Our family Adventure WJ "Dinosaur"

[Bretthn]

Nice WJ! I may have to steal a few ideas for mine too. Any reason for the 5100's over the OME shocks? I run the OME's and was just curious.

Steal away, not much is original. I have had Bilsteins on many of my past vehicles and always loved them. When I started looking for shocks the only thing in my head was what are my Bilstein options. I have heard great things about the OME shocks though.. if they are as good as their springs they must be great. How do you like them?

I need some new shocks for my WJ...as well as a new stereo...my stock one just played its last song yesterday afternoon!

I really like the inflatable mattress in the back...I've slept in the back of mine just on some folded up comforters, and at 6'3" it was no fun at all.

I highly recommend the 5100s and hopefully 206WJ will give his experience with the OMEs. Even at 6'3" you should be able to stretch out if you have done the rear seat quick disconnect mod.

How do you like your lift overall? Any issues with vibrations? I've been debating on running the upcountry springs, or the OME. I just don't want to have to worry about the drive shafts!
Really like your setup!

I am very happy with the lift. It is and does everything I expected of it. I have not experienced and vibrations and you should not have to worry either using either of those springs. Typically it is at 4+ inches of lift that people start experiencing drive shaft issues.

Rattling that's a attractive jeep! I really like my JKU, but if they hadn't created a 4 dr wrangler, one of these would have been my next option.

Thanks.

Thanks for taking the time to share your information and photos. It's a very nice build and I appreciate having the information.

Thanks.

[bubba46]

Bretthn,

Great post and build! I'm now planning w/ the wife for a weekend in the area for the zoo. She's too far along with #2 for any offroading though.

We're somewhat new to the New Bern area and planning for a day trip to Point Lookout later in the summer as well. We'll probably take her WK for that trip.

Any good family oriented clubs in the area that you know of?

cheers.

[ghoulie]

Bretthn,

I am wondering how you coped that plywood storage deck around the interior so closely. Did you make a cardboard template first? Is the wood 5/8" or 3/4"? Would you be willing to trace a template if I sent you a large enough peice of paper?


Best,

Michael

[WKexpedition]

Great build dude. Really like the storage set up. Very simple, clean, and budget minded. Just what I'm looking for. Ha

[b4wscrambler]

Cool thread. Thanks for sharing.

[jhc5]

Bretthn,

I am wondering how you coped that plywood storage deck around the interior so closely. Did you make a cardboard template first? Is the wood 5/8" or 3/4"? Would you be willing to trace a template if I sent you a large enough peice of paper?


Best,

Michael

Seconded! Your platform is a fantastic idea.

[madZJ]

Nice build, I will be "borrowing" some of those ideas as well. Just got my first WJ after my third ZJ was totaled and will be spending the winter gathering parts for a spring build.

[Bretthn]

Thanks for all the kind words.
Clubs in the area? I know there are a few, but I am not affiliated with any. I would love to hook up with one if I could find the time between work and family.
The platform has worked flawlessly. The only thing I would like to change is adding some carpet to the top to clean up the look and give some traction for when I throw small items on top and dont want them sliding around without strapping them down.
I used a large sheet of stiff cardboard and made a template. I made the actual platform out of two pieces so I could fit them into place. I then tied them together from the bottom, (not pretty, but functional and noone sees that part.)
It is 3/4 inch hardwood ply. I would love to help out in any way, if anyone would like a template shoot me a pm.

[Bretthn]

Well, it is time to do brakes. I have used many pads in the past and typically stuck with oem rotors. I am not interested in anything drilled or slotted. I would like something that is cast since the oem rotors are prone to warping. I will be switching from the ATE calipers that came on the Jeep to as set of new Akebonos.
There is a lot of information on (jf.com) but it is pretty biassed in my opinion. Right now I am leaning towards EBC Greenstuff pads and Napa premium rotors.
I do not think I want the EBC Yellows since I have heard they do not have good bite until they warm up. (Jeep is not a race care)
I have heard Hawk LTS are good but no specific details.
I have read about Blackmagic pads but do not think they are suited for me.
I have read lot about stillens rotors and pads but I am not interested in slotted and drilled. I wonder how their metal matrix pads would work with Napa rotors?
My last SUV was a v8 Touareg with 6 piston front and 4 piston rear calipers. I would love to get that kind of braking performance but also understand that they are two totally different vehicles. The best I can hope for is good cold bite, no fade under heavy braking conditions, reliability, and longevity.
I would appreciate any experience and suggestions.

[Bretthn]

I changed my rear differential fluid last weekend. Hopefully I will get to the front soon. The veriloc axles require a friction modifier to be added for them to work properly otherwise you will get binding when turning. I went with Redline 75W140 full synthetic that contains the proper amount of additive.
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Make sure to leave the top bolt in place to keep the differential cover from falling in your drain pan while the fluid drains.
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Things looked good. I did not see any signs of water and there was very little shavings on the magnet on the diff cover.
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I cleaned out all the old fluid and rtv from the differential and cover then sealed it back up with Permatex Ultra Black rtv. By the way... make sure to get a bottle pump before attempting to refill with new fluid. I managed without but it was not an easy task.
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Since I had to disconnect the sway bar anyway I took the opportunity to clean and grease the sway bar bushings. I also put a hose clamp on the differential breather hose.
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