Actually doing Jeep stuff
 

HATE the plastic bumpers on this thing. Even with them being ceramic coated I have to reapply every 6 months or else I'll start seeing the white/gray spots. So I got a new rear bumper for the time being. Front will be replaced soon-ish. Need my bank account to recover after all the boat parts and Christmas.

I went with a budget brand after reading all the good reviews. Only complaints were nicks from shipping. Which mine had a TINY one right on the ends. Touched it up with touch up paint and moving on,.
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Hanging it from the ceiling from my hard top hoist to air brush the ceramic coating on prior to installation.
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Coating done.
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It fit fvcking perfect! Heard some complaints of folks saying they had to tweak it around to get it to fit. Which were rare, and figured most of those people are just full of sh1t, or retarded.
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Installed this too. Not much to see and didn't take any pics of the install.
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Didn't wanna drill my bumper so drill through my license plate. Right now I'll manually fill up the bags through the schrader valve. Don't forsee me adjusting these much.
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It's fun to watch the back end go up and down when you put air in or out. HAH!

Saw that on FB, looks clean. Well purposed purchase, since you don’t wheel it...lil bulky for me otherwise.

The bumper I ordered for Nissa’s TJ had the same shipping issues, ends brushed and chipped...otherwise solid as they come, especially for the price!

Interesting to see the bags, I’ve seen more people doing that...especially those towing. Pretty easy?

Take those D-Rings off...ugh, the clanking drives me nuts! And you never use them...do you?

As always, nicely done.

They have rubber isolators. Don't hear a thing. :) Part of the reason I went with this bumper specifically. Yeah I wanted the bulk as I wanted it to follow the stock fenders and such.

Bags were super easy and will be fantastic for towing. Jack up the back end and let the suspension droop, roll up the bags, and slide them through the coils. Run the air lines and you're done. I went slow and it took me maybe an hour.

Yeah, those rubber isolators can be bought separately...I’ll pass.

They can, but didn't wanna add yet another thing to order. Wanted to make it simple for the ole wife. :chug:

I hear ya...they came w/ Nissa's TJ bumper as well...I took them off and tossed them in the corner, still all bright and shiny...they are for sale on the local CL and FB MP :lol:

Nice! I like that bumper. I also didn't know you do / can airbrush the ceramic coating on.

When you apply those coatings, do you let it dry / cure and that is it? I recall you saying the application can be tricky...how do you remove the coating if you eff it up?

Yup. It's easier for textured surfaces to get it in the nooks and crannies. If you eff it up the only way you're going to remove it is to polish it off. It chemically bonds to paint. I.E. becomes part of your clear coat. So to remove it you have to remove the layer of clear that is now part of the ceramic coating. The application is only tricky as it goes on completely clear and you have to have the eye to see when it has flashed and is ready to be buffed off. Which can be trained if you don't naturally have a keen eye for defects and things like that.

Only time I generally air brush coatings on is things like air dams/grilles that are a honeycomb type shaped or wheels that have a fvck ton of small areas to get sh1t into......or metals/plastics that are very textured.

I thought about that as well and did a little research before I put the same type of setup on my wife's Tahoe. It's a non-issue. Ours are rated at 30psi, so not crazy to begin with, and there's 4-5ft of 1/4" OD air line tying them together so there's plenty of restriction fighting any side-to-side flow during cornering. I put them on T'd together like Suke but brought all the parts along to separate them. 500+ miles towing a big asss 8k lb camper around hilly/curvy northern Michigan and zero complaints whatsoever about the setup. If/when I do a setup like this again I'll do it the same way. Besides the ease of filling simultaneously, I also like the peace of mind knowing that if there's a leak or blowout I won't end up with uneven loading and the potentially nasty handling that it could cause.

Before you come back with 6 paragraphs of why I'm wrong and flow calculations through the 1/8" ID air lines, know that I simply don't care. I did my own research, I tested it, and it works great with that setup. Maybe it's different towing 30k lb with a 1 ton dually, but it works with a 1/2 ton towing a camper and I'm confident it'll do just as well with a JK towing a jet boat.

Thought about that, but the extra work wasn't worth the small benefit.
And that as well

:lol:

There it is :roflmao:

It's almost too easy. The subject matter expert on all subjects has it covered once again.

Enjoy your deathtrap Suke, I'll leave the bickering out of it.

I will. ;):D:chug:

So I bought a couple boxes of this kilmat stuff to do my engine bay on my boat as the factory stuff was getting brittle and crumbling.

Evidenced here
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Only took about a box to do the boat, so I thought hmmmmmm don't wanna deal with the hassle of shipping this back so figured I might as well do the jeep.

Love this thing, I could strip the interior out in under an hour.
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Cleaned it up and wiped it all down with alcohol.

Took about 3-4 hours to lay all this stuff down.
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Interior all back in.
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I didn't really have any expectations as to what it would do for road noise or whatever, but HOLY CRAP did it quiet it down significantly. I'd say it's ALMOST as quiet as our Civic, which is the quietest car I've ever owned. Can barely hear the hum of the tires at highway speed, which is nice for long trips. Also nice you can have a conversation at highway speeds without yelling at each other.

I'd ask how it holds up to water...but not only did you put it in a boat, you'll never get the inside of your JK wet anyway :lol:

Nicely done! What would you estimate the cost of doing that to the Jeep?

I run mine ONLY in the late spring, all summer and into late fall...never w/ a top on it too long, so I can't really see me doing this, unless I went 100% overlanding build w/ the top on all the time and drove it more year round.

It's waterproof, which is why I put it in the boat. It was about $100. Bunch of people on the jetboat forums used it, so I thought hmmmm I'll give it a shot.

No idea, but it costs 1/3 the price. Most of the noise comes up through the floor, that's why people complain when they put the headliner pads in the hardtop it doesn't so much. This made it a world of difference. I'll likely put this underneath when I eventually get the DEI boom mat stuff.

I've been looking into the Kilmat for my hotrod as well, the price seems decent. I've bought cheaper stuff before and was less than impressed.

Yeah it's all about what your expectations are. I had none since it was left over from doing my boat. There are probably WAY better options, but at this price point it's hard to beat.

I'm trying to quiet down and block some heat in my hotrod, the exhaust resonates a bit inside, looking to make it quieter since the kids ride in it more now. I don't expect it to get rid of all of it, but covering the firewall with something has to be better than the nothing that is currently there.

that was basically my thought. Something was better than nothing and wasn't willing to spend a ton.

How think of kilmat did you use?

Speaking of doing Jeep stuff...did a few light projects myself -

Replaced the spindle in my AEV tire carrier - hoping that solves the small wobble it had, kept breaking the saddle blocks, we'll see. Feels more firm now, that tire looks HUGE back there now that it's back on :eek:

Made a rear license plate light bracket - got pulled over in Moab last year cuz it wasn't lit :rolleyes:

Installed my Trektop NX - turns out I love it :lol:

Packed up another Plano box for gear storage. I can fit two of them plus my RTIC cooler back there, under the Tuffy security box and still have room for other small items. Used to have all my tools in a backpack, now I fit my tools, both straps, plug kit, fluid recovery kit, and small odds and ends in a box, love it! Other box has camping gear and odds n ends for general anytime use. The box fits nicely on my tailgate table as well, love that thing!

Hmm...also got my ATP handles and some Molle rear door extensions installed several weeks ago. With the hard top off (if you have a hardtop and don't have a Harken Hoister, GET ONE) I'll have to get the holes drilled and Rhino Rack mounted...but I have time for that. Moab is right around the corner :rock:

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Anyone w/ a 4 door JK absolutely NEEDS these...especially if you have kids!! Before and after, the door opening is amazing!!

Before:
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After:
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Factory vs. Molle
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For years I never installed the soft top cuz I had this, an easy on and off deal...but I'm running half doors and soft top for the trek out west, so this is such a great storage spot as well! Especially cuz I have very limited room otherwise :p
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Here's to working on some little things, finally!! :rock:

hauling a full-size 40 as a spare seams kind of ridiculous ... only reason i have a full-size 37 is because it was free. if going out over-landing for an expedition i could see it, like in racing, it'll be needed for extended use (i guess you kind of do that stuff). but when off-road, just keep one on the trailer ... or if you really want one around town just use a 35. it'll get you home that ONE time you use it, and be soooooo much less intrusive every day.

I like the rear door hinge extensions! I think Ill have to pick up a pair. Even with my small kids getting them in can be a pain.

Well, it came w/ my Jeep...and I like having things match, to boot. Otherwise, I don't run it locally, only when I head out on a long haul. Like the upcoming 3k mile round trip I'm about to take to Moab - and I've been known to lose a sidewall on occasion when I'm on the trail ;)

I've talked to a lot of peeps about the spare...and they all say to take one when overlanding, period. So I will, I do.

I'm not going to store it inside either, that's valuable space waste!


Word. My kids are both grown now, but even an adult needs more room to get in these things than those doors provide :lol:
Putting gear back there is what I do mostly now...and they are AWESOME!

Hopefully I can start doing Jeep things when I get back from Moab. Supposed to be leaving Thursday morning, but my truck is torn apart at the moment. Going to be down to the wire as to whether or not I can leave on time. High pressure fuel pump sh!t the bed and sent metal shavings through the fuel system....needs new pump, injectors, fuel lines, regulators, filters, etc etc etc..... :james:

Ha...my buddy Pat (SRT8) has his JK axles town out, doing a 1 ton swap, half doors...let’s just say, half doors came in yesterday from paint and he’ll be lucky to drive the Jeep next week. May even need to toss the 44’s back in if he can’t get it done :p

Ambitious efforts, I think he’ll make it. Ran into some snags, but when don’t you?!

Just out of curiosity...what did all the parts run you for cost (if you don't mind)? I've heard it can be in the 20k+ repair range if done at a dealer.

At the dealer, $12,000 - $15,000. I have a buddy that has a Diesel performance and repair shop to do the work. Total cost in parts was $5,730 and that includes a couple extra things dealing with the DPF. He'll have about 30-35 hours into the whole job when done.

My truck is a 2012 with 52,000 miles. Out of the 5 year/100,000 mile warranty

:eek:

WTF, how did that happen...and wow, that's pricey :eek:

I'd have to consider a Hemi swap at that point :lol:

Its the CP4 pump (High Pressure Fuel Pump) found in the Fords and Chevys. Bosch makes it. I've read several reasons why they break down, first is that they apparently doesnt do well with the ultra low sulfer diesel in the states, and it causes the pump to eat itself up with the lack of proper lubrication. The other is if the Flow Meter on the pump itself goes out and sticks open, it runs the pump at 100% duty cycle, 60,000 psi, and it eats itself up. Both send metal dust, shavings, or chunks through the entire fuel system....leading to you needing to replace everything; injectors, pump, fuel lines, regulators, filters, injector rails, etc etc.

They do sell a "catastrophe prevention kit" that is supposed to take those metal pieces directly back to the tank and bypass everything else. So you would just need to replace the pump instead of what Im having to do.

XDP catastrophe prevention kit

Unfortunately, thats what I was originally having my buddy install, but when he got in there to do the work, found it was too late. A $500 job before my trip turned into an $8,000 jobs real quick, and the truck is still not done, and Im supposed to be leaving in 20 hours.

Ah, your truck...read that as your Jeep. Damn, that so blows! Especially considering the timing, not just you were going to do the damn upgrade but you're leaving.

Why would that be an upgrade anyway, it should be included w/ the factory purchase, that's terrible!

:eek:.

That sucks!

This isn't the same pump that is in the 6.7 Cummins trucks? Its surprising that I don't read of issues nearly as much...if it has the same pump.

I have also heard water intrusion into the fuel on the Ford trucks is a major reason why warranty claims for these failures were being denied years ago.

I believe its a different pump in the Cummins trucks. Between Chevy and Ford, fortunately Ford is less expensive of a repair than Chevy, so I've heard. I've been reading a lot on it, and I've seen instances where people have their trucks in at the Dealer getting the work done under warranty, but the Dealer prefaces the work with, "During tear down, if we find any evidence of water intrusion, the warranty claim is denied". So you're going into it thinking its all covered, but might end up with a 15K bill.


Sorry Suke, didnt mean to hi-jack your thread....

there is no reason for that kind of number beyond pure price gouging.

When it takes 30 - 35 hour of labor...what do you expect? That is probably $4k in labor alone, at a stealership.

Also, see the term stealership.

You don't own diesel trucks do you?

Our labor rate is like 150 a hour. Dealerships around here are 160-190.

I know it was talked about in another thread, but those labor rates just blow my mind. Dealers around here are $130, which I still think is astronomical. With what new vehicles cost, the dealer should get a larger cut, so they can maintain operations and not have to gouge customers when they are fixing the $hitty overpriced vehicles that shouldn't need to be fixed in the first place.