What did you do TO your Gladiator today? [ADMIN WARNING: NO POLITICS, NO GUN TALK]

[WILDHOBO]

You said enormous and rod in the same sentence. Damn. I’m a child.

They’re big and beefy for sure. I’m not sure I’ll keep that angle yet. I keep changing it up. They’re really strong. And I HATE HATE HATE jam nuts. They always loosen up after wheeling.

Maybe, I’ve figured out the position and angle of the stabilizer? I cycled the steering so many times checking and adjusting that I wore down the asphalt on the driveway. I ended up with the reservoir angled down and back to get it out of the way of the track bar and drag link. We’ll see how it goes.

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[O-Face]

I think those two rubber "grips" holding the SG are very practical- allows for a quick release when needed. What brand are those?

That's an old Santa Cruz electric shotgun rack/lock. It's wired in so you need to have the vehicle acc. on and find the switch to get it open. I'm not sure they even make that style anymore as I can't find it on their website. It needed a little love but a trip to Hobby Lobby for new felt and foam, combined with a little spray paint on the lock made it like new again. It's secured down to the basket with four 5/16 bolts so it isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

 

[Lrowe]

That's an old Santa Cruz electric shotgun rack/lock. It's wired in so you need to have the vehicle acc. on and find the switch to get it open. I'm not sure they even make that style anymore as I can't find it on their website. It needed a little love but a trip to Hobby Lobby for new felt and foam, combined with a little spray paint on the lock made it like new again. It's secured down to the basket with four 5/16 bolts so it isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Very nice, thanks for the information!

 

[WILDHOBO]

Finished the steering project. It runs and drives, and the clunk is gone. It was a failed drag link end on the pitman side. I had a spare new end, and it’s perfect now. The nut was seized after 48k miles, so it came off with a sawzall.

Edit, after the test drive, paint penned all the fasteners. Then opened a beer.

 

[WILDHOBO]

As I learn more about this Jeep, an idea for a philosophy came to mind. The only reason to leave a stone unturned, is if you’re unaware of the stone. I’m slowly learning where a lot of the stones are. It’s very fun and satisfying to learn so much about a vehicle.

 

[csuengr]

I, unfortunately, hit three birds and about ten thousand bugs.

 

[Wolf Island Diver]

Finished my Krazy Beaver shovel cover. (I hate the one that came with it) I’ll post a link to stl files at some point.

more photos:

https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/what-did-you-3d-print-today.79282/post-1351695

 

[Gatorac]

Installed a 2" Iron Rock spacer lift with some sway bar disconnect end links. I really like how this truck handles and rides on the road. I didn't want to screw that up. I figured a spacer lift would keep the ride the same. Plus it's cheap enough that if I don't like it, I can revert to stock with little consequences.

In progress pic.

 

[jmf243]

Finally installed my Badlands Apex winch with a Bulldog Winch Mount, both of which had been sitting in my garage since before I took delivery of my Gladiator. I had to modify the free spool leaver to clear the bumper. The 2024 Mojave’s may be a little different as I hadn’t seen that modification needing be done with the steel front bumper. On the plus side the cables don’t brush against the grill at all and come out below it. I had bought PPF to apply to the friction points of the grill, but it wasn’t needed.

 

[aldo98229]

Got a pair of Thinskinz rear door protectors. They fit like a glove!

Highly recommend if your pooch rides in the back seat.

Rosie likes Thinskinz

https://thinskinz.com/

 

[Wolf Island Diver]

Got a pair of Thinskinz rear door protectors. They fit like a glove!

Highly recommend if your pooch rides in the back seat.

Rosie likes Thinskinz

https://thinskinz.com/

Absolute must if you have a dog. I’ve had mine for a few years and my doors look brand new. My man hangs out of both rear windows and he’s always covered with water, sand or dirt. The doors would be destroyed without these.

 

[HooliganActual]

RPM steering, thank you @bleda2002 for your feedback on your experience.
Castle nuts helped me decide as well, just a personal preference. Much less feedback on washboard sections of pavement, less delay when steering, just more confident steering.

Do yourself a favor with the RPM Steering tie rod and/or draglink...I installed both a few weeks ago and then took a 2700 wheeling trip and here's what I dealt with.

First I'll say that I love the RPM Steering stuff. They are located about 2 blocks from me and I bought my parts out of their office. Spoke with the owner and his son extensively, talkiing about Jeeps, various trails and of course their parts. Great guys and extremely helpful.

The son gave me one piece of advice that I didn't listen to and it was probably critical and what I now have to go back and deal with. He said to really spray the rod end threads and nuts with WD40 or similar to remove the anti-sieze that they use during assembly (when threading the rod ends into the aluminum tubes). He said that if you don't do that, then the lock nuts will just eventually back off. I didn't do that and during my recent trip, I probably had to readjust the drag link and tie rod 3 times. I still need to get out there and do it again as the tie rod wandered a bit on the last leg home.

With that said, I am thinking that after I clean all the threads up I am going to put some blue LocTite on them to help hold them after tightening.

Cheers.

 

[NGNERD]

Do yourself a favor with the RPM Steering tie rod and/or draglink...I installed both a few weeks ago and then took a 2700 wheeling trip and here's what I dealt with.

First I'll say that I love the RPM Steering stuff. They are located about 2 blocks from me and I bought my parts out of their office. Spoke with the owner and his son extensively, talkiing about Jeeps, various trails and of course their parts. Great guys and extremely helpful.

The son gave me one piece of advice that I didn't listen to and it was probably critical and what I now have to go back and deal with. He said to really spray the rod end threads and nuts with WD40 or similar to remove the anti-sieze that they use during assembly (when threading the rod ends into the aluminum tubes). He said that if you don't do that, then the lock nuts will just eventually back off. I didn't do that and during my recent trip, I probably had to readjust the drag link and tie rod 3 times. I still need to get out there and do it again as the tie rod wandered a bit on the last leg home.

With that said, I am thinking that after I clean all the threads up I am going to put some blue LocTite on them to help hold them after tightening.

Cheers.

Thank you for the heads up. I asked the shop to do these exact steps. So far about 2k local miles, 3k to Moab from VA, including Fins n Things trail and no backing off yet. I used a paint pen and watch closely. I really wanted MetalCloak or Steer Smarts but I wanted castle nuts on the ends more. Trade offs I guess. If the Jam Nuts hold, then I am sure my RPM decision was best. Thanks again for the reminder, helps me stay vigilant on watching the paint marks.

 

[Troybilt]

This was all done a few weekends ago but just now getting around to sharing. Went from the 3" Rock Krawler pro x to the 4.5", Rock Krawler aluminum tie rod and drag link flip, Rock Krawler pass through steering stabalizer and the Reid Racking knuckles.

 

[WILDHOBO]

This was all done a few weekends ago but just now getting around to sharing. Went from the 3" Rock Krawler pro x to the 4.5", Rock Krawler aluminum tie rod and drag link flip and the Reid Racking knuckles.

Lots of work. Great job. Did you do ball joints at the same time? Whose stabilizer is that? I don’t think I’ve seen that one.

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