The Mojave JT - Build Information & Journal

At the beginning of this year I bought a near-stock, used Mojave with 5000 miles on it at the time. It was built in July 2021 and had everything I wanted from the factory, including some things the previous owner put on it that I would have done as well.

As Purchased:
* Mopar Steel Bumpers
* Mopar Rock Rails
* Fox Factory Race Series 2.0 ATS Stabilizer
* Mopar Tri-fold Hard Tonneau Cover
* Warn Evo 10s, Factor 55 Flatlink
* Mopar Grille/Winch Hoop
* Advanced Safety, Winter, Leather, LED, Tow, Trail Cam, Aux switches

As purchased picture:


Since then, here is a record of the new things I have done to it. I'll try to keep it up to date along with the info I've learned during the build. 99% has been done in my garage, and while I have good general mechanic knowledge, this is my first Jeep so I've definitely had some learning experiences ? Feel free to ask me any questions or for more details about anything Gladiator/Mojave related.

As it sits today:


June 2022
ARB High Output On-board Air Compressor (Single Motor), remote chuck
Link to detailed post


December 2022
Clayton Offroad 3.5" Lift, 37" tires, wheels, etc.
Link to detailed post


January 2023
Steer Smarts Yeti XD JL/JT Sector Shaft Brace and Track Bar Bracket
Link to detailed post

May 2023
Regear to 5.13, ARB Air Locker (Front) w/ OEM control, Synergy Springs
Link to detailed post

December 2023
High-steer/drag link flip and front track bar relocation
Link to detailed post

March 2024
Front control arm drop brackets, rear track bar bracket, 37" spare tire
Link to detailed post

June 2022
ARB High Output On-board Air Compressor (Single Motor)

The things that are important to me about a compressor:

• Built-in feel
• Bumper-mounted air chuck
• 4-way air
• Uses factory aux switch #1

I went with the ACM Under Hood ARB Compressor Mount and heat shield from [Banned Site]. Install was painless (except for the fender arch clips) and fit/finish was great. I used the ARB remote mounting stainless hose/chuck. Purchase list:

• ARB Single Compressor (CKMA12)
• ARB 1 meter remote hose (740203)
• ARB Remote Hose Coupling Kit (171314)
• 1/4" Brass NPT Tee (1/4" NPT Female to 1/4" NPT Male to 1/4" NPT Female)
• Blind Rivet fender clips as replacements

I also made a 4-way inflator that connects the single bumper-mounted chuck to all four tires at once, like others have done. I wired up the ARB relay that it comes with to aux switch #1 and it's good as gold.

Here it is under the front driver side fender before final cleanup. You can see how I routed the stainless hose to the remote chuck:


And the remote air chuck close up. I just used one of the existing holes in the frame to bolt through and bent the ARB bracket to be an angle that worked.


With the 4-way inflator:

December 2022
3.5" Lift, 37" tires, wheels, etc.

I love this truck and have wheeled it dozens of times to my version of its limits and have decided to hit the enhance button.

Things that were important to me for this part of the build:

• Drivability.
  • While I take this off road frequently, I also do many road miles each week as my daily driver, family-mobile, and errand-machine. I purchased the Mojave because I love the ride/feel and didn't want to lose too much of that for off roading gain.
• Off Road Performance
  • I take this truck on everything. Here in Utah we've got dunes, rocky mountains, dirt trails, slickrock, and snow - I've taken it on all these and plan to keep doing so.
• Maintain the Mojave Fox 2.5 Internal Bypass shocks
  • I purchased this truck over a similar Rubicon in part because of the shocks. So if possible, I wanted to keep them. More on this later.
• Quality
  • I plan on keeping this truck for a long time and while parts do wear out and break on and off road, let's minimize that where possible.
• Price
  • Some things are worth paying for, but there's a balance in bang for the buck. I bought most of the things over Black Friday deals week and saved on average 12%.

I chose the @Clayton Off Road 3.5" Overland Plus lift kit with some substitutions. I can't speak highly enough of my experience with the quality and fit of these parts so far. Here is my "final" parts list with reasons for them included where relevant.

• Clayton 3.5" Overland Plus
  • 4 coils, 8 adjustable control arms, front/rear adjustable track bars, bump stops, front brake line brackets
  • No sway bar links or rear brake lines
• Teraflex Front 2" Shock Extensions (1986250)
• EVO Mfg Rear 2.5" Shock Extensions (EVO-3083B)
• Metalcloak JT Gladiator Rear Sway Bar Link Kit, 12.25" (7271)
• Metalcloak Upper Front Stock Shock Mount Kit, JT Gladiator Mojave (7626)
• Teraflex Front Sway Bar Quick Disconnect Kit for 0-6" Lift (1764000)
• Teraflex JT Extended-Travel Accessory Kit (4834100)
• Teraflex Brake Line Anchor Kit – Rear (1101455)
• Teraflex 1/2" Front Load Leveling Spacer (from their 1.5" leveling kit)
• Black Rhino Primm 17x9, -18mm offset, 4.29" backspacing, Matte Black with Brass Bolts (TSW1790PRM-85127M71)
• Nitto Ridge Grappler 37x13.50R17 (NIT217-450)
• JScan, vLinker MC+, 12+8 security bypass for adjusting system TPMS pressure warning and tire size.

Lift Notes

The Clayton lift raised the front of my Mojave (with winch and Mopar steel bumper) 4.75" including my 1/2" spacer from Teraflex. The front Mojave shocks have 8" of travel (23.75" extended, 15.75" compressed). I have measured the stock neutral resting point of the shock to indicate 3.5" of downtravel (rebound) and 4.5" of uptravel (compression). Because these shocks have bypasses, it's important to stay in the ride zone for several performance reasons.
Initially I just had the 2" lower extensions, which put me a mere 1/4" from topping out the shock at resting position. This was, in hindsight, an obvious oversight on my part but in my own defense, I didn't know the Clayton kit would give me 4.75". As you can imagine, 1/4" from the extended position of the bypass shock is past all bypass zones and is super firm. I did regretfully top them out on the road a few times which is quite unpleasant.
With the 2" lower Teraflex shock extension and the 3" upper Metalcloak Mojave shock extension, this puts my neutral resting point within 1/4" of stock - giving 3.25" downtravel and 4.75" uptravel. If I have any problems with this solution I will update, but I'm really happy to have maintained this neutral zone for now.

For the Teraflex 2" lower front shock extensions, because the Mojave uses M14 shock bolts instead of other JT's M12s, I milled out both upper and lower bolt holes of the extensions with a 9/16" bit to fit the larger M14 bolts. I also purchased new M14 from the hardware store instead of using the kit's supplied M12 hardware. Additionally, the two supplied M8x1.25x16mm bolts that go in the bottom of the extension were not long enough to bite. I assume this is just a Mojave problem. I bought 25mm length replacements from the local hardware store and they work like a charm.

The Evo 2.5" rear shock extensions. A necessary evil. They put the rear shocks about 1/2" down from stock neutral, which keeps them in the ride zone of the bypass shocks. My experience with the extensions was bad. I figured it would take 10 minutes to install them and it took 2 hours - they didn't line up right and needed persuasion to eventually get it bolted in. 1/5 stars. Once bolted in, they do the trick though.

Result photos

One other thing that I haven't fixed yet is that the amount of lift in the front caused the front driveshaft/boot to be brushing up against the exhaust where the exhaust runs rearward along the transmission, before crossing over above the driveshaft. This is bad because it started to melt the boot, will be a problem during articulation, and when 4 wheel drive is engaged will be a friction problem.

I found that I can ratchet-strap the exhaust over towards the passenger side enough that there is plenty of clearance while the vehicle is stationary, but obviously that isn't a road-worthy solution.

Eventually I will buy a new aftermarket driveshaft with thicker walls yet smaller diameter than the 3" OEM shaft, but for now I plan to buy some 3/8" steel cable w/ a turnbuckle and semi-permanently shift the exhaust member towards the passenger-side frame.

outdoor.adventures said:

One other thing that I haven't fixed yet is that the amount of lift in the front caused the front driveshaft/boot to be brushing up against the exhaust where the exhaust runs rearward along the transmission, before crossing over above the driveshaft. This is bad because it started to melt the boot, will be a problem during articulation, and when 4 wheel drive is engaged will be a friction problem.

I found that I can ratchet-strap the exhaust over towards the passenger side enough that there is plenty of clearance while the vehicle is stationary, but obviously that isn't a road-worthy solution.

Eventually I will buy a new aftermarket driveshaft with thicker walls yet smaller diameter than the 3" OEM shaft, but for now I plan to buy some 3/8" steel cable w/ a turnbuckle and semi-permanently shift the exhaust member towards the passenger-side frame.

Click to expand...

I ended up doing this as a temporary fix as I was going out of state for a wheeling trip last month.

I just used 1/4" cable with a turnbuckle from my local hardware store. Functionally worked great. The downside is cabin vibration is higher due to lack of vibration isolation between the cable and the frame, so I'm going to take it off between 4WD usage.

January 2023

I had quite a bit of sector shaft flex that made things a bit more effort on some 80mph+ curvy freeways on a 1,200 mile round trip from UT to AZ last month, so I decided to go for the Steer Smarts Sector Shaft Brace/Track Bar Bracket.

Install was a little different due to my Mojave, so here are some "pro tips":

1. Removing the OEM sector shaft nut took a lot of muscle. Some PB Blaster and a heat gun softened things up and I wish I would have started with the heat gun - there's some loctite in there.
2. As outlined in Steer Smarts' instructions, the Mojave (and diesel, 392 JL/JT) shock tower reinforcement gusset needs to be shaved down for the track bar bracket to fit. I knew this going in and it only took a couple minutes with an angle grinder to shave it off. There isn't a structural integrity change with this modification because the section being changed isn't welded - it's welded above the shaved section.
3. The track bar bracket is mounted to the frame with 4 bolts and washers. Because of the extra gusset, the diameter of the washers for the 2 rearward bolts is too big to fit between the bolt holes and the gusset. I swapped for some slightly smaller diameter washers I had on hand.
4. To line up the sector shaft brace's small bolt holes with the track bar bracket holes, I used a ratchet strap to pull the bottom of the track bar bracket toward the passenger side of the truck until I could get the bolts through. I tried to do it with my hands but I wasn't strong enough to hold it close enough or in place long enough to thread the bolt. The ratchet straps made it easy.
5. The Mojave's shock reservoir hose bracket tucked nicely behind the track bar bracket - no modification needed.

You can see here the reservoir hose bracket tucked behind, the smaller washers around the rearward bolts of the bracket, and the cut-off shock tower gusset:


A view of the sector shaft brace. You can also see the cut-off shock tower gusset in the top right to make it flush with the shock tower:


Final install:


Steering is slightly improved and I'm happy with the future-proofing this bracket helps with. I still have a decent amount of play in my steering box that I hoped could be reduced, but oh well.

I still am not quite happy with handling behavior over off-camber bumps, potholes, etc on- and off-road.

It feels like the truck has some kind of "rolling wobble" or even "torsional wobble" that feels unsettling especially at speed. It still tracks straight and once aware of the feel, it's predictable, but it doesn't feel great.

My current understanding is that this has to do with vehicle roll center and the steep track bar/drag link angles and that track bar axle "riser" brackets along with a drag link flip will fix this/return to stock feel if the angles are right/flatter. It seems like there is a shortage of explanations or sources about this w/ how it relates to JL/JT, so I'd like to be sure before I proceed.

outdoor.adventures said:

I still am not quite happy with handling behavior over off-camber bumps, potholes, etc on- and off-road.

It feels like the truck has some kind of "rolling wobble" or even "torsional wobble" that feels unsettling especially at speed. It still tracks straight and once aware of the feel, it's predictable, but it doesn't feel great.

My current understanding is that this has to do with vehicle roll center and the steep track bar/drag link angles and that track bar axle "riser" brackets along with a drag link flip will fix this/return to stock feel if the angles are right/flatter. It seems like there is a shortage of explanations or sources about this w/ how it relates to JL/JT, so I'd like to be sure before I proceed.

Click to expand...

Look into front control arm drop brackets. I had the same feeling when hitting bumps, the front would wobble. I researched the issue and found a lot of people used a drop bracket to fix it. I installed the Metalcloak version, as there are many kinds, and instantly fixed my wobble. Drove like it did stock.
I have the Clayton lift, but have not modified any of my steering yet. Drives like a dream after install.

Looks good ?. I want those same rims, been eyeing them since 2020 when I got my Mojave. What’s your alignment looking like? Toe in or out? I wonder if the high negative offset of the wheels exaggerate the bump steer/shimmy.

MOJAVEC22 said:

Looks good ?. I want those same rims, been eyeing them since 2020 when I got my Mojave. What’s your alignment looking like? Toe in or out? I wonder if the high negative offset of the wheels exaggerate the bump steer/shimmy.

Click to expand...

I’m slightly toe-in to spec. I have seen talk of going slightly toe-out to help, but it’s not a frequent enough problem for me to try that. I think you’re right about the wheel offset.

outdoor.adventures said:

I’m slightly toe-in to spec. I have seen talk of going slightly toe-out to help, but it’s not a frequent enough problem for me to try that. I think you’re right about the wheel offset.

Click to expand...

Ok that’s good. I’ve heard toe out helping, but someone on here explained that going toe out creates too much outward force, especially on turns so it wasn’t recommended by engineers. I’m getting my 37s mounted tomorrow and have the metalcloak sector shaft brace ordered. Will see how it does with the bumpsteer. Fox stabilizer and the metalcloak track bar bracket will be next on my list. Did you regear?

MOJAVEC22 said:

Ok that’s good. I’ve heard toe out helping, but someone on here explained that going toe out creates too much outward force, especially on turns so it wasn’t recommended by engineers. I’m getting my 37s mounted tomorrow and have the metalcloak sector shaft brace ordered. Will see how it does with the bumpsteer. Fox stabilizer and the metalcloak track bar bracket will be next on my list. Did you regear?

Click to expand...

nice, that’s awesome! I am regearing next month to 5.13 and adding an ARB front locker. The 4.10s have been acceptable around the county I’m in and off-roading, but struggles where the freeway speed limit is 80mph with hills.

outdoor.adventures said:

nice, that’s awesome! I am regearing next month to 5.13 and adding an ARB front locker. The 4.10s have been acceptable around the county I’m in and off-roading, but struggles where the freeway speed limit is 80mph with hills.

Click to expand...

Cool good to know I’ll be fine for a bit, but when I tow my small camper I know I’ll struggle a bit. Thinking 5.13’s will be what I get later too.

This isn't so much a build post, but I recently tested out the build a bit more with a trip to Sand Mountain in Hurricane, UT to have a good time in the dunes and the red rock. We did West Rim Trail and Bzzackwards and explored a bit.

I already was planning on this, but I'm going to swap out the Clayton springs for Synergy or Evo. I don't carry enough load to be okay with the stiffness of the Clayton springs. It's bouncy on the road, and over the rocks and in the dunes it's also bouncy. Other than that, the Mojave did great! Plenty of clearance, grip, and fun were provided.