Time to blow the dust off this thread and post a little update...
At the start of this year I decided to adult and took a full-time real job (
or at least as close to a "real" job as I could tolerate). Thankfully it's still within the off-road industry so I get to eat my cake and have it too. For the last 6 months I've been working as an assistant manager for a new four-wheel-drive shop in my area. To complicate matters shortly after we opened my manager quit and a few weeks later one of my sales guys quit which meant for the last 3 months or so I was doing three jobs. Needless to say, my travel time in 2018 has been seriously lacking. However, the upside is a lot of overtime combined with an employee discount means I could make a lot of much-needed and long-overdue repairs and upgrades to the LJ. So... without further ado, here's how she sits now:
Chassis: 2004 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited "LJ"
Duties: Street/Trail/Overland Rig
Engine: 4.0L inline six
Trans: 4-speed automatic
T-case - Housing: Command-Trac 231
T-case - Gears: 2.72:1
Axle - Front: Dana 30 with 27 Spline Chromoly Axle Kit
Axle - Rear: Dana 44 with 30 Spline Chromoly Axle Kit
Axle - Gears: 4.88:1
Differential - Front: Selectable Electronic Locker
Differential - Rear: Factory Trac-Lok Limited Slip
Body Lift: 1" Body Lift
Suspension Lift: 2" JKS Mfg JSpec dual-rate lift kit
Suspension Arms: JKS Mfg J-Link lowers and J-Flex uppers
Wheels: 16x8 black D-window steel wheels
Tires: 255/85R16 Cooper Tire Discoverer S/T Maxx
Beadlocks: Coyote Enterprises internal boltless beadlocks
Skid Plates:
- Skid Row Offroad Engine/Transmission Skid Plate
- Skid Row Offroad Steering Box Skid Plate
- Skid Row Offroad Front Lower Control Arm Skid Plates
- Skid Row Offroad Radiator Guard
Armor:
- AtoZ Fabrication HD Front Bumper
- AtoZ Fabrication Rear Bumper with Tire Carrier
- AtoZ Fabrication Rock Slides
Other Mods:
- 1" HD Motor Mounts
- Custom DIY Cargo Management System
- Aftermarket AM/FM/CD & Satellite Radio System
- Custom DIY dual fuel-can carrier
- ViAir Corp "Ultra Duty" 200 psi Onboard Air System
- Rigid Industries LED Headlights and Auxiliary Driving Lights
- Rigid Industries Ignite Series LED Auxiliary Reverse Lights
- 31.5 Gallon Safari Gas Tank by GenRight Off Road
- Odyssey AGM Battery
- TNT Customs Rear Spring Relocation Brackets
- Rugged Radio 5R
- PowerStop Brake Upgrade
- Soft-Top & Tonneau Cover
- Skid Row Offroad Mirror Relocation Brackets
- New HD Adjustable Front Trac-Bar
- Anti-Rock Swaybar System
- New 7" wide stock-style fender flares
Recovery:
- Warn 9500 XP Self-Recovery Winch
- Warn Epic Recovery Kit
- Blue Ridge Overland Gear - Strap Bag
- ⅜" Custom Splice Synthetic Winch Rope
- Factor55 FlatLink-E Shackle Thimble
- ⅜" Custom Splice Synthetic Winch Rope Extension
- Custom Splice Soft Shackles (two)
- 2" Hitch Receiver Shackle Adapter by Custom Splice
- 30' Semi-Static Recovery Strap
- 48" Hi-Lift
- Hi-Lift Recovery Kit & Off-road Base