Becoming Dean's Jeep

deanfromoregon

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 14, 2021
Messages
93
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182
Location
Oregon
Current Rides
HD Street Glide, Rubicon 392
Got my Hydro Blue 392 in July. Absolutely love it, but it needs some stuff done to it. As you all know, right now it's fairly capable, a bit of a sportscar, but it does need some help. A friend is going to Moab in May/June and wants me to go along, so I need to do some stuff to get trail ready. Am I going overboard? Probably a little. I don't care.

I appreciate everything you all have put up about your rigs, pretty certain I've read the whole site by now, Thank you!

So here we go:

This is my Jeep:

Blue Jeep.jpg

I sold off my 2013 JK to pay for some of the mods. Basically wanted an adventure type vehicle that can smooth out the washboard and I was torn between this and the new Landcruiser. Since the Landcruiser wasn't announced in March, I just ordered the 392. Oregon has forest roads that are 100 miles long and all washboard, very annoying to drive on. On top of that, wanted to make the Moab trip and also do some other wheelin' just me and the wife, nothing too crazy. We go in a group if its going to get intense. I tend to overdo it on the recovery gear, I hate being stuck. It's happened a few times in my life rather epically and I will actively avoid it in most circumstances. Fairly cautious by myself, but if I'm in a group, I will most likely just send it.

This was a few years ago, how we used to roll (I'm thinner and way more grey now!):

jeep trailer.jpg

Now we roll in this (In the Alvord Desert, Eastern Oregon) and will most likely tow the jeep:

Alvord.jpg

Found a guy locally that does amazing work, and fabrication when he needs to. I don't have the time, desire, or stuff to do it myself anymore.

Doing the Accutune coil overs with the fox shocks. Stage 4 build, middle configuration. Lifting the front around 3" and the rear 1.5", everything that goes along with that. Also Adams drive lines, front & rear bumpers, 12k zeos winch, lots of lights (White KC bar up top, yellow in the front, some cubes to backup), armor, steps, air, Rhino roof rack, the magnaflow exhaust, 37s on method beadlocks. Lots of other stuff to go with it. Regearing to 4.88's, got the Tazer mini and the pedal commander ready to go.

I drop it off on Monday, the coilovers are not in yet but everything should be able to get done in the phase 1 build with the exception of the coilovers and the armor.

Should have it back before X-Mas. I am not going to pester these guys coming by and taking daily pictures for the internet, but I can do a complete listing of actual parts used later. I would put up the quote but I'd rather just use the final invoice since we've added so much to the initial build ideas.

I'm very excited for this. I'm most excited about the exhaust freeing up the room for an aux tank in place of the massive stock muffler. No problem with the fuel economy, just the capacity. In anticipation I've been driving around with the happy noise button "on" the last few days to get used to it.

Not going full on adventure trailer, fridge, shower, roof top tent, etc just yet.

That's it for now, I wanted to thank you all for everything you've put up here. It's been invaluable in helping me get to this point.

-Dean
 
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OK so I have the time, might as well put together the list as best I can. Lots of little parts not on the list and the coilover kit has a bunch of stuff for the lift included. Will it be good enough? Probably for what I’m going to do with it.

Here we go:

-JL-TAZER-MINI Z AUTOMOTIVE TAZER MINI PROGRAMMER
-JT/JL YGK068 Yukon Complete Gear and Kit Package for JL and JT Jeep Rubicon D44 Rear & D44 Front, 4.88 Gear Ratio
-2 custom Adams drive shaft
-PCT771237 Pro Comp 37x12.50R17 Tire, Xtreme MT2
-Method titanium BEADLOCK WHEEL, 17X9 5X5
-BD-SS-300-JL4 ROCK-SLIDE ENGINEERING GEN III STEP SLIDERS
-4838920 1 JL Alpha HD Hinged Spare Tire Carrier and Adjustable Spare Tire Mount Kit 5x5in
-MB1090F-S-1094 HAMMER FRONT BUMPER W/ BULL BAR, FOG MOUNTS & SKID PLATE FOR JEEP JL
-MB100 MOTOBILT WINCH FAIRLEAD BOLT ON MOUNT
-MB1092 REAR CRUSHER BUMPER W/ LIGHT MOUNTS W/SPARE TIRE CUTOUT FOR JEEP JL —-WARN ZEON 12-S WINCH
-Accutune Jeep Wrangler JL 2.5 Coilover Kit Stage 4
-Metalcloak armor, we’re going to paint it black.
-ARB CKMA12 onboard air.
-KC light bar, the big one. Mounting bracket for standard JL, will take custom fab to fit it.
-Dual yellow KC’s up front for snow.
-rhino rack
-Magnaflow rock crawler exhaust!!
-Pedal Commander
-90% sure we got a fox steering stabilizer too.

Pretty sure I’m forgetting something. The Stage 4 kit from Accutune is fairly complete, but when we ordered they had only done 1 of the 392’s.

I got the coil overs to smooth out the washboards primarily, and I still want a capable wheeler. We ordered the stage 4 2.5” kit with the dual sport tune. Looks like phase 2 install (coil overs and other suspension related lift stuff) in Jan-Feb.

That’s about everything I can remember right now. The rig gets dropped off in the AM.

A little bit as to the why. I tend to drive it like I stole it, and this one spoke to me. From the Accutune website on the dual sport tune:

Dual Sport Tune – This tune provides a lot more off-road capability and more on-road stability (compared to the Adventure Tune) at the expense of comfort. The additional stiffness on small and large bumps makes it great for hitting rain ruts, bigger g-outs and whoops without bottoming out hard. Larger tires (37”+) can help smooth out the on-road ride, which is noticeably stiffer than the Adventure Tune, but still acceptable for enthusiasts. The Dual Sport Tune is Ideal for vehicles with taller lifts, bigger tires and still get driven to the trail.”
 
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Ok so phase 1 is complete. Bumpers, winch, air, 80% of the tires (lol), some rear lights, tazer. It’s starting to look better, a little squat looking, but no rubbing. Might be good for a snow run.

E3BE8C35-39F3-46E9-84E7-0214681E85AA.jpeg

The spare needs a new mounting kit, that’s on the way. Also need to figure out where o where to mount the license plate.

E1688A5B-784D-4D1F-818A-316B77BCAF04.jpeg

The front bumper is welded crooked, came wrong from the factory, he didn’t catch it til it was painted up and mounted. Replacement bumper on the way and they’re making him whole on the paint job for the defective unit.

274D4BE0-54BD-4F06-82E9-6308DE5DD4B2.jpeg

Overall, very happy with the progress.

Honestly, I thought every single one of you that said “put on 37’s and not a major difference. “ was crazy. BUT I get it now. Just a crap load of power. Still regearing though!
 
Cannot wait until the exhaust gets redone. The factory setup looks ghastly with the crusher bumper. Hangs down about 6” too low. Armor would only exacerbate the problem imho.

. 3E12F73F-36EA-4820-B56A-8630E9788164.jpeg
 
Thank you! Not going nearly as quickly as I’d like it to but moving along.

Had the avatar for years, it’s actually animated on most sites lol

The muffler on the back makes the rear end look like a toddler with a loaded diaper. I know I could straighten it, but it’s still ugly.

6A51E08B-C125-4E37-846B-15955947E54F.jpeg
 
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So longtime in between updates.

Everything is D-U-N done.

Added in PSC steering, pneumatic bump stop, got a midland to install and my KC lights across the front to go back on.

Exhaust, steps, coilovers, drive lines, regear to 4.88, bumpers, winch, front lights and rear.

Parts list above. More pics to follow tomorrow when I have a little time but I just got it back from ceramic coating so….,,,

251799F3-D3DF-468B-BACE-0C516E200847.jpeg
 
The theme was Moab Mall Crawler. Heading to Moab next week so it’s nearly mission accomplished. Kind of excited it’s all coming together, it’s been a year.
 
You'll be able to maul some rocks with that rig.
 
So, a Moab “maul” crawler?
Oh don’t start that. The guys in my office are pretty die hard, I’m always the mall crawler in comparison and I’m OK with it!

So I’m going to crawl under and take some pics. The exhaust is cool, thought I would have more room for an aux tank, not a lot there. At least the loaded diaper is gone.

The PSC steering is f’in amazing at just how he got that to fit. It’s tight.

Got to get the lights back on and the gmrs unit installed before the trip. iPad needs to get mounted, need a new mid size cooler, then I’m done.

All vehicle electronics (excluding exhaust switch) work 100% so mission accomplished there.

It’s retained the best of the Rubicon package and just got it enhanced. Very capable, not over the top, still drivable.

So any regrets? The one thing I didn’t want to do was “ruin” it. It’s my daily driver and I didn’t want to make it so annoying to drive that I wouldn’t take it on the street. I can say mission accomplished on that with an asterisk. The rock crawler exhaust is pretty loud, waaaay fun around town but a question mark for the long journey. We’ll see after the drive to Moab and back if we are still OK with it.

-Dean
 
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Nice build. Love all the progress updates.
Questions
1) I saw discussion of an aux tank after exhaust removal/mod. Did you end up adding that?

2) What changes/improvements have you noticed with the PSC steering kit?
 
Nice build. Love all the progress updates.
Questions
1) I saw discussion of an aux tank after exhaust removal/mod. Did you end up adding that?

2) What changes/improvements have you noticed with the PSC steering kit?
1. No aux tank yet. I’ve got PTSD from doing all this shit in the last year. Way more than I’ve ever done on any rig I’ve owned. I’m still up for the aux tank but I can’t envision it right now.

2. PSC steering is amazing, turns are effortless and there is ZERO slop in the wheel. Going to do a little wheeling tomorrow as
A kind of a shakedown run and I’ll be able to tell you more next week. It’s leaking right now, headed back to the shop today and hopefully it’s a quick fix. Don’t want parts getting shipped to me in Moab. My hope is that it’s one looseish fitting.

My jeeps have always have tweaks, but I would say this one is “built”. Love how it’s coming together.

-Dean

*edit -- I'm such an f'in diva. had this thing ceramic coated, picked it up last week, routing some cables I noticed the entire front end is covered in oil (power steering fluid? brake fluid? Coolant???1?). Wringing of hands ensued, and I took it to the shop today.....

not oil. Armor all. apparently it's been "detailed" with drippy armor all on the undercarriage, had the residue in all four fender wells and on all four coilovers.

Crisis averted, and I get to wear the pink princess tiara for the upcoming trip.

I'm thinking its just going to get a bath after I take it out tomorrow.
 
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So longtime in between updates.

Everything is D-U-N done.

Added in PSC steering, pneumatic bump stop, got a midland to install and my KC lights across the front to go back on.

Exhaust, steps, coilovers, drive lines, regear to 4.88, bumpers, winch, front lights and rear.

Parts list above. More pics to follow tomorrow when I have a little time but I just got it back from ceramic coating so….,,,

View attachment 7084
Those wheels are awesome!

Keep it up, following your build closely as there is a lot done in such a short space of time.
 
“Pull in, back down”. The switchbacks on elephant hill were horrid, but not really. Everything was tight and looked nasty, but they babied the trail with patches of concrete and asphalt to keep the trail tight and together.

We loved Moab, definitely going back on the regular.

-Dean
 
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