Josh's JK build
- Thread starter joshuaj21
- Start date
Forgot to put this up, but finished this a couple weeks ago. Finally got around to chopping the third brake light tower and installing these. Turned out pretty well I think. Took an angle grinder and took it down as best I could. Used my dremel to cut off the tower itself then cleaned it all up and sprayed with 3M spray on bedliner. Not nearly as difficult as I thought it would be.
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MR.Ty
Token East Coast Guy
Nice. Glad to hear you caught that before it became a problem. :yup:
No kidding! I thought I could hear a small rattle when turning into a parking lot or my driveway, but figured it was just a "shimmy" when hitting uneven pavement or something so let it go... note to self, don't let anything "go"! Lol that could have been very, very bad...
Damn the bad luck...
Well, its been a short summer and got nothing accomplished with my rig that I wanted to... In any case, I am in a position to upgrade my rear bumper (and tire carrier), exhaust, and will likely do my front bumper while I'm at it. Last Thursday I was rear-ended on my way to work and have to say, I got lucky! The woman who hit me, not so lucky, health-wise she was fine, but her car was all sorts of jacked up. Was at a stand still waiting for a light to turn green and she wasn't paying attention (assuming she was texting and driving, but purely speculation) to traffic and barreled into me. She had to be going at least 40 mph. The front of her car wedged under my rear end, causing damage to my rear bumper, tow hook, exhaust, and I'm pretty sure the tire carrier. I haven't tried to open the tailgate yet for fear of not being able to close it. I'll let the shop deal with it, but I can see that the alignment is off from looking at it. My spare tire (still fully inflated somehow) crinkled her hood up to her windshield, hitch smashed in her front end, tail pipe took out passenger headlight, tow hook took out the drivers side head light, and (I'm assuming) the muffler gently removed her bumper from the vehicle. She was driving a little Hyundai Accent. It didn't stand a chance. LOL.
Anyway, I'm taking it to the shop today to get an initial estimate. Insurance company said do what you have to do and send them the quote. I haven't been in an accident in over 10 years, so it's hard to remember all the minute details and how I can get what I want out of this sh!t show... However, I'm also taking it to our dealership to get their estimate to compare, which I'm assuming will be more expensive. We have a very good rapport with them and they've helped me out a lot in the past with different things. There is also a 4WP right next door that they use for their aftermarket parts installs apparently. So, taking the replacement cost for stock parts, plus whatever else they find wrong, and taking the difference in cost of aftermarket parts, I'd like to keep it around $500 if I have to pay anything out of pocket for upgrades. I'm also not paying my deductible which I've consolidated into my "budget" for this. $500 max.
My muffler is leaking exhaust, so that's a no-brainer. I have been looking at different vendors and options, just keeping an open mind. From what I've found so far, the stock rear bumper is around $550 give or take. Not sure what the exhaust (figuring from cat back, because of the way it was impacted during the collision) replacement cost is, but estimating between $200-300 maybe? Same for the tire carrier, not sure what the replacement cost is for the stock one, but again, estimating at least $200. Again, I'm trying to keep a totally open mind about what I could replace them with, but looking at cost and what I'm looking for I've found these so far (and free shipping):
Rear Bumper w/ tire carrier - Body Armor 4x4 Rear High Clearance Bumper and Tire Carrier in Textured Black for 07-16 Jeep® Wrangler & Wrangler Unlimited JK (Q-tec: $676)
Front Bumper (might as well) - Body Armor Front Mid-Stubby Winch Bumper for 07-16 Jeep® Wrangler & Wrangler Unlimited JK (Q-tec: $369)
Exhaust - Gale Banks Engineering Stinger® Exhaust System for 07-11 Jeep® Wrangler Wrangler JK 2 Door with 3.8L, includes cat back exhaust and cold air intake together (Q-tec: $606)
Again, this is just what I've looked at so far, but am definitely open to suggestions. The shop will likely install the exhaust and rear bumper w/ tire carrier since the insurance will cover that labor (maybe not with aftermarket parts???). I would think the front bumper is bolt-on, so of course that is no issue to install in the driveway. I've looked over the past few days at different places and options, but I'm sure I've missed quite a bit. Any suggestions are more than welcome and new perspectives as well. Like I said, it's been a long time since I've had to deal with insurance companies and repair shops and I definitely don't mind doing the work myself, although its been probably 15+ years since I installed an exhaust...
Please let me know what y'all think. I would like to get parts ordered in the next week or less, so I have a bit of a time crunch once I get the initial estimate(s) today (insurance recommended shop) and Tuesday (dealership). Thanks in advance!!
Well, its been a short summer and got nothing accomplished with my rig that I wanted to... In any case, I am in a position to upgrade my rear bumper (and tire carrier), exhaust, and will likely do my front bumper while I'm at it. Last Thursday I was rear-ended on my way to work and have to say, I got lucky! The woman who hit me, not so lucky, health-wise she was fine, but her car was all sorts of jacked up. Was at a stand still waiting for a light to turn green and she wasn't paying attention (assuming she was texting and driving, but purely speculation) to traffic and barreled into me. She had to be going at least 40 mph. The front of her car wedged under my rear end, causing damage to my rear bumper, tow hook, exhaust, and I'm pretty sure the tire carrier. I haven't tried to open the tailgate yet for fear of not being able to close it. I'll let the shop deal with it, but I can see that the alignment is off from looking at it. My spare tire (still fully inflated somehow) crinkled her hood up to her windshield, hitch smashed in her front end, tail pipe took out passenger headlight, tow hook took out the drivers side head light, and (I'm assuming) the muffler gently removed her bumper from the vehicle. She was driving a little Hyundai Accent. It didn't stand a chance. LOL.
Anyway, I'm taking it to the shop today to get an initial estimate. Insurance company said do what you have to do and send them the quote. I haven't been in an accident in over 10 years, so it's hard to remember all the minute details and how I can get what I want out of this sh!t show... However, I'm also taking it to our dealership to get their estimate to compare, which I'm assuming will be more expensive. We have a very good rapport with them and they've helped me out a lot in the past with different things. There is also a 4WP right next door that they use for their aftermarket parts installs apparently. So, taking the replacement cost for stock parts, plus whatever else they find wrong, and taking the difference in cost of aftermarket parts, I'd like to keep it around $500 if I have to pay anything out of pocket for upgrades. I'm also not paying my deductible which I've consolidated into my "budget" for this. $500 max.
My muffler is leaking exhaust, so that's a no-brainer. I have been looking at different vendors and options, just keeping an open mind. From what I've found so far, the stock rear bumper is around $550 give or take. Not sure what the exhaust (figuring from cat back, because of the way it was impacted during the collision) replacement cost is, but estimating between $200-300 maybe? Same for the tire carrier, not sure what the replacement cost is for the stock one, but again, estimating at least $200. Again, I'm trying to keep a totally open mind about what I could replace them with, but looking at cost and what I'm looking for I've found these so far (and free shipping):
Rear Bumper w/ tire carrier - Body Armor 4x4 Rear High Clearance Bumper and Tire Carrier in Textured Black for 07-16 Jeep® Wrangler & Wrangler Unlimited JK (Q-tec: $676)
Front Bumper (might as well) - Body Armor Front Mid-Stubby Winch Bumper for 07-16 Jeep® Wrangler & Wrangler Unlimited JK (Q-tec: $369)
Exhaust - Gale Banks Engineering Stinger® Exhaust System for 07-11 Jeep® Wrangler Wrangler JK 2 Door with 3.8L, includes cat back exhaust and cold air intake together (Q-tec: $606)
Again, this is just what I've looked at so far, but am definitely open to suggestions. The shop will likely install the exhaust and rear bumper w/ tire carrier since the insurance will cover that labor (maybe not with aftermarket parts???). I would think the front bumper is bolt-on, so of course that is no issue to install in the driveway. I've looked over the past few days at different places and options, but I'm sure I've missed quite a bit. Any suggestions are more than welcome and new perspectives as well. Like I said, it's been a long time since I've had to deal with insurance companies and repair shops and I definitely don't mind doing the work myself, although its been probably 15+ years since I installed an exhaust...
Please let me know what y'all think. I would like to get parts ordered in the next week or less, so I have a bit of a time crunch once I get the initial estimate(s) today (insurance recommended shop) and Tuesday (dealership). Thanks in advance!!