thecodemonk

You need one of these https://bleepinjeep.com/product/bleepinjeep-bandaid-decal/ Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk

Yeah. Pushing my company into supporting remote work where possible as quickly as possible has been great all around! Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk

Oh wait...I see the confusion now. The picture with the 35's just has the tires sitting there next to the jeep. The MJ is still on 33's haha.

No real change other than location for me. I went from staring at this to do work: To staring at this to do work: The time I save on commute, I get to spend with my 9mo old daughter :) Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk

Not videos about Jeep things?! Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk

One of those has resisted the call to shut people in. Just saying. I'm not saying it's all rosy...just don't think it's worth being alarmist yet. :) Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk

So...just more resources for the local governors to use then? Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk

I've seen more families spending time together in their communities than ever before, at least here. Largely as a result of people suddenly having more time at home (even if working from home). I've also seen several churches finally get the green light to get streaming services going and are able to reach far more people than before, while actually having more time to serve their communities by delivering food to the elderly and those who are struggling financially. So far, all of this has been intensely positive for the community as a whole here (obviously nothing will ever be 100% perfect, but a LOT of good had come from it). Amusingly enough, as left leaning as my state tends to be, they've purposefully resisted a command to stay at home and stuck with just recommendations (while constantly reminding people that there is still too many people ignoring them). Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk

Not really any significant power loss from stock to 33's (running 3.54 gears...I was on the 4.0L during the swich). I didn't notice a huge power loss on my XJ when I did the same jump from stock to 33's on that, years ago (3.73 gears). I feel like XJs are perfect on 33's. It's the move to 35's that I started to feel it on the XJ, even after I moved to 4.88s. It gets me up to speed, but I could have used one more gear (or more power and less gearing). I'm hoping I'll feel it less with the V8 and 4.10s, but I'll let you know when I get that going.

I literally saw this picture on reddit just yesterday haha. I'm excited to see the next step! Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk

Mine just shut down all public offices and told all non-critical personnel that we're not authorized to go into the office at all, unless specifically for a critical operations issue. (Not that it affects me much...working from home for the past few weeks has been great).

It looks so good!

In a few weeks, I'll have a set of 33's for sale. ;) Alternatively: The old XJ is on jackstands now. Now that I have a better look at it, the wagoneer front axle doesn't look damaged afterall, so that'll probably be for sale too. You could end up with a pair of dana 44's...the rear from the MJ and the front waggy axle from the XJ. I have the 5 lug to 6 lug adapters on the 8.8 on the XJ now too (to match the beadlocks). Front Dana 44 has an e-locker as well...a quick way to some wheeling upgrades. ;)

Welp...another update. I've been home a lot more but somehow have less time than before to work on things >.< With my old wheels being 15" diameter and the new axles needing 16+ to clear the brakes, I figured it's time to upgrade the wheels (which also means different tires). It's a bit sad, because these tires are still new enough that they have the little rubber fingers on the side. Hopefully I'll find a good local buyer for them. However...in the interest of saving money, I remembered that my old XJ's tires are on 17" rims already! So...I got the tires off of those. ...well, more accurately, I spent a few hours getting the first ring off (those old nuts and bolts have been on there too long) and decided it was worth the money to let a tire shop handle the rest. Next up, I ordered in a set of steel wheels in the correct 8-lug pattern (8x170mm) I went with the metric bolt pattern of the ford axle rather than the 8x6.5 bolt pattern of the chevy axle for three reasons: - Adapter hubs for the front axle are freaking expensive ($400+) - I'm sick of dealing with custom parts on wear items. Remember my issues with the steering TREs? yeah...OEM parts or easily obtainable parts (like heims) for things that wear from now on. - The rear axle is a bit narrower than the front anyways, so a bolt pattern adapter-spacer on the back won't be hugely noticeable. Also, a few other parts came in. I didn't get pictures of the artec boxes, but it's the weld-on high steer kit for the front and the truss for the TJ/XJ mounts for the superduty axle. I don't feel confident in welding to cast, so those items are going straight to the shop to install. That "Heavy" sticker is no joke either. I got the "no ring gear shave" kit from TMR to trim down the 14 bolt. 35's are not huge tires compared to how low the 14 bolt hangs down, so I figure any clearance help I can get, I should take. Cover alongside the dana 30 cover for comparison... \ Of course, I couldn't help myself and, after I got the 35's mounted on the correct rims, I had to see how it looked on the jeep. Not too bad. Jeep will be a little higher with the bigger axle tubes, new rear springs, and the tires being bigger so the fender clearance should be better than it looks in the picture.

Sweet! What diesel drivetrain are you thinking of using? Also, the front bar splits the headlight assembly in that last picture in an interesting way that looks really cool (and kindof makes me think of a chevy)

The power company where I'm at has promised not to cut off anyone's power for the duration. Sounds like they're planning on figuring out what to do about the costs later (whether to just eat the costs or make them cheaper or something).

My state is putting a stop to, basically, all gatherings. All gatherings over 50 people are prohibited and under 50 people are allowed only if certain criteria for public health and social distancing are met. https://www.governor.wa.gov/news-media/inslee-statement-statewide-shutdown-restaurants-bars-and-limits-size-gatherings-expanded I feel for the waiters and waitresses who rely on tips. While I think there's a fund for them, getting access to that fund is going to make their lives significantly harder for a while.

I'm in WA here. People are going crazy at the stores, work has us in mandatory work from home (woohoo!). The state had closed down all schools and banned gatherings of over 250 people (churches are scrambling to get their live streaming services going by tomorrow) Every medical professional I've talked to about it is not worried though. Just a really bad flu with those having existing respiratory problems being the only ones really at risk of severe consequences.

Looking good!

Angle grinder and a flap disc to smooth it out. Amusingly, this is not one of those "precision needed" pieces. So long as you are ballpark, you'll make up the difference when you cinch down the bolt. It'll squeeze the metal down to it.

Whooo boy. That's a BIG topic. Something you might be better digging around the pirate4x4 forums for. I'll give it a try, but I'm sure I'll miss a LOT of the nuances, so consider the below some pretty broad strokes. ================== First picture above: What I assume you are calling "2-link" is what most people call "radius arms" and it's major pros are: - Simplicity (and usually inexpensive as a result) - 4 points on the axle, keeping it from rotating. - Doesn't bind Cons are: - All the load goes to two points on your vehicle. If either of those fail, you're in a REALLY bad spot. (you're usually ok for a bit if one of the short arms fail) - Has the most propensity to "unload" on steep hillclimbs (for better understanding on this topic, again...pirate4x4 forums and search for topics about anti-squat and anti-dive) - Your axle rotates in the arc of travel, which may put added strain on your driveshaft u-joints. ================== Second picture above: This is usually called three link (some people get nitpicky about the drag link and call it a 4 link and the stock suspension a 5 link): - Simpler than a 4 link - Has one more point to the body to spread the suspension load compared to radius arms - Doesn't bind - Axle doesn't rotate in the arc of travel (if setup correctly) Cons are: - Still fewer points on the body than a 4 link. - Single point of failure in the upper control arm. If that thing lets go, you're likely to end up in a bad place as your axle will rotate freely, wrecking your steering and, potentially the axle itself. This is something that should be made to be stronger than all the rest of the suspension components as a result. - Requires more thought in where each link is mounted in relation to each other to control how the suspension articulates. ================== Lastly, the 4 link...which is the basis for our stock suspension. Pros: - More redundancy. Losing a link in this style isn't usually as catastrophic as the other styles. - You have 4 points of connection between the body and the axle both, spreading the suspension load across more area. - You CAN set it up with triangulation and eliminate the drag link (which controls axle movement side-to-side). This is more commonly done on the rear as doing it on the front is hard with space constraints and requires hydro steering, unless you like bump steer. - Axle doesn't rotate in the arc of travel (if setup correctly) - Most similar to the stock jeep design. Cons are: - It WILL bind. That isn't necessarily a bad thing and, if setup properly, when it binds may be well beyond where you care anyways. However, this takes a lot more thought than the other two options listed above. - More complex, which means it's harder to get it just right (often due to compromises having to be made for other desires...such as not cutting up the body/floorpan, or not having a mounting point hanging way down below the frame rails). - Harder to package...there's a lot of stuff in the front of a vehicle. ================== There's definitely a lot more that could be covered, and there may be minor inaccuracies, but I think the above covers the biggest points from my own reading online.

Post up the VIN in the registry and @eaglescout526 will get some info on it put together. :)

Yeah...lesson learned here. Nothing stays loose in the bed anymore, no matter what.

I love this MJ! So much amazing work and not the common direction! Congrats!!

Better safe than sorry! Upgrade time!