Herculining gotchas for JK Unlimited with pics
02-25-2008, 04:05 AM
#1
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Thread Starter
Herculining gotchas for JK Unlimited with pics
DISCLAIMER:
This is how I did it, if you screw up it's not my fault! You are going to mess around with important safety gear (Seat mounting points,Seat belt attachment points, retractors and Airbag sensors) make sure you read this write up to the end and then decide if you are comfortable with doing it yourself! I am in no way liable for any damage to your Jeep or yourself deriving from following this write-up!!!
OK now:
I Herculined my tub and am happy with the result.
Here is a description of the process. It's easy but there are a couple of things you should know BEFORE you do it:
First: This mod is PERMANENT. No way to go back!
You will have to completely scratch up the tub of you brand new vehicle, and then paint it with stinky rubber stuff that wont come off anymore unless you sand it off!
Second: Look under your front seats! Chance is that you have a weight sensor built into the seat which is connected to the airbags! You will need to disconnect the plug in order to take the seat out.
BEFORE unplugging this connector DISCONNECT YOUR BATTERY AND DON'T RECONNECT IT UNTIL THESE PLUGS ARE RECONNECTED!
This way the on board computer will not rise a problem code. If you don't follow this hint you WILL get a trouble code that only the dealer can reset!
Third: The rear seats in the Unlimited are IMPOSSIBLE to get out without the help of a VERY POWERFUL impact wrench! The bolts are overtightened AND glued in with Loctite!
(2 door owners follow the instructions in manual for rear bench removal ) Front seats are very hard as well...
Third: If your Jeep is your daily driver consider sanding the tub in stages. Sanding the cargo area and the footwells can be done without taking out the seats.
Tools needed:
Wrench 10 mm (for battery disconnect)
Wrench 18 mm (for seat and rear seat belt removal)
(Ratched tools are reccomended for ease of use)
Torx #45 (For front seat belt removal)
180 grain Sandpaper or Scotch Brite
1 Liter Acetone
Cotton rags
3 Litres (or 1 Gallon) Herculiner
Specific Solvent for Herculiner (NOT a generic one!)
Brush (Better a small one and a bigger one)
At this point you are ready:
- Start out by ripping out the nasty carpet. It should just come out as it's only tugged under the plastics. No glue or other stuff on mine.
- Go to your local tire or body store and have them loosen all of those nasty 18 mm bolts holding the seats and bench down with an impact wrench. In the rear there is one more bolt the which the seatbelt clips attach. Have them loosen this one too.
- With your normal wrench pull them tight manually so they don't move during your drive back.
- Back home DISCONNECT THE BATTERY
- Tip: You may also consider taking the doors off for easy access to the tub.
- Look under your seats if there is a cable hanging down. If so follow the cable to find the plug and disconnect (MAKE SURE BATTERY IS DISCONNECTED!):
- Detach the front seat belts from the seat.
- Unscrew the bolts holding the front seats (4 for each) and take them out
- Unscrew the Bolts (8) and nuts (4) of the rear bench and rear seat belts and take out the bench.
- Tip: You can detach the small part of the bench from the bigger one by unscrewing a 13 mm nut holding them together. Just fold the smaller part upwards to see it (after unbolting the forward leg of the bench)
- Take off all the plastics along the footwell. I left the center console in as there is enough space to get under it with a small brush.
- Disconnect and mask the plugs on the seat belt retractors:
- Detach cables from the tub by pulling the cable holders (hard) paying attention not to break them.
- Vacuum the tub, any debries in there is a royal PIA during sanding.
- Sand off the entire tub (but not the parts you do not want to Herculine) You don't have to go to bare metal (actually AVOID it or you neet to re-apply primer!) but you need all the luster off. Here you see how it should look (ara behind sub woofer is not sanded):
http://my.project-jk.com/showphoto.p...74&ppuser=1079
- After sanding vacuum again
- Thoroughly clean the tub with cotton rags and Acetone (nothing else!):
- Mask off all parts you do not want Herculined! If you get some Herculiner on parts it's not supposed to go IMMEDIATLY whipe it off with a soft cloth and thinner. Once cured you won't be able to remove it!
- Apply Herculiner following directions supplied with the product. I actually used a brush instead of the stinky roller.
Tip: Wear protective clothing and Latex Gloves !!!
- Let cure for at least 24 hours
Next post shows pictures of the finished tub.
This is how I did it, if you screw up it's not my fault! You are going to mess around with important safety gear (Seat mounting points,Seat belt attachment points, retractors and Airbag sensors) make sure you read this write up to the end and then decide if you are comfortable with doing it yourself! I am in no way liable for any damage to your Jeep or yourself deriving from following this write-up!!!
OK now:
I Herculined my tub and am happy with the result.
Here is a description of the process. It's easy but there are a couple of things you should know BEFORE you do it:
First: This mod is PERMANENT. No way to go back!
You will have to completely scratch up the tub of you brand new vehicle, and then paint it with stinky rubber stuff that wont come off anymore unless you sand it off!
Second: Look under your front seats! Chance is that you have a weight sensor built into the seat which is connected to the airbags! You will need to disconnect the plug in order to take the seat out.
BEFORE unplugging this connector DISCONNECT YOUR BATTERY AND DON'T RECONNECT IT UNTIL THESE PLUGS ARE RECONNECTED!
This way the on board computer will not rise a problem code. If you don't follow this hint you WILL get a trouble code that only the dealer can reset!
Third: The rear seats in the Unlimited are IMPOSSIBLE to get out without the help of a VERY POWERFUL impact wrench! The bolts are overtightened AND glued in with Loctite!
(2 door owners follow the instructions in manual for rear bench removal ) Front seats are very hard as well...Third: If your Jeep is your daily driver consider sanding the tub in stages. Sanding the cargo area and the footwells can be done without taking out the seats.
Tools needed:
Wrench 10 mm (for battery disconnect)
Wrench 18 mm (for seat and rear seat belt removal)
(Ratched tools are reccomended for ease of use)
Torx #45 (For front seat belt removal)
180 grain Sandpaper or Scotch Brite
1 Liter Acetone
Cotton rags
3 Litres (or 1 Gallon) Herculiner
Specific Solvent for Herculiner (NOT a generic one!)
Brush (Better a small one and a bigger one)
At this point you are ready:
- Start out by ripping out the nasty carpet. It should just come out as it's only tugged under the plastics. No glue or other stuff on mine.
- Go to your local tire or body store and have them loosen all of those nasty 18 mm bolts holding the seats and bench down with an impact wrench. In the rear there is one more bolt the which the seatbelt clips attach. Have them loosen this one too.
- With your normal wrench pull them tight manually so they don't move during your drive back.
- Back home DISCONNECT THE BATTERY
- Tip: You may also consider taking the doors off for easy access to the tub.
- Look under your seats if there is a cable hanging down. If so follow the cable to find the plug and disconnect (MAKE SURE BATTERY IS DISCONNECTED!):
- Detach the front seat belts from the seat.
- Unscrew the bolts holding the front seats (4 for each) and take them out
- Unscrew the Bolts (8) and nuts (4) of the rear bench and rear seat belts and take out the bench.
- Tip: You can detach the small part of the bench from the bigger one by unscrewing a 13 mm nut holding them together. Just fold the smaller part upwards to see it (after unbolting the forward leg of the bench)
- Take off all the plastics along the footwell. I left the center console in as there is enough space to get under it with a small brush.
- Disconnect and mask the plugs on the seat belt retractors:
- Detach cables from the tub by pulling the cable holders (hard) paying attention not to break them.
- Vacuum the tub, any debries in there is a royal PIA during sanding.
- Sand off the entire tub (but not the parts you do not want to Herculine) You don't have to go to bare metal (actually AVOID it or you neet to re-apply primer!) but you need all the luster off. Here you see how it should look (ara behind sub woofer is not sanded):
http://my.project-jk.com/showphoto.p...74&ppuser=1079
- After sanding vacuum again
- Thoroughly clean the tub with cotton rags and Acetone (nothing else!):
- Mask off all parts you do not want Herculined! If you get some Herculiner on parts it's not supposed to go IMMEDIATLY whipe it off with a soft cloth and thinner. Once cured you won't be able to remove it!
- Apply Herculiner following directions supplied with the product. I actually used a brush instead of the stinky roller.
Tip: Wear protective clothing and Latex Gloves !!!
- Let cure for at least 24 hours
Next post shows pictures of the finished tub.
Last edited by Voodoo; 06-03-2008 at 05:29 AM.
02-25-2008, 03:57 PM
#5
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Hey, that looks familiar. I did this a about a month or so ago myself. It's a lot cheaper than paying one of those line-x guys $400, and I get to say I did it myself. The only thing I would like to add is that I was able to loosen my seat bolts myself using a folding tire iron, you get a lot of torque for removal and installation with it. Also, instead of using sand paper, I used a power drill with a soft wire brush for the majority of the paint scoring. I didn't however disconnect the battery before disconnecting the seat connectors, and now I have to deal with that extra airbag chime every time I start up. Oh well. Anyways, here's mine.
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02-25-2008, 08:05 PM
#10
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Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Alief, TX
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Both jeeps look great. Ill be doing this in a couple of weeks. Looks like you both stopped under the lip in the back of the tub. I think im going to go over the lip like a trucks bed is done because i have a soft top and with the floor done, the might will be off most of the time.
So this stuff just brushes on easily? Does it go on pretty evenly? What is the texture like after its dried?
So this stuff just brushes on easily? Does it go on pretty evenly? What is the texture like after its dried?