The build/re-build of Gruff

Ddays

Hooked
Hey all, thank you for taking the time to check out my build thread. Before I get started I want to first thank Eddie & Cindy for making this possible. I can't imagine how much time & energy you guys put into this website. It is awesome. Second, I want to thank all of the contributors out there for all of the great ideas I have picked up from all of you. I've waited a while to do this build thread so I could get my feet wet around the forum and get a feel for how everything works before I started. So after 2 months I still don't know squat but, oh well, on with the build...

I have a lot of background to fill in to get to where I am at now, so this will be the first of a couple of those....

We named our Jeep 'Gruff', from the old kids story, The Three Billy Goats Gruff, because, well, Jeeps can climb like billy goats. Additionally, my youngest daughter said that the Jeep was a he, and not a she. I had a build in mind and planned it out in 2014 during a very dark time for our family. I won't rehash my initial wave story when I joined WAL, but suffice it to say, this Jeep has a lot of my mother and father in it.

So, I surprised everyone one day by pulling into the driveway with this spindly little guy in June of 2014
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As far as options go I ordered Gruff from the factory with the hard top, towing package and that's it.

The initial build list was this:
3.5" RE Superflex lift
4:88 re-gear with G2 gears
Smittybilt SRC front & XRC rear bumpers
Smittybilt 12,000 winch
Smittybilt bolt-on rock rails
ProComp Xtreme MT2 37" tires
Fuel Hostage 18 x 9 wheels
Sleeve & gusset kit for front D30 axle
Truck lite headlights (got one thing right so far)
Spyder Auto tail lights.
ProComp light bar
Buswhacker Flat fenders because of Pa laws requiring wheels be covered.

And that's pretty much it. Free Smittybilt sticker to anyone that can guess where I went shopping!

So here's what Gruff looked like after all this was done;

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Not bad. Looks good and was built mostly with trails and muddin' in mind. Also, keep in mind that this was all done before I started any forum lurking so I bought what I did
based on catalogs at that point. I added a couple things later, like these Body armor doors.
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So we had a lot of fun the first Summer with some trips to our "mountains" up near Benezette and Medix Run, PA where we had a hunting camp. Lots of old gas well roads and trails to run around on.

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And my youngest daughter, who was a junior in high school at the time, got to drive it to first day of school that year.
She was very popular with the boys for some reason :idontknow:
I drilled her on the specs & general workings of Gruff so if someone asked her what kind of lift we had, etc, she'd know what was going on.
Funny, she developed an interest in general auto knowledge watching everthing get added to the Jeep.

That pretty sums up everything that was done prior to my WAL lurking days. I'll add that part of the build story tomorrow.
I promise, things get more interesting...
 

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Ddays

Hooked
So phase 2 started after finding the Wayalife Moab videos on Youtube last Spring. I realized that what I had built would probably do ok out West but I wanted to do more than be just ok. I wanted to be able to drive all the way there and have something that would hold up and then be driven all the way back to Pa. And then go again year after year.
So after a lot of research lurking and talking to vendors I purchased the foundation of my re-build;

Dynatrac PR44 unlimited front and PR60 rear.
 

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Ddays

Hooked
Got everything pre-assembled and ready to install with the help of my buddy;
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I have to say that whacking on the end of these axle shafts to drive the plastic boot on these axles made me very uneasy.


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Ready to go!

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Ddays

Hooked
Sorry, no photos of the actual axle install. But they went in without issue and after a trip to the alignment shop to verify the rough settings everything was going perfect for about two weeks.

And then this:

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A young girl pulled across two lanes from a side road you can see to the right of the photo. A truck stopped to let her out and she thought he meant to go ahead and pull out and didn't look first. Luckily I was able to swerve just enough that I didn't t-bone her in the b-pillar because it would have been bad. Luckily she wasn't even scratched. Unfortunately her vehicle wasn't as lucky. After everything was taken care of at the scene I was able to drive home.

I know Smittybilt has a fairly bad rep, but honestly, this bumper did hold up pretty good considering how hard this hit was.

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I knew there was some frame damage based on the window breaking in this corner. I was driving doorless at the time and when i went to put the door on the driver
side it had a gap near where the windshield was broken about 2" wide.

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Then I noticed the passenger side spring was sitting back about two inches on the bottom.

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So, off to the Jeep dealer's collision center. Jeep was left off to start the repairs on Sept 7th. As of today still not done yet.
 

JeepJeep75

New member
That really sucks about your jeep getting bashed. Glad you and other party are okay. Keep us posted on what happens to Gruff.
 

Ddays

Hooked
So after leaving the Jeep the dealer called & said I needed to come to review the work that needed to be done:

This one caught me by a little by surprise!
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Frame is pushed back 3" on passenger side

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Both motor mounts were broken. Transmission mount broken as well.

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Bottom line was that a new frame is going to be installed. Damage estimate just under 5 figures.
 

Ddays

Hooked
Yeah,sorry, I posted all of the photos consecutively so there was a bunch in a row for background before I started the actual reconstruction. Someone pulled out in front of me from a side road and I t-boned them. Caused the frame to 'diamond'.
 

Lance628

New member
Yeah,sorry, I posted all of the photos consecutively so there was a bunch in a row for background before I started the actual reconstruction. Someone pulled out in front of me from a side road and I t-boned them. Caused the frame to 'diamond'.

Man that sucks glad everyone was ok
 

Ddays

Hooked
Wow! A new frame. Hope everything works out for you.

Thank you! I have one last batch to post before everything is current and I start my actual portion of the rebuilding, but the new frame turned out great. They sent it to the paint shop and it looks better than when I bought the thing new. Gonna feel bad sanding it down to weld on the sliders!
 

Ddays

Hooked
Man that sucks glad everyone was ok


Thanks! There's a photo in there that shows the other drivers car and how well the smittybilt bumper actually held up. I know they get a bad rap but honestly I was impressed. Having said that I am switching to a different brand because I wanted a different style this time.
 

Lance628

New member
Thanks! There's a photo in there that shows the other drivers car and how well the smittybilt bumper actually held up. I know they get a bad rap but honestly I was impressed. Having said that I am switching to a different brand because I wanted a different style this time.

I have that same front bumper actually I don't think it's bed i like it what tierod are you using I just got a prorock but havnt got it in yet
 

Ddays

Hooked
I really like them. I know they aren't really necessary but for what those axles cost I figured I'd go all in & put the damn things on. I got a really great deal from Northridge for the package of the front & rear axles so that helped with the decision.
 

Lance628

New member
I really like them. I know they aren't really necessary but for what those axles cost I figured I'd go all in & put the damn things on. I got a really great deal from Northridge for the package of the front & rear axles so that helped with the decision.

How much did your rear cost if you don't mind me asking
 

Ddays

Hooked
57.jpg So this is the last of the dealer reconstruction photos. Everything is getting buttoned up.


Here you can see how far back the passenger side f the frame was pushed back

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So thats it. I actually got the Jeep back this past Thursday and now the real fun begins. I have some goodies I've been accumulating while the Jeep has been at the dealership. Stay tuned...
 
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