Pete M

Those rims (assuming that you can get the tires removed for free) might be worth $40 at the scrap yard near me. Maybe other places are offering more.

I didn't get to do much in them (since I never do much with the 86 any more), but for a while I had the 29x10.5s on aftermarket 15x8 rims on the 4x4 86. No rubbing that I remember. They are about the same as a 30" tire (super swampers tend to run true, where as other manufactures run small). They used to be my sister's TJ and when it was turned in I had to put them somewhere. :D Personally I would have preferred a set of Jeep TJ 15x8 rims. The extra inch of width pulls the tire out away fro the control arms slightly.

I would try the SOA and see what happens. It's dirt cheap to try it. Keep your stock leaf perches on and you can always go back and do a SUA with 4" packs if need be. :cheers:

I sold mine for 100. They looked worse than yours and had barely good 30" BFGs on them.

http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/pdx/20083352.html Reminds me of the time that someone stole the barely-functioning radio out of my buddies truck (FM sorta worked, CD player was toast). We not-so-secretly wished he'd sell it to a real mean guy that would kick him in the junk for selling him junk. :brows:

Click the link in my sig. :cheers:

Yup. One of 3 in my little tribe.

What precisely is the truck doing when it overheats?

:waving: You're working on pictures, yes? :brows:

Surprisingly enough, pollen doesn't seem to affect me much. :hmm: I've got allergies to just about everything else though. Well, the non-lethal ones at least. Cats, dogs, dust mites, evergreens, etc. I even developed an allergy to antifreeze from the long term exposure I got at a former job. :roll: For nose related allergies I can usually get by with a decongestant.

Yup, tomorrow I'll be out in the garage, sweating to death.

Looks like it's a done-deal.

Now I'm 99% sure I'm not going. Just too much to do. :(

The 8.25 is a chrysler axle and you're almost as likely to find it under that random XJ as the Dana 35. The 8.8 is the ford one found under Explorers.

Same guy? :D

I tried a big hammer. Didn't dent it. I even went as far as to haul my big bench vice down in an attempt to crush it down. No dice. I'm done for today. Tomorrow I might try using the balljoint press. Heck, it was strong enough to do the damage in the first place, right? :roll:

Autozone will loan out scanners. :brows:

No welder here capable of accomplishing that. :( That's the big dilemma. My best guess is to grind down the raised area and fab up a plate to be welded to the truck later when I drive it to get other items welded. sigh...

I hate rust. I hate rust. I hate rust. I hate rust. I hate rust. :rant: So my tried and true technique for getting the bolts out and freeing up the leaf springs has backfired today. For those who don't know, I like to use my balljoint tool and a press to push the bolts out that otherwise won't budge, even with the 3 pound sledge. It has worked great, until today. This time the rust was so bad, the bond between the sleeve and bolt was stronger than the sleeve and rubber bushing. Creating this oversized hole in the frame. Which I'm not certain how I'm going to fix. :(

I'm 90% sure that you can scratch my name from the list. I'm still tryin', but the last couple years of sitting have caused more issues than I had planned on. :( But I'm still pluggin' away at it. :D

You could always offer up the remains of the carcass for free and let someone else deal with the paperwork. :brows:

3.55 geared XJ axles are everywhere and can be cheaper than regearing, even if you do it yourself. I'd go for a 29 spline 8.25 axle from a 97-01 XJ if I could find a cheap one and then match that off with a Dana 30 from any year that came with the 297 joints. "If you're going to build it, build it right." :D

Technically you don't have to do any of that. You buy a metal cutting blade for your circular saw and a 10 inch blade for the sawzall and go to town on it. I made an entire 78 Bronco disappear that way. 8) I just cut it up into pieces that could be disposed of at the scrap yard without arising suspicion. And I'm halfway through making an 88 XJ vanish into the ether (the half-a-jeep I bought and brought across the border so I could get the drivetrain and wire harness).

:clapping: They look even prettier than my Florida leaf packs. :brows:

Nope. I just noticed your latest post wasn't in the truck's thread. :cheers: