Mile 38,600
There is a slight exhaust leak on cold starts. We couldn't find where it was coming from but it looks like the exhaust downpipe occasionally rubs on the Poly Performance skidplate. The stock motor mounts allow a lot of movement.
Mile 40,118
We don't see any need to swap out the 4.10 gears with 35-inch tires and our manual transmission. It works perfect, especially for the higher freeway speeds we typically encounter in Southern California. The 35s and 4.10s aren't that bad on hills either. We can generally hold Fifth and rarely need to get down to Fourth gear.
Mile 43,775
The BFG Mud Terrain KM2s don't work so hot on snow and ice. A "quick" snow run in the mountains went horribly wrong. We ended up getting stuck. We rocked the Jeep back and forth with Forward and Reverse gears. Shifting the T-case in and out of 4-Hi and 4-Lo repeatedly with the locker lights blinking resulted in the front locker sticking on. Eventually we drove out of it and had to limp home with the front locker stuck on like a spool. About 60 miles later the additional load caused the power steering pump to fail. We removed the diff cover to inspect the locker and found that it would no longer disengage on its own. We had to help it with a pry bar. So we pried it unlocked, unplugged the front locker wire and replaced the power steering pump with a new one. Our front locker is out of warranty and dead to us, for now.
Mile 48,411
We started to notice some wobble in the steering wheel. The tie rod looks a little bent from hitting trail debris so we may need to adjust the toe-in.
Mile 49,081
We rotated the tires for the first time in over 15,000 miles. They are wearing very well and still have over 3/4 of the tread left, but they are a little noisier than when new. It's got to be expected with mud tires, but not a bad experience considering we never even balanced them. The AEV beadlocks are still holding up excellent. However, the glue on the yellow center-cap stickers has long since melted (during hot summers) and allowed the stickers to fling off somewhere along the road.
Mile 53,258
Our JK loves to wander slightly in deep road grooves and the steering wheel wobbles a bit over rough surfaces. We still haven't checked the toe-in. We'll have to get to that soon. We're told 1/8-inch toe out can cure these issues.
Mile 55,500
The exhaust leak is getting a little worse. Good news is it might be easier to find now. The factory front CV driveshaft is a little battered from rocks but it's holding up fine after running with the lift for over 20,000 miles. Like many JKs with 35-inch or bigger tires, our front axle housing is a little bent. It still functions fine but we'll be addressing that along with fixing the front locker soon.