Any Jeepers in here?

[Outlaw]

That is very true. There are a lot of advantages to the YJ. The frame is sturdier for one. Fuel injection for another. If you reallly liked the CJ look, a CJ hood, grille, and fenders will bolt up to the YJ with a little modification. It's way more trouble than it's worth unless you just love the CJ like I do. If I could find a good condition YJ and had extra cash, that's what I would do.

And that hideous YJ dash.... I'd replace that too.

I'll give ya that. The dash is hideous lol. Gonna do some white face gauges with some led bulbs. Gotta do the cheap stuff til I can afford to do the big stuff.

It's getting to the point I'm actually considering trading a gun or two for some tires lol can't quite do it yet though.

 

[Lee11b]

Hey Outlaw!! Just remember..... JEEP Just Empty Every Pocket....

 

[terrehautian]

Anyone have a ZJ V8 draglink they have to spare? Need to fix and upgrade my XJ's draglink.

 

[Lee11b]

sorry can't help you out terrehautian. TJ (hopefully future CJ7 also)

 

[lovemachine]

I'm just trying to shame people in to doing all this work they keep posting about. (And trying to stay motivated to get something done on my junk at the same time.)

Get anything done last night?

 

[Jackson]

Get anything done last night?

Nothing significant. I picked up a few things from the hardware store. I will try to put another coat of paint on the hubs Wednesday night and assemble the axle outers Friday or Sunday. I also got these in the mail:

Chrome-moly axle shafts for the 30. Polishing a turd? Wasting money on a crappy axle? Time will tell.

 

[Jackson]

Anyone have a ZJ V8 draglink they have to spare? Need to fix and upgrade my XJ's draglink.

Are ZJ's pretty common at the salvage yard? I didn't realize a ZJ drag link would fit on an XJ. Is it heavier duty?

 

[Jackson]

So, lovemachine,

I've seen you mention ARB's and Detroit lockers, but have you considered the Eaton Electric?

The Detroit would be the least expensive of the three, but for mostly street driving a selectable would be handy. The ARB seems to average a couple hundred more than the electric and you have to get a compressor too. So that's more expense. With the electric it's a relay and a switch.

If you're going with a full-time locker like the Detroit, you could go with an Aussie or Spartan. I have an Aussie in the front and a Detroit in the rear. From what I can tell they both provide the same benefit off road and the Aussie was 300 bucks. I'd rather have a selectable if I was daily driving it, though.

Havea you considered a torsen style limited slip like the Detroit Trutrac? I haven't used one, but I hear they have great road manners, are good in snow and wintery conditions, and help a lot off road as long as all the tires are mostly on the ground. For your purposes, it may actually be the most practical choice. (Even if its not as cool as the ARB.)

 

[Jackson]

Looks like you can get an Aussie for $250. I can't remember what I paid.

XD-14430 Dana 44 Aussie Locker 30 Spline Axles Jeep Chevy Ford

Looks like you can get in to Truetrac for 400 or so.

http://www.drivetrainamerica.com/p-...uNoOXKSNeAnV5Qvdi9VCbqRZfFkxV1iq9GxoCeovw_wcB

 

[lovemachine]

I dunno. If I WAS going to do a locker, I always figured it would an ARB. I haven't thought of it too much lately. I'm still trying to decide how bad I want to run 35" tires

 

[Jackson]

I dunno. If I WAS going to do a locker, I always figured it would an ARB. I haven't thought of it too much lately. I'm still trying to decide how bad I want to run 35" tires

How soon will you need new tires? If you need new tires anyway, might as well make em 35's. :-)

 

[gunselman]

lovemeachine: Check out the OX locker. It's similar to the ARB but has 3 different acutation options and comes with a heavy duty diff cover. You can run it cable actuated, air actuated or electronically actuated. I have decided to go with OX for my XJ over an ARB with the Auburn ECTED is still a close contender for me.

 

[lovemachine]

How soon will you need new tires? If you need new tires anyway, might as well make em 35's. :-)

Not anytime soon. I'm just planning ahead. I just keep thinking "go big or go home".

 

[Jackson]

Not anytime soon. I'm just planning ahead. I just keep thinking "go big or go home".

That translates in to "Go broke, or go home". How 'bout "Most function for dollar of input, or don't bother"? :-)

 

[Outlaw]

Not anytime soon. I'm just planning ahead. I just keep thinking "go big or go home".

Or you could get busy and then sell me your 33s lol

 

[lovemachine]

That translates in to "Go broke, or go home". How 'bout "Most function for dollar of input, or don't bother"? :-)

But 35's would look cool

 

[Jackson]

But 35's would look cool

Then buy 'em. I'm all for it. 35'S and lockers.... Maximum cool factor for a daily driver.

 

[eldirector]

lovemeachine: Check out the OX locker. It's similar to the ARB but has 3 different acutation options and comes with a heavy duty diff cover. You can run it cable actuated, air actuated or electronically actuated. I have decided to go with OX for my XJ over an ARB with the Auburn ECTED is still a close contender for me.

Had an Ox in my last front end, and bought another for the new one. I ran an ARB for a few years, but was constantly fighting air leaks. With a cable, it is either locked or not. And the cover is BEEFY.

 

[Jackson]

The OX is on par with the electric in terms of cost, I think. I didn't know OX had electric actuation option. Did you ever have issues with the cable binding or being difficult to actuate? I've heard of others with those problems after awhile.

 

[Jackson]

Tires and Wheels

I didn't make a lot of progress on my Jeep this weekend. I went to a shooting class on Saturday then mowed the yard and cleaned the gutters on Sunday. I cleaned my parents' gutters too. They were nice enough to keep me alive for the first 18 years. I figured it was the least I could do.

I did play with the new wheels and tires I plan to use though. I wanted to see how they fit on the new rims, and get them mounted just to save space. Right now I have a stack of tires and a stack of rims in the garage. If I can make those two stacks one, I might actually be able to walk across the garage, maybe... BUT I ran in to what might be an issue with the new wheels. There are some photos below. Anyone with beadlock experience, please let me know what you think.

First I had my brother come over and break the old tires off the old wheels. He's got a tire hammer and a set of tire spoons. He's got some experience changing semi tires road-side and is pretty good at getting them on and off rims by hand. I'm gonna put the old wheels in the barn and save them for later.

Does anyone know of a place that recycles tires for free? I'd rather not pay a disposal fee if I can avoid it.

Then I pulled out one of the new tires. These are Q78 size Interco Super Swamper TSLs. They are about 35.5" tall unmounted, and about 9.5" wide. So pretty narrow for it's height. I think they'll look cool under the old Jeep and people say they work really well in mud if it's shallow enough to find the bottom.

They have monstrously deep tread.

I want to mount them on a set of 15x7" Allied Beadlocks. Will I need beadlocks? Probably not. I kinda just always wanted to have some. The Allied's were the least expensive and I think I found them on sale wherever I bought them. Unfortunately, I am having an issue when I try to mount the tires. The tires are really thick and it makes a huge gap between the tire and the bead lock ring. The gap is longer than the supplied bolt is long. Probably 1.2" gap.

I am pretty sure I have seen other trucks with much bigger tires using Allied beadlock rims. So I know there must be some common solution to this problem. I have read on the interwebs about using some kind of spacer. Even if the bolts would reach, I don't know that I'd want to run the gap. I'd be afraid of twisting the bolt out to one side and shearing them off.

Has anyone here seen this issue with bead lock rings before? What's the best solution?