AEV Brute

Posted on October 4, 2009 by admin

Are you looking to do something totally different with your TJ Wrangler? If so then check out the Brute body kit by AEV. Their pickup conversion kit will turn heads for sure while giving you a durable Jeep with increased storage and utility. Originally designed in 2002 and winner of a Daimler/Chrysler Design Excellence Award the Brute has been tweaked and made available in a kit form for you to build yourself. It comes to your door over 90 percent complete so you can expect to have your Brute on the road and turning heads after only 60 hours of build time. MSRP for the complete kit is just under $9000 but many of the parts are available separately .

American Expedition Vehicles
(406) 251-2100
www.aev-conversions.com

Posted in New Products | Leave a comment

Jeep Wrangler JK Skid Plates

Posted on October 4, 2009 by admin

The JK parts market has really taken off lately. One of the companies taking a crack at the new market is the manufacturer and retailer Poly Performance. They have recently released a skid plate system for the JK Wrangler that covers all of the major drivetrain parts. It includes an oil pan skid, transmission skid and transfer case skid. The oil pan skid allows for easy drain plug access making oil changes no harder than they were before adding the skid. This can be a problem with some skid plates. All of the skids are CNC cut from 3/16 inch steel plate which provides a flawless fit and enough strength to stand up to some serious trail abuse. Included in the kit is grade 8 hardware that mounts flush leaving a completely smooth skid that will not hang up on obstacles or leave you with mangled and impossible to remove bolts. You can order the kit with a powder coat finish or in an unpainted steel version. For more information just call up Poly Performance at 805-783-2060 or visit their website below.

www.polyperformance.com

Posted in New Products | Leave a comment

Tire Fitment Guide

Posted on October 4, 2009 by admin

One of the most common questions we are asked is, “What is the biggest size tire that I can fit on my Jeep?” Everybody wants to have that big tire look and they all want to do it as cheaply as possible. Who wouldn’t, after all money doesn’t grow on trees and Jeeps sure do suck up the money. If you can get by with only a 3″ lift to run 33’s then power to you and your wallet.

There is also a trend these days to use as little lift as possible to maintain a lower center of gravity which is important in rock crawling. The days of 8″ super lifts are coming to an end. People realize now that if you use a smaller lift, your rig will be much more capable on the slopes. To help you out with choosing the right size tire for your Jeep we have provided you with this tire size chart for Jeep vehicles. Use it as a general guide to finding the right tire for you although your results may vary because every vehicle is a little different. You might not get as big of a tire on your vehicle if your springs have sagged a little and you might get a bigger tire in if you re willing to cut a little sheet metal or change to an after market wheel with better backspacing. This chart will give you a good place to start though.

Model Stock 2″ Lift 3″ Lift 4″ Lift 6″ Lift
CJ5 31″ 32″ 33″ 33″ 35″
CJ7 31″ 32″ 33″ 33″ 35″
CJ8 31″ 32″ 33″ 33″ 35″
Wrangler YJ (1987-1995) 30″ 31″ 32″ 33″ 35″
Wrangler TJ (1997-2006) 31″ 32″ 33″ 33″ 35″
Wrangler JK (2007-Present) 32″ 33″ 35″ 36″ 37″
Cherokee 29″ 30″ 31″ 31″ 33″
Grand Cherokee ZJ

(1992-1998)

 29″ 30″ 31″ 31″ 33″
Grand Cherokee WJ

(1999-2004)

 29″ 30″ 31″ 31″ 33″
Grand Cherokee WK

(2005-2008)

 29″ 30″ 31″ 31″ 33″
Liberty KJ (2002-2007) 29″ 30″” 31″ / /
Posted in General | Leave a comment

Wrangler Steering Stop Adjustment

Posted on October 4, 2009 by admin

You finally managed to scrape up the cash for those nice meaty mud tires that you have been wanting and you just had them installed. Now you are trying to stop yourself from drooling at the sight of your now “bad ass” Jeep and are getting ready to take her out for a spin.  But as you pull out of the parking lot of the tire shop (the one that now owns your right nut) you hear the nastiest sound that you’ve ever heard in your life. It’s the sound of rubber grinding against metal as your tires rub against your control arms every time you make a turn. Now what are you supposed to do? You can go out and buy a new set of wheels to correct the problem but this isn’t an option. After all, you are probably going to be eating Raman Noodles for the next three months because of the cash you laid down on the tires. You could just put up with the rubbing and try to ignore the screams of pain coming from your new rubber but thats not a good option either. So what are you going to do? There is an easy solution. You can just adjust the steering stops on your jeep. It’s easy, quick and best of all its practically free. Read along as we walk you through the process.

Step 1 : Gather the tools.
You are going to need some 3/8″ washers (up to 6), a 9/16″ socket and ratchet or 9/16″ wrench.
Step 2 : Locate the steering stops.
The steering stops are located in front of the axle tubes of your front differential by your disk brake backing plate. They consist of a bolt with a nut tack welded to it.
Step 3 : Add washers to the steering stops.
Remove the bolt and add one or two washers to it. One will normally suffice if the rubbing is not too bad. Now reinstall the bolt.
Step 4 : Test drive the jeep.
Turn the tires and make sure that they no longer rub. You may need to repeat the process and add another washer to eliminate all rubbing.
Posted in Installs | Leave a comment

Is The Jeep Wave Dead?

Posted on October 4, 2009 by admin

Driving down the road the other day and I came upon a brand new JK at the stoplight going the opposite direction. It was a basically stock Jeep and was all shiny and clean with freshly armor alled tires. They had their top off and were enjoying the day just like I was. As the light turned green and we passed each other I put up my hands to give the traditional Jeep Wave only to be greeted by a blank “Do I know you?” stare coming from the other Jeep owner. This has unfortunately become a lot more commonplace than it used to. Sure, I know that every Jeep wave can not be returned. Sometimes you are busy fumbling with the radio, the phone or might just be zoning out and not notice the other Jeep owner putting up their hand. It used to be though that I would get a wave back about 80% of the time. Over the last year or so I have seen this percentage drop down to closer to 40 or 50 percent. Sad to say the least and it leads me to ask the question, Is the Jeep Wave dead?

So whats the deal? Do people just not give a damn any more or do they just not know their obligation to wave to fellow Jeepers. It is an obligation after all. Jeep owners are passionate about their vehicles. We love our rides so much that we put up with crappy gas mileage, poor storage space, no security, a rough ride, exposure to the elements and a vehicle that just about sucks every last penny out of our pockets. But we love our Jeeps and that love binds us together as a group which is why we wave to eachother as we pass. It’s really not a lot to ask, just stick up your hand and wave. Hell you don’t even have to wave. Just hold up your damn hand.

But maybe I am being harsh here. Maybe the jeep Wave is not dead yet. Maybe people just don’t realize how to perform the Jeep Wave and they don’t want to be embarassed. This could very well be the case so maybe we should help people out by giving some guidelines to performing the Jeep Wave.

For starters you must wave or raise your hand every time a worthy Jeep vehicle crosses your path while you yourself are driving a Jeep vehicle. You might get the urge to wave at a fellow Jeeper while driving in another type of car but you should not expect to get a wave in return. If you are not in a Jeep they probably either won’t see you or won’t know what the hell you are doing. You should automatically wave at all Wranglers and CJ’s. Grand Cherokees, Cherokees and other Jeep vehicles should also be waved at if they are obviously modified in some way.

If a lesser Jeep oner waves at you, you must return the wave no matter what. Who knows, they could have a stock daily driver Jeep in addition to a trail vehicle or the might have not had the time or funds to modify their Jeep yet. The act of them waving shows that they understand the Jeep spirit and they should receive a wave back in return.

The type of wave you give depends greatly on the type of vehicle you are driving. If you are driving with the top down on your vehicle your Jeep wave should extend above the windshield or outside of the Jeep tub. The exception to this is if you are driving without a top in rain or snow in which case a nod will do. If you have a hard top vehicle you should attempt to extend your hand outside the vehicle or at least wave your hand vigorously inside your Jeep so that the other Jeep driver can clearly understand that you are waving at them.

No matter what style of vehicle you are driving be sure to use all of your fingers while performing the Jeep Wave. You might think that their Jeep is #1 but there is no need to tell them that and add to their ego.

Lastly, don’t get disgruntled if you do not get the wave back. They might have simply not seen you or they might just not know. If you get pissed and stop waving at people you will simply be adding to the problem. Instead of getting pissed at the other driver take that rage and just bottle it up deep inside you. Its good for you.

Posted in General | Leave a comment

Patriot : Least Expensive SUV To Own

Posted on October 4, 2009 by admin

Edmunds.com recently announced that the 2008Jeep Patriot is the least expensive SUV to own. The announcement comes after the online car magazine analyzed the vehicles “True Cost to Own”. This rating takes into account purchase price, financing, insurance, repairs and fuel costs among other things. The Patriot beat out such vehicles as the Mazda Tribute, Honda CRV and Hyundai Tucson.

The accolade comes as no surprise to Patriot owners who already know what a steal the vehicle is with a MSRP starting at just over $16,000. The Patriot is a great option for those needing the room of a SUV without the high fuel costs. The surprisingly peppy 2.4 Liter engine gives the vehicle an average fuel economy of 23 MPG city and 28 MPG on the highway. Not bad for an SUV, even a compact one.

Posted in News | Leave a comment

JKS Body Lift Install

Posted on October 4, 2009 by admin

JKS Body Lift Install

Step One: Lubricate Body Mount Bolts
Take your WD/40 or other spray lubricant and soak all of the body mount bolts. It would be a good idea to do this the day before your install to make the job easier.

Step Two: Radiator Fan Shroud Removal
There are four bolts holding the shroud to the radiator. To access 2 of them you will have to first remove the reservoir bottle by pressing in a tab on the back of it and pulling it up and out. Remove all of the bolts and disconnect the shroud from the radiator. You do not have to remove the shroud completely from the vehicle because there is no need to cut it when installing the Budget Motor Mount Lift. We just don’t want the shroud to hit the fan when you raise the body.

Step Three:Loosen Body Mount Bolts
You will now need to loosen, but not remove, the body mount bolts. There are 11 bolts in total. Click on the diagram on the left for their locations. A breaker bar might come in handy for this step. Once all of thebolts are loosened remove the bolt from the #1 body mount located under the front grill and remove the bolts from the driver side of the Jeep. Leave the bolts on the other side so that the tub does not shift.

Step Four: Install The Lift Pucks
Place your hydraulic jack under the body between mounts 3 and 4 using the block of wood to protect the tub. Make sure you place the jack on the stronger channel part of the tub. Now raise the tub a few inches. Just enough to place the lift pucks in. The lift pucks will go above the factory mounts (tub side) and the lip will wrap around the factory mount. Apply thread sealer to the new bolts (included with the kit) and install them but do not tighten them. Now lower the tub and repeat this process on the passenger side. Lastly install the #1 body mount lift spacer and bolt using thread sealer on the bolt. You can now torque all of the bolts to 35 ft/lbs.

Step Five: Install Radiator Bumpers
Remove the factory radiator bumpers and discard. Install the new longer bumpers after first spraying the tips of them with a little lubricant. They can be a booger to get in but keep at it, you’ll get em.

You are now done with the body lift kit install. If you were not installing the motor mount lift you would at this time have to modify the radiator, radiator shroud and transfer case linkages. Since we are using the Budget Motor Mount Lift lets move on to its install which is also very simple.

jks motorBudget Motor Mount Lift Install

Step One: Support Engine
Take your hydraulic jack and place it under the oil pan. Use your block of wood between the jack and the pan to spread the load and raise the jack so that the weight is just off of the engine mounts, no more. Be careful you do not want to dent your oil pan.

Step Two: Remove Motor Mounts
Remove the nut from the cross bolt that runs through the mount but do not remove the bolt. Now remove the bolt and nut that secures the mount to the Jeep frame and the nut on the underside that attaches the insulator bolt to the frame. After removing them you can remove the cross bolt and the mount from the vehicle.

Step Three: Attach Motor Mount Spacers
Clean off the threads from the factory insulator bolt. Now cut off 1/4 inch of the bolt to allow insatllation of the bolt extender included in the kit. You must cut the bolt so that the extender will fully seat on the insulator bolt. Our bolt was able to fit into the extender without trimming it however so you might want to check for yourself to see if this is necessary. The extender must seat completely on the insulator bolt though so be careful with this step.

Step Four: Reinstall Motor Mount
Now you will simply reinstall the motor mount onto the vehicle and loosely attach the bolt and nut and the insulator bolt nut using anti seize. Raise the engine so that the cross bolt will fit into the mount and loosely attach the nut using anti seize.

Step Five: Repeat and tighten
Repeat this process on the other side and then tighten the cross bolts to 60 ft/lbs and all of the other nuts to 30 ft/lbs.

Step Six: Reinstall Fan Shroud and Check Clearance
You can now reinstall the fan shroud which was removed in the body lift install. Check the fan shroud to make sure that the fan blade will not make contact. This should not be neccessary but it is better to be safe.

You are now completely finished. You can sit back and admire your slightly taller ride and start planning your new raised gas tank or belly up skid.

Posted in Installs | Leave a comment

Join The Club – Joining A Local Jeep Club

Posted on October 4, 2009 by admin

It’s 5PM and your sitting in the middle of nowhere with your Jeep’s passenger rear wheel sitting next to you. Problem is, you didn’t take it off, it came off by its own free will after you snapped your Dana 35’s axle shaft. You know its going to get darksoon and as you hop from rock to rock trying to get a cell signal you think about what you could have done to prevent this. The number one thing on your list should be , JOINING A JEEP CLUB! Sorry to yell but there are just so many people who for whatever reason decide to not Joinn a club. Wheeling by yourself is just plain stupid and will eventually get you in trouble. So how do you go about joining one. Well its easy, just visit their website. To make it even easier Jeep Treads has put together this little list of Jeep clubs in the US. Check it out and join in.

Don’t see your club? Contact Us and we will add it to the list.

Alabama
Mobile Jeep Club
website

Alaska

Arizona
Arizona Rough Riders
website

Arkansas
Brush Beaters Jeep Club
website

California
Jeeping Jeepers Jeep Club
website

Colorado
Mile Hi Jeep Club
website

Connecticut
CT Jeep
website

Delaware
Delaware Jeep Association
website

Florida
Orlando Jeep Club
website

Georgia
Southern Jeeps
website

Hawaii
Oahu Jeepers
website

Idaho
Idaho Offroad 4×4 Club
website

Illinois
Two Rivers Jeep Club
website

Indiana
Tri State Jeepers
website

Iowa
Trail Hogs Jeep Club
website

Kansas
KC Jeep Club
website

Kentucky
K & I Four Wheelers
website

Louisiana
Bayou Jeepers
website

Maine
Midcoast Jeep N ORV
website

Maryland
Maryland Jeep Club
website

Massachusetts
Bay State Jeepers
website

Michigan
Dirty Minds Jeep Club
website

Minnesota
North Shore Wheelers
website

Mississippi
Freedom Offroad
website

Missouri
Capital City Crawlers
website

Montana
Rimrock 4×4 Club
website

Nebraska
Just Jeeps of Omaha
website

Nevada
Sierra Stompers
website

New Hampshire
Deep Woods Extreme
website

New Jersey
Misfits 4×4
website

New Mexico
New Mexico Four Wheelers
website

New York
Long Island Offroad Club
website

North Carolina
Central North Carolina 4×4 Club
website

North Dakota

Ohio
Ohio River Four Wheelers
website

Oklahoma
Oklahoma Jeep Thing
website

Oregon
Jolly Jeepers
website

Pennsylvania
Blue Mountain Jeep Alliance
website

Rhode Island
Ocean State Jeepsters
website

South Carolina
Old South Offroad
website

South Dakota
Black Hills 4 Wheelers
website

Tennessee
Atomic City Four Wheelers
website

Texas
Austin Jeep Exclusive
website

Utah
Salt Lake City Jeep Club
website

Vermont
Vermont Jeep Association
website

Virginia
Mid Atlantic Jeepers
website

Washington
Moonshiners Jeep Club
website

West Virginia

Wisconsin
Legendary Civilian Jeepers
website

Wyoming

Posted in General | Leave a comment

Decoding Your Jeep TJ’s VIN Number

Posted on October 4, 2009 by admin

Ever wonder what those codes on the VIN of your Jeep TJ mean? The VIN or Vehicle Identification Number is a unique 17 digit number which tells you how your Jeep rolled out of the factory. It can be useful with Jeeps since they usually do not stay stock for long. So if you want to know what your TJ came with stock, Jeep Treads is coming to the rescue by bringing you this chart to help you decode your Jeep’s VIN tag. Enjoy

Jeep TJ 1997 – 2006

Position Definition Codes
1 Country of Origin 1= United States
2 Make J= Jeep
3 Vehicle Type 4= MPV
4 Gross Vehicle Weight E= 3001-4000 lbs

F= 4001-5000 lbs
5 Vehicle Line Y= Wrangler

A= Wrangler (Left Hand Drive)

4= Wrangler (Right Hand Drive)
6 Series 1997-2000

1= Sport

2= SE

4= Sahara

2001 – 2006

2= SE

3= X

4= Sport

5= Sahara

6= Rubicon
7 Body Style 9= Open Body
8 Engine H= 2.5L Leaded Gas

P= 2.5L Unleaded Gas

S= 4.0L Unleaded Gas

V= 4.0L Leaded Gas
9 Check Digit No Meaning
10 Model Year V= 1997

W= 1998

Y= 2000

1= 2001

2= 2002

3= 2003

4= 2004

5= 2005

6= 2006
11 Assembly Plant P= Toledo #2
12-17 Vehicle Build Sequence 6 Digit Number
Posted in General | Leave a comment

Dana 300 Replacement Case

Posted on October 4, 2009 by admin

Thinking about adding a Dana 300 to your Jeep Wrangler? You are in luck because now available from Stak 4×4 is the D300 Replace-A-Case. So what makes this case so great? Well, besides the strength improvements over the stock case, it allows you to give your Dana 300 a drivers side drop without flipping it upside down.

The case is manufactured to the highest standards being CNC machined inside and out. It is also available in a variety of different input splines and is compatible with TJ and YJ factory speedometer sending units. To use this case you will only need to provide a 1981-1986 Dana 300. It will be a direct replacement for your stock NP231 and will also allow you to run a 9.5 inch longer rear driveshaft. Interested now? Contact Stak 4×4 for more information.

www.stak4×4.com

Posted in New Products | Leave a comment