Rausch Creek aftermath scars (badges of honor) w/ pics

Hey guys! I just came back from Rausch Creek with two new Jeep Badges of Honor: Traill 11 and Crawler Ridge. It was a ton of fun going with a small group. We just stuck to the green trails as we we're short on time, hungry, and low on fuel. As we we're doing Crawler ridge, we earned ourselves of scars. My bro in-law whom was in our group got banged up everywhere on his underbelly. Likewise I also sustained some scuffs and bangs. I'm on stock XR lift with 37s and went up and down no problem but got myself some scraps I'd rather not have. The damage is all minor and cosmetic, however my passender side LCA BKT is bent from from that big ass rock at the bottom of the hill as I started my climb.

Started from the driver rear and worked my way around to passenger rear.

This is d side LCA frame BKT. Looks normal. I included it for reference. For those that don't know it means lower control arm bracket.


D side front LCA BKT. Scrapes along the crossmember and the LCA BKT. No bends.


D side LCA. Scrapes


P side LCA BKT. Smashed the crossmember in, flattening it a little. BKT is scuffed.



P side LCA BKT. Banged and bent. I didn't like this one. LCA is fine. Black spots next to damage was my thumb that rubbed off the dirt.


Rear diff. Eh, who cares...


What do you guys think about the p side LCA BKT? Can I just take a vice grip to it and bend it back out? No apparent damage to the LCA itself and bushing looks fine.

Wow you must have come down hard on that! I’ve hit pretty hard on my LCA brackets a number of times and never bent like that. Just some scrapes and scuffs on the bottom of the brackets. I’d think you should be able to bend it back into place with enough force, just take the LCA out first as to not screw the bushing up while bending the bracket. If you can’t do it by hand I’m sure a local shop will have the tools to fix it, or if nothing else weld a new bracket on for you.

Are you local to Rausch / AOAA? I’m up there at least once a month. Would be great to meet up with another 392 for a ride up at one of those parks. I just did all 3 BOH trails at Rausch a few weeks ago, was a great time. Crawl Daddy is definitely doable despite being a red. There’s a ton of different lines not all of them are extreme.

That LCA bracket is a nice bruise. I’d see about getting that one straightened if possible. I’d worry about that bushing going south prematurely.

So we get to see the battle scars… any pics of the battle? Would love to see some action pics if you got’ ‘em.

Can’t comment on Rausch Creek trails since I’ve never been there. When I swapped the LCAs, I did notice the metal brackets holding the bolts are not heavy duty at all and I even looked into LCA skids.