Megadan

I have not had any axle wrap issues on or off road with my SOA. I think that the "anti wrap" perches that I got from Barnes 4wd must be helping.Are those the ones in the kit linked in your $700 lift thread I found a couple of days ago? Yep. They appear to work as advertised Ok, cool I actually plan on following your list to the letter lol. A bit more expensive than $700 now, but that happens with time.

I toyed with the idea of 35" tires, but I would be plenty happy with 33x12.5 tires on a 15" wheel, or a metric equivalent. I think as long as I try to keep the lift as close to 5.5" as possible it would look ok. I've seen a couple of long bed MJ's with that combination, and I like how it looks.

That's one sexy au to mo beel you have there. Interesting rear roll bar, I am assuming custom made?

Honestly, I was already wanting to do a 4" lift. I can't imagine an extra inch or 1.5 inches making that big of a difference. I would end up with drop brackets and aftermarket control arms either way. The SOA keeps me from having to shell out $450-500 for rear leaf springs to match the lift as well. I already have pretty new leaf springs anyway, about 2 years old and not even 10k miles on them.

I have not had any axle wrap issues on or off road with my SOA. I think that the "anti wrap" perches that I got from Barnes 4wd must be helping. Are those the ones in the kit linked in your $700 lift thread I found a couple of days ago?

From what I can tell, the shortbed only has an 18gal option. Its the longbed that has either the 16 or 23.5 gal tank. If you have a long bed, you should already have a good idea of what tank you have, but if you need to, go measure it. I know I have a 16 gal tank, because at half it never takes more than around 7-8 gal max. That and my trip range sucks.

Not familiar with it, nor do I want to be. I would rather hear opinions of people that actually have said axles and use them in a manner similar to, or more aggressively than, I intend to. I am pretty sold on the 8.25 if this XJ has one. Just have to wait for the guy to get back from working in a week or so (works for one of the railroad companies), then I can buy it off of him. Then I just have to decide...SOA or SUA... Proving to be a hard choice lol

Wipers and turn signal are both controlled by the same stalk. Sounds to me like a good place to start for those. FWIW, I hate wiring too, but with a voltmeter or at least a dummy light, you should be able to track down the issue. Check the fuse block under the dash and make sure it's not destroyed by brake fluid from the clutch master cylinder. It's a very common issue with the manual trucks as the clutch master is directly above it, and when it leaks it destroys the plastic of the fuse block.

Being C-clip axles in either case, I would prefer discs just for the potential need for axle retention. Otherwise, I have no real problem with drums out back. If I really felt like it I could plunk the money down for a C-clip eliminator kit on the 8.8, which has the added bonus of widening the axle out to about the same width as the front Dana 30. No matter what route I go I have a ZJ prop valve sitting around in case I decide disc brakes are in my future. I'm pretty bad about hoarding parts that I will probably never use. I am just hoping I can get enough cash back from parts to make this a nearly free venture, or at least a stupidly cheap one.

Looks like a pretty solid truck. Any rust?

My plan was to pull both axles and do work to them over time while I search for or building said engine. All of your replies are making me want to keep it if it is an 8.25 axle. As far as cost, I can get either axle around here for about the same price. 8.8's are a dime a dozen at the local pick a part, and they charge $165 for a complete axle end to end - brakes and all. There are also usually a decent number of XJ's as well, in case this does turn out to be a D35 and not a 8.25 axle. Thanks for the heads up on that too, btw, I will definitely double check that. I figure if it ends up not being an 8.25 I will just use the money from scrapping what's left to buy an 8.8, otherwise I will keep it. Parts between the two (axles and diffs) are about the same cost, so no real change in that regard. About the only advantage of the 8.8 would be the disc brakes already installed, and being able to find one already geared the way I want (4.10). Should I look into upgrading the stock axle shafts for the 8.25, or do you think the stock shafts would be ok? I can always get spare shafts from the pull-a-part if I do manage to break one.

A friend of mine traded vehicles with a guy who turned out to be quite the jeep hoarder. he has a 99 XJ 4dr that he has sitting around not running/driving and he offered to sell me the whole thing for $400 delivered to my house. I've been wanting to get a non CAD front axle and do a 97+ doors and front end conversion so I'd get most everything I need right there. I could probably sell the engine and trans/t-case for a bit to recover some money. The question. I want to get rid of the D35 behind my truck. My plan was always to do an 8.8 swap, but this 99 would have the 29 spline 8.25 I believe. I've read so many mixed reviews of how strong this axle is. I am tempted to use it since I would have it right there, but I figured I could sell it and use that money toward an 8.8 as well. I'm not going to be doing any sort of hardcore rock crawling or other extreme off-roading. Just some trail running here and there and camping adventures. My plan here soon is to swap in a small diesel OR a 4.6 stroker depending on what kind of deals I can find, so I am worried about torque handling when coupled with 33" tires. I plan to install a truetrac in either axle, so no lockers come into play. Just trying to plan ahead and pick the best route. Worth keeping/building the 8.25, or just skip it and go 8.8? I appreciate any feedback given.

Welcome! Sounds like a good, if unique, start to a project. Have any pictures of it?

lol, they definitely copied the Ferrari design a bit.

I've always been torn doing that to rockers. I see the function, and I can understand doing it on a rusty vehicle, but mine are still in good shape so I can't bring myself to do it.

Those vents actually function at speed on your MR2. That rear window and sail panels create a low pressure zone right above the engine bay and will pull the heat out. That's why a lot of mid engine cars have vents in that area, like the Fiero and many Ferraris from that era.

Axle width, bolt pattern are two big ones. The reason the Ford 8.8 swap is so popular is because it's the same bolt pattern as the stock axle, and close enough to the same width to work easily.

I'm staying with the slip yoke. Just saying I would have to have the Hummer output shaft in there. That's pretty much what it is lol. I can't justify the $750

For the loose steering, lift the truck and support the chassis with stands to unload the suspension and steering. Pull and tug on the various linkages for the steering and check to make sure none of the tie rod ends have any play. Also, check your wheel bearings by grabbing the wheels top and bottom and trying to wiggle them, side to side as well. See if there is any excessive play there or if you can spot any movement in the rod ends. It cam sometimes help to have the truck running, wheels on the pavement, and view it from the ground with someone turning the wheel back and forth a little bit. If all else fails, you can try to tighten up the steering box.

I want to do a Tom Woods HD 242 SYE setup on the 1995 242 I just picked up that has the 32 spline output shaft. But the cost.... Admittedly, it includes a driveshaft, but it's still a big chunk of change to lay down. http://www.4xshaft.com/SYE/242HD.html

I wouldn't discount hood vents entirely. They may not work at speed aerodynamically, but at low speeds and idle they will still allow heat to escape. About the only issue with them is water getting into the engine bay, but there are things you can do to direct the water away without affecting the ability for heat to escape.

Steel? like this one? Supposedly not being made any more, but a couple sites still list them. Either they have some or they need to update http://www.streetbeatcustoms.com/Reflexxion/Hoods/Jeep-Cherokee-Reflexxion-Domination-Series-Steel-Cowl-Induction-Hood-_-731800/829453/

Good to know! Not too familiar with the AX-5. Just wanted to prevent some potential headaches for the guy. :thumbsup:

Keep in mind that no matter what steps you take, someone can still steal your vehicle. I had a friend with a car that had a removable steering wheel, battery disconnect, and an ingition interrupt. Still got stolen, and stolen by somebody he knew (who obviously knew about the last two features).

His T-case will bolt up, but do the AX5's have the same 21 or 23 spline input/output year ranges that the BA10 and AX-15 do? If so, it won't bolt up without changing the output of the trans or input of the t-case. What about input shaft pilot bearing? Any differences between the years? Two questions worth asking/answering before he tries to install it and finds out the hard way.