pingpong

Fuel economy out of a 4x4 :lol: You have to be kidding. Yes the 4.0's can get decent gas mileage if taken care of correctly, and driven sanely. Personally the reason why I built my rig was to do some " not so smart stuff off road" and fuel economy was never a consideration. Patrick

Yeah, I was wondering if that was a manufacturering flaw, or if it was made like that. patrick

In order to run 35's and to make the parts around last takes a lil work. First alloy shafts upfront, or a D44. Then a rear end that can hold up to the wieght and traction. I personally run a 8.8. As for the suspension setup, SOA in the rear, with whatever springs and shocks you care for. I went with a Set of Alcan's, with 2" built into them. As for the front, I went with a Terraflex Long arm kit. No it isnt the fanciest, but for what it is, it works great, and didnt cost me 700 bucks. It only cost me 220 to my door, and works great. (keep in mind I was just upgrading from RE Drop brackets). I am in the process of remaking my x-memeber, with new Long arm mounts built in, depending on how they do on a couple of rides, I might make a few for sale, but I doubt it. Ill proprably just send you some detailed drawings. Patrick

I forgot what the circuference of the D44 tubes were off hand, but that would be the size you need for your tubes. To clear 33's in the rear, wil be no problem with a SOA, up front I would plan on at least 5" depending on how you set your flex up, and how much you limit your uptravel, and what kinda wheeling you do. Patrick

Whoever siad being cheap was easy lied :wink:

My lock right broke, but Richmond gear did replace it, cause it was under warranty :D So thats why I am still runnning one.

If you have the tools you can make them yourself. If not they seem like the would work nicely If you lack the skills or tools to make em. Patrick

This is an interesting thing, and the first I had heard of it. So basically if I understnad you right it is kinda a "posi-lock" type setup. To answer your question what dodge trucks came with the VD housing, it would be pretty much all of the Ram 1500, with 4wd, and the 3/4and 1ton that do not have locking hubs. Also I believe the dodge axles are Dana 44 or dana 50's which might mean the shift forks are beefier... I am not sure on this, cause I never persued this kinda swap. Let us know how it works out though. Patrick

I have been running a lock right up front for the last yr. Steering a LWB jeep on the trail is always A PITA, but its doable. I strongly recommend stronger shafts and u-joints, unless you are trying to practice changing shafts. Also the shock loading of shafts busting has been known to destroy lock rights, I know it happened to me. Patrick

Yes the Xj and Mj are different behind the seats. A bolt in cage is not an option in MY rig. I care to much about my mellon to trust that. Pete I hear you on the body seperating fom the frame, but I don't want to trust 15+ yr old sheetmetal to keep my seats in place. It is better to be safe then dead/injured in this case. PLus Bolting my 5 point harnessesto sheetmetal isnt a very strong option. The shop I am talking to is saying for around 1500-2000 I can get a full cage, front exo cage, and a tube bed built. I am going to take my rig up there, and let him show me a few drawings after I show him some pics of what I have in mind. I might not end up going with him, but it is worth my gas to do it. Keep in mind the cheapest thing I have found that closely fits what I need is 450 shipped, and that is not including the bed, or the labor involved in doing it. I trust my welding, but I won't trust my life on it. Patrick

I kinda did what you suggested Pete, I found a local shop that is willing to work with me on building me what I want, and I plan on driving up there in the next few days to see what he can do for me. Pete on yuor design I think a min Bpillar hoop that kinda protects the side of your cab would be a good idea, as well as something to protect the rear of your bed. MY whole passenger side is trashed cause of lack of protection in these areas. Mostly due to off camber stuff, and a bit of the jeep going where the skinny pedal put it :shock:

If you are talking about the dryer hose loooking tube.. no it isn't important. If you are talking about the EGR recirc tube... I think it is, but I haven't tried to gget rif of mine yet, cause it seems to be in good shape. After 92 they stopped using that tube so I don't know. As for the rear main seal... The trick is to make sure that is what is leaking. You could have many other leaks making you think that that is the culprit. But the rear seal can be done with the mototr in the vehicle if you have a decently equipped garage, and some moderate to advance wrenching skills. Patrick

The reason why I am going with an interior cage first is, you still have to be able to mount your seats to a cage for it to be totally safe. Also I don't trust pressed sheetmetal to keep my seats located in any kinda roll or flop. I also plan on doing an exo-cage, but that is going to come once I loose the bed, and buy a full cell. The guy with the green Cj-5 in that video link I posted is goint to do my exo once I am ready for it. Basically I am going to call around today and order an xj front hoop and "B" pillar hoop. I can buy the DOM tubing locally cheaper then it would be to buy it and have it shipped. I will post up what I find out about buying the 2 hoops and the what not. Patrrick

I don't recommend their steering links, but Terra Flexex Hi-steer arm is awesome. I am at over 7" up front, and I do have some bump steer, but I consider it minimal for running disconnected up front. Their steering links are junk :shock: And I am sorry I wasted the extra money buying them, when I am making one with parts I acquired locally for less then 75 bucks. Patrick

If you have access to a torch, or a plasma cutter, make a template of the side of your frame where the 4 bolt holes are and go about making your own bumper brackets out of at least 3/16 or better yet 1/4" plate. Patrick

Thanks I have been looking for that link.. I thought it was T&J. Patrick

I ended up making my own rear bumper out of 2x4x1/4 "C" chanel, using the stock bunper mounts, and some 4x4x1/4 angle Iron. It is Bure beef, and has taken many a direct shot from rocks that I have dropped off. I also incorparated some side rails onto it, that are made out of 2x4x1/4 tubing. By no means is it light, but It does it purpose. I designed it to tuck up close, It is about 3/8 of an inch below where the talgate would sit. If I had to do it all over again, I would have built it before I started bashing my bed, and would have added some bars to Protect my Tail lights. As it stands now, I am getting ready to pull the bed and to to L.E.D's. Patrick

Well its time for me to order up my roll cage stuff. Instead of starting out titally fresh from rough drawings, I figure it would be easier to start with a roll cage kit from a truck and modify it to my rig. Pretty much my choices are limited to Ford ranger, chevy S-10, Toyota, or finding a company that makes an XJ cage and just buying the front hoop, and B-pillar hoop, and fabbing up the rest myself. I don't know if that would be the strongest of setup either. Any ideas or suggestions would be helpful and appreciated. Patrick

Interesting. I was just looking in the Jegs catalog, At buying some kind of adjustable one, to improve my braking perfromance. It seems that when I use my brakes on the trail they seem to fadereally bad, especially when I need them to work. Patrick

Believe it or not, I have barely ever scrapped my rear driveshaft. The front as been scrapped af ew times, and I think I scraped the rear once. The problem is the center of the vehicle. The crossmember and t-case skid catch hell on my rig. Thats one of the reason why I am building a belly-up skid, But I would like to see what TnT has to offer for one. TnT's Long arm kit is rightoues, There were just to many difference in between the Mj and the XJ for me to drop that kinda coin, not knowing if it was going to work or not, and not knowing how much more fab work I was going to have to do to make it work. Some of the differences ar the MJ has 2 cab mounts, the frame widens after the X-member, and depens. Plus the extra LCA mounts. Those are just the major differences I have found up front on my rig, but I am sure there are more. Patrick

The difference is so minute, I would mock it up, and as long as your slip yoke has at least 1" of travel you are good. Patrick

I am not sure :? I almost flopped :shock: came doen hard. In the next 15 feet my locker exploded, d 30 axle shaft broke. :evil: Needless to say the rest of my first day at Tellico (fot the first time btw) I wheeled with a blown apart lock right, and bent tube. Didnt find out it was bent till I got home (8 1/2 hr drive each way). So I am pretty sure it would have bent a non disco housing, that is why I truss mine now :D Its easy enough considering the tools I have. Patrick

I have never done this, but I have been told, everything has to be swapped, wiring, whole drivetrain, Drive shafts, computers, basically everything except the sheetmetal. Patrick

I pulled my doors for the last ride I was on :D Now I can't even put the passenger door back on due to the damge that side of the cab took :? So it looks like I am going to be doorless from now on :twisted: Just thought I would pass that on :wink:

I was going to do that as well, but it would have looked messed up with 2x3 tubing instead of the 2x2 Pete used. I like the way he mounted his better then mine.