TRANSFORMATION TIME! Jeep Wrangler Lift Kit & New Wheels and Tires Install

It’s finally time to take this Jeep Wrangler build to the next level and increase the ground clearance, ride quality and overall appearance. In this video we install a lift kit and new wheels and tires on my son 2006 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon TJ. We overcome a few challenges along the way, have a few laughs, and take transform the looks and capability of this Jeep TJ.

🌐 TRAILRECON.COM 🌐

Check out our website if you’re looking for off-road or overland gear and equipment for your next rig and your next off-the-grid adventure. We have everything you need, including recovery gear, tents, cooking and kitchen gear, sleeping bags, TrailRecon clothes and stickers, and a lot more.

If you’re interested in reading in-depth articles about the places we go, products we use, and our personal insights about overlanding, you’ll want to check out our blog.

********************

📲 SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS 📲

[turbofc]

I wish my dad would do something like this with me. This is a cool father son experience

[MattsCollection]

I was watching this last night and my wife says, "How come his garage is so clean?" Thanks for adding to my honeydo list Brad! :D

[ArkansasOffroad]

Hats off to you guys! TJ looks great Jordan! I know the pain of running into all of those unknowns lol, that's just part of it. Glad it your garage was tall enough after installing the lift! HA!

[JohnnyVeritas]

RTR Recruit Training Regiment!!! Thanks again for your service Docs!!!!

[adjake]

FYI 50/50 acetone/atf mix in an oil can is the ultimate penetrating oil. I use it for all kinds of things. It’s almost stupid how well it works.

[shropshireladoutdoors]

I think the smile on your sons face says it all a nice bit of father and son time aswell

[wildwolf]

Nice job and I love the seeing wheels that are other than black

[ATiredRyan]

@2:55 exactly what my Dad taught me. Feels good to have done it myself and saved some money. I love being able to work on and have knowledge on whats going on with my vehicle. There were some points where I wish I would have just taken it to a shop lol. But the feeling of completion after all the stress, cursing, and more than likely cuts on hands was great.

[trjnsd]

That’s quite a transformation guys! I really miss having a garage. Lotta bucks going into a good Jeep home. Can’t wait to see how this performs off road! Nicely done (both the wrenching and the video).

[FortuneRed]

Hey, don’t mean to be critical here, so much as hopefully helpful.

I’ve noticed on a couple videos that you guys tend to run larger drill bits too fast. Consider 0:16 in this video, where the drill is running full speed with the big bit in it.

This generates a lot of heat, expanding the material you’re drilling into, so your hole ends up a bit tight after cooling. It also cooks the drill bit and softens the cutting edge, greatly shortening the life of the bit and just making for a worse result.

When drilling with a big bit like this, drop the drill into its lower speed setting if it has one, or just try and avoid holding the trigger down all the way. Unless you’ve already ruined the bit, you should see it do a much better job of cleanly scooping up the material and ejecting it without quite so much heat.

You should also drill a pilot hole roughly 1/4” in size before stepping up to this bigger bit.

Anyway, happy trails!

[dironaa]

2 Notes from a longtime TJ owner:
1: Ditch that drop pitman arm and go back to stock. The front trac bar and drag link need to be parallel to avoid bump steer...drop pitman arm disturbs this relationship.
2: Get rid of that rear trac bar relocation bracket and upgrade to an adjustable trac bar. If you wheel the jeep the extra leverage caused by the relocation bracket will eventually tear the mount off the axle.

Great job, I've dealt with the same issues many times!

[kedd]

My son and I did that about a year ago on his 2015 JK. Thought it would take about 4 or 5 hours and it took 8.5, he drove home at 5:30 am back to Branson about 40 miles from my house in AR. Told him to text me because we were both wore out when he left.
Jeeps and Ham Radio rule... Big Smile! Today is his birthday 49 years young

[mcoffroadinaz]

Pitman arm removal pro tip... Put a T-bolt clamp around the base of the pitman arm puller near the ears to prevent them from splaying out. Amazing how something so thin and flimsy can bolster such a beefy tool, but I've done it a bunch of times now.

[murphtahoe]

Rims look great and 2 plus hours dealing with 1 super stubborn bolt is on par for most projects. I like your son’s sliding front windows on the half doors. Beats zipping the window down.

[patandjessicasjeepadventur]

Beautiful job wrenching on the Jeep with friends and family nothing better I was happy to see your sons choice of tires Love my BFGs KO2s Outstanding Brad and congratulations on a job well done

[philcarr]

I had the same problem with the leaf springs on my '65 Mustang that you had with your control arm. After I cut the leaf springs off, because I was replacing them, I applied some copper anti-seze to the bolt shaft when I put it back together. If I were you, I would do the same to your son's Jeep anywhere that you have a bolt going through a metal sleeve on the suspension. It's particularly important in a 4x4 if you plan on getting muddy.
Fun video. Shows that nothing goes entirely right when working on vehicles. That's part of the fun of you have the right attitude!

[LiveByItHD]

Glad I’m not the only one who has days like this 😃😃

[robpedrow]

Eric needs some safety glasses! Good to see it's not just midwest vehicles that need to have those control arm bolts cut off on each side of the bushing!

[duck_rifle]

I love that he chose a TJ. Recently my folks picked up a 98 Sahara edition with only 22k miles on it. 4L and manual trans. It’s drives great and is so clean it’s unreal.

[Winchparts]

Few quick things to note:
Unless you are going to add a track bar that uses a drop bracket you need to go back to a stock pitman arm as you have induced bump steer by changing the relationship between the two.

The front coils will be much easier to install if you had installed the new control arms first and left the bump stops and spacers loose inside the coil. You will also want to change out the front bump stop extension for one that installs on the axle side coil mount as putting them on the upper mount makes for coil "twang" at full droop.

Since you have gone with adjustable arms I would ditch the cam bolts and get Johnny Joint Washers from Black Magic Brakes so you can use regular bolts instead. Make life much easier down the road.

Since you are gong with a Double Cardan rear shaft you will want to get an angled rear track bar bracket like the ones from Rock Jock or JKS. Once you start raising the pinion up the track bar will bind and be pushed into the gas tank skid.