2008 JKU "Argenta" Build Thread

For me the YJ was the most fun to wheel (though not necessarily the best or most comfortable wheeler!)… mine was a ‘95, so it had all the fit and feel of a CJ, but with just enough touch of modern (EFI) to be enjoyable on hills and in the mountains. The leaf spring suspension, manual trans, and simplicity of it all made for fun line picking and finding the balance point while hanging tires in the air! It was the wooden rollercoaster of the off-road world: just safe enough to not worry, just rough enough to kick your a$$ while you enjoyed it



The LJ and even the TJ were much better wheelers and much more comfortable at the same time. Better seats, better dash ergonomics, an A/C, coil springs, etc. certainly made it easier to convince the Mrs. to come for ridealongs.

Now the fun begins…






It’s a 2010 5.7 Hemi with ~108k miles. Ran strong when running, came out of a wrecked truck. The PO said it had a check engine light for cylinder 8 misfire, but it ran fine and had great compression.

I’ll pull the heads and give it a once over, likely replace the cam and lifters while I’m at it (maybe even drop in something with a little more zing). The engine came with everything, p/s, alternator, a/c, starter, PCM, harness, etc.

Got to working on getting the housing stripped down a bit and prepped for welding the truss. The first step was to matchmark the carrier caps to the housing, then remove the shafts and carrier:


After that, I turned my attention to removing the vent hose fitting. Note for anyone needing to do this, you’ll need to completely remove the adjusting collar as the hole is covered up (see red arrow):



A few quick whacks with a long punch and it popped right out:


The hole that the fitting is pressed into is just about perfectly sized for a 1/4” NPT fitting. I’m gonna run a 7/16” drill bit down just to clean up any edges, but it’s probably not required.


Should have this all done this week, which means I can weld the Artec truss in place this weekend.

Also this weekend, I’ll be picking up a brand new in box Gamechanger 3.5” lift kit from someone about 2 hours away (we are meeting halfway). I already have the 2.5” Dual Rate MetalCloak kit, but wanted to get the full set of arms and rear track bar, and a set of 3.5” springs. I was waiting on a Black Friday sale, but for $2000, this is basically the same $$ I would be spending, plus will let me save my 2.5” lift for Charlotte’s Jeep next year (which will also get my current axles with a fresh regear, and a set of 35”s).

Got the engine pulled off the trailer and started to get it prepped for a proper cleaning...


I ordered an engine stand from AutoZone.com, mainly because they offered free "next day" shipping and a 20% discount code. Of course, "next day" turned into "next, next day", so the stand won't arrive until tomorrow. In the meantime, I guess I'll stop by the hardware store and get some clean 3/8" Grade 8 hardware so I can get this mounted when the stand finally does arrive.


While I'm waiting to make the next step, I guess I should get back to working on my spigot installation at the front of the house. At least I'll have hot and cold water when I finally am able to get the power washer fired back up again...

Two hours of sweating pipes together and I finally have a spigot in the front of the house!!

Not only a spigot, but I plumbed both cold and hot water to it. My original plan was to install two spigots, but due to space issues on the exterior wall, I decided to simply run a single spigot with two water feeds. I can keep the cold water open, but when needed, can open the hot water supply and have 145° water right at the tap...

And let me tell you, it's amazing! Even just rinsing the motor with hot water got so much grime cleaned off. A few sprays with Simple Clean, followed by a proper power washing (also using the hot water!) and the motor is squeaky clean now! I'll wheel it to the back of the garage, pull all the plugs, spray in some fogging spray, and likely pull the intake. At that point, I'll wrap it in a tight bag and there it will sit until I'm done building the 14-Bolt and get the lift installed.


On Saturday, I made a trek up to Binghamton to meet the guy selling the 3.5" MC Gamechanger. Everything is complete and transaction went smooth... this will go on the storage rack, while I'll be pulling the current 2.5" Dual-Rate kit down and getting that installed in ~2 weeks. I'll be in Tampa this following week on a work trip, so nothing will be happening this week, but I may find a few minutes to order my 14 Bolt gears and install parts one evening.

tJKrider said:

Good solution!

Click to expand...

I had to keep the valves tucked under a crawl space area, but it's relatively easy to get to and they're protected from damage, so overall a good solution to get me what I didn't realize I needed so much in my life! Hot tap water from the hoses may be the best thing I ever thought of before... lol