Pete M

Different axles have different weak points. The Explorer 8.8 has a poor connection between the tubes and the diff and a (relatively) weak carrier. The CJ amc-20 has 2-piece axle shafts that can spin free. The Dana 35, well, the dana 35 has so many weak points that there's no telling where it might fail. The gears can start spitting teeth, the shafts can snap, the center pin can break, the carrier can crumble, the pinion shaft can snap, the U-joint straps can fail, or the axle as a whole can bend into a smiley face. :D

I saw a split bench with a fold down middle in a Ranger today. Might fit. :dunno:

Yup. That'd be my guess too. It's been an issue in the past.

My brain is telling me 42" center to center. :dunno:

have searching on you tried car-part.com yet?

I made a custom crossmember so I have no personal experience with the holes. But this writeup should help you out: http://www.jeeptech.com/convtrans/ax15swap.html

Better that you found out before you spent the money. :D 95+ have the external, but as long as you use a factory slave, the early ones are just fine. XJ/MJ are the easiest, but YJ/TJ can be adapted to work without much effort.

Yup. You'll need to find the drivetrain found behind a 4.0L. :thumbsup: And if you're looking for a manual, I'd highly suggest sticking with the 89.5+ AX-15. And yes, you'll need to either shorten your 2wd driveshaft or find one from a 4x4 MJ with the exact same drivetrain. :thumbsup:

Welcome to the site! :wavey: Definitely post up some pics of your truck. :thumbsup:

car-part.com will show you some of the cheaper local yards. :thumbsup:

I'm even willing to grant that, all things being equal, a C-clip design will be a bit weaker than a non-C-clip design. But the Explorer 8.8 axle shafts have an excellent track record of strength. :thumbsup: If it won't break, then the argument is pretty moot. :D

Yup. Mine are mounted as per factory instructions. :thumbsup:

How on earth are you going to break an Explorer axle shaft? :eek: There are guys running 37-38 inch tires on 'em. I've only heard of a couple people that have managed to break one (and both had huge tires and v8s). In my opinion, weak axles like the Dana 35 have given the C-clip design a bad name. The C-clip is not a reason to avoid the Explorer 8.8. :thumbsup:

You should have given the cop a bunch of our club business cards for him to hand out. :D

All 3 of my MJ that have drivetrains exceed 200k. As far as I can tell they are all the original blocks with no internal work done.

It's like a museum, but you can buy pieces of the exhibits and take them home. :D

I made mine out of some scrap steel and bolted it up through the bed. Nothing fancy but it works. :D

Don't yank a leaf. It'll induce bad spring-wrap. Drop blocks can also induce 'wrap, but I'd use blocks before yanking a leaf.

Don't pull a leaf. It'll induce a lot of spring-wrap. If you want a 4" of lift out of SOA, the closet you can get is to buy yourself leaf packs from an Explorer, cut the eyes off the main leaf, and install the whole new pack under your current main leaf (discarding the rest of yours). The MJ main leaf must be retained because the Explorer main doesn't center the axle properly (close but not quite). If it's still too high, pull out the Explorers main leaf. 4wd MJ on the left, 2wd in the middle, Explorer on the right.

Which I don't suggest since the front U-joints are just little 260s. ;)

Oh, I sooooo want one. :D

I am the "kid" on this trip. :D And I saw that show 20 years ago when I was 13. Dolphins are just plain cool. edit: Upon further thought, that might have been the show at Busch Gardens. Dolphins are still cool though. :D

I found some pics I had taken earlier.

Need some business cards? :brows: Looks like he hasn't been waxing his paint.