not sure when or where but the rear flare pushed into the body right at the bottom of flare and left a nice divit/ding. Other than that I am happy with them I guess. They will flex and take a beating but they scratch up pretty quickly. Fronts make a great table at snack time Your JK is looking good!

[kidl33t]

My stocker wants to be your jeep!  I think I will end up following a very similar upgrade path.

Thankfully breaking the Jeep means I get a wife-sanctioned upgrade!

I hung up a bunch on the trail today.  Would you recommend a BB (as opposed to a full long arm kit) as a first upgrade?  What are your experiences with your OME kit?  I'm trying to decide where to spend first!