Jeepers! ( or anyone else) Opinions Needed!

[Thunder]

I know there are a few Jeepers here.I need your opinnion/ ideas.
All comments good or bad welcome.
My buddy's son wants to build his jeep. He is getting tired of me pretty much walking all over him off road.
Jeep is a 2000 Wrangler sport 6 cyl LS rear 4.10 gears ( so he says)
He came to me for advise and also I will help him do the work. I told him I would not soil my hands or my garage on a Jeep unless we dropped a 350/GM drive train in. But he didn't want to do that. So he found my weak spot and bribed me with Firewood and Beer.(I am sure his father put him up to that)
So this is what we are doing.

Complete Terra flex long arm 3" HD suspention including Shocks.
Using HD stuff (Mainly stiffer shocks/springs) Because he has a full roof rack and a tail gate rack. So I figger to give up a little flex for load carrying ability.

ARB in the front.

Cragar simulated Bead locks for wheels. I have seen these wheels and they are strong and well built. The phony bead lock does help protect the rim from snagging on the rocks.

Warn winch/bumper big enough to pull me out.

I am thinking 32" MT BFGs The lift is good for 33s but I am worried about the stock axles not being big enough for them.
Think we could go with 33"???
Think we should get better Axle shafts?

This is mainly being built up to be a hunting rig. Not for extreme crawling or stuff like that.

I am also doing some bolt on performance work on his engine.

Oh! And maby one of those "Mall Rated" stickers /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

So What do you think?

 

[pauly383]

I'm not to keen on jeeps , but I saw in one of my back issues of four wheeler an article where they removed the front unit hubs and converted it to real hubs with warn locking hubs. This should strengthen th efront a bit. And of course since by the list of parts given he's got some cash so get stronger axles and ctm joints front, axles rear. Warn kit url http://www.gowarn.com/front-hub-conversion-kit-2.asp
/forums/images/graemlins/k5.gif

 

[smokkey1]

well I know some stuff on jeeps. I did alot of research on the tj's and cherokees I wanted to build one for an while till I got my suburban. just a few questions is it a 4.0 engine. and is the rear axle a D35 or an D44???this is what I would do put an 4" lift form either tera flex or skyjacker and add some 35" the axles should hold up fine. just dont add an locker to the rear if is an D35 those axles can't hold up. those tj's are plenty capable out of the box. that's just my opinion

 

[Thunder]

Thanks for the replys.
To answer your questions. It has 4.0 inline 6 cyl. I am pretty sure it has D35 axles with factory LS. I called him and he said it had 4.10s
We have decided that because of the roof rack and tip over factor, he only wants to go with a 3" lift. Also I really dont want to get into the drive line work needed for a 4" lift. I am trying to keep this kind of a simple bolt on thing.
I think I tell him to go with better axles and U joints as recomended Then I think we'll go with 10.50 X 33" BFG MT Tires. I think 12.50 might be overkill in a jeep plus the 10.50s would give better traction in the snow.

He is still undecided about the ARB. I figgur we can do the lift ect and see how it goes. The ARB can always be added later.

 

[crawlink5]

I happen to love Jeeps. Keep this in mind because I'm not trying to burst anyones bubble - they just need a little more work. The front and rear diffs are very weak.

I built a 98 TJ with Ford 9" rear and ford d44 front with long arms. 1979 F150 knuckles out w/internal hubs. Usually a 6 cyl came with 3.08s D35 rear and d30 front - but it may have 4.10 from factory - these usually came with 4cyls.

The d35 will not hold up - tubes flex easily and I was off-roading mildly - this was on my second trip out in dirt hills. Also on my second trip out I hit a VERY shallow rut and bent the drivers side tube upward, ripped the lower arm mount 3/4 of the way off the tube. I was driving as slow as a person could comfortably walk. The depression WAS high enough to stop the jeep.

I didn't break any axles in the 2 months I kept the stock axles because I was real easy offroad. I had 32" SuperSwamper TSL SXs. But, everybody else was breaking TJ axles front and rear. All 4 of my cast aside axles went to friends - where they got broke also.

The diffs I used came out of a 1972 Bronco and of course the 79 knuckles out. No cutting for width and the brake lines bolted straight up front and rear. U-joint is the same and it is 1" SHORTER than the d35. Used the mounts from Rubicon Express which are expensive but HD - $750.

When going to a taller lift a cv joint d-shaft for the rear is pretty much mandatory along with a slip yoke elim.

I ended up for the last two years with 35x12.5 BFG MT and loved them. 12.50 is not overkill in a Jeep.

But since you want bolt-in and you are not going above 33s(for now), here is my recommendations from experience:

Primary upgrades:
1) d35 (rear) axle truss - very mandatory (sp)
2) lock-rights rear - works great for 33s. Get a bigger spline axle with the lock rights for the rear
3) Superior axles in rear with more splines - 30 spline i think?

secondary:
4) manual hubs in front with superior evolution series 2 axles (good price) - I never did this - see d44
5) Lock right for front
6) Or just replacement axles for front.

7) Carry spare axles and tools. He'll need them. Period.

I forget the splines as I went to 9" after 2 months.

Don't waste an ARB on a d35. That is a huge waste of money. Get a 9" - Sorry folks, but a ford 9" is great for Jeeps because of weight. For the price of an ARB and accessories you could put a 9" in. EDIT: Also look into an 8.8 from an Explorer - I think they fit better and you can get discs.

If you need any info just e-mail. I may not see replies to this post.

 

[CyberSniper]

With that lift he can run 33s no problem. If he chooses his backspacing wisely and runs 10" wide wheels it won't be any more prone to tip.

The Dana 35 is a bit weak for a 4.0L. I've heard of people blowing them up with a parking brake. It's probably got 3.55 gears or somewhere in that neighborhood. The SWB forum on ORC is a good place to research all things Heep. I've seen Dana35/Dana30 combinations take the abuse of 36" TSLs in the mud without breaking. However, that Dana 35 is still pretty weak. It'd probably break on the street. I'd try to find a Dana 44 out of a XJ or a ZJ, an 8.8 out of an Exploder and reweld the tubes, or a custom 9".

If I got an 8.8 or 9 I'd probably spool it.

ARBs are expensive. I've been trying to find one for my Dad's Dana 30 in his Heep.

 

[ntsqd]

Somebody (Superior ?) makes a "Super 35" kit. My understanding is that it comes with the better axles and possibly a Detroit. Most importantly it comes with a brace for the housing.

I'd call an SYE mandatory. That stock rear shaft is too dang short. Do some 4:1 gears while you're there if the wallet's thick enough. Be careful of the oil pump pick-up tube in the t/c on reassembly.

 

[8_YOUR_H2]

I wouldn't worry about a long arm kit with only 3" of lift. Short arms work fine with 3" of lift and smaller. I have the 3" Tera kit with Rubicon Express superflex arms. A girl in my local club has the 3" Tera with the Tera lower arms that pivot in the center and they are real nice too.

1st and foremost you need to get rid of the shovel Tcase crossmember. The ones prior to 2003 are not quite as bad as the new ones but I would go for a Nth degree FLAT skid. That will net 15" of clearance under the tcase with no lift and 31" tires.

My main problem when my Jeep was stock was clearance under the tcase skid and traction, MT/R's suck in the mud! I was lucky that my jeep came stock with air lockers, 4-1 low, and D44's