Maggie the Yellow JKU

AZ Explorer said:
If it was cool enough here to install after work, the cage would get done faster. Staring at all the parts on the floor of my office is starting to get to me.



Pics will be up as soon as it's in for sure. I'm always checking in on yours just because it is so similar. Always interested to see what you're up to.



Thank you very much!!
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Only cool thing I got going in the cage. Other than that my jeep is F'd and trying to track down the DW issue. :(


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M_Savage said:
Only cool thing I got going in the cage. Other than that my jeep is F'd and trying to track down the DW issue. :(


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Yeah, I've been reading that. Did you ever end up getting your unit bearings done? I was surprised how little movement is considered a problem with those in Eddie's video. He did say it can cause DW. If the ball joints are good and the new track bar is good as well as the mounting locations... then the units are all that's left, I think. Could you have a tire thats out of round or unbalanced? I don't think that causes it but I had a 71 bronco that the DW was worse because the tire was out of round. We rotated them front to back and it went mostly went away. Finally we found out the axle side track bar bushing was shot and that fixed it the rest of the way.
 
AZ Explorer said:
The cage is back from powder but that will have to wait until the weekend because it's too hot, like 118 degrees hot. So this weekend will consist of early mornings to get as much done as I can before it gets unbearable.
In the meantime, the Rotopax mounts are also back and these were a quick 15 minute job including grabbing the tools and putting them away afterward. The work well for my application and look good too as well as keeping the license plate visible to the PO-PO.

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Mike_JK_Houston_711 said:
Looking good! Can't wait to see the cage. I have the same roto mounts. Super easy install and pretty stealth when you don't have the actual cans mounted.


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Rotos look good. What size are they? I have a 2 gallon water one that looks about that size but it looks thinner than those.
 
AZ Explorer said:
Yeah, I've been reading that. Did you ever end up getting your unit bearings done? I was surprised how little movement is considered a problem with those in Eddie's video. He did say it can cause DW. If the ball joints are good and the new track bar is good as well as the mounting locations... then the units are all that's left, I think. Could you have a tire thats out of round or unbalanced? I don't think that causes it but I had a 71 bronco that the DW was worse because the tire was out of round. We rotated them front to back and it went mostly went away. Finally we found out the axle side track bar bushing was shot and that fixed it the rest of the way.
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I haven't had a chance to do the unit bearings. Was hoping the track bar would fix things and I would return the unit bearings. But since that's not the case I'll probably keep them and install this weekend.
Also have since found a few more issues since playing around the last week or so. Upper control arm on axle side could be replaced. Drive side ball joint seem to have a little play... and my axle is now off center with the new track bar..:(


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Don't stress over the axle being off center with the new track bar. That won't cause any issues.
 
Ok, the cage is in and all I have left is all the trim pieces. Mostly detail cutting and install of said trim. But before that I will need to vacuum all the metal shavings from all the drilling.

I have to admit, it truly was a royal pain and now that its in, it's not coming out. Removal would result in broken coupler bolts so if my dash speakers go out, for example, I'm screwed. Well, there is a solution but it would require drilling and through bolts so let hope I won't ever need to do that. I think that as nice as it looks, I'd probably recommend something else. I just don't know if its worth all the extra hassle particularly when you consider that once the padding and door surrounds are on the difference from rock Hard's cage isn't that big. When not running door surrounds, it would be more noticeable but I almost never do that. If I was running a more modern looking Jeep, I might even go with the EVO.

Don't get me wrong I do like the PS cage and maybe once everything is cleaned up and a little time has passed, I'll be happier with it. As I said before, I am sure it is as safe as anything out there, and it does look good.

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Same as with the other tube cages. Sitting in the seat, it seems like some visibility is lost. However, when you lean forward you can tell that the top of the bar is about lined up with the front of the hood. So what you are really losing is just seeing the hood. You can see the road about as well as before. It will take some getting used to though. Plus the Mastercraft seats are a tad lower than stock so if it bugs me too much I may put some 1/2 inch spacers in and boost the seats up closer to the factory location.

It is snug to the dash but not touching it. Maybe an 1/8 gap inch at any given point.
 
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Sharkey said:
Looks good. Are you going to figure out a way to tie it to the upper windshield at the A pillar?
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Right now I'm not worried about it. I figure it's a s secure as any of my old CJ's... probably more so since the brackets aren't hinged. If it ends up being squeeky or otherwise an issue I'll address it. I don't think coming up with a solution would be that big of a deal.
 
Pretty much finished with the cage

The Jeep is finally back together. All the trim pieces are done and it wasn't too bad at all to do. The driver side upper at at the visor had to be cut a little extra because of the hands free mic. I had to cut right at the old hole and cut a new square up and inward. Had to also trim the carpet and floor mats but that wasn't bad either.

My leg did rub a little on the floor mount but when I put my dead pedal back in it was fine because it keeps my leg up and to the inside a tad more. If it becomes a problem for my wife, there is a passenger side dead pedal available from the same manufacturer as my other one. Nothing rubs or hits the hard doors and so far no squeaking or rattling. The windshield bar is actually easy to get used to and driving it, I can see a little bit more of the hood than I thought from my test sit.

I got one minor scratch on the passenger side floor mount but it is easily touched up and I have to keep reminding myself that this is a trail Jeep and not a show car. I was looking at Eddie's 2015 Sema thread this morning and realized a Jeep can look used and still look really good.

I also cracked my windshield while it was tipped forward during the install. Even though it was on a wadded up blanket, the weight of it all putting pressure on the many rock chips it has from Arizona Hwy. driving was too much for it. I knew a replacement windshield was coming because there were at least 15 chips some of which were big but I was dragging it out as long as possible. Good thing I have windshield coverage. I left my Piaa lights off until I get the guy to come out and replace the glass. I'll have that done probably sometime this week or next weekend. The lights have to come off for him to change the glass anyhow so he has room to work.

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Great work on the cage, it looks great!

I also had my windshield crack when I put my cage in. I don't know if maybe I hit the glass when putting the dash bar in or if when I tightened everything it compressed it enough to crack. Of course, I put a new windshield in and a week later it cracks again in traffic... so now I'll be on windshield #3 so far this year :crazyeyes:
 
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