experienced wheelers.. what have you found to be the weakest link in the jku?

[JAGS]

View attachment 155939
Mine didn't "melt" away but at the rear it does contact the evap skid during full flex. It's something that can be prevented if you move the evap over a few inches.

Mine did the same. Not sure if it was a rock or the evap skid. Regardless I need to do that evap relocation.

If you don't want to relocate, removing the stock skid and going with PSC evap skid adds some addition clearance. It's smaller and beefier than stock. Just another option.

 

[BertaNation]

One of my first upgrades after my lift was a poison spyder evap skid. My rear drive shaft would hit the stock evap skid when flexing.

 

[Mikead40]

Wait. Hang on a second. You melted through your front driveshaft? It's not made of plastic. I've got to see a picture of this!!!!! Post one up!

Maybe melt was being a bit melodramatic...but there wasn't a sudden pop or anything like that. Granted, I wasn't exactly being smart about what I was doing at the time.

 

[Mikead40]

Don't get me wrong, a bent flange is far from a break and therefore, not really a "weakest link". Or, at least not in my opinion.



Don't know what you were doing when your sector shaft broke or more to the point, what you HAD been doing up until that time - but to say you just broke it the first time out with 37 is a bit alarmist and misleading. I have seen my fair share of JK sector shaft breaks over the last 9 years and even had one of my own break on me while running 40's, I've never seen where a sector shaft brace made a difference. But then, what do I know - I'm just a mall crawler who never wheels his Jeep.



Exhaust spacers or even a new y-pipe is a cheap fix rather than a solution to a real problem. What you should be doing is installing a new front drive shaft especially if you have a 2012-up. Protecting the slip shaft boot on your front drive shaft only addresses one concern - the steep angle that your drive shaft will sit at will cause the CV boot at the output shaft to be in a constant state of pinch and that will cause it to fail sooner than later. Once compromised, it's just a matter of time before the bearings inside fail as well.



The factory locker is definitely nothing to write home about and I went through 3 of them early on before finally upgrading to ARB's. That being said, it is FAR from being a "weakest link"



This is for sure. Couldn't agree more but again, far from being a "weakest link". On my 07, I was able to get upwards of 60,000 miles out of them. On an old 2009 I used to have, they were shot in about 14,000 miles.



Yup, with you on all of this! Still running factory skid plates, still running factory track bars/drag links and no rear bumper and in spite of what the nay sayers keep telling me. :thumb:

Yea - definitely none of the things I listed were the weakest link. The steering stabilizer was the first to go for me and so I agree if I had to pick the easiest thing to break, that would be it. And things like the bent flange aren't true "breaks" - I drove with mine that way for a few months. I just wanted to point out some of the things I've seen pop up a time or two.

 

[chipper]

Steering stabilizer and tie-rod. Play on any rocks and you will trash your steering stabilizer almost from the get go and most likely at the same time as you bend your tie-rod. The good news is that you don't really need a steering stabilizer (although it's nice to have) and a bent tie-rod will give you a bit more clearance that you didn't .

Seems like the steering stabilizer is pretty common to get damaged. What can be done to protect it? I'm still using the stock one, I do have a DL flip and relocation bracket. so it does still a little higher.

 

[jnabird333]

I didn't read what everyone else said, but IMO relocate the the SS, save for a better tie-rod (it's matter of time), and save for rear shafts (bent flages are also a matter of time). Beyond that, get some skids (I like the EVO ones) and have fun. Time will tell you what you and your type of wheeling needs.

 

[Rox Star]

Diff covers would be a good upgrade, IMO. Saw a guy have to gorilla tape his after he cracked it on a rock. Otherwise, the Trail Gods will show you what needs to be replaced next!:doh:

 

[RoadRageJKU]

thanks again guys.. if i were to replace the drive shafts, is there a brand you guys like better?

 

[wayoflife]

thanks again guys.. if i were to replace the drive shafts, is there a brand you guys like better?

I personally prefer JE Reel but have gotten shafts made at local driveline shops too. Just make sure to get neapco or spicer u-joints. I would NOT recommend a Tom Woods unless you get it with upgraded u-joints. The cheap Chinese joints he uses standard are junk.

 

[RoadRageJKU]

I personally prefer JE Reel but have gotten shafts made at local driveline shops too. Just make sure to get neapco or spicer u-joints. I would NOT recommend a Tom Woods unless you get it with upgraded u-joints. The cheap Chinese joints he uses standard are junk.

got it.. thanks.. btw, you guys should come make a video at Disney off road park here...

 

[jnabird333]

To add to Eddie's driveshaft comment.... I have Adams. You also have to make sure to get the better joints but at least they stand behind their stuff and it will arrive balanced. I've seen three different Tom Woods shafts be WAY off straight out of the box!

 

[Mikead40]

Diff covers would be a good upgrade, IMO. Saw a guy have to gorilla tape his after he cracked it on a rock. Otherwise, the Trail Gods will show you what needs to be replaced next!:doh:

What what happened that a diff cover cracked? While certainly not impossible, that can't be a common thing. I can see smacking it and losing some RTV seal but to actually crack the diff cover...
A lot of people replace diff covers but it's usually a cosmetic thing. I'm not sure any of the aftermarket ones are any stronger than stock. And given that the OP said he's just doing trail running, not true rock crawling, I would think after market diff cover money would be better spent elsewhere.

 

[jnabird333]

What what happened that a diff cover cracked? While certainly not impossible, that can't be a common thing. I can see smacking it and loosing some RTV seal but to actually crack the diff cover...
A lot of people replace diff covers but it's usually a cosmetic thing. I'm not sure any of the aftermarket ones are any stronger than stock. And given that the OP said he's just doing trail running, not true rock crawling, I would think after market diff cover money would be better spent elsewhere.

I agree with most of what you are saying here, but not this ->

I'm not sure any of the aftermarket ones are any stronger than stock.

The stock cover is stamped steal. I'm guessing 12 gauge (or the metric equivalent). Almost all of the aftermarket covers are cast and the thinnest part is 1/4" thick. I've installed/used Riddler, Poison Spyder, ARB, and Dynatrac covers. I've run the PSC and ARB on the front of my rigs and I can tell you with certainty that they both are WAY stronger than the stock one. This said, the ARB is WAY stronger than the PSC.

 

[Mikead40]

I agree with most of what you are saying here, but not this ->

The stock cover is stamped steal. I'm guessing 12 gauge (or the metric equivalent). Almost all of the aftermarket covers are cast and the thinnest part is 1/4" thick. I've installed/used Riddler, Poison Spyder, ARB, and Dynatrac covers. I've run the PSC and ARB on the front of my rigs and I can tell you with certainty that they both are WAY stronger than the stock one. This said, the ARB is WAY stronger than the PSC.

You certainly may be right. How did you assess the strength to reach the conclusion that they are WAY stronger?

 

[jnabird333]

You certainly may be right. How did you assess the strength to reach the conclusion that they are WAY stronger?

I chose poor lines and smacked them on rocks :doh::dont_tell:

I dented my front fairly early in it's life. I also pealed the lip on the rear at about the same time. I switched to Poison Spyder covers mostly because they were the cheapest I found. They worked well, and after several rock hits and drags they held up well but did have some heavy gouging. When I added my Hydro assist I had a clamp interference issue with the PSC cover and switched to the ARB. The first time out with it it was raining and no one wanted to get out and spot so I did a pretty hard line by brale. :brows: I smacked the shi-poo-poo out of it and thought for sure I'd never get the lower bolts out again. After I cleaned the Jeep I found all I had done was scratch the paint off. This is when I clicked the "I believe" button :yup:

 

[Mikead40]

I chose poor lines and smacked them on rocks :doh::dont_tell:

I dented my front fairly early in it's life. I also pealed the lip on the rear at about the same time. I switched to Poison Spyder covers mostly because they were the cheapest I found. They worked well, and after several rock hits and drags they held up well but did have some heavy gouging. When I added my Hydro assist I had a clamp interference issue with the PSC cover and switched to the ARB. The first time out with it it was raining and no one wanted to get out and spot so I did a pretty hard line by brale. :brows: I smacked the shi-poo-poo out of it and thought for sure I'd never get the lower bolts out again. After I cleaned the Jeep I found all I had done was scratch the paint off. This is when I clicked the "I believe" button :yup:

Haha nice - yea safe to say you've put them to the test

 

[Rox Star]

What what happened that a diff cover cracked? While certainly not impossible, that can't be a common thing. I can see smacking it and losing some RTV seal but to actually crack the diff cover...
A lot of people replace diff covers but it's usually a cosmetic thing. I'm not sure any of the aftermarket ones are any stronger than stock. And given that the OP said he's just doing trail running, not true rock crawling, I would think after market diff cover money would be better spent elsewhere.

We were on Foredyce, which is a fairly rugged trail with LOTS of rock crawling, for sure. But, to your point, I took his word when he said he 'cracked' the diff cover. There was already a committee of supervisors standing all around him so I did not personally crawl under to inspect it myself. It was dented but it could have been the seal. Saw a steering stabilizer grenaded on the same run too.

I've taco'd my tie rod on both my TJ and JK.

Plenty of guys/gals run the stock covers and tie rods. Just sayin' that stuff up front and low is what gets hit all day long when on the rocks. So maybe I am just over cautious but if I know where I am going to get hit...

And they look cool.

 

[CrazyLarry]

We were on Foredyce, which is a fairly rugged trail with LOTS of rock crawling, for sure. But, to your point, I took his work when he said he 'cracked' the diff cover. There was already a committee of supervisors standing all around him so I did not personally crawl under to inspect it myself. It was dented but it could have been the seal. Saw a steering stabilizer grenaded on the same run too.

I've taco'd my tie rod on both my TJ and JK.

Plenty of guys/gals run the stock covers and tie rods. Just sayin' that stuff up front and low is what gets hit all day long when on the rocks. So maybe I am just over cautious but if I know where I am going to get hit...

And they look cool.

I always liked that name Foredyce. If and when i ever have a son he will so be named.....Foredyce:bleh: