Cree's 2000 Limited Thread

[Cree]

So I don't know if anyone ever saw the post in the What did you do today thread, but I picked up my bumpers from the local Pick n Pull. Front and rear ran me a grand total of 63 dollars. However, there was a problem. The PO had punted someone. Gently, enough so that the front bumper was in good shape. Enough though that the AOR bolt on cross member was like a pretzel. At the time I figured no biggie, I'd call them and get another one.

Well.... no. That's not how that works. I don't blame Scotty one bit for not selling them separately. It did, however, make for more work for me and my buddy. So, with that said, off to the races we go!

Went down to Metal by the Foot and picked up a 3ft section of 4 inch channel. That gives you 1/4ish wall, 4 inch web and about 1 1/2 in legs. Moreover, that gives you an internal measurement of 3 inches, which slides beautifully over the frame rails once you hack off the factory pads. I'm not sure how far back I cut, probably about half an inch behind them. Enough so that the bumper tucks up a little tighter than Scotty designed it originally. That's double edged. Do that and expect to bolt it on? Forget it. But, if you are going to ever really use the winch, you probably were going to need to welderup anyhow, so now you just get that out of the way from the jump.

Thankfully, Scotty is kind enough to take a good photo of the crossmemeber, so we basically just copied his mounting points. Cut down some 1in square tube for the upper bolts. Welded all the nuts on and Viola!, we're in business. The ONLY bad part of the day? Lost a little more front end clearance from the weight. That's okay, I haven't brought the front up yet, but now I'm thinking I may need another 3/8 on top of the 1/2in spacer. Wheelers has both, so I'll probably just stack them and call it done.

Now, I mentioned that I was upgrading the lighting. I personally don't like how the retro fit lights look. I also don't like the price tag. And I really dislike the fact that they're not DOT legal. I know a lot of people don't care and have never had any problems, but I do and I don't want to, so here we are.

I know for a fact that the LED "Daymakers" style lights from HD's throw a metric butt ton of light, the cut off is good enough to keep from blinding the meat missiles in the oncoming lane, and they're DOT/SAE legal. Well, that's perfect, because now with my new bumper mounted, I just so happen to have room for a couple of them. I just unplugged the stock lights, made an extension harness and plugged these bad boys in.

We also lopped off the old turn signal tabs and welded on some flat tabs for some *drum roll please* DOT/SAE Rigid Fog lights. Full disclosure? After driving with just the headlights on, I could've saved a lot of money on not buying these and/or buying a different pattern. But, I got them, so they're mounted and wired to the factory fog harness.

Here's some night shots, since I'm betting this may created the question of what it looks like.

LOW BEAMS ONLY

LOWS/FOGS

HIGH BEAMS ONLY

LOWS/FOGS CUTOFF

I have about 330 bucks wrapped up in the lights, well over half of which are the fogs. Like I said, I feel like I could've held off, but I'm not unhappy I got them either.

And this completes the bumper install for now, and Phase 1 of the lighting upgrade. Phase 2 will come as soon as I get my MJT Aux fuse panel bracket and fuse panel installed. Which, I'm hoping my schedule will allow to be soon.

 

[Wedgy]

SOOOOOOO.

Figured out the squirlley issue and the brake pull at the same time yesterday. I paid Midas to do the alignment. They didn't tighten up the otr like I requested they do, so the nut backed off the right side and it finally let go yesterday in a parking lot.

New ends and a trip to Toyota and it tracks straight and brakes beautifully. Guess that'll learn me too trust another shops work.

Also got these in today. Going to give the Load C's a try. Figured if they work for a Raptor, they should work for me.

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I just had the same thing happen to me. I did the rear axle bearings, seals and brakes then did the complete front end all bushings, ball joints, tie rods, plus shocks all the way around then got it aligned and I developed a pull to the left shortly after. Could not get it to stop after bleeding, inspecting etc. so I replaced the rotors, pads, and calipers only to find the drivers outer tie rod hanging on by 3 threads. They forgot to tighten and put the key back in when they adjusted the steering wheel/alignment.
Not sure what I'm going to say to them yet.

 

[Cree]

I just had the same thing happen to me. I did the rear axle bearings, seals and brakes then did the complete front end all bushings, ball joints, tie rods, plus shocks all the way around then got it aligned and I developed a pull to the left shortly after. Could not get it to stop after bleeding, inspecting etc. so I replaced the rotors, pads, and calipers only to find the drivers outer tie rod hanging on by 3 threads. They forgot to tighten and put the key back in when they adjusted the steering wheel/alignment.
Not sure what I'm going to say to them yet.

Most likely you'll be wasting your breath. They said because I originally installed the ends they weren't liable for any problems with them. I talked to my Lawyer, I have a case, but it's more trouble than I'm willing to deal with TBH. I mean, there's not much to accomplish in the end. I just won't take any business back to that shop, and I'll make sure that everyone I know won't either.

 

[Hammit]

I have about 330 bucks wrapped up in the lights, well over half of which are the fogs. Like I said, I feel like I could've held off, but I'm not unhappy I got them either.

330?! I have to know where you got daymakers for less than 250 a pop please!

Also your runner is looking great!

 

[Cree]

330?! I have to know where you got daymakers for less than 250 a pop please!

Also your runner is looking great!

Amazon. Turns out when you remove the Bar and Shield it cuts the price dramatically.

Seriously though, there's about 70 different companies that make the exact same light now. These are Sunpie lights. The Jeep guys really dig them and they're highly reviewed. I opted for 5 3/4 lights since finding bottom mount buckets for those are WAAAAAAY easier. 39 per light, 27 each for the buckets. Can't argue with that huh?

 

[raKnizek]

Really dig what you did with those LED headlights. I agree with your points for not going retrofit.

I have been thinking about headlights lately. How feasible do you think it would be to get those Sunpie's inside the factory housings? No idea how that would look but just spitballing.

Nice work on your rig!

 

[Cree]

Really dig what you did with those LED headlights. I agree with your points for not going retrofit.

I have been thinking about headlights lately. How feasible do you think it would be to get those Sunpie's inside the factory housings? No idea how that would look but just spitballing.

Nice work on your rig!

That was my original thought. The 5 3/4 would fit but you'd have to get VERY creative securing it in any fashion. It was going to be enough trouble I decided against it.

 

[Hammit]

Amazon. Turns out when you remove the Bar and Shield it cuts the price dramatically.

Seriously though, there's about 70 different companies that make the exact same light now. These are Sunpie lights. The Jeep guys really dig them and they're highly reviewed. I opted for 5 3/4 lights since finding bottom mount buckets for those are WAAAAAAY easier. 39 per light, 27 each for the buckets. Can't argue with that huh?

Haha! As a Harley owner myself I am well aware how much that bar and shield costs.

That's good to know thanks. When I first got a bike I shopped around and took a chance on a cheap knockoff... that was a mistake! Never again will I go cheap on a light I depend on while going 80+ mph without a metal box around me!

Anyway I wound up going with a slightly less expensive competitor (Rivera - REALLY nice unit, very happy with it all around). LED tech is always improving though so it's nice to know I'll be able to trick out my newly purchased 99 sr5 on a budget!

 

[Cree]

CORNER LIGHT MOD TIME!

So I've done a ton of searching and I didn't find much in the way of idea's I liked as far as parking lights and turn signals up front. I don't really care for the filler panel lights, I used the space on the AOR bumper for the fogs and I didn't want to run a dedicated turn signal up top since I felt like with the headlights moved to the middle I really needed something to mark the corners. SO. Here's what I did.

First, I pulled the corners out and took a look at the wiring for both the parking circuit and the turn signal circuit. The parking circuit is a White/Black stripe and Solid Green on both sides of the truck. The turn signals are different on each side. I didn't grab a good picture of the turn harnesses and I'm not going to lie, so just look at the pics here in a minute.

Passenger Turn Signal

Passenger Parking light (Same on Drivers)

So, really to do what I wanted to do I needed a dual filament bulb. Problem is, those use 3 wires for input, not 2 like the standard bulb and socket. Yeah, I could've wired a relay inline, but best case it was going to blink opposite of the rear blinker and it would shut off the bulb when it did that. Not what I was after. Solution? This little guy right here.....

Before I junked my old truck I snagged the brake light harnesses off of it. The brake light bulbs themselves are a three wire, dual filament bulb. Yahtzee!

So, to make a long story shorter, White/Black to White/Black, Solid Green to Solid Green, Green/White to the positive side of the blinker and you have a working parking light and turn signal that's always lit with the lights on and blinks in time with the rear signals.

Only downside? Doesn't fit in the stock hole in the corner housing. That's a simple fix. I used a 3/4 speed bit to knock open the hole and some RTV to hold it all together.


I finished it off by blacking out the housing with Purple Power (took like 5 minutes, no gluing or prying, yay!) and putting in amber 7443's, which oddly, are hard to find.

To wrap all this up, I also wanted some options for headlights, so I built another headlight harness out of an old Rigid relay and switch I had laying around and put some Optilux Super Yellow bulbs in the old factory housings. Should be perfect for wet or snowy days where the LED's will give me too much glare. I guess I could've just bought covers for the fog lights, but anybody can do that. These photos don't do the yellow justice at all, but I think you can get the idea.

So that wraps up that. When it warms up and drys out a little, I'll pull the headlights off and black the non reflective portion out.

 

[Cree]

PINK MILKSHAKE:


Hilariously, I just mentioned to the wife that this thing was way too nice for me, that it was driving and riding so smooth and running so well I didn't deserve it. Should've kept my fat mouth shut. Was towing home a man lift last night, didn't feel right. Drove to work this morning (so about 10 miles combined from the feeling and the commute) and it puked in the parking lot. It *looks* like it broke on the pressure side of the cooler lines, as the radiator overflowed instead of the coming out of the transmission, however there was still probably 3 qts of antifreeze in the bottom of the pan. No weird shifts this morning, no temp lights, no slipping. Only thing last night was a reluctance to downshift on a hill. Here's hoping I can save it with a new radiator and a few power flushes.

 

[throwgallons808]

Hope to see more after the milkshake fix!


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[Cree]

So really just been driving the wheels off. I flushed the hell out of the trans after the milkshake. I've put about 30k on it since. The transmission seems ok, but the converter makes some odd noise every now and then. I have replacements for both in the garage, just waiting for a hard failure to give me reason to pull out what's in there.

Gearing up for front axles and wheel bearings right now. Hoping to get thru winter on what's in there as my backup truck is 2WD. We'll see.

Also picked up upper rear control arms from OptOffroad. Looking to get those installed in the next few weeks.

Did a couple of minor interior changes. Moved my SG2 from the column. So far really like the new location. Also moved the rear heat switch. Kiddo can't reach it from her car seat and I have a bad shoulder on that side that makes that reach hurt. Getting old sucks.

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[Cree]

Had a noise from the right front and a slight pull under braking. Stick my head under the truck and was greeted with this.....

2 completely gone, both remaining bent and loose. The crazy part is I replaced that hardware 4 years ago when I put the lift on with Grade 8 Bolts and Loctite on the threads. No idea how long they've been gone, but long enough to get rusty. Got real lucky.

 

[Bad Luck]

Well that’s unnerving! What a crazy and lucky discovery!

 

[Cree]

Had some time to tear into it today. Bolts sheared inside the spindle, so that's neat. Now to figure out getting that swapped out. I'm down an arm so it may just have to wait.

 

[poisedforflight]

So the T100 booster and MC are MOSTLY a drop in job. Thought I'd sneak that stuff in before it sits 5 inches higher in the front. Had to pull a couple extra lines out of the way to get the bigger booster to drop in place. Also had to rebend both brake lines. Reservoir is a direct swap. Be sure to measure where the pedal clevis sits on the old booster rod. I measured from the base of the booster out. Should be a good starting point at least. On to the front suspension!

Also, little Carolina squat action on the parts truck.

Do you have the part numbers for the master cylinder and booster you used? I am looking to do this mod to my 1998 and retain the ABS if possible.