In addition to the front differential cover, this year has been a year for armor. I welded and painted JKS LCA skids:



I've also been beating up my weak crossmember:



So, I got the belly pan from TNT Customs. Big difference in size, protection, and weight.



I still need to mount the t-case skid.

 

I have a t case skid that's on a beefed up cross member lol,..I need to get my gas tank skid on as that is very vulnerable....

 

My stock cross-member is starting to look like yours was, That is a nice cross-member/T-case skid, how much did it run you? I have my eye on the one that Hooligan Off Road is making for the XJ's. It is really stout.

 

I got the skid from TNT Customs after searching long and hard for a stout bellypan that would give me some extra clearance. I've never seen that Hooligan Off Road skid until now - it looks nice as well. In fact, I like that the t-case skid is integrated as it makes for a much easier install without having to drill through the frame rail like what's required of the TNT Customs skid (which is why I haven't put it on yet). Both companies advertise a 1-inch clearance gain - the TNT clearance is not the belly pan to the ground though, but rather the transmission and t-case as it raises both about an inch. That wasn't understood until I mounted the belly pan and did a measurement and then called TNT. Somehow the Hooligan seems to give an inch without raising the components which is more of what I was looking for even though their pictures are lousy to depict that.

 

I am very impressed with their work. I got the chance to go to a met-n-greet for NAXJA and open house for the shops at that location. I will someday get that cross member/T-case skid they had everything on display and also a rig with the product installed. On that rig they also made armor for the oil pan. These are made very stout. They also had a raffle, ($5 per chance) with a lot of great stuff to give away. I did not bring any cash with me but managed to scrap up enough out of my ash try for one ticket. I still can't believe I won the very thing I was hoping to win. (Mid stiffeners) I have not installed them yet because I have just to much going on this time of the year. They are twice the thickness of the front stiffeners I got from Rusty's.

 

What u doing for a gas tank skid,I have a rok classic and it's beef ..I valid Jack the jeep up with it if I wanted to

 

First post.

 

After 48k miles, my KM2s are time to be retired. I should have replaced them 1-2 years ago as they've become hard and a rougher/noisier ride and cupped. I spoke with a Discount Tire rep who told me the KM2 has two different rubber compounds on the tread - a softer one on top and a hard one on bottom - which explains what I've experienced.

Because I tend to over-think a lot of things, my next tire purchase was no different. Do I do two sets of tires? Bigger? AT or MT? I ended up creating a spreadsheet to help digest the options. I was able to boil it down to the Cooper ST-MAXX or the Cooper STT Pro and both in 265/75R16 and ultimately chose the ST-MAXX due to it's better winter handling. I should get them mounted sometime next week.

 

So you weren't a fan of the km2?

 

I liked the performance of the KM2 on the trails, but I didn't like how it wore and the ride quality in its later years. This was the first set I've actually worn through and decided to try something else.

 

Glad you had a good time, and I remember us talking about you having a lucky ticket

The irony of me winning two things, giving the spots back to the raffle, and then deciding I needed some mid-stiffeners for my mild XJ build not too long ago.

After looking all around, I truly feel that Hooligan's stuff is the best out there as far as the front and mid-stiffeners. They're mids *could* use a few more rossette holes, but I can easily make that happen.

Their 4-link front setup they have on an XJ on 40's, is by FAR the best on the market. It does require some welding though, but as someone who's built a thing or two...Josh's front setup is where it's at.

I usually can't get out of there without BS'ing with them for 30 minutes or more

 

I have a set of 31" Km2's (on the trail your right they are just fine). But I feel Fred Flintstone would have a better ride on the stones he had for wheels than I do when driving on the street. I plan on using them for my trailer when it's done and buying a set of 33" KO2's to replace them. I do worry that they won't work well for the trailer but I will give them a try before spending the $$$$ for new tires.


Hope you like the Cooper tires, My son in law put them on his Excursion, They worked well for him but because he tows a 30" trailer from time to time they aren't going to last very long.

 

I've been missing cruise control ever since I bought my XJ so I finally got around to installing it. I picked up a kit from a forum member (since I've never seen the switches in the junkyard I go to). To my surprise, the clock spring was missing the horn wire. Unfortunately the member wouldn't give me a new one so I proceeded the install just to see if cruise works.

First step of putting the canister in was trivial. Onto removing the steering wheel. Apparently my wheel was stuck on the column so well that it ripped right off.





To the junkyard in hopes of finding a new column. Praise God there was an XJ there with a wheel and column in tact. It even had a three-wire clock spring! And above all, the key was present so I could remove the ignition switch!



The junkyards around here don't sell airbags and seem to remove all airbags and steering wheel covers before leaving the vehicles out to pick from. So, since I can't seem to get an airbag cover designed for the cruise option, I cut mine.



And now I have the green light.



But for a long time, that's all I could get.

It's working now though.

 

I thought living in a dry climate that I'd be from cancer, but alas, I found this at my rear quarter panel.



I needed to stop the rust as best I could immediately until I figured out what the permanent fix would be. So, after taking the flare off and knocking the rusted pieces out, I found the quarter panel was full of dirt. I also found a factory hole on the other side which I'm guessing is a drain hole. However, it was plugged with dirt, too, so it was ineffective. I got out as much of the dirt as possible and ground off the rust best I could and then coated the area with CorrossionX that I had.



Now to figure out how I want to permanently fix it...

 

I just read through your entire build thread, I enjoyed the read. I like the set up that you have.