Oscar's No Build Thread

sipafz

sipafz

Caught the Bug
Finally, after many years of dreaming, months of test drives, research (including this forum) and soul searching I decided that this Black 2016 Freedom Edition (Oscar) was the perfect fit for me! I really liked what Jeep did with the graphics, badges and seats this year! I'm not expecting to do any radical modifications, just some small things to make it my own. Living in South-Eastern Wisconsin does not lend its self to many wheeling opportunities! I hope to pickup a soft top this spring and look forward to pulling the doors for some open air cruising. Now I need to get me a WAL decal or two!ImageUploadedByWAYALIFE1454538912.936866.jpgImageUploadedByWAYALIFE1454538966.224987.jpgImageUploadedByWAYALIFE1454538983.807328.jpgImageUploadedByWAYALIFE1454539010.625154.jpgImageUploadedByWAYALIFE1454539022.159620.jpg
 
CONGRATULATIONS! It is a Beautiful JEEP! Enjoy it.
All the Best,
EL BRAVO aka Rocky
MIAMI FLORIDA
 
No tops popped yet, but it was a blazing 34 degrees so Oscar got a wash and some stills by the marina. ImageUploadedByWAYALIFE1454713504.986740.jpgImageUploadedByWAYALIFE1454713538.052451.jpgImageUploadedByWAYALIFE1454713551.085227.jpgImageUploadedByWAYALIFE1454713572.186849.jpgImageUploadedByWAYALIFE1454713663.309044.jpg
 
Picked up my Racor lift today. I ended up ordering from Home Depot for $127 plus tax. I have 9 feet to the bottom of the trusses in my garage so I want to mount the lift above them to maximize head room. I added (8) 2x4x84 studs, a box of nails and two 1000lb motor cycle straps.
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Pulled the Jeep in, marked locations on the floor and assembled the rack.
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Sistered the studs and used a plumb bob to locate them from the floor to above the trusses. Toe nailed them into place.
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Mounted one side of the lift and ran into a clearance problem with the gearbox and truss when mounting the other side. I will have to shift the whole assembly over a few inches but it will have to wait until tomorrow. The wife has the wine poured and is starting without me. [emoji15]
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After a few glasses of wine and some dinner, I found myself starring at my clearance issue, pathetic right? What I noticed was that the gearbox could be mounted inside the bracket instead of outside as the instructions "suggest". [emoji6] time to sleep on it!

This morning I checked a couple of things to make sure my new plan would work and finished mounting the second rail. As others have mentioned the hardware that comes with this kit is not the best! I twisted the heads off of a couple of the lag screws.
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I then mounted the gearbox on the inside of the bracket and test fit the winding bar and lock.
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To get the gearbox mounted I had to file 1/16" from the bracket stiffener so the holes would line up. It's probably like that to keep you from mounting the gearbox on the wrong side. [emoji51]
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Then I had to alter the lock bracket, spring ball set screw and spring, because the assembly would catch on the winder driver and preventing locking. I simply filed down the bracket and screw then cut 25% of the spring away. Now it all works!
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Time to attach the platform, level & test.
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With the kids Liberty in its normal spot.
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With the top hanging I have a little more than 6' so for me I can walk under without worrying about bumping my head. All in, I have $180 invested and would do it again! Now if it would just stop raining! [emoji20]
 
USMC Wrangler started a thread about his vertical seat adjustment creeping down on its own. I was having the same issue and followed the thread. Smitty chimed in and suggested changing the clocking of the handle to keep our big butts [emoji33] from bumping it every time we hoist in and slide out. Genius right?

I started by popping the cover and marking the original position with a paint marker.
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Note that the original resting position is about 20 degrees from level.
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After removing the handle I carefully mounted it in a vise while using a socket to push the spur wheel and a second socket to support the plastic. IMPORTANT - the spur wheel had the handle molded around it! It will take an uncomfortable amount of effort to press it out! Support the surrounding plastic with a socket or you will risk breaking the handle!
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The spur wheel has a groove about the diameter filled with sheared plastic. Clean off the flakes.
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Remount the spur wheel on the seat and align the handle horizontal (shifted two teeth from original in my case).
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Mount the handle assembly back in the vise and gently press the spur wheel into its new position. Again I used sockets to press against the metal spur and supported the plastic on the other side. ImageUploadedByWAYALIFE1459203513.685866.jpg
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Reattach the handle and cover and enjoy! [emoji481]
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Awesome job!!! Thanks for being so detailed! Let us know if your seat stays with the handle relocated!!!
 
USMC Wrangler said:
Nice! Thanks for the detailed info and pics!!! I'll have to carefully give this a try. [emoji106][emoji106][emoji106]
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Work carefully, keep the surrounding plastic supported and you'll be fine!

Dana said:
Awesome job!!! Thanks for being so detailed! Let us know if your seat stays with the handle relocated!!!
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Will do, I'll give it a week and report back. Thanks!
 
WJCO said:
Really cool way to fix that issue. Great job.
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Thanks! We will see if it really "fixes" the issue. So far, so good.

Edit: Yes, after four days I can confirm that changing the handle from 20 degrees above horizontal to horizontal has fixed the issue! I was dragging my butt across the handle when exiting the vehicle.
 
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Snow squalls and white outs yesterday, sunny and 60 today. Wisconsin weather in a nutshell, wacky! Oscar got all the new salt rinsed off and I'm really loving the hard top lift! Makes me wan't to pull it off every chance I get even if it's just for a few hours!
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Btw all the windows were down as soon as I hit the street! I'm not one of those with the top off and windows up so my hair doesn't get messed up! [emoji41]
 
Looks like a solid hardtop hoist! I'm just waiting for some warmer weather (weather that will stay consistent for at least 2 days; none of this 60/30/rain/snow/sleet junk) to put my new kayak hoists up.
 
I heard that spring might be coming to Wisconsin later this week. Getting ready by mounting the bike rack from the KK to the JKU. The spare tire on the KK's are under so it required some cutting, grinding and drilling to clear the spare and swing gate. Ready to go!
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Oscar got a new hat today. Thanks to CL I found an OEM premium, twill top and saved a $1,000! Stoked! ImageUploadedByWAYALIFE1462674098.924941.jpg
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This happened today:
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and this:
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Good for 25hp.....at least it will feel like it! [emoji41]
 
In preparation for our camping trip we removed the front air dam and disconnected the sway bar links so we could test Oscars flex. This poser shot sure makes that 14" rock look small! Hopefully we can find a good trail near Lakewood, Wisconsin to further test the Jeep's capabilities.
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