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

[Wkyfiregladdy]

My new Rock Hard aluminum bumper finally installed today! My brother in law helped me (ok, he did most of it!) It took about 2.5 hours. It weighs 37lbs which is nearly identical to the mostly plastic oem bumper.

I love their rear bumper( I have it), that front bumper is awesome looks better from your pics

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[LetsGo]

New Ebay Steel Bumper with Warn Winch.

 

[Gren71]

What are the benefits to doing this? Can you feel a difference?

I needed to put a new front drive shaft in my JKU. When I lifted it I didn't do ANY geometry correction. This put the drive shaft an a extreme angle, compared to its OEM positioning. That angle wore down the rubber boot on the drive shaft and allowed the metal connection to the front axle to contact the housing and ware it down to a tooth pick.

I cant say I noticed any real difference other than knowing for a fact that the design of the tom woods shaft, combined with the rugged manufacturing, would outlast my JKU. I was absolutely blown away with the construction of the drive shaft. Tom woods also changed how it connected to the axle, which negated the possibility of repeating the same drive shaft damage in the future.


EDIT:

Sifted through my amazon photos and found the pic i took of comparing the two shafts.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

That is absurd. I’ve never seen that.

It happens now and then. I've run across a few over the years. The threads are rolled, all that has to happen is it somehow misses going through the rollers. They are sort of cold forged.
For a while I had a couple examples saved but things are such a mess in my shop I likely tossed them out of frustration for the mess.
IMO, the threads on the one on the left side of the pic look crappy - rough, slightly rounded, not a nice crisp shape to them. I'd replace them all if they looked like that.

 

[mike921921]

Installed these today. No intention of hanging lights on them, really just wanted a hand-hold for when I'm washing/waxing and cleaning the winshield.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08VRMZ1Q8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[polarisTXguy]

Ok I couldn’t wait so I installed today and the Tazer should be here tomorrow to recalibrate.

BFG KM3 37x12.5x17
ICON 17x8.5 with 4.5 back spacing

Looks great. I'm looking at getting the same wheels. Can you post a pic from the front? I want to see how much tire poke there is.

 

[TRI-JAB]

Looks good! Have you noticed a difference between the lighter 37’s and the 35’s? Still on 4:10 gears??

I was truly expecting a bit of lag on acceleration when I mounted the 37’s. I do not feel that I have experienced any. This was my hope moving to a larger diameter, lighter weight tire. I maintained a similar wheel weight, but the tires are 10 lbs different. The majority of the mass is about 1-inch further from true centerline of the axle. I figured it would be close, but can say I am really happy with my choice. There are trade offs. This is a light tire because it has a thinner side wall. This means on the trail it is more prone to a sidewall puncture. I am willing to gamble because I carry a full size spare and a sidewalk repair kit.

if I ever re-gear to 4.88’s, I will definitely mount a set of the Mickey Thompson Baja Boss AT’s. Those are Bad A$$ tires. I just was not willing to accept the weight increase. Everything is about compromise to get us as close to what we individually need. Sorry for the long post, wanted to make sure I adequately answered your question.

 

[RalphTuttle]

New Ebay Steel Bumper with Warn Winch.

Hah! I installed a Warn Winch on my E-Bay bumper this weekend also! Looks familiar. I also put some plastic plugs into the holes of the bumper to clean it up a bit.

 

[LetsGo]

Yeah, I cleaned it up this afternoon, filled the holes with bolts and put on MOPAR plastic bumper thingy's, found the ebay ones were too flimsy. Other than that, the bumper is worth the price! Still running it as a shorty, like the look for now, but nice that I can change it up. Also have the filler plates on order to clean that portion up.

 

[4xRadDad]

I was truly expecting a bit of lag on acceleration when I mounted the 37’s. I do not feel that I have experienced any. This was my hope moving to a larger diameter, lighter weight tire. I maintained a similar wheel weight, but the tires are 10 lbs different. The majority of the mass is about 1-inch further from true centerline of the axle. I figured it would be close, but can say I am really happy with my choice. There are trade offs. This is a light tire because it has a thinner side wall. This means on the trail it is more prone to a sidewall puncture. I am willing to gamble because I carry a full size spare and a sidewalk repair kit.

if I ever re-gear to 4.88’s, I will definitely mount a set of the Mickey Thompson Baja Boss AT’s. Those are Bad A$$ tires. I just was not willing to accept the weight increase. Everything is about compromise to get us as close to what we individually need. Sorry for the long post, wanted to make sure I adequately answered your question.

Thank you for the great info! Kinda in the same boat as you. Have 35 falken’s and want to jump up to 37’s. I don’t want to regear right away. I’m happy with the performance I have right now. I dont want lose any since I tow a wake boat in the summer. I’ve been super curious about going to a larger lighter tire and if it’s any different.

 

[JTBurns]

My new Rock Hard aluminum bumper finally installed today! My brother in law helped me (ok, he did most of it!) It took about 2.5 hours. It weighs 37lbs which is nearly identical to the mostly plastic oem bumper.

Nice! Haven't seen that one but I like it. Did you reuse your stock fog lights?

 

[TrainMan]

Nice! Haven't seen that one but I like it. Did you reuse your stock fog lights?

Yes it was quite simple. They include an adapter and some self tapping screws.

 

[Lucky1]

Installed these today. No intention of hanging lights on them, really just wanted a hand-hold for when I'm washing/waxing and cleaning the winshield.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08VRMZ1Q8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Curious as to how well that will work. Sounds like a great idea if it goes as planned!

 

[USMC-SSGT]

if I ever re-gear to 4.88’s, I will definitely mount a set of the Mickey Thompson Baja Boss AT’s. Those are Bad A$$ tires.

They are awesome. Honestly the best tire I’ve used yet. Because it’s my daily driver, how quiet they are is the best part…..but they are heavy and I’ll be doing a re gear in the spring. In the northeast though that job starts at $2500. Will give me a good reason to get 37s though.

 

[mike921921]

Curious as to how well that will work. Sounds like a great idea if it goes as planned!

Works good to grab and pull myself up as I step up on the running board .

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