Pete M

Sounds like a great opportunity to go to a solid shaft and 297s. :brows:

:bowdown: Sweet! Monkey bars! The neighborhood kids'll love it! Wait, how do I open the box? :hmm:

The stock lights are not only French pieces of crap that use funky bulbs and put out pathetic amounts of light even when new, they are mounted in an awful location. I bought a generic household "tap light" that's battery operated and has a halogen light in it and mounted it in the center of the roof. Very bright! I can actually read maps and such. :D

Needs more triangulation...

All my pics are here: http://www.picturetrail.com/petermontie The rollbar should be in the "protection" folder. Or swing by the house sometime. You're only an hour and a half away. :D Buuuuuuut, since I love posting pics, P.S. Junk!?!?! That there is a big pile of semi-organized, maybe-possibly-useful tools, spare parts and other assorted odds-and-ends. Ok, so maybe it is junk to some, but we'll see when you're down for the count on the trail... :D

I knew the 2wd and 4wd rotors were different, but maybe there was a change, like in 91 or something like that?

At the fisrt opportunity I was dropping my truck on rocks and roots or whatever I can find that reaches. :D This is not a recommended testing procedure if your rails are more show than go. 3/16" wall 2x2" square, .120 wall 2" DOM tube. Plus the round tube goes through the frame and welded to plates on both sides. :D

What year is the donor axle?

There's a pull-your-part in Flint!! No way!!! :eek:

I woulld stay far, far away from that kit. Anything above 3 inches of lift and you MUST do something about the control arms. And I would still recommend lowers for 3".

I left it that way so people having difficulties due to forum glitches can still comunicate their problems. At least that was the rationale. Not sure if it really helps any. :(

Folding pickers ROCK!!!! Got a Harbor freight special in my garage and I can't imagine life without it.

Be sure to top off the oil in the trans. :wrench: :needpics:

It's been done before. Severe driveline bind (big tires equals more bind). Age can be a factor. As can any impacts with a rock/log or if a driveshaft is too long. Nothing is invincible. :D

And I'm not done yet either. Be aware that Marshalls adds a $25 core charge to the cost of their axles and for my money (and it has been my money:brows:), I would go to Deer Creek Auto parts. Their "truck" junkyard location is just north of Circleville. 1-800-533-3740. Last time I was there I talked them down to $125 pretty easy. But then, I did buy more than just the one axle. :D Either way you'll have your choice of axles. Make sure you get one with all good brakes and make sure they pop the diff cover for you. Oh, and Deer Creek removes their axles as soon as the truck comes in so you get what's there, while with Marshals, there's a chance you can sweet-talk them into keeping things like brake lines and E-brake cables intact. But then, Marshal's yard is just a bunch of mud and dirt, while Deer Creek has a nice flat gravel parking lot where you can go out and see your potential axles without crawling in the weeds. Both yards won't let you in the back without an escort.

Muuuuch, much nicer than mine. :D

Dang that's a clean lookin' truck! :eek:

You wrote it backwards. Explorers are SUA and Rangers are SOA. It's the opposite of the MJ (SUA) and XJ (SOA). The reasons being that the Explorer and MJ have the leafs mounted directly below the frame, while Rangers and XJs have the leafs mounted outboard of the frame. The Explorer and MJ have offcenter pins, but the front bushings in both are larger than the rear bushings. The "Code F" Explorer leaf packs are the ones you want. There are 2 different kinds of leaf packs and a mono leaf and code F is the stiffer multipack. car-part.com can help with that or the leaf code is on the drivers door sticker if you're in a j'yard.

Um, a right hand drive Cherokee maybe? :teehee: Sorry, I couldn't resist. :D

You came in second though! :cheers: :teehee:

But the 8.8 for your Jeep has to be from an Explorer/Mountineer if you're keeping the stock Jeep front axle. The other's are either larger or wrong or inferior. Late model Rangers with the FX-4 package are also good, but Explorers are waaay more common.

car-part.com will help you out with that. There are plenty of 95-01 Exploder 8.8s out there with 3.55 gears. Make sure you get one in good shape unless it's super cheap. and MAKE SURE that the junkyard pops the cover to let you inspect the innards before you buy. One of the 8.8s I purchased recently was in a side impact collision. I know this, not because I saw the truck, but because the axle was apparently shoved into the center of the diff, cracking the center pin in half and tweaking the axleshaft. :headpop: Also make sure the brakes are in good shape. The Ebrake drum parts located inside the disk are prime candidates for rusting apart. A search in the tech forum will bring up even more pointers.

It just takes some patience and a bit of footwork. Well, ok, there's probably a bit of luck involved, but then you'd have to consider me "lucky" because I'm unemployed and have all the time in the world to drive hours away from me to buy/sell stuff. :driving:

Used tires/wheels are best. :D

Strong recovery points, a second vehicle, and using your brains can go a long way. So can momentum, but that generally requires you skip on using your brains. :D I've tried wheeling in 2wd (because tight turns with a front minispool sucks), but my anemic engine needs low range in anything even remotely challenging. :(