BChaffins
New member
I picked up a 2008 2Dr Sahara, 6 speed manual and 3.73 gearing with factory limited slip about 4 months ago. We were looking for another 4x4 and this fit the bill mostly do to it having only 40k miles on it. Looks like it came from a single owner who had it in Northern Canada before it went through a repo and came back to the states. It still had original tires and brakes. It also has the 3 piece Freedom hardtop, but no soft top. It also has factory engine block heater and a batter heater.
My wife has always named all of our vehicles and this one became Dusty after Philip Seymour Hoffman's part Dusty in Twister, one of our favorite movies.
After getting Dusty home the first project was to check over everything and look at repairing the e-brake which didn't budge at all. I discovered that the brakes were shot and the e-brake was rusted tight and the rear rotors were pitted pretty bad with rust. It looks like Dusty spent her whole life in the snow.
A replacement of all the rotors, pads and a full rebuild of the e-brake put everything back in perfect operation. I installed a PowerStop kit and have had no problems. During the brake job I also discovered the passenger side front axle u-joint was shot. There was noticeable play on the bearing caps. Since I wanted to replace the axle lube anyway I figured this was a good time to have both u-joints replaced and check the seals. The passenger side seal was leaking just a little so I decided to go ahead and replace the seals and install new covers. After getting the seals and all the socket extensions I could borrow I had my makeshift seal installer ready to go. A couple of Riddler axle covers and Amsoil Gear Lube and the job was complete in a Saturday afternoon.
From there It was a list of things to make Dusty mine.
* Quadratec Floor Liners
* Grab handles
* Oscar Mike Star Decal for the hood
* Smittybilt GEAR Tailgate Cover
* Besttop Trail Cover for those Michigan days that I don't feel like putting the hard top back on.
* Spiderweb Shade top
* Harken Hoister
* Daystar Hood Wranglers
* Breedlove Antenna mount for my VHF/UHF antenna (https://breedlovemounts.com/)
* TrekArmor Seat covers on the way
* All oils changed to Amsoil
Dusty also came with the RER Navigation radio, which I was indifferent to. The LCD was scratched pretty badly but it seemed to work. Since getting Dusty I've upgraded the radio software, the Gracenote DB and replaced the LCD with a new replacement part I got from Ebay. I do electronics for a living and did the actual LCD replacement and not one of the removed radio fronts. The LCD cost $125 as a NEW part.
I also installed my Kenwood TM D700 VHF/UHF radio and run APRS. The Breedlove antenna mount is one of the best I've ever found.
We are getting ready to head to the Rocky's in Colorado for vacation. We rented a cabin at about 8,500 ft alt. Not a Jeep vacation, just going to kick back and unplug from the net with the exception of my wife, Ham Radio and our 10 month old German Shepard.
After we return from vacation the real build will start. I'm planning a moderate lift, wheels and tires. I've connected with a person on this list for a set if low mileage Goodyear Duratracs 315/70-17's on black Procomp wheels. I've planed to get rid of the 18" wheels from the beginning. Can't wait to get them early October.
I'm still struggling with which lift to do, but am starting to consider one of the sport lifts to get me started. I'd really like to do a Evo Enforcer but I'm afraid it might give me more lift then I want right now due to being a 2 door. I was not planning to replace any drive shafts this year. But I do want a lift kit that will let me continue adding to it without having to just start over. The ones on the top of my list are Evo Enforcer 3", Ranch Sport lift 3" or A Metal Cloak 3". I really just want something to accommodate the 35's I'm expecting to get.
During the list I'll be adding a rear bumper/Tire carrier to get the spare off of the tailgate. Then a front bumper would be next. I'm looking into replacing the front axle and adding lockers.
My expectations include:
* Maintain road ride
* Handle 35" tires
* Offroad parks here in Michigan which include woods, logs, hills, mud and water crossing
* And in the winter 2 miles of dirt road that is not plowed often to get to my house.
I plan to start adding details as I get started on the build. I will also post some of the details of what I've already done.
My wife has always named all of our vehicles and this one became Dusty after Philip Seymour Hoffman's part Dusty in Twister, one of our favorite movies.
After getting Dusty home the first project was to check over everything and look at repairing the e-brake which didn't budge at all. I discovered that the brakes were shot and the e-brake was rusted tight and the rear rotors were pitted pretty bad with rust. It looks like Dusty spent her whole life in the snow.
A replacement of all the rotors, pads and a full rebuild of the e-brake put everything back in perfect operation. I installed a PowerStop kit and have had no problems. During the brake job I also discovered the passenger side front axle u-joint was shot. There was noticeable play on the bearing caps. Since I wanted to replace the axle lube anyway I figured this was a good time to have both u-joints replaced and check the seals. The passenger side seal was leaking just a little so I decided to go ahead and replace the seals and install new covers. After getting the seals and all the socket extensions I could borrow I had my makeshift seal installer ready to go. A couple of Riddler axle covers and Amsoil Gear Lube and the job was complete in a Saturday afternoon.
From there It was a list of things to make Dusty mine.
* Quadratec Floor Liners
* Grab handles
* Oscar Mike Star Decal for the hood
* Smittybilt GEAR Tailgate Cover
* Besttop Trail Cover for those Michigan days that I don't feel like putting the hard top back on.
* Spiderweb Shade top
* Harken Hoister
* Daystar Hood Wranglers
* Breedlove Antenna mount for my VHF/UHF antenna (https://breedlovemounts.com/)
* TrekArmor Seat covers on the way
* All oils changed to Amsoil
Dusty also came with the RER Navigation radio, which I was indifferent to. The LCD was scratched pretty badly but it seemed to work. Since getting Dusty I've upgraded the radio software, the Gracenote DB and replaced the LCD with a new replacement part I got from Ebay. I do electronics for a living and did the actual LCD replacement and not one of the removed radio fronts. The LCD cost $125 as a NEW part.
I also installed my Kenwood TM D700 VHF/UHF radio and run APRS. The Breedlove antenna mount is one of the best I've ever found.
We are getting ready to head to the Rocky's in Colorado for vacation. We rented a cabin at about 8,500 ft alt. Not a Jeep vacation, just going to kick back and unplug from the net with the exception of my wife, Ham Radio and our 10 month old German Shepard.
After we return from vacation the real build will start. I'm planning a moderate lift, wheels and tires. I've connected with a person on this list for a set if low mileage Goodyear Duratracs 315/70-17's on black Procomp wheels. I've planed to get rid of the 18" wheels from the beginning. Can't wait to get them early October.
I'm still struggling with which lift to do, but am starting to consider one of the sport lifts to get me started. I'd really like to do a Evo Enforcer but I'm afraid it might give me more lift then I want right now due to being a 2 door. I was not planning to replace any drive shafts this year. But I do want a lift kit that will let me continue adding to it without having to just start over. The ones on the top of my list are Evo Enforcer 3", Ranch Sport lift 3" or A Metal Cloak 3". I really just want something to accommodate the 35's I'm expecting to get.
During the list I'll be adding a rear bumper/Tire carrier to get the spare off of the tailgate. Then a front bumper would be next. I'm looking into replacing the front axle and adding lockers.
My expectations include:
* Maintain road ride
* Handle 35" tires
* Offroad parks here in Michigan which include woods, logs, hills, mud and water crossing
* And in the winter 2 miles of dirt road that is not plowed often to get to my house.
I plan to start adding details as I get started on the build. I will also post some of the details of what I've already done.
