Sarge Green Sport S HIGHLY UNNECESSARY Build Thread

[22_Sarge_Sport]

OK so my JT got home on 6/22 and it's already received a bit of attention. It's a 2022 Sport S, ordered in late April and delivered 8 weeks later. Sarge Green, 3.6L gas engine, manual trans, LSD, Trailer Tow, Cold Weather, 8.4" goodies, tan interior, black wheels, Duelers, black grille.

Bone stock, she was mighty purty, although the tires look so small. These two pictures are a good representation of how different the green paint looks in different lighting:

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[22_Sarge_Sport]

Modification 1: Rydonair Stubby Antenna. Paid something like $20 on Amazon. The metal one had to go; I think AM reception is worse and FM is about the same, but I only had the metal one for a couple of days:

 

[22_Sarge_Sport]

Modification 2: Ken Sean scooter mirror, $8 from Amazon. I don't think I have a picture of this one on the truck, but it's fine. I can't remotely comprehend spending more than $20 for a doors-off mirror solution.

 

[22_Sarge_Sport]

Modification 3: Mopar 2in lift kit. I did quite a bit of research on this one, and decided:

a) I wanted a proper lift with longer, nicer springs/shocks as opposed to a spacer kit
b) I wanted the dealer to order and install it so I had a full single warranty on all of it and one throat to choke if there were problems. I think some local offroad shops would have put a better kit together and done a better job, but I don't have time or energy for a finger-pointing back-and-forth if there are problems. Time will tell if this turns out to be a wise decision.
c) I think I paid $1525 for the lift kit at the dealership and $825 to have it installed at the dealership including mounting and balancing the new wheels and tires. It took about a day and a half for all the work.

 

[22_Sarge_Sport]

Modification 5: Walmart $81 35in tires and Ion Series 171 17x9 wheels

I managed to get in on the crazy Walmart deal for $80.44 x 5 Kenda Klever 315/70r17 A/Ts, and then got a solid deal (like $135 from Quadratec) on Ion Matte Black Series 171 17x9 zero-offset alloy wheels.

There is more poke than I would like. I told my wife "that's how much poke I like on other people's JTs". On the other hand, it does look pretty cool and I don't have any rubbing outside of that front air dam that only the Sports have.

 

[KoBear]

Looking good!

 

[22_Sarge_Sport]

Modification 6: JKS front adjustable track bar

Well, despite my dealership guy assuring me that the Mopar lift would not appreciably shift the axles, it did shift them enough to notice (about 5/8" in front). I bought an unopened JKS adjustable track bar from a super-cool off-road enthusiast extraordinaire on Facebook Marketplace for $125 and it went on very easily in the driveway with the vehicle on the ground. I went with the track bar instead of a bracket because that seemed like the proper way to do it, and it allows me to tune it as needed.

 

[22_Sarge_Sport]

Modification 7: Teraflex rear track bar location bracket

To center the rear axle, I went with the Teraflex bracket for like $115 from Extreme Terrain. My understanding that the bracket in back helps keep the track bar more level, which is better for handling, as opposed to a new track bar that would sit at a greater angle than stock. Honestly I don't really understand the reasoning behind this one. I just wanted the axle centered and this is how people seemed to recommend doing it on this forum.

This bracket was easy to install with the truck on the ground EXCEPT getting the main axle (driver)-side bolts to 150ft-lbs. I have some wrestling left to do with those and I'll need to grab a 3/8" adapter for my 1/2"-drive torque wrench.

 

[22_Sarge_Sport]

Modification 8: Taking tin snips to the air dam / closure panel things in front

At near-full lock, the Kendas were rubbing on the plastic doohickies in front. I had my intrepid 17yr old take tin snips to them. It worked great - no more rubbing. Victory at last. UNTIL I disconnected the sway bars and went wheeling, and then it was Rub-a-palooza. Sigh. There will need to be a Part II to this post.

 

[22_Sarge_Sport]

Modification 9: DIY bike rack

This my favorite one, although it's a work in process. I took a 4ft piece of angle iron and bolted it to the holes in the front of the bed, near the cab, which are in a horizontal row below the top plane of the bed. As it turned out, I needed a little space between the angle iron and the wall of the bed, so I used nylon spacers. I then bolted three "axle block" thingamabobs to the angle iron. These blocks connect to the bike forks exactly like a wheel does (QR axle or Thru-axle) and hold them completely steady without any obvious harmful forces in any direction. Just fixing the bikes to the blocks is fine for a trip around the block, but for our trip to Northern Michigan over the 4th, I used ratchet straps to better secure them. The axle block things (like this one) cost about $25 each on Amazon and all of the random hardware was $30 or $40 I think. Three bikes (including two for six-foot men) fit very easily in the bed with the tailgate completely closed.

 

[22_Sarge_Sport]

The next mod will be installing the Rubi rock sliders I bought from Facebook Marketplace. I wish all these mods didn't add so much weight, but it is what it is. Please feel free to ask me anything about the truck or any of these mods!

 

[JET_83]

OK so my JT got home on 6/22 and it's already received a bit of attention. It's a 2022 Sport S, ordered in late April and delivered 8 weeks later. Sarge Green, 3.6L gas engine, manual trans, LSD, Trailer Tow, Cold Weather, 8.4" goodies, tan interior, black wheels, Duelers, black grille.

Bone stock, she was mighty purty, although the tires look so small. These two pictures are a good representation of how different the green paint looks in different lighting:

Nice man, took 12 weeks to get mine, I don’t get why some get faster than others

 

[TJRjeepn]

The next mod will be installing the Rubi rock sliders I bought from Facebook Marketplace. I wish all these mods didn't add so much weight, but it is what it is. Please feel free to ask me anything about the truck or any of these mods!

Nice look JT. I’m a fan of the green. Mines a Gator. I’m curious how those scooter mirrors mount and look.

 

[22_Sarge_Sport]

Nice look JT. I’m a fan of the green. Mines a Gator. I’m curious how those scooter mirrors mount and look.

OK, I'll get a pic next time I have the doors off. The mirrors screw directly into the cowl; you can remove a bolt using the Jeep toolkit and then screw the mirror right in. Then there is a nut on the mirror's threaded stud to secure it. So far mine hasn't slipped down even once, and the vibration is fine up to 50mph or so. It's not super useful on the freeway other than keeping me in accordance with Michigan law, but, yeah.

 

[22_Sarge_Sport]

Modification #10: $100 JT Rubi OEM Rock Sliders from Facebook Marketplace (plus some nuts and bolts)

This project was very easy and made a big difference in appearance. The Sports look like they are unfinished when they come from the factory - they should at least fill the holes with little bolts or something!

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