Roof rack is painted and installed.





Pictures aren't the greatest, it was bright outside.
I tried painting one of the u-bolts (spares that I have) and it won't take the primer or the bedliner. So I left them as they were hoping that they will fade.

I am debating on doing a wind fairing or not. I have some KC lights for up front and side flood lights as well. I have too many lights in boxes

 

How sturdy is it?

 

With it bolted to the Thule bars, it is rock solid. Off the vehicle I can stand on it... but I don't wanna risk standing on the vehicle lol. Plus, I have no way to get up there.

 

Replaced the motor mounts finally. Driver side was done for. I could move the motor just by pushing on it.
















Took about 3 hours including the trans mount. First time replacing them on a XJ, and this is not hard at all.

18mm for the main bolt
15mm for the mount bolts

Replaced with some poly mounts I got for free when I bought the suspension. I think they are daystar brand, not sure but they look like it.

 

Nice xj, can't wait to pick one up for myself!

 

Thanks man. What are your plans for it once you find one?

 

Tinted my windows last week. Had my friends shop do ceramic tint all the way around. Big difference over the standard charcoal tint that everyone else runs. This CXP tint blocks the heat a lot better than charcoal tint. Clear film on the windshield is next to block all the heat through the windows.

Installed my front bumper and Fox shocks today too.







These shocks are a big difference over the generic white body shocks I had.

Waiting on my rear bumper/tire carrier that should be here sometime soon.

I think next on the list will be IRO or Serious Off-road long arms.

 

I need to redo my tint. How much did you pay? Where are the bumpers from?

 

The bumpers are Nates 4x4 front and rear. I saw your rear bumper and since I don't have to worry about end caps I figured it would be a good buy. And I have read good things about his work on CF. Mostly all the reviews on JF are about past experiences, nothing new.

I installed a JCR steering spacer when I did the bumper too. Super easy to replace, especially with a lift on.

 

Kind of going backwards here since I don't take many pictures of the progress anymore. I just do a before and after, not so much of the install like I did prior. So here are more pictures, because everyone reads the pictures

JCR Offroad steering spacer
and
JCR Offroad nut strip



Nates 4x4 front bumper as I received it.


Back seat down and it barely fits!


Fox 2.0 Emulsion shocks from Fat Bob's Garage



Steering spacer bolts removed. That is a spider web on the right bolt. Not sure how long it was in there.


The spacer install was easy. I did it with no problems. And I didn't disconnect anything other than the 3 bolts holding the steering box in place. My old one had a small crack on one side. Bolts came off easy, slide the box over a little, remove old spacer, insert new spacer, put one bolt in through the spacer first and thread into the box, insert other bolts evenly and torque down. I did this while installing the bumper since all the bolts were being replaced. Now I need to get this thing dirty again because there is to much shiny-ness on the front!

Oh, and these 130W KC lights are bright. I tested them out near the speedway last night and lit up Hollywood Blvd. I still think I need more lights


The shocks are a huge difference over the white body generic shocks I had (I think they were RC or Rusty's, not 100% sure). While installing the front shocks, I looked at my upper control arm bushings and it reminded me that I need to change those soon. And since I need to replace them, I figured it would be a good time to upgrade the arms. All of them. Even though my lowers were installed last May and have roughly 13k miles on them.

 

Got my rear bumper in today from Nates4x4.









It fits in the back with everything out!

Swingout tire carrier, hitch and d-ring tabs on the bumper. Hi lift mount on the carrier. This bolts to the factory 8 points (two on each side) and the 6 factory hitch mounts. I have a JCR nutstrip right now so this should be a simple install.

All I need now is a license plate relocation. Sanding and primer tonight. Satin black paint tomorrow. Install Saturday. Can't wait!

 

Ordered on Presidents day so only 12 business days. I ordered the front bumper the same time and received it last Thursday (8 business days).

The front is solid. And I am waiting on the rear to dry before I finish the final coats.

I didn't receive instructions on the rear but it seems pretty self explanatory once the hardware is laid out (8 metric bolts for the factory mount and 6 SAE bolts for the hitch mount). It looks like the strip with 3 square holes is for the 3 carriage bolts (possible nut strip??) but I'm not 100% sure. There were no wheel studs or anything to mount the spare to the plate. There are 3 bolts 1/2-20 in the bag with the swingout latch. Maybe those are for the spare? I have 3 other 1/2-20 bolts, washers, lock washers and nuts that I think are for the hitch mount.

I have the JCR nut strip so that part is taken care of. And the metric bolts to the factory mount are good to go. I haven't looked at the latch yet, but it seems easy to assemble. As does the spindle assembly. Packing bearings by hand is FUN! My only hold up is the spare tire itself and how it mounts. Am I supposed to get wheel studs for it? The 1/2-20 bolts are the correct size... maybe I am overlooking something prior to complete assembly. Anyone else have this rear bumper/tire carrier?

 

Correct the square bolts go into the hole on the unibody and stick out the bottom.

 

Tire carrier and rear bumper are installed!

Tire carrier


Frame tie ins




Not exactly sure how I would lock this so no one can open it...


Need to paint this cap black



My only complaint is the tire carrier itself. (3) 1/2-20 bolts are supplied as wheel studs. Mounting the wheel by yourself is a bit challenging as the bolts are not pressed in. I will be replacing these with press fit wheel studs from AutoZone, part number 610-138.1

Wheel Stud Style:Press-in
Wheel Stud Thread Size:1/2-20 in. RH
Knurl Diameter (in.):0.535 in.
Underhead Length (in):0.313 in.
Overall Length (in):1.531 in.


Still need to relocate my license plate with a light to be legal in Nevada... I just don't know where to put it.

 

License plate is mounted and it is legal! (I think in most states at least).



Used some lite bolts from AutoZone. Wired to the tail lights on the passenger side. Plate bracket was $5 and the bolts were $12. Not bad for LED license plate lights.

Spare tire now has studs too. I was going to mount the plate on the spare with either the GenRight kit or the Warrior Products kit, but I couldn't justify spending $100 on it. I ran numerous options on paper and pondered a mounting option for a few hours before I went to a few stores to see what they had. Under $20 for this setup.





View from the drivers seat. Not bad for a 31"... Can't wait to get my 33s.