AEV Gladiator Rubicon

[Flyin6]

With that cat in the bag, I started the reassembly.

That process is very much two steps forward and then one step back. It is like fitting a puzzle together. And sometimes you get to do the same thing a couple/several times before you figure out the exact hardware stack up and order of reassembly.

One thing I did notice is that the AEV monster lights will not fit now! If they did, I think I'd opt to leave them out or reposition them because the radiator is starting to get crowded and all that stuff has to be affecting/limiting airflow.

I'll give it some thought, but expect something to change here

[stlaser]

I agree I wouldn’t pay $2300 for a new warn winch either. In fact I have yet to pay over $500 for any of the older warn units I own. Most sub $200 and then refurb as needed. Best of luck to ya on the HF winch 

[JR]

Looks good but wouldn't it had been easier trim the handle a little vs cutting a chunk from the bumper?

I think Yankem ropes make a fairlead that captures the loop on the line vs having the big hook on there. Kinda a tossup on that as the hook is handy, but soft shackles are way safer.

[Flyin6]

Looks good but wouldn't it had been easier trim the handle a little vs cutting a chunk from the bumper?

I think Yankem ropes make a fairlead that captures the loop on the line vs having the big hook on there. Kinda a tossup on that as the hook is handy, but soft shackles are way safer.

I'll look into it JR

[Flyin6]

I agree I wouldn’t pay $2300 for a new warn winch either. In fact I have yet to pay over $500 for any of the older warn units I own. Most sub $200 and then refurb as needed. Best of luck to ya on the HF winch 

I tell ya S, for a HF, this is really top-of-the-line. I had their older 12K winch and it looked cheap and sounded different too. This one looks like a Warn Xenon in every way. I think it even has a faster line speed than the Warn unit.
Dunno, won't know for sure until I get a couple of good pulls on it, but with the trails around in the Daniel Boone, winch time won't be long in coming.

[JR]

If someone can break it or test it, you can. Find some mulch and go for it!!

[Bigdave_185]

This winch sounds like the snake oil Tesla lol


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[Flyin6]

If someone can break it or test it, you can. Find some mulch and go for it!!

I'll try a test run on the Rubicon before venturing into deep, fresh mulch! Who knows what the depth of that stuff could be? And what if there is a curb covered up in there somewhere that I could hit?
Seriously, what were you thinkin'?
;-)

[Flyin6]

Recognition is given where Recognition is due.

To the credit of Rough Country. You may recall a couple of days ago I broke a 5-cent electrical connector, trying to move it from one place in the factory Jeep Bus to another. I did not know then, that this particular bus organic to the Jeep is notorious for not providing an adequate signal from all of its available ports to drive something you want to work when a door is opened or closed.

You may recall I spoke to a technician at Rough Country. He offered to send me a whole new box, and a chipping credit to get the old one back to him. or the parts I needed. I opted for the second option, saying to just send me that leg of the wiring harness and a new controller.

Today a FedEx truck delivered me a complete kit! He sent me the whole thing, new!

That is standing behind your product and moved RC up a couple of notches in my book. I'll visit them again!

With this major winter storm descending on us in a few hours with below zero temps, I will probably not be working on the Jeep again until after Christmas...

[JR]

Thats Great 

[Flyin6]

Still on Christmas break (Wife sez no-workie on Jeep)

I was researching the suspension and made some discoveries.

It is equipped with the "normal weight/light load" springset. What this means is when I start adding more than 300 pounds I will start to get big sag.

Bummer

That means the suspension will need some upgrades. I sent AEV a note asking them about it. They apparently also manufacture a set of "Over-landing" springs that have a 3" ride height vs the 2.5" and will carry 700-800 additional pounds.

I will need to change the springs, so I'll make this option number 1.

But I also want to raise it another inch or two. My thinking is that 4.5" or less is a mild lift, but the 2" will get those running boards more ground clearance.

So looking into more lift, well, the control arms will no longer work, so I'd be looking at 60% of a whole new lift. Dunno, but more to come on this...

[Bigdave_185]

Metalcloak make good stuff


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[Flyin6]

Metalcloak make good stuff


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Dang, Dave

You're right! Wow, that stuff is a generation better than anything I am currently looking at. Gunna make a phone call!!!!!!!!

Now here is where it is hard for me to exercise self-control. One side of me says go full tilt, long travel, and on and on. The other side is telling me I plan to overland this with a top-heavy tent, and I just need some lift and good stuff. Really what I will be mostly doing is highway miles to wonderful off-road sites and camp areas, so that needs to be a large part of choosing parts for the suspension.

In any event, it looks like I'm gonna have 4.56 used gears and a used AEV RT suspension system for sale...

[Bigdave_185]

Call them up and speak with them about your intent.  They have a very knowledgeable group there. 


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[Flyin6]

Call them up and speak with them about your intent.  They have a very knowledgeable group there. 


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I left them a message. We'll see if they call me back.
I spent some time reading about their stuff. That is the longest travel suspension lift kit sold! And did you see those 6-pack shocks? I've never seen anything like that. Not what I need in my truck but that technology is all new.

[Flyin6]

I received a call back from Chris N at Metal Cloak.

Dave, you were very right about them, they are good people in more ways than one. I would very much like to work with them.

We talked over some ideas and my specific requirements and tossed around a few ideas. I think I will be working with them in the end, but they currently only offer a 3.5" lift but may be interested in doing a 4.5" kit. I would install that kit should we be able to make it all work out.

I just sent a message back to Chris detailing my requirements.

[Flyin6]

I was able to carve out some garage time today. First up, I finished the winch install and bumper reassembly. Turns out I was able to refit the AEV off-road lights.

[Flyin6]

With plenty of daylight, I pulled the defective wiring harness out from the earlier electric running board installation.

Rough Country had sent me a completely new electric running board kit from which I robbed the ECM and the wiring harness. I reinstalled that into the chassis.

With just a minimum of work, I had fully functioning electric folding steps

[Flyin6]

I found these ground illumination LED lights to be super cool and lit up the step area quite well.

[Flyin6]

I now only have to install the trim piece and reinstall the interior to complete that task, but two grandkids have birthdays tonight, so I guess I'm done for now.

This is my only concern, that being the components of these steps are somewhat exposed to trail hazards. Well, time will tell if these things can survive.

[Bigdave_185]

Good lookin front end ya got there!

So the jeep sits two inches taller then stock?
You struggle getting into the jeep now and want to go another 2.5” ?


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[stlaser]

I agree, I like the look of the front end on that setup. 

[Flyin6]

Good lookin front end ya got there!

So the jeep sits two inches taller then stock?
You struggle getting into the jeep now and want to go another 2.5” ?


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Jeep is 2.5" lift now

The electric running boards just made getting in a breeze.
No struggle with them

Want to go higher to keep those boards away from rocks

Make sense?

[JR]

Looks good but they stick way out!

[stlaser]

Good lookin front end ya got there!

So the jeep sits two inches taller then stock?
You struggle getting into the jeep now and want to go another 2.5” ?


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Jeep is 2.5" lift now

The electric running boards just made getting in a breeze.
No struggle with them

Want to go higher to keep those boards away from rocks

Make sense?

Not really, need tons now and bigger tires….. 

[Flyin6]

Just placed the Ripp coil packs on order

Dyno proved 40-45 ft/lbs. way down low, 1500-2000RPM.

I see that I will have to remove the upper half of the intake to install it, so a bit of a job

Also found a company making seat track extenders that will get me an additional 5" rear seat travel. Everything is way too tight in there. Driving over two hours gets to be a big ask, this should help.

Electric steps are working well. Kat loves them!

[Flyin6]

As you may already know, I am currently evaluating the suspension I will use with this JT

I established the truck came with the lighter-duty AEV 2.5" springs which will not work with the Overlanding additions which will be coming. Here is the response I just got back from AEV concerning my inquiry about upgrading their suspension:

Comments from AEV Tech Support:

Hello Donald,
Sorry for the delayed reply, our offices were closed over the holiday break.

The tallest coil spring that we offer as an option on our 2.5" DualSport kit, is our 3" High Capacity spring. We do not recommend adding a coil spacer. Anything over a 3" lift height will require steering componentry upgrades. Our Bilstein 5100 shocks and shock mounts are made to fit up to a 3" lift, so anything taller, will compromise the shock.

If you have any further questions, please give us a call at 248-926-0256.

Have a great day, David

Good people to be sure. But I do not see AEV as an alternative for my suspension needs.

So far I have been evaluating various suspension systems. I really want a bit taller than 3.5" but admittedly, on/off-road manners and the ability to carry some additional weight on occasion will be the determining factors.

I looked at several 4" and 4.5" suspension systems. Some of them have rubber joints and some have Johnny-style joints.

Either has its good or bad points. The rubber joints are maintenance-free, but can really limit suspension flex/Clevite bushings used in the stock Jeep arms have a max deflection of around 8 degrees.
Next up is the metal Johnny joint which can flex up to around double what the rubber joints can do. But those joints wear out and must be greased frequently, and they squeak. I have experienced this myself with some of my builds.

Thanks to Dave suggesting Metal-Cloak a Sacramento company I discovered that they have created a new joint made from rubber bushings that require zero maintenance and can flex to just over 22 degrees. That is huge. It allows this JT of mine to flex out 37" if I use their 3.5" kit!

I have made no decision yet, but the two best I can see are going to be Clayton engineering and Metal Cloak. If I had to choose today, it would be the latter. They have two shock options that will get you to the crazy flex so that's that for now.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=metal+cloak+bushings&&view=detail&mid=B9454168684DF393000DB9454168684DF393000D&&FORM=VRDGAR&ru=%2Fvideos%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dmetal%2Bcloak%2Bbushings%26FORM%3DHDRSC3

[Flyin6]

Here are a couple JT's doing ridiculous flexing with the Metal Cloak parts

[TexasRedNeck]

Have they got mulch beds that deep at the mall?


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[Flyin6]

Have they got mulch beds that deep at the mall?


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Haven't checked
But
The holes I've been in in the DBNF can be thought-provoking
With weight or towing something like that crazee kamper of mine, I'm gonna want some flex.
With the electric steps, I want more lift
And with all things I own, I can't stand to leave it alone...
My psychiatrist cannot explain this yet.

[TexasRedNeck]

Have they got mulch beds that deep at the mall?


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And with all things I own, I can't stand to leave it alone...
My psychiatrist cannot explain this yet.

And that’s the bottom line , lol


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[Flyin6]

Email advises the brown truck will arrive sometime today to deliver the new coil packs,
So
I went out this morning and ripped the top of the motor off in anticipation.
You'll see, but I sawed off the noise-canceling chambers in the stock intake tube too!
Pics coming...

[Flyin6]

And they arrived mid afternoon

So as always, here is the start shot:

[Flyin6]

And then I was disconnecting things from the stock air inlet pipe, then I pulled it:

[Flyin6]

I then removed tow big bulky sound chambers from the assembly with a saw:

I'll get back to the modification in a moment

[Flyin6]

I could get to the passenger side coils fairly easily after partially removing the heater coolant lines (No draining). After that, I pulled a bunch of stuff from the driver's side of the top of the intake manifold. Here is the problematic EGR valve. You can see evidence of oil already at just 2000 miles. Likely I will have to do something about this in the future

[Flyin6]

The top of the intake manifold was the next thing to come off:

I taped over the ports to prevent the nuts I dropped in there from escaping ;-)

Three coils circled are the reason I had to pull the upper manifold. They are hidden beneath the mani.

[Flyin6]

Next, I loosened the EGR hot pipe and pulled everything else that was in the way. I disconnected all the coil wires then loosened the retaining 10mm bolts to ready them for removal when the good stuff came in.

[Flyin6]

Patching up the sound chamber holes is fairly easy. I have used this technique in the past. I form some aluminum duct tape over the outside. This works if you have some sort of a lip to retain the epoxy so that it can't break free.

This pipe was flat-out easy. I filled one hole, then 10 min later the second, then in 10 more minutes, finished with a blend application. I used about 1/3rd of the available epoxy

[Flyin6]

Here are the new Ripp coils which provide 12% additional spark energy

[Flyin6]

I applied fresh spark plug grease.

Here is a comparo of the stock to Ripp. They are identical except for the color and what is going on inside.

[Flyin6]

The reassembly went as expected. It is somewhat tedious, but not overly hard. Jeep zip ties everything and does a fantastic job of routing lines and hoses, so you'll need to pay some attention to how things fit. I found it interesting that the transmission breather is attached to the intake manifold. Not plumbed in, but mechanically captured and held fast by it.

There was a bunch of added space gained by the removal by that air tube sound chamber assembly. I would like to think there is now added space for cooling air to flow around the motor.

[Flyin6]

The test drive was interesting. First of all, there is now some engine sound from where there was none. I get a good howl/rushing sound that immediately reminded me of the days I was shotgun in a full-tilt 911 Porsche. That sound is nice!

And although I could easily discount it to the psychological aspect of wanting to experience a change, I have to say the engine feels a wee bit more, eager to rev.

I filled the tank and reset the odometer to measure the distance. I am hoping to see a bit better fuel consumption numbers in a couple of hundred miles. The last tank delivered 16.14 MPG, so that is the baseline from which we will compare future measurements.

[wyorunner]

Looks like a pretty simple install! I like the idea of how you filled the sound dampener box holes. Do you remove the tape so as not to have to shiny stand out tape? I suppose the jb weld would also standout if the tape wasn’t there.

Good work chief!

[Bigdave_185]

I was going to ask the same question about the tape but then again it is down in the Tuck so things are just a little different anyway. 

What aftermarket air systems are available? I know there is some water in that MT range you keep talkin about. Do you need to fab a snorkel or buy a off the shelf system? Utah is out of water so I think it would be a waste in this area but I still see many Tacomas and jeep and 4Runner’s with roof top tents that never open, snorkels that will never ford water, expensive fuel can systems that have never been filled.


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[JR]

Maybe plumbers tape over or instead? That stuff is black and sticks to anything, have 3 rolls for my well.

I have to turn my VPN off to see the pics, what a pain. Nice job thought. Can't find anything like that for my LS, but they say wires and good plugs help.

[Flyin6]

I left the tape on until tomorrow. Then I'll peel it off, then spray a bit of plastic/vinyl interior black dye on it.

JR, I'll look at that plumber's tape, like the Gorilla tape. I actually have some of the latter.

Dave, I see that stuff all the time as well. But I'm as guilty as they are. Have a camper that has not been on a trip (yet). Have an Overland Suburban which has only been off-road a couple of times, but no adventures like I intended when I built it.

With this Jeep, you all may recall that I went wheeling the first weekend I owned it. With this one, I plan to break out of the building and not using thing.(I hope)

As for the snorkel, it's funny that everyone always goes straight to deep water fording. In the Stan, everything had a snorkel and there was almost zero water anywhere over there. I'd use the snorkel to try and pull from the freshest air for the motor. Secondary to that, should I find myself in deeper water than I thought (Due to a major miscalculation) then maybe it would save me from a hydro-locked motor, but I suspect the engine would have shorted out well before that.

I'm looking at the AEV snorkel, the Mopar unit, and one from Australia. Each of them requires a half-moon cut into the side of the hood to access the stock air box. And yes, I plan on keeping the stock air box.

[stlaser]

Sorry Boss, ran across this and I had too……


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[EL TATE]

Sorry Boss, ran across this and I had too……


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Never apologize for your artwork Shawn

[cj7ox]

That's a good one! ROFLMAO!