TJ: Red's 97 Wrangler Build

[Redemptioner]

Time to start documenting all the mods I have started making on the new jeep build, jeep is to be used mainly for towing an offroad forward fold camper trailer but also needs to be able to go most places my brothers comp truck goes (not to compete just to get the same area for support).

Whats it came with:
ARB front and rear airlockers
4.88 Nitro front and rear Pinion and Rings
Chromoly front and rear axles
USA axle tube seals
2.5" exhaust
Rear adjustable track bar
Front adjustable track bar
Modified ARB front Bar
home made rear bar
Chinese winch
Rubicon Express 4.5" Super flex SA kit
ARB Compressor
7" LED light bar
Set of BFGoodrich 35's
Bushwacker 6" flares
Uniden UH400 UHF radio
A lot of dodgy wiring

What has been done so far:
Dual battery tray (side-by-side custom job)
Dual Optima yellow tops D34's
Jaycar 140A voltage sensitive dual battery solenoid
Redarc Towpro electric brake controller
3 row Aluminum Radiator with Trans cooler (LHD converted to RHD)
Dual 12" electric fans
Hyline offroad tube step rocker panels
Crown HD steering system

What is sitting waiting to be done (or paid for and on order):
LUK clutch kit and flywheel
OEM clutch slave and master kit
Terraflex hydro bump stops front
Fox Factory 2.0 fully adjustable remote reservoir shocks front and rear
Fox 2.0 performance series ATS stabilizer
Teraflex shock mounts front and rear
Synergy 4.5" variable rate springs front and rear
Synergy HD ball joints
Double Black adjustable front track bar
Teraflex rear drum brake conversion kit
Teraflex extended braided brake lines front and rear
Crown front hub assemblies
Teraflex extreme short SYE kit
Tom Woods rear XB shaft
Tom Woods front XB shaft
Rough Country long arm kit
Rough Country high clearance skid plate
Rough Country 50" light bar mount
500W 50" curved LED light bar
Dual Lightforce 100W 240 Blitz spotties with amber filters
Genright crawler enduro 95ltr fuel tank
Teraflex front swaybar quick disconnects
Steinjager rear HD sway bar kit with quick disconnects
Firestone rear airbags
Dual Air Zenith OB2 compressors (100% duty cycle at 200psi)
Dual 9ltr air tanks
Silicon hoses all round
Rugged Ridge hood lift support kit

Still looking at the following:
- Turbo kit (yes, yes I know, but I want it for towing on the highway)
- Vented Hood
- Decent winch
- bikini top (ute style)
- Android head unit with fold out screen (eonon)
- Digital air pressure gauges and airbag controller (bling bling)
- ICOM IC-450 UHF radio
- Superchips trail dash tuner (mainly want this for monitoring)
- Rear adjustable HD track bar (can't seem to find one, the one I have is probably fine but would still like to replace it)
- Rear armour panels and flush mount round tail lights
- Jerry can holders for rear bar


Nothing a generous dosage of money hasn't fixed, now I just have to add the equally generous amount of time to get it all fitted......

Recommended Retailers
4x4Groupbuy (http://www.4x4groupbuy.com)
- US supplier
- These guys have great customer service
- Massive range of Jeep parts
- Great prices
- Know their stuff
- Australian retailers need to take note how to operate from these guys

Auto Cable & Accessories (http://www.elecspess.com.au)
- Australia Supplier
- Everything you need for your electrics at a decent price and a massive range
- Great customer service and do wholesale to the public (don't do 4x4 gear which is probably why they are good)

CSE Offroad (http://www.cseoffroad.com/)
- US supplier
- These guys have great customer service
- Massive range of Jeep parts
- Great prices
- Cheap Shipping


Merchants I recommend staying clear of and I won't be dealing with EVER again
- SBR Offroad

[Redemptioner]

Quick update

Sending the Crown HD steering system back, the ball joints are no good, 2 don't move at all the and the other 2 feel like they have a bunch of metal shavings added into their joints. Not sure i will bother getting a replacement, I would really like the Iron Rock one but alas they are not right hand drive.

[Redemptioner]

So enjoying the fun or rewiring the jeep, got the dual battery system in and done the major wiring for the rear of the jeep which includes a 80 amp line for the anderson plug,150amp hotwire for the items being powered from the rear (light bar, compressors, bunch of solenoids, fridge and 12V sockets etc), a 30amp line for the electric brake controller, 8 channel signal line for all the relays in the rear (2 for lockers, 4 for airbags, rear bar light and the 2 compressors), nothing like tearing your hands up jamming things into places they don't really fit.

I made up a little carbon fiber bracket that mounted under the door strap retainer bracket to keep the cabling in place as there is a lot of wire having to make some tight bends and the little plastic clips would not deal with the force required to hold it completely out of the way. Wrapped all the cables together in decent electrical tape to ensure they don't get caught on anything or damaged with extra layers where the cable might rub or touched the body or had a major bend (can hardly see them on the front half).






Just got to sort out the dodgy trailer plug wiring and then install the bus bar for the power distribution in the rear and work out where to mount all the solenoids (probably should wait for the air compressors to show up first.....). Used a shielded 8 core network cable to run all the signal wires for the relays and will be running the power supply for the items that the relays are controlling off the hotwire to the rear so I didn't have to run a bunch of smaller cables to the rear.






Managed to get all the wires through the rubber plug on the passenger side firewall behind the battery tray along with some other signal wires and the UHF cable (not sure I will leave the UHF antenna cable running so close to such heavy duty high current cables).







The Redarc Tow Pro has fit nicely in front the center console and has meant I can keep all the cables up out of the road. Hopefully will get around to locating and isolating the additional accessories out of the main power box (ie. lights & stereo) and mounting all the relays under the hood tomorrow so I can get the internal accessory power requirements wired in. Then I have to work on the layout and chose the buttons I want to use for controlling everything which I most likely will be mounting behind the gear stick on the center console.






Have no idea what this plug is for, guess I probably should start a new thread "what this thing"....

[Redemptioner]

So the Crown HD Steering kit has gone back to SBR offroad, won't be spending a dime with them again, $70 odd dollar lesson learned not to have anything to do with these monkeys. Apparently my mechanic does not know what he is talking about beside the fact he specialises in 4x4 comp vehicles and has never let us down and said "I would not be putting it on". They are too slow to understand I would of happy spent more money with them if they had given a little customer service before they showed me the door, no matter my dollar will go further with less hassles with a US supplier, at least they understand customer service and the need to open a item worth more than $50 and QC it before it ships.

Suffice to say it may be last dollar I will be spending here in Australia with the 4x4 retailers, they are either rip-off merchants or have the mentality they are always right and if you don't do it their way then you must be wrong despite showing them clear examples they are not. I thought it was bad dealing with landrover guys who seem to think if the Crown did not sign-off on it then it must be wrong and won't work, looks like it is not just landrover but rather Australian 4x4 retailers in general.

[Tonka Jeep]

So what was wrong with the kit?

[Redemptioner]

Originally Posted by Tonka Jeep

So what was wrong with the kit?

Had a dodgy ball joint, you only get one go with me when it cost more than a "serious" kit from the USA, then get no CS and its a case of "spend my money elsewhere".

Fortunately synergy is doing RHD kit now

[Redemptioner]

Rear anderson plug connection and tow plug and electric brake controller in, just waiting on some heavy duty solenoids to show up before giving mains power. Don't want the electric brake controller or anderson plug to be on when the car is not.