Pete M

My AMC-20 has 4.10 gears so that one might too. :D

There's nothing in my head that says it's different. :hmm:

Well, that's a easy one. The 29 spline 8.25 is way stronger than a 35. :D

Can you flip the switch and check for power?

3.55 would be a good upgrade, but if you have 4wd you'd have to do the front too.

From what I've heard (that's right, the closet legal wheeling spot to me and I haven't been there yet) it's mostly muddy trails and mud pits. How muddy probably depends on how much rain there's been.

I just might make that one. :D

Your engine is pushing gasses out the top, not just oil. My truck has a hose running to the catch bottle, and then a hose running out of the catch bottle. If you route this exit hose back to your air cleaner, your engine will then continue to burn those gasses like it's supposed to and the container will catch most of the oily residue. Otherwise those smelly gasses will just be vented into your engine compartment and stink up the place.

sorry man, I figured they would get here eventually. They still might. And if they do, then you'll just have extras. :D

Guns...driving...alcohol... it's a winning combination! :roll: I don't see how anything could possibly go wrong with that plan. :D May I suggest at least waiting 'til you're ready to shoot something before loading the ammo? :brows:

The perches are in different spots so welding on new perches is required. But you won't need a tranny drop and you should be able to use your stock driveshaft.

What!?! :eek: Why didn't you let me know they hadn't arrived? Stupid post office.:mad: They were mailed out on Jan 26th. I'll send replacements out on Monday. :cheers:

You can't simply "bolt in" new gears. They need to be "set up" and that takes special tools, knowhow and lots of patience, or money (to have someone else do it, like 100-200 bucks). It is generally something to be avoided. Get the correct gears in your new axle. Getting welding done is easy. :D Jeep on! --Pete

Not yet. :brows: I just deleted one word but got distracted before I typed in the new one. That's what I get for typing replies to multiple posts at once. Even Firefox's mighty spellchecker ain't going to help me with that. :roll:

Proving that bald tires can trump lockers: And I almost forgot to throw in one of my buddy Mike's stucks. Here he is preparing to yank the Bronco out of the ditch with his bare hands. :D This one was an all nighter. We had a shuvel, a hi-lift and some chain and straps, but there wasn't a tree close enough behind him. Eventually we gave up and sought out assistance from Shane and his CJ the next day.

Yeah, there's all sorts of things I need to do... :( sigh...

Oh yeah, I carry my fair share of spare parts and supplies. :brows: I like to be prepared as I jump in my old truck and drive 10 hours from home to go wheelin. But even a spare tire should be enough weight to get the leafs flexin' a bit more. Mudzilla, do you intend on mounting a spare back there? Balance between the front and rear suspensions can be tricky. I remember seeing Rick's (xjs4ever) old MJ and the rear flexed great but the front wouldn't do much, probably due to the stiff coils and lack of weight pushing down on them (2.5L).

You guys and your lightweights. :roll: I've got an extra leaf in there and still have noooo trouble compressing everything. :D

The 2.8L CRD in our 06 Libby is a sweet engine. I can only imagine the new 3.0Ls. More power! :D

:eek: You scared me for a second there. Actually, he has not been approved. New people sign up and their profile is in the system until I can get to approving or deleting them. So, while you can see him, he can't post. Excuse me for a sec, I gotta go delete somebody... :D

Everybody loves a good sticky situation! Let's see your stucks or accidents, either for your MJ or where you took the picture. Since there may only be a handful of pics, I was thinking of opening it up to stucks where you were a witness (so you can show shots of your wheelin' buddies). For those guys who lost their MJ to an accident, you can post that too. I'll start since I seem to be in such a picture-postin' mood. This would be in the Rockport Offroad Park. Don't know what could possibly have gone wrong with trying to keep a muddy tire on a muddy log, but somehow I slipped off and got hung up. :roll: Here I am at a local club's mudrun. It was practically a goal to get stuck, so I'll only post on of them. :D Here I am proving that I can't climb in the sand without airing down first. Not exactly a worst stuck though, more like a "lamest stuck". And on my trip to Colorado I witnessed this guy that tried to follow a better built rig through the mud pit. Took a couple hours to free him. Even two rigs in line couldn't free him from the muck. This is what eventually worked, a side pull. Almost flipped him over though. :eek: And what can happen right in the middle of a dirt trail when you're running little tires on a nonlifted rig with open diffs? Why, highcentering of course. :D But even a big tired and locked rig can fall victim to the nasty Rockport muck. Here's my buddy Joe and his Willys. I'm not sure I've ever seen Joe get stuck, but here he is at the pinnacle of his travel up this hill. He juuust couldn't quite make it and eventually he blew an axleshaft.

I've thought about it, but it's hard to rationalize an actual need for it since I have a bed. But if I had an XJ rack lying around the house, you can be sure I would have thrown it on just to see. :D

Whatever you do, don't try to fix a Dana 35. It's simply not worth it when a complete axle can be had for very little (and with better gearing).

There's all sorts of variability to deal with. First there's the variability in the new coils themselves. Frequently they will be slightly higher than advertised and then settle over a short time (hopefully to the proper height). Then there's variation in Jeep weight. The engine, bumper, etc all affect the ride height. Then there's variability in our trucks rear springs. There's the 2wd/4wd leaf difference or even the amount of sagging that occurs over 20 years which can range from nothing to severe. Reusing these leafs (either in SOA or with an AAL) and expecting them to perfectly match a front that's using brand new coils can be an exercise in frustration. And lastly there's personal preference. Some guys like the bed to be perfectly level when empty, others like a slight rake so when it loaded up with gear it won't look like its butt is sagging. I personally would use the manufacturers numbers only as a guide and have a plan for altering the front or back up to an inch rather than trying to match them down to a 1/2" before I even put the truck on stands.

I assume so. I was doing it at work and never had to make any of my welds look good, just be structurally sound.