Pete M

Just be sure to replace the U-joints. They tend to dislike any changes to their operating angles.

Either way I wouldn't let them touch my truck ever again, let alone pay them to do it. :mad:

High angle? You're thinking of XJs and other short wheelbase rigs with their tiny driveshafts. :D

Sounds like a whole lotta work for a half-ton axle. One question though, if you're going to get custom shafts, why does the current bolt pattern matter? Wouldn't you be looking in to a disk conversion of some kind? Seems to me you could pick whatever axle you want, narrow it, get custom shafts with the 5 on 4.5" pattern, and adapt Explorer disks to it. :hmm:

I'm not convinced that your engine is bad. How loud is the tapping? It could just be a loose lifter. Tapping/ticking noises are fairly common in the 4.0L. And the warm up hesitation could be a simple fix.

I've heard that the really early dakotas have a 5 bolt pattern. You'll need to confirm that it's a 5 on 4.5" and that the width of the axle is comparable to an MJ, and that the gear ratio is usable, and that the axle is worth the effort (for example I'd never put that much effort swapping in a Dana 35).

As long as you remember which part is from which year... :D

go to Comanche Club Image Hosting and follow their instructions for uploading pics to their site. Then you can copy/paste the pic's addy here, highlight it, then click on the IMG tag. It might take a couple tries but once you get it it's easy. :D

At the very least you should dump some octane boost into the gas tank. Fresh gas would be better.

Anyone can put pics in post #1. :D

I see if i can look into that tomorrow. I did stop by today and he had the prices for me. $16.40 per hat, $50 set-up fee, and I'll work out the shipping costs soon. I'll look into cabelas and one way or the other in a couple days I'll start a new thread to take orders so I can get a head count (pun intended :D ).

Only 2-door XJ's seats flip forward.

210 is totally normal for a renix 4.0. It could just be that your previous sender was not calibrated properly. :dunno:

Are you at stock height?

:thumbsup:

And if anyone has steel wheels and lives in the rust belt, I recommend putting a dab of anti-seize on the drums where the rim contacts it. Nothing ruins your day like being stranded on the side of the road with a simple flat tire but you can't get the bad tire off. :( (happened with my sisters TJ when she was running the rusty rims off my 86 MJ)

But in my opinion you shouldn't even be thinking about mpg when looking into gears to match 35s. You should be thinking about what gears would best put the engine into that sweet spot of torque in the power band. Doing that would produce the best drive-ability (and as a bonus that should also give you the the best mpg). I would go with 4.88s personally, but 4.56 should be fine too. But regardless, if you've got 35s right now with stock gears, any of the 4.xx ratios will produce better mpg so you should see some improvement either way.

If mpg is anywhere in your head, you probably should be sticking with 235s. But regardless, with 35s you should contemplating 4.56 or 4.88s. The deeper the gearing, the better.

The last time I struggled with a drum it was due to the shoes wearing into the drum and creating a little ridge on the inside edge that kept the drum from sliding off.

There seems to be no way of knowing how far a 35 will go. Some last, some don't. But you can bet money that you won't find me running one in any of my trucks. I've got an AMC 20, a 9", and a D-44. The next one is likely to get an Explorer 8.8.

:USAflag:

Although I doubt that someone who hasn't played halo would get the same enjoyment out of it. I had tears in my eyes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jz3br1q5 ... re=related And there are other installments. :brows:

I killed my D35 with 30s on the street. It started spitting ring gear teeth.

The perches are in the wrong spot.

What? I thought you were Norwegian. EXIT STAGE LEFT :rotfl2: :shake: