Gubachoo

Mine has started making bearing noises. I'm currently in Ohio but on a road trip to back to New England so could swing somewhere nearby. Transmission and Tcase were swapped from a 95 cherokee by PO. Not sure if I need other info for this or not. Saving money to get the truck painted so budget is limited but willing to talk with whoever may have one so I don't have to blindly trust a junkyard. Thanks!

some sort of samsung. oh well, you get the idea

All right. Lots of cutting and welding and pounding into shape later and we have a floor again. I wish I had been able to find my sheetmetal nipper, but since the move it has gone missing, so my forearms got a workout with tin snips instead. POR15 coating took twice as long to dry in colder temps, but I left a spotlight on them with some air circulation and I can't see any bubbling and the bond seems to be taking. WIll lay down the noise isolator panels tomorrow, then reinstall the interior. Looking forward to less noise, moisture, and having this large project behind me. Also, the photos show up right side up when I upload them, but then appear upside down once the post goes up... apologies

So I was wrong. Took another look while working on the truck today and it turns out there are lock nuts for the two front inbound studs underneath. They are 15mm and the stud is in a threaded insert spot welded into the frame. To get mine to break I hammered a 9/16 impact socket on the rusty nut and then broke it off once it was seated. Hope that helps, and good luck.

I've got a flexible tip spray gun, so plan on spraying some por15 in there along the inside of the rails. ...perfect...? well, it will be better than it was, thats for sure. I especially hated rainy days when I could feel the spray coming up from the tires and hitting me in the left ankle when I shifted. I won't miss that.

You can't get to any of them from underneath, they are all pressed into the floorpan. Your best bet is to hammer a socket on and break them off then replace them once the seat is pulled up. You could put a bolt through the hole from underneath with a little work so you can take it back out but you can't get around having to break them off up above if they are seized. you can try to soak them with penetrant for a few days first to see if they loosen up, but it's more than likely you'll have to break them and replace them. Just did this last week.

So, a final update to any of those looking to change gears. The carrier break for the dana 44 is 3.73 so I chose that in hopes of saving some money and keeping the factory LSD until funds allowed an upgrade. Turns out, the dana 30 front end has a carrier break is at 3.54 so I had to order a new carrier for that. not crazy as a standard open is around $80, but for those hoping to get away with just an R&P swap, it will require a carrier. Just thought I'd attempt to warn others going down that road. I got lucky that the factory shims were relatively close and so only required three or four disassemble/reassemble sessions to get it right.

OK, so the dif carrier arrived so I spent a good amount of time getting that set up and then got to the cleaning and cutting of the floors. It's rough, but not terrible which is good. I have a 4x4 sheet of 18ga cold rolled steel ready. Hopefully getting some panels cut and in place tomorrow after coating the finished axle and setting to dry.

Set out to do my floors while waiting for a new front dif carrier to come in. I knew they were rough when I bought it almost ten years ago, but lots of other issues came first, and so, here we are. Mostly did cutting and grinding and remediation today. Have some POR15 coming in soon, as well as some sound deadening material. Bought a big sheet of 18ga for the repairs. I know many people go for thinner but I'd rather go heavier and have it done better and last longer. Tomorrow will be more cuttingand grinding and maybe start fitting and making the new panels. I am going to be butt welding it all, only spot and spaced out small stiches. The POR15 has negated the need for seam sealer for me in the past, so I'm happy to be able to avoid that. Will post more photos as I go. Also, apologies if this should be in build section, I wasn't sure and defaulted here.

Second all of that. I get my gear stuff from east coast gear supply. good company and i had an order come messed up once and they overnighted me the right part with no questions. good company with great tech people. Overall not a terrible job, can be done with it still in the truck and like ghetdjc said, the carrier pops out and right back in without taking it apart.

Bahaha, hero of the day

Yeah, thats a problem no matter what. I was in a storm that dumped almost 3 feet a few years ago and even with the lift and the good tires I had to make a run at some drifts a couple of times just to get through them. When that axle hits it's a drag but that bumper man... It's tough

Nope, I have Duratracs, have used them for years and love them. I have driven them on customer cars (used to be a mechanic) and they are amazing for sure but nothing in real deep stuff like we get up here, you need some aggressive tread to plow through 2 feet of fresh stuff.

Haha, I teach skiing in the winter in Vermont, so I have to deal with lots and lots of snow. When the tires are fresh, I rarely have to use 4wd which is great, but on the occasion when I do, I really do. But I agree for sure, the tires matter more than the 4wd. What do those d30 high pinions come in if I'm looking for one?

That's true, but being covid time and all, I'm a little stretched for extra money for another axle. I bought all the rebuild stuff before I lost my job. I have taken the CAD out of the system by binding the collar to the two ends. Not ideal, I know, but the best I can do at the moment. My hope is to get a solid shaft at some point for it, but sourcing a high pinion 30, as nice as it would be, just isn't financially feasable right now. And I'll need 4wd for the winter soon. Rock and a hard place...

So the rebuild took back seat to home repairs for the summer and I just got it back in yesterday. The 3.73 gears make a nice difference in the lower gears and I see that the limited slip still has some life in it on the dirt roads which is a nice surprise. Now to make some runs to the dump and then pull out the front and get that one regeared and refreshed for the winter. And off to the metal recycler with the old 35.

It's a black gear, I just figured out

Well thanks for looking. I appreciate that.

I think it's a black one? not sure though

In CT. Trying to save a few bucks. I have a 27 and a 34, would be willing to trade both for anyone who has a collection of them. Or willing to buy one for like $20. Covid budget right? Thanks

W3 Will do, thanks Pete

Does anyone here have a big ole stash of these guys laying around? Just swapped my gear ratio and need a 32 long. Trying to avoid buying a new one if possible. Can mail the old one back to add to the stash. If someone hasn't become this person yet, someone should (I don't have a garage or would be happy to)

This makes me sweat just reading it

oh man, I'm so far along at this point I don't even know where to start. Didn't even know build threads were a thing for anything non MJ here until you said that and I looked into it. Maybe I'll hop on it tomorrow, might give me that little extra inspiration to get it done finally!

I split my time between new england and the southwest. Very rare in NE but in new mexico I see two or three a month. When I see one on the road in Vermont I often sprain my wrist while waving like an idiot at the guy waving like an idiot back since we may be the only ones still running in that state. My girlfriend borrowed the truck for a few weeks last year while hers was getting body work done and said she was at a light and "some weirdo in another jeep truck was beeping at waving at her like a psycho" hahaha