'06 Jeep Commander build progress

Pull the Pin

Pull the Pin

Rank III
Launch Member

Pathfinder II

708
Cottageville, West Virginia
Member #

7964

Bought my Commander in December of 2016 and been modding slowly as money will allow.

This was when I first went camping and had Windows Tinted
1.jpg
3.jpg Install a 2" Rough Country spacer Lift and a Roof Rack . 2.jpg

Built a PVC H2O container for showers and any other need while out. (Holds 4 Gallons of water)
4.jpg
Added alittle angry eyes to the rig.
5.jpg

More progress as I do them, next add on is a CB and a spare tire carrier for the rear, and new Tires
 
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You might look to Josh Duncan (OB#0446) for advice. He's been driving a Commander for some time.

Also, look into the problem of these hemis dropping a valve seat & ruining the engine. It's a design flaw of these engines. We lost a 2006 JGC at ~150K & I think Josh replaced his engine after a similar mishap about the same mileage-he said the rebuilds put a mesh basket below the valves to catch them when they fail. Just search dropped valve seat & hemi on YouTube for some sad testimonials of this fate.


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RainGoat said:
You might look to Josh Duncan (OB#0446) for advice. He's been driving a Commander for some time.

Also, look into the problem of these hemis dropping a valve seat & ruining the engine. It's a design flaw of these engines. We lost a 2006 JGC at ~150K & I think Josh replaced his engine after a similar mishap about the same mileage-he said the rebuilds put a mesh basket below the valves to catch them when they fail. Just search dropped valve seat & hemi on YouTube for some sad testimonials of this fate.


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Click to expand...

Not running the Hemi, I am running the 4.7 Liter
 
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You will be very happy for that!! Glad to hear it.


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It has been a while since my last update. Quite a bit has been changed.

Removed the Spacer Lift and went with OME HD Lift
Removed the ARB Roof Rack and installed a Front Runner Rack.
CVT Awning,
CVT Mt. Rainer extended RTT
WAM Bumper rear steal bumper with Tire swing arm
Trasharoo
Purchased a M416 Trailer to mount the tent on with wheel adapters so I can run my XK wheels to match
and larger Tires.
 

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Do you have any issue with the QD II? is there a need for locker on this?
 
daklakfoto said:
Do you have any issue with the QD II? is there a need for locker on this?
Click to expand...
I have the QT II, so far I have not been in a position to need lockers but maybe one time. And then I still made it through. Pending on what you plan on doing they may or may not be a must have. That being said I would one day like to get a locker for the back and a QD II front wired to be a locker.
 
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The 3.7 and 4.7 liters are much more prone to cracking heads and dropping valves than the Hemis. But it only happens when they have been overheated. Most common cause is a leak from the upper coolant passage o-ring on the timing cover. You can't see the leak from the top and from the bottom it looks like the water pump is leaking so most people just replace the pump and then forget about it until their engine blows up.

Peak underneath the front of your rig. If you see wetness down the driver's side front of the engine your timing cover has started leaking. It is not a difficult job and requires no special tools, but it is tedious.
 
Pull the Pin said:
It has been a while since my last update. Quite a bit has been changed.

Removed the Spacer Lift and went with OME HD Lift
Removed the ARB Roof Rack and installed a Front Runner Rack.
CVT Awning,
CVT Mt. Rainer extended RTT
WAM Bumper rear steal bumper with Tire swing arm
Trasharoo
Purchased a M416 Trailer to mount the tent on with wheel adapters so I can run my XK wheels to match
and larger Tires.
Click to expand...

Can you tell me how you attached that ARB rack? I have an 06 Heim limited and I am so confused about how to attach these new platform racks. Did you find feet that fit the factory rail channel or did you attached directly to the crossbars?
Also, what size rack is that? It looks great and I would like the same thing.
 
CZHipster said:
Can you tell me how you attached that ARB rack? I have an 06 Heim limited and I am so confused about how to attach these new platform racks. Did you find feet that fit the factory rail channel or did you attached directly to the crossbars?
Also, what size rack is that? It looks great and I would like the same thing.
Click to expand...
I attached it with I bolts coming up from the cross bars thru the grating on the ARB rack I had then. I also then changed out the cross bars with unistrut to lower it down some closer to the roof while still using the factory legs to mount it to. I may still have them out in the building i could take some pictures for you.
 
Pull the Pin said:
I attached it with I bolts coming up from the cross bars thru the grating on the ARB rack I had then. I also then changed out the cross bars with unistrut to lower it down some closer to the roof while still using the factory legs to mount it to. I may still have them out in the building i could take some pictures for you.
Click to expand...

Thank you, good idea. The factory crossbars have quite a bow to them, so the unistrut is a great idea. Also, any aftermarket legs to fit the factory rails are hard to find. I appreciate the help.
 
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