The Crimson Bandit - JK Build

[BaddestCross]

Looking good! Sounds like you had a nice summer.

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Build Thread - Adventures of Fiona - https://wayalife.com/showthread.php?t=47407

 

[Eggdashure]

An interesting weekend for us. We took the Jeeps out and without having a real plan in place (the beauty of having the roof top tent and being able to stay where ever) and we headed towards Aspen. We wanted to go see the Maroon Bells, but that was a circus...buses and people, and paid parking, and crowds...we decided to roll on. I still had no idea where we were going so I pulled out my trusty Colorado Jeep Trails book and found something nearby. We cruised up a colorful canyon with a thousand bicycles on a road with no shoulder...gotta love CO!

I found our turn off, Little Annie Road and we started creeping up the hill. I missed a turn somewhere and somehow we ended up at the top of the Gondola on Aspen Mountain. They had activities for the kids and a good restroom break so it was a neat stop. From there, we headed up the hill and followed a mountain ridge for hours and hours. At about 3:30 in the afternoon, we came across Taylor Lake and knew this was our stop for the night. This little lake hovered at around 12,000 feet, so I knew we were in for a cold night. But it was a beautiful site!

And yeah, it was a cold night. Woke up with frosted Jeeps!

We woke up to make some Hot Cocoa and saw a guy bouncing along in an orange 2 door JK along the outside of the lake. As he got closer, I saw he didn't have any doors on his Jeep and thought that must have been a cold ride. He then turned off and came towards our camp. At first I was thinking he was a Forest Ranger making sure we didn't have a fire. Then he introduced himself and said he recently moved to CO a few weeks prior and was looking for directions back to the main road. I asked if he had a nice tent and he said..."no, I just sleep in the back of the Jeep." "in a 2 door...without doors?" I asked. He smiled and said "Yeah, I just hop up on that platform and last night was a cold one!" That is one of the more fun things about the Jeep scene! Strangers in the wilderness sharing Jeep adventures.

Thankfully, we were able to get down narrow shelf trail built in thick pines before anyone started heading up the hill. I also did this descent with a slight migraine headache and spots in my vision. Something I never want to attempt ever again! We can't wait to head to Moab this fall for a few overnights as well! If we can survive 12,000 feet in September above Aspen, we should be able to survive 4500 feet up to November in Moab.

 

[Eggdashure]

Busy day yesterday! My water pump began leaking profusely, literally I pulled out of the garage and had a steady stream of coolant on the ground. I recently replaced my thermostat housing because of a crack in it and I'm guessing that leaking on the water pump lead to premature failure. I ended up asking to work 4 10's this week so I could take Monday and fix the problem.

Thankfully, Napa had a replacement pump in stock. So I got to work about 10:30AM and finished the install by 1:00PM. Not too bad, just really hard on the back and legs as I stood on my bumper and reached down to install everything. Stupid lifted Jeep, whose idea was this anyway! :bleh: Thankfully, everything went back together well and no more leaks. :thumb:

Next on the agenda was a little eBay find...now...I know Teraflex products only fail because of being installed improperly, but I figured shocks were a pretty easy install, right? I found 4 Falcon 2.1 Shocks and one of the Nexus EF Stabilizers for a good price, so I ordered them and they arrived yesterday just as I was finishing up the water pump. They installed relatively easily and look really nice:

I've been a Bilstein guy for years, but these Falcon's blow the Bilstein's out of the water in terms of street ride quality. I'll have to give the Falcon's a proper test this weekend in Moab.

 

[Eggdashure]

The Bandit got a new set of shoes today. I went with Milestar Patagonia M/T tires in 37x12.50r17. I have had bad luck with used tires so decided to pony up for new ones. Of the 3 miles I have on them so far, they ride nice...as many have said, they are super quiet and look great. I might need to make a trip up Bangs Canyon tomorrow to see how they do off road. [emoji16]

 

[JKbrick]

Looks good, 37s look just right on a 4 door

 

[Eggdashure]

Looks good, 37s look just right on a 4 door

Kinda wishing I had gone with the 38's, but they are 13.50 on the width and 12.50 is already over/pushing the limit on stock rims.

 

[TrainWreck618]

Kinda wishing I had gone with the 38's, but they are 13.50 on the width and 12.50 is already over/pushing the limit on stock rims.

38’s are also a weird size that hardly anyone else runs.


Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE mobile app

 

[Eggdashure]

Good grief...The Bandit has been very needy lately! End of last year, I smelled coolant and found the thermostat housing was cracked. So I replaced the housing.

I smelled coolant again and found it leaking very slightly from the water pump. So I replaced the water pump.

A month later, I smell coolant again...this time, I find a pinhole leak in the radiator. Replaced the radiator.

Not even a week after finishing the radiator and the Alternator craps out. Replaced the Alternator.

Last week, I was leaking coolant AGAIN. It was pouring out over both sides of the back of the engine. After some research, I learned the Pentastar Engines have an oil cooler with coolant pumped through it. This was a pretty major repair so I studied up on what needed to be done and dove in. Since I had the engine opened up, I decided to replace the spark plugs too. I put it all back together, started the Jeep and it sputtered and sounded terrible. Turns out, one of the brand new spark plugs was faulty.

I'm hoping she will just run for a while without needing anything else!

 

[Eggdashure]

Early Christmas presents for the Bandit!

First, was proper Inner Fender Liners:

Next was a set of JL Hood Latches. My Jeep's hood latches weren't too bad, but the latches on my wife's Jeep were really bad. Anytime we passed a semi truck, the hood would flutter like crazy. So I figured, get them both done at the same time:

Before

After

It wasn't a difficult upgrade, but since it does involve drilling into the Jeep...it can be a bit unnerving! :beer:

 

[Jkjon]

Early Christmas presents for the Bandit!

First, was proper Inner Fender Liners:

Next was a set of JL Hood Latches. My Jeep's hood latches weren't too bad, but the latches on my wife's Jeep were really bad. Anytime we passed a semi truck, the hood would flutter like crazy. So I figured, get them both done at the same time:

Before

After

It wasn't a difficult upgrade, but since it does involve drilling into the Jeep...it can be a bit unnerving! [emoji481]

Looks good! What size holes did you end up drilling? Does your hood sit as flush with the grill as it did with the oem latches? I've seen some conversions that look like the hood is slightly open.

Sent from my GM1917 using WAYALIFE mobile app

 

[Eggdashure]

Looks good! What size holes did you end up drilling? Does your hood sit as flush with the grill as it did with the oem latches? I've seen some conversions that look like the hood is slightly open.

Sent from my GM1917 using WAYALIFE mobile app

I went with 3/8' holes all around. Stepper drill bit was my friend! I may need to go a hair bigger all around because the hood sits a little more open at the front than it used to, but zero flutter so far. I live in Grand Junction, CO (effectively a high desert) so rain/moisture isn't a big concern.

 

[Eggdashure]

I just finished installing the RT/Crown Big Brake Kit on my JKU. I also put on a new set of pads and rotors on the rear as well, best just to do everything all at once in my opinion.

Stopping power is much better. My Jeep used to dive in front under hard braking, now it is much more level. The pedal feels a little squishy, but it is likely due to needing a larger master cylinder (and it probably wouldn't hurt to bleed them again). Regardless, it doesn't take much effort to stop at all now and I'm happy.

I had a couple people ask me why I went with this kit. First and foremost, I take my Jeep off-road regularly, I didn't want slotted and drilled rotors...its too easy for junk to get in there and score things. Next, I don't live in LA, traffic where I live gets up to 55 MPH max...so I don't need to stop on a dime 0-70. Regardless, for the improvement I'm feeling, it was well worth the $500 for this kit!

I also added a front hoop for Kargo Master Congo Pro so my wife and I can share the roof rack as needed. The rear hoop and main beams are easy to swap...but the front hoop takes a fair bit of effort to remove and there is a risk of cross-threading the screws into the Jeep. Turned out nice!