Seeking Line-X/bedliner advice
02-10-2013, 10:03 AM
#11
JK Enthusiast
Thread Starter
After Line-X, Thoughts and Suggestions
The Line-X job is complete and I have a few thoughts/suggestions for others. Some photos will follow in the next post.
Tub Rail. I had the tub rail coated and it looks fantastic. They taped under the edge, so the top still fits fine. They sprayed the entire rail, including under where the plastic clips for the tailgate bar mount on either side of the rear opening. The plastic clips fit, but very snugly. If you are going this route, I might ask Line-X not to spray this part of the rail. There is an obvious stopping point just aside of where the plastic clips go.
Door Sills. I decided not to have the sills sprayed. I had sill protectors already. No regrets there.
Sound Insulation. After MUCH research and thought I decided to spray over the insulation. Mine had never gotten soaked. It was hard as a rock. I am sure it would look a little better with the insulation removed, but I can't see it anyway as it is covered by the rear seat and Q-tec mats in the front. For what it is worth, the Line-X guy discouraged me from removing it, having apparently seen a couple damaged tubs.
Console. They told me not to remove the console, which was a relief as I had read several posts about how hard it is to remove the shifter knobs. The console sits about a half inch off the floor. They taped and sprayed around it. There is no visible body color (which would be red), so I am happy with how it turned out.
Wiring Harnesses. In my 2 door, which does not have a hard top, there are two wiring harnesses that run under the tub rail on each side. They were held in place by push mount zip ties, inserted into 1/4” holds drilled into the body just under the rail. When I stripped the inside, I cut each of these zip ties and tugged them out. I purchased push mount zip ties online for the re-install (impossible to find locally). The Line-X will fill the holes slightly. I used a dremel with a small bit to widen the holes. I put the zip ties on so that the wires ride slightly above the holes. Then I covered the wiring harnesses with 1/2” wire loom (called flexible tubing at my local home improvement spot). The wire loom goes right over the zip ties as well, so it is all hidden. I understand that if you have a hard top there is a washer tube running along with the wiring harness on the driver's side, so you'll need something bigger than 1/2” to cover it. I suspect 3/4” would work. I ran the wire loom as far as possible, so that it now ends under the plastic trim by the B pillar and at the rear corner of the roll cage. No wires are visible. The black wire loom blends in well with the black liner and it is tucked up under the bed rail pretty well so you are not immediately aware of it.
Tailgate Stop. When you open the tailgate there is a plastic bar that limits the swing of the tailgate. This bar extends in and out of the plastic trim on the right of the opening, through a rubber lined slot. The Line-X on the floor apparently raised this trim a bit, so the rubber interfered with the bar. I had to trim the rubber from the bottom of this opening so the bar could move smoothly.
Seat Mounting Bolts. I had read that the bolts for the front seats would be very hard to remove, but I used a 24” breaker bar and they came right out. When I re-installed the seats, I torqued the bolts to 45 ft/lbs. The next day I thought I'd check the torque to see if the Line-X compressed some. It must have, as I got more than a quarter turn when I re-torqued all the bolts.
Seat Belt Retractor and Turning Loop Mounts. The seat belt retractors, front and rear, are held on by Torx bolts with a size T-50 head. The retractor bolts are installed under the retractors. It is very hard to get a wrench on these without an extension, and an extension is a bad idea with a Torx head bolt as they strip easily. I got out most of these bolts with a smaller breaker bar. Unfortunately, I stripped the head of one of the bolts on the rear right retractor. To get it out, I had to cut off the seat belt retractor. It did eventually come out. But I had to add a new belt and retractor to the cost of this project, about $130 total online. The guy at Line-X said he would have removed these with an air powered impact wrench. Wish I had had him do it. The torque spec for these bolts is 30 ft/lbs. The reason the bolts are so tough to remove is they have red locktite on them. I believe it melts at 500 degrees. If you have access to a torch, heating the bolt would probably make this quick work. I removed the entire seat belt assembly, including what Mopar calls the turning loop, the higher mount. You really don't need to remove the upper part.
Large Oval Holes behind the B Pillar. These can be found only on the 2 doors. I have seen some creative ways of filling these holes, including cold welding sheet aluminum over the spot and lining over it. I decided to just leave it. The Line-X guy sprayed inside the hole as well. I don't even notice them now.
Things to Tape. Most things that need to be taped or blocked are obvious. There are four steel nubs in the tailgate area, used to attach the plastic trim at the base of the roll bar. I had to grind the Line-X off these in order to reattach the plastic trim. They should have been taped.
Experienced Line-X Dealer. One thing that made this a lot less stressful is that the Line-X shop I went to had lots of experience with Jeeps. I stopped in a couple weeks ahead of when I was going to do it to talk with the owner. He asked a number of questions making it obvious that he had sprayed a few Wranglers. That really put me at ease.
Thanks to everyone who replied on this thread and who contacted me through private messages.
Tub Rail. I had the tub rail coated and it looks fantastic. They taped under the edge, so the top still fits fine. They sprayed the entire rail, including under where the plastic clips for the tailgate bar mount on either side of the rear opening. The plastic clips fit, but very snugly. If you are going this route, I might ask Line-X not to spray this part of the rail. There is an obvious stopping point just aside of where the plastic clips go.
Door Sills. I decided not to have the sills sprayed. I had sill protectors already. No regrets there.
Sound Insulation. After MUCH research and thought I decided to spray over the insulation. Mine had never gotten soaked. It was hard as a rock. I am sure it would look a little better with the insulation removed, but I can't see it anyway as it is covered by the rear seat and Q-tec mats in the front. For what it is worth, the Line-X guy discouraged me from removing it, having apparently seen a couple damaged tubs.
Console. They told me not to remove the console, which was a relief as I had read several posts about how hard it is to remove the shifter knobs. The console sits about a half inch off the floor. They taped and sprayed around it. There is no visible body color (which would be red), so I am happy with how it turned out.
Wiring Harnesses. In my 2 door, which does not have a hard top, there are two wiring harnesses that run under the tub rail on each side. They were held in place by push mount zip ties, inserted into 1/4” holds drilled into the body just under the rail. When I stripped the inside, I cut each of these zip ties and tugged them out. I purchased push mount zip ties online for the re-install (impossible to find locally). The Line-X will fill the holes slightly. I used a dremel with a small bit to widen the holes. I put the zip ties on so that the wires ride slightly above the holes. Then I covered the wiring harnesses with 1/2” wire loom (called flexible tubing at my local home improvement spot). The wire loom goes right over the zip ties as well, so it is all hidden. I understand that if you have a hard top there is a washer tube running along with the wiring harness on the driver's side, so you'll need something bigger than 1/2” to cover it. I suspect 3/4” would work. I ran the wire loom as far as possible, so that it now ends under the plastic trim by the B pillar and at the rear corner of the roll cage. No wires are visible. The black wire loom blends in well with the black liner and it is tucked up under the bed rail pretty well so you are not immediately aware of it.
Tailgate Stop. When you open the tailgate there is a plastic bar that limits the swing of the tailgate. This bar extends in and out of the plastic trim on the right of the opening, through a rubber lined slot. The Line-X on the floor apparently raised this trim a bit, so the rubber interfered with the bar. I had to trim the rubber from the bottom of this opening so the bar could move smoothly.
Seat Mounting Bolts. I had read that the bolts for the front seats would be very hard to remove, but I used a 24” breaker bar and they came right out. When I re-installed the seats, I torqued the bolts to 45 ft/lbs. The next day I thought I'd check the torque to see if the Line-X compressed some. It must have, as I got more than a quarter turn when I re-torqued all the bolts.
Seat Belt Retractor and Turning Loop Mounts. The seat belt retractors, front and rear, are held on by Torx bolts with a size T-50 head. The retractor bolts are installed under the retractors. It is very hard to get a wrench on these without an extension, and an extension is a bad idea with a Torx head bolt as they strip easily. I got out most of these bolts with a smaller breaker bar. Unfortunately, I stripped the head of one of the bolts on the rear right retractor. To get it out, I had to cut off the seat belt retractor. It did eventually come out. But I had to add a new belt and retractor to the cost of this project, about $130 total online. The guy at Line-X said he would have removed these with an air powered impact wrench. Wish I had had him do it. The torque spec for these bolts is 30 ft/lbs. The reason the bolts are so tough to remove is they have red locktite on them. I believe it melts at 500 degrees. If you have access to a torch, heating the bolt would probably make this quick work. I removed the entire seat belt assembly, including what Mopar calls the turning loop, the higher mount. You really don't need to remove the upper part.
Large Oval Holes behind the B Pillar. These can be found only on the 2 doors. I have seen some creative ways of filling these holes, including cold welding sheet aluminum over the spot and lining over it. I decided to just leave it. The Line-X guy sprayed inside the hole as well. I don't even notice them now.
Things to Tape. Most things that need to be taped or blocked are obvious. There are four steel nubs in the tailgate area, used to attach the plastic trim at the base of the roll bar. I had to grind the Line-X off these in order to reattach the plastic trim. They should have been taped.
Experienced Line-X Dealer. One thing that made this a lot less stressful is that the Line-X shop I went to had lots of experience with Jeeps. I stopped in a couple weeks ahead of when I was going to do it to talk with the owner. He asked a number of questions making it obvious that he had sprayed a few Wranglers. That really put me at ease.
Thanks to everyone who replied on this thread and who contacted me through private messages.
02-16-2013, 08:09 PM
#13
JK Enthusiast
Thread Starter
I was thinking a bit about this. I love the Line-X. Looks great. No doubt it will last the life of the Jeep. However, if I had a black JK I think I would consider taking out the carpet and coating only the footwells and cargo area with a roll on liner. Tape it off, make it neat. I wonder if anyone one here has done that. As I have bright red paint, I didn't like the red tub, and the work and cost of having it all coated was worth it.
02-17-2013, 07:02 PM
#14
JK Freak
The Line-X job is complete and I have a few thoughts/suggestions for others. Some photos will follow in the next post.
Tub Rail. I had the tub rail coated and it looks fantastic. They taped under the edge, so the top still fits fine. They sprayed the entire rail, including under where the plastic clips for the tailgate bar mount on either side of the rear opening. The plastic clips fit, but very snugly. If you are going this route, I might ask Line-X not to spray this part of the rail. There is an obvious stopping point just aside of where the plastic clips go.
Door Sills. I decided not to have the sills sprayed. I had sill protectors already. No regrets there.
Sound Insulation. After MUCH research and thought I decided to spray over the insulation. Mine had never gotten soaked. It was hard as a rock. I am sure it would look a little better with the insulation removed, but I can't see it anyway as it is covered by the rear seat and Q-tec mats in the front. For what it is worth, the Line-X guy discouraged me from removing it, having apparently seen a couple damaged tubs.
Console. They told me not to remove the console, which was a relief as I had read several posts about how hard it is to remove the shifter knobs. The console sits about a half inch off the floor. They taped and sprayed around it. There is no visible body color (which would be red), so I am happy with how it turned out.
Wiring Harnesses. In my 2 door, which does not have a hard top, there are two wiring harnesses that run under the tub rail on each side. They were held in place by push mount zip ties, inserted into 1/4” holds drilled into the body just under the rail. When I stripped the inside, I cut each of these zip ties and tugged them out. I purchased push mount zip ties online for the re-install (impossible to find locally). The Line-X will fill the holes slightly. I used a dremel with a small bit to widen the holes. I put the zip ties on so that the wires ride slightly above the holes. Then I covered the wiring harnesses with 1/2” wire loom (called flexible tubing at my local home improvement spot). The wire loom goes right over the zip ties as well, so it is all hidden. I understand that if you have a hard top there is a washer tube running along with the wiring harness on the driver's side, so you'll need something bigger than 1/2” to cover it. I suspect 3/4” would work. I ran the wire loom as far as possible, so that it now ends under the plastic trim by the B pillar and at the rear corner of the roll cage. No wires are visible. The black wire loom blends in well with the black liner and it is tucked up under the bed rail pretty well so you are not immediately aware of it.
Tailgate Stop. When you open the tailgate there is a plastic bar that limits the swing of the tailgate. This bar extends in and out of the plastic trim on the right of the opening, through a rubber lined slot. The Line-X on the floor apparently raised this trim a bit, so the rubber interfered with the bar. I had to trim the rubber from the bottom of this opening so the bar could move smoothly.
Seat Mounting Bolts. I had read that the bolts for the front seats would be very hard to remove, but I used a 24” breaker bar and they came right out. When I re-installed the seats, I torqued the bolts to 45 ft/lbs. The next day I thought I'd check the torque to see if the Line-X compressed some. It must have, as I got more than a quarter turn when I re-torqued all the bolts.
Seat Belt Retractor and Turning Loop Mounts. The seat belt retractors, front and rear, are held on by Torx bolts with a size T-50 head. The retractor bolts are installed under the retractors. It is very hard to get a wrench on these without an extension, and an extension is a bad idea with a Torx head bolt as they strip easily. I got out most of these bolts with a smaller breaker bar. Unfortunately, I stripped the head of one of the bolts on the rear right retractor. To get it out, I had to cut off the seat belt retractor. It did eventually come out. But I had to add a new belt and retractor to the cost of this project, about $130 total online. The guy at Line-X said he would have removed these with an air powered impact wrench. Wish I had had him do it. The torque spec for these bolts is 30 ft/lbs. The reason the bolts are so tough to remove is they have red locktite on them. I believe it melts at 500 degrees. If you have access to a torch, heating the bolt would probably make this quick work. I removed the entire seat belt assembly, including what Mopar calls the turning loop, the higher mount. You really don't need to remove the upper part.
Large Oval Holes behind the B Pillar. These can be found only on the 2 doors. I have seen some creative ways of filling these holes, including cold welding sheet aluminum over the spot and lining over it. I decided to just leave it. The Line-X guy sprayed inside the hole as well. I don't even notice them now.
Things to Tape. Most things that need to be taped or blocked are obvious. There are four steel nubs in the tailgate area, used to attach the plastic trim at the base of the roll bar. I had to grind the Line-X off these in order to reattach the plastic trim. They should have been taped.
Experienced Line-X Dealer. One thing that made this a lot less stressful is that the Line-X shop I went to had lots of experience with Jeeps. I stopped in a couple weeks ahead of when I was going to do it to talk with the owner. He asked a number of questions making it obvious that he had sprayed a few Wranglers. That really put me at ease.
Thanks to everyone who replied on this thread and who contacted me through private messages.
Tub Rail. I had the tub rail coated and it looks fantastic. They taped under the edge, so the top still fits fine. They sprayed the entire rail, including under where the plastic clips for the tailgate bar mount on either side of the rear opening. The plastic clips fit, but very snugly. If you are going this route, I might ask Line-X not to spray this part of the rail. There is an obvious stopping point just aside of where the plastic clips go.
Door Sills. I decided not to have the sills sprayed. I had sill protectors already. No regrets there.
Sound Insulation. After MUCH research and thought I decided to spray over the insulation. Mine had never gotten soaked. It was hard as a rock. I am sure it would look a little better with the insulation removed, but I can't see it anyway as it is covered by the rear seat and Q-tec mats in the front. For what it is worth, the Line-X guy discouraged me from removing it, having apparently seen a couple damaged tubs.
Console. They told me not to remove the console, which was a relief as I had read several posts about how hard it is to remove the shifter knobs. The console sits about a half inch off the floor. They taped and sprayed around it. There is no visible body color (which would be red), so I am happy with how it turned out.
Wiring Harnesses. In my 2 door, which does not have a hard top, there are two wiring harnesses that run under the tub rail on each side. They were held in place by push mount zip ties, inserted into 1/4” holds drilled into the body just under the rail. When I stripped the inside, I cut each of these zip ties and tugged them out. I purchased push mount zip ties online for the re-install (impossible to find locally). The Line-X will fill the holes slightly. I used a dremel with a small bit to widen the holes. I put the zip ties on so that the wires ride slightly above the holes. Then I covered the wiring harnesses with 1/2” wire loom (called flexible tubing at my local home improvement spot). The wire loom goes right over the zip ties as well, so it is all hidden. I understand that if you have a hard top there is a washer tube running along with the wiring harness on the driver's side, so you'll need something bigger than 1/2” to cover it. I suspect 3/4” would work. I ran the wire loom as far as possible, so that it now ends under the plastic trim by the B pillar and at the rear corner of the roll cage. No wires are visible. The black wire loom blends in well with the black liner and it is tucked up under the bed rail pretty well so you are not immediately aware of it.
Tailgate Stop. When you open the tailgate there is a plastic bar that limits the swing of the tailgate. This bar extends in and out of the plastic trim on the right of the opening, through a rubber lined slot. The Line-X on the floor apparently raised this trim a bit, so the rubber interfered with the bar. I had to trim the rubber from the bottom of this opening so the bar could move smoothly.
Seat Mounting Bolts. I had read that the bolts for the front seats would be very hard to remove, but I used a 24” breaker bar and they came right out. When I re-installed the seats, I torqued the bolts to 45 ft/lbs. The next day I thought I'd check the torque to see if the Line-X compressed some. It must have, as I got more than a quarter turn when I re-torqued all the bolts.
Seat Belt Retractor and Turning Loop Mounts. The seat belt retractors, front and rear, are held on by Torx bolts with a size T-50 head. The retractor bolts are installed under the retractors. It is very hard to get a wrench on these without an extension, and an extension is a bad idea with a Torx head bolt as they strip easily. I got out most of these bolts with a smaller breaker bar. Unfortunately, I stripped the head of one of the bolts on the rear right retractor. To get it out, I had to cut off the seat belt retractor. It did eventually come out. But I had to add a new belt and retractor to the cost of this project, about $130 total online. The guy at Line-X said he would have removed these with an air powered impact wrench. Wish I had had him do it. The torque spec for these bolts is 30 ft/lbs. The reason the bolts are so tough to remove is they have red locktite on them. I believe it melts at 500 degrees. If you have access to a torch, heating the bolt would probably make this quick work. I removed the entire seat belt assembly, including what Mopar calls the turning loop, the higher mount. You really don't need to remove the upper part.
Large Oval Holes behind the B Pillar. These can be found only on the 2 doors. I have seen some creative ways of filling these holes, including cold welding sheet aluminum over the spot and lining over it. I decided to just leave it. The Line-X guy sprayed inside the hole as well. I don't even notice them now.
Things to Tape. Most things that need to be taped or blocked are obvious. There are four steel nubs in the tailgate area, used to attach the plastic trim at the base of the roll bar. I had to grind the Line-X off these in order to reattach the plastic trim. They should have been taped.
Experienced Line-X Dealer. One thing that made this a lot less stressful is that the Line-X shop I went to had lots of experience with Jeeps. I stopped in a couple weeks ahead of when I was going to do it to talk with the owner. He asked a number of questions making it obvious that he had sprayed a few Wranglers. That really put me at ease.
Thanks to everyone who replied on this thread and who contacted me through private messages.
02-18-2013, 01:40 AM
#15
JK Enthusiast
Looks good man. Mine is going into the same shop in two weeks. Im doing inside and out in White Linex. I did take the sound insulation on the tub out thou with a needle gun in about 20mins then hit it with etching primer. I am in the process of building boxes to go in the rear along the sides and a deck for the back to make it fully flat with a rubber sound insulator below it.
If you are looking for something for that back storage area that will work nice check out the VDP box that is made for it. You can install it then Linex right over it.
If you are looking for something for that back storage area that will work nice check out the VDP box that is made for it. You can install it then Linex right over it.
02-18-2013, 04:08 AM
#16
JK Enthusiast
Thread Starter
It was $675 plus tax. I delivered it stripped. He also gave me a price with him stripping the tub, but I don't remember what that was. I remember thinking that it was designed to cause me to do the removal myself.
02-18-2013, 04:13 AM
#17
JK Enthusiast
Thread Starter
Looks good man. Mine is going into the same shop in two weeks. Im doing inside and out in White Linex. I did take the sound insulation on the tub out thou with a needle gun in about 20mins then hit it with etching primer. I am in the process of building boxes to go in the rear along the sides and a deck for the back to make it fully flat with a rubber sound insulator below it.
If you are looking for something for that back storage area that will work nice check out the VDP box that is made for it. You can install it then Linex right over it.
If you are looking for something for that back storage area that will work nice check out the VDP box that is made for it. You can install it then Linex right over it.
I would be very interested in seeing what you do with the storage area. Please post some pics.
02-18-2013, 04:32 AM
#18
JK Freak
I was thinking a bit about this. I love the Line-X. Looks great. No doubt it will last the life of the Jeep. However, if I had a black JK I think I would consider taking out the carpet and coating only the footwells and cargo area with a roll on liner. Tape it off, make it neat. I wonder if anyone one here has done that. As I have bright red paint, I didn't like the red tub, and the work and cost of having it all coated was worth it.
02-18-2013, 05:04 AM
#19
JK Enthusiast
Thread Starter
This is what I plan on doing. Ill post pics when it's actually accomplished. Seems like a lot less work and I think the contrast of smooth and rough should look good. I don't think I'll have to remove anything but the rear seat, carpet, and a few trim pieces. Should be a 3-4 hour job, with some dry time...what do you think?? Any suggestions?!?!...
02-18-2013, 05:18 AM
#20
JK Freak
Hey thanks for the suggestions. I usually ride with hard top on and just remove the panels, since my back seat is out and I sold the soft top, but like to take it all off for a couple of months for summer so that's when I plan on doing this. Planned on doing the footwells and cargo area. And also removing the padding and painting the roll bars. I also want to do the tailgate and depending on what it looks like when I pull the carpet I might try to do a portion of the sides in the back. Basically a simple design that gives a little protection but requires nothing but tape and paint. I was going to use monstaliner.