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a story of Redemption

22K views 147 replies 22 participants last post by  Madanio24 
#1 ·
A story of Redemption.
Hi all , I am new to the board and want to write a little story on why I named the new WK Redemption. see we used to be Wrangler people. We have owed YJ's and Lj 's and have enjoyed both greatly. We have been a offroading family . Wheeling over the summer and repairing over the winter. Our last est project was purchased in 2008 it was a stock 2006 Lj .



we stared imedetly with the necessary alterations to make it a wheeler capable of a black trail, springs ,shocks, heavy duty bumpers 1/4 plates the bottom,etc.




in 2009 is when all things changed. There was a accident at work, where I was exposed to some chemicals that had a permanent effect. On my nervous system. I no longer could be exposed to any chemical, esp . Those that we used everyday while wrenching . Simple things such as fire smoke ,exhauhst,Windex,cleaners would cause extreme pain,swelling and discoloration of my face and a lack of tolerance to cold.
Luckily , I have some really good friends that have stepped up and finished my project and created one hell of a wheeling machine. It was exactly what I intend it to become.
The only problem was my system (nervous) was no longer able to take the stresses of the off road/rock crawling environment. not to mention. I am a firm believer in not taking out a vehicle and placing it in danger when I can not repair it , It would be unfair to my friends and myself not to even bring up the part costs.

so , where did that leave me ? With a jeep that would make most wheelers excited and a body that can not use it. Seems like a waste ,doesn't it?
Not to mention the fact that we have a 10 year old who is getting a little big to be jumping in and out of the backseat.
This is all leading up to one decision , The Lj had to go!
This desicion was not a light one but needed to be made, for both my sons sake(lol),and for mine. It seemed to be a constant reminder of the things I could no longer do. I felt this was mentally ,emotionally holding me back from my new normal.
This is where the WK comes in. This will allow me to still. Enjoy a jeep (a extremely comfortable one,lol) and still have something. That mods can be done.

So let's start with what we have at the beginning (by far the nicest jeep I have ever owned)
2006 WK Limited. - black with tan leather interior
5.7 hemI
Quadrant drive ll
Class iv hitch
Tow package
Moon roof
Power, heated seats
17" wheels and tires




Mods soon to be done
Eibach wk springs
Wk Blistein HD shocks
Front srt8 sway bar
Rear srt8 sway bar
Cold air kit
Magnaflow exhaust
Gator back serpentine belt
LED lighting all the way around
Rep.SRT8 wheels 20 x9
275/55/r20
Husky heavy duty floor liners
Front windows tinted to match the back
Remote start
Drilled and slotted rotors and brakes

Hmm, maybe I should call it "a new hope" ...... don't know but either way , I feel its a step(small as it maybe :) ) in the right direction .

I have driven over things , now its time to be faster then them ,lol

More to come!
 
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#27 ·
Not to mention the extra side wall helps with the mammoth potholes here in pa.... it saves rims, ;):)

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#28 ·
another yinzer eh!? what part of pittsburgh are your from? im about 20 mins north of the city.
 
#29 ·
Pm'ed ya
 
#31 · (Edited)
At this point , This is just so I can cut the stock muffler off until I lose a Tail pipe and can convince the better half on a better solution :thumbsup:. I even offered to buy her one for hers .
I got the "Is yours bad speech" and figured with what all I have purchased in the past two weeks , I would be pushing it to go the whole $600.

Have to keep the better half Happy as well;):D
 
#33 ·
Well, I was hoping just to do a swap.... stock muffler for the Flow master but after a few emails with Ryan ( THANK YOU, RYAN) :bash: , I realized this was a bad Idea :banghead:.

so here is the new plan .... I plan on picking up a cat back with a 3" tube from cat to tail pipe . I am currently looking at flowmaster kit number 817534 Here is the link to the specs.
http://www.flowmastermufflers.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=9_179&products_id=4495

Maybe I am wrong on this but while i was researching the different exhaust set ups for a 5.7 90% were 2.5 " tube , some were 3"from Cat to Muffler then 2.5 " tail pipe. There were only 2 that had 3" the whole way from cat to tail. They were the Gibson and the Flowmaster , which the spec are linked above.


My original thought behind this was , The flowmaster I bought would still be better then the stock restrictive muffler and I was thinking of going duals in a little bit of time (year or two ) but as I was laying in bed thinking about it. My has the tow package and we use the hitch for bikes and other things and I dont really want to lose my spare , Not to mention the cost of doing a custom exhaust.

so I sort of given up on the duals for now anyway .

No big deal , I can use the muffler I bought on the wifes 2006 Commander with a 4.7 . So, it kinda worked out ,lol
 
#35 ·
Thanks Dave ,lol. The one thing I have learned is there is always more to do to a Jeep :thumbs up:

Not to mention , We can always add stuff to her XK . I will do a build thread on it later ;)

Ihave a few Ideas for a couple DIY threads and I am hoping the Wife gets me some things for My Birthday and Christmas ...:thumbsup::D
 
#36 ·
PIC WHORING ,lol ....alittle camera filter fun!
 
#38 · (Edited)
LOL!!!! she rides great!! and like I said she rubs the plastic on full lock. If I would do the pinch weld mod . It wouldnt rub at all ,lol
 
#39 ·
I made this up as well :D
 
#40 ·
Some new Goodies just arrived ! hopefully will have them on soon!





 
#41 · (Edited)
Wasnt feeling to bad today ... I installed the CIA and come up with a catch can solution

Here is what it looks like





I basically used a 1" Conduit clamp ( in the pic it is silver but I will have the wife spray it black later), with the mounting hole drilled out to 3/8's . I replaced the lines with 1/2 heater hose . I may make them a little longer if i ever replace them .

OH and I replaced the 1" bolt on the clamp to a 2" .
 
#43 ·
Thanks!
 
#44 ·
here ya go Megatron ,lol :thumbsup:

 
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#46 ·
Yes , I think the difference between the new wheel height and the shock lifted it a bit and leveled it out .
the passenger side strut was leaking also. I would imagine that didnt help either .

Just as a UPDATE : The new Exhaust( Flowmaster system # 817534 ) arrived on Monday and is sitting in my living room. I am eagerly waiting to get this on ,especially after installing the 40 series on the wifes commander
 
#47 · (Edited)
Yes , I think the difference between the new wheel height and the shock lifted it a bit and leveled it out .
the passenger side strut was leaking also. I would imagine that didnt help either .

Just as a UPDATE : The new Exhaust( Flowmaster system # 817534 ) arrived on Monday and is sitting in my living room. I am eagerly waiting to get this on ,especially after installing the 40 series on the wifes commander
Ah, so the measurements in your first post are POST 275s, bilsteins and eibachs?

Its crazy you got a 32x11 in there with just rubbing on the pinch weld at that height. love the look! any rubbing in the rear?
 
#50 ·
Why thank you sir, lol ;)

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#49 ·
There is some, but again on plastic and only when you fly over speed bumps( like my wife did this weekend) I can drive normally around town and on the highway with no issues.
She is used to her jeep with a 2" lift and 32", lol.

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#51 · (Edited)
I wanted to clarify alittle more. The speed bump she hit was 3' wide x8-10" or more high. It was in a local park and she hit it going about 30 mph ... she threw us all in the air.



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#54 · (Edited)
No problem on the questions. Some times my explanations are not so good ,lol . No on the towing question . Do you have a RV or something ?
 
#55 ·
No problem on the questions. Some times my explanations are not so good ,lol . No on the towing question . Do you have a RV or something ?
no RV, i was planning on lowering my WK in preparations of towing a trailer or dolly with a trail rig on it. cant see myself seriously wheeling this vehicle. so i wanted to keep it as my daily driver/tow rig.
 
#56 ·
I dont think a dolley would be to bad but a trailer , I would look into those air bag load handlers .

we used our commander to tow the Yj and Lj on a trailer and had to pull way up on the trailer . It pushed the back end of the commander down a good bit. I dont know how that would work out with the lower springs
 
#57 ·
I dont think a dolley would be to bad but a trailer , I would look into those air bag load handlers .

we used our commander to tow the Yj and Lj on a trailer and had to pull way up on the trailer . It pushed the back end of the commander down a good bit. I dont know how that would work out with the lower springs
see i think im going to go with your tire size on black reps- but when i drop her down, swap my WK springs for hemi front springs and XK rear springs w/ monroe load levelers. so it will increase the towing ability. i like the look of the rims/tires so i def want that stance, if not a hair taller. :thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
#58 · (Edited)
That would be a great combo. I look forward to the pics. I would also, Recommend going with the SRT/ Commander sway bars.

they will give you a bit more strength esp. around bends

In the commander we also pumped the tires up to 50 Psi while towing . These have that same rating. so it should be good there.
 
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