Hound's 17 JKU Gobi Build

Houndy95 · Jan 26, 2018

Not much of an update but I got around to giving the jeep a bath so I could install some cowl decals. Finally representing now. I also installed a tuffy under seat lock box thanks to the Wayalife Amazon link. I also have some LOD sliders ordered up. Which I'm looking forward to installing.

rl206 · Jan 27, 2018

NIce rig! Love that color!

Houndy95 · Jan 27, 2018

rl206 said:
NIce rig! Love that color!

Thanks! Gobi is by far my favorite.

WanderlustSW · Jan 27, 2018

Looks great! I'm liking where you are going with it. I really like the gobi color, I couldn't find one in a manual!

Houndy95 · Jan 27, 2018

WanderlustSW said:
Looks great! I'm liking where you are going with it. I really like the gobi color, I couldn't find one in a manual!

Thanks! I originally was going to get a granite crystal but when I saw the gobi sitting next to it on the lot I fell in love.

rl206 · Jan 28, 2018

Houndy95 said:
Thanks! I originally was going to get a granite crystal but when I saw the gobi sitting next to it on the lot I fell in love.

That color is awesome as well, I went w/ white as white and your color was what I was after. I think the white and your color will not show battle scars as bad though

Houndy95 · Jan 28, 2018

rl206 said:
That color is awesome as well, I went w/ white as white and your color was what I was after. I think the white and your color will not show battle scars as bad though

Yeah I'm partial to the military style builds and really liked Tank green. I do like is that gobi goes good with black. Plus there is not to many gobi around here so it adds to uniqueness. I can see that with the battle scars although I think that's part of the fun of owning a jeep, having a story to tell with each scar.

Houndy95 · Feb 20, 2018

Small update, I got my LOD Rock Sliders installed over the weekend. Looks much better than the stock plastic ones. Install was straight forward and I think they came out really nice.

sparks · Feb 20, 2018

Houndy95 said:
Small update, I got my LOD Rock Sliders installed over the weekend. Looks much better than the stock plastic ones. Install was straight forward and I think they came out really nice.

Looks real good man. Just went back to see what you have for suspension and tires - How do you like the EVO Level kit so far? I drive ~30k miles per year so I was thinking 285/70/17 and a level kit too - think I made up my mind because I really dig the way yours looks.
And now I’ll need sliders to get rid of stock plastics that I bought as take offs just to throw something on.

Houndy95 · Feb 20, 2018

sparks said:
Looks real good man. Just went back to see what you have for suspension and tires - How do you like the EVO Level kit so far? I drive ~30k miles per year so I was thinking 285/70/17 and a level kit too - think I made up my mind because I really dig the way yours looks.
And now I’ll need sliders to get rid of stock plastics that I bought as take offs just to throw something on.

Thanks! I really like the EVO kit. Gave it a better stance over stock, and in my opinion improved the ride. I think you could even get away with a bigger tire but I really like the proportions with the 285's. About the only thing that would make it better is pairing it with some different shocks. I haven't bothered yet, but it is on the never ending list.

sparks · Feb 20, 2018

Houndy95 said:
Thanks! I really like the EVO kit. Gave it a better stance over stock, and in my opinion improved the ride. I think you could even get away with a bigger tire but I really like the proportions with the 285's. About the only thing that would make it better is pairing it with some different shocks. I haven't bothered yet, but it is on the never ending list.

I think the tire size is perfect. haven’t really checked what a bigger one would look like but I’m not trying to get into regear and tons of additional work for the limited amount of wheeling I’m able to do in Chicago.

I’ll probably do shocks since I’ll be wrenching them anyway. Figured I’m about a year’ish away from the overhaul - will have to keep an eye on shock reviews until then.

Houndy95 · Feb 20, 2018

sparks said:
I think the tire size is perfect. haven’t really checked what a bigger one would look like but I’m not trying to get into regear and tons of additional work for the limited amount of wheeling I’m able to do in Chicago.

I’ll probably do shocks since I’ll be wrenching them anyway. Figured I’m about a year’ish away from the overhaul - will have to keep an eye on shock reviews until then.

That's one of the reasons I went this route to begin with. I drove 600 miles stock and wanted something nicer. I also know at some point I am going to be going to 35's and lockers. So I also didn't want to dump money into my D30 or regear and then have to do it again in the near future. I plan to go with some Rancho 9000s when I change them out. I have read that they pair real nice with the EVO kit.

WJCO · Feb 20, 2018

Sliders look good :thumb:

Houndy95 · Feb 20, 2018

WJCO said:
Sliders look good :thumb:

Thanks! I’m pleased with how they came out.

Houndy95 · Jun 9, 2018

So it has been a while since I have updated my build thread. I haven't done much lately, been really busy with life. I did finally order my LOD Destroyer rear bumper with tire carrier. I am excided to get that installed. Some of the other small things I have don't is add some Bartact Molle Visor covers and a Bartact center console cover (was tired of burning myself in the FL sun). I also got a Prolink for the winch. Anyway here are some pics!

Houndy95 · Jul 15, 2018

Finally got around to installing my LOD Rear bumper and tire carrier. I also added some rigid flush mounts with some of their angled mounts to kick the light out to the sides a bit rather than straight back. I got my Painless switch panel in. I figured while I was inside and running wires I would add some switches for future mods that are coming soon. That way I only have to mess with the wiring under the hood. Overall I am pleased with how the bumper came out. The jeep actually rides much nicer after getting rid of the stock chunk of plastic. I also couldn't be happier with the Painless system. Very clean and easy to install.

Houndy95 · Oct 7, 2018

Haven't done much to the jeep in the last few months so I figured it was time to add some more lights. Got some daylighters and a 10" flex mounted up today. They sure do pack a punch. The 10" flex is impressive for its compact size. I also picked up a winch cover not to long ago to help protect my Warn in this FL sun.

Houndy95 · Dec 29, 2018

I haven't updated my build thread in awhile and a lot has changed. I was running a EVO leveling kit and 33's. The jeep looked great and rode nice on that setup but with some plans to make some trips out west this coming year I knew I wanted to make some changes again. I opted to go with a 3" EVO Enforcer Stage one kit paired with 35 Cooper STT Pro's and Rancho 9000's. I loved them in 33's so I knew there was no other tire I was going to go with. I Mounted them to some KMC Machete Beadlocks. While I was doing the lift I ditched the Dana 30 for a Dana 44. Also changed out the gears to 4.56's with OX Air Lockers. To wrap it all up I went and also ditched the stock oem steering components for Synergy MFG tie rod, drag link and front/ rear track bars. To finish it off I add a set of JKS Disconnects. Last thing ditched was the oem front and rear shafts for a pair of Adams 1350 Extreme Driveshafts.

I am extremally pleased with the outcome. It is where I really wanted the jeep to be build wise. Still have some other stuff I want to do to it in the future because like everyone knows you are never done. I also want to give Bubba at Exodus a Shoutout for all the help he provided me with getting to this stage in my build. It was truly a pleasure doing business with him and cant wait to do more in the future. Ok enough talking, enjoy some pics.