ghetdjc320

Rockwell 2.5 ton axle or bust lol. You’ll have a good 4” of clearance under the pumpkin with 35s but you’ll never be able to break the axle

Also, check all your sockets and bulbs in your tailights and turn signals

There is a small lip where the blower motor fits through the firewall. I drilled a small 1/4” hole under the motor and into the wheel well opening to drain. That rubber seal will not keep out the water that pools up there

In custom setups we use “universal backstrap”. You can but it at crutchfield and sometimes the local hardware store has a similar material that works

And these are all California EO complaint: https://www.summitracing.com/dom/search/brand/magnaflow/part-type/catalytic-converters/universal/yes/emissions/california-eo-approved?SortBy=Default&SortOrder=Ascending&N=%3A%2B Or rock auto sells them carb compliant oem one for $245

A regular magnaflow cat is under $100. Don’t gut your cat, it pointless. Just replace it with a weld on magnaflow if it is compliant. If not then get a replacement on rock auto. A gutted or removed cat is not an improvement over a good working unit. Just lookup how they work. They simple and effective devices. Essentially they are an afterburner for anything that didn’t get completely burned off in your engine. They aren’t a restriction or a filter. Here is a list of some: https://www.summitracing.com/dom/search/brand/magnaflow/part-type/catalytic-converters?SortBy=Default&SortOrder=Ascending They are available in both stainless and ceramic elements with or without heat shields (with is much better for our trucks)

Please don’t take off your cat unless it needs to be replaced. All it does is stink up the cab and air around you and adds zero performance unless it was plugged (normally the ceramic honeycomb starts to come loose and blocks the flow). I run a magnaflow stainless cat that uses a stainless honeycomb vs the standard ceramic material. Here on island everyone removes there cat thinking they will gain power. Imagine walking down the road along the ocean with a nice salty breeze then a truck drives by and all you smell is gas for a minute. And for what???

Let us know what height you end up with after the swap

My BA10 worked flawlessly for years in my YJ. Lots of off-roading during those years also. Oddly enough, when I swapped in the “upgraded” ax15 I had nothing but problems. The 2nd ax15 was fine though. Everyone at the time (different forum) made it seem like the ba10 was on borrowed time but it was actually a decent transmission. I’ve only ever had one though so maybe mine was the exception???

I think all of us that have run the General Spring ones have netted quite a bit of lift. I ended up giving away my general spring 4 leaf pack because it gave me at least a 2.5” lift on my soa setup even after setting for months and under load. I got a really nice used set from a California junkyard and had them shipped to me by boat. Once I received them I disassembled the pack, cleaned, painted and greased them. Threw in new bushings too. If you need replacements I’d recommend you do something similar. I’ve really been wanting to go to sua and get rid of this soa the previous owner did. If I did, I’d sell you my springs.

I’ve seen them used before and it should work great.

I am one of those people but on the pro audio side lol. The goal still needs to be a flat response from your drivers and a well dampened interior that does not add to or or take away from the original audio recording. This is the principle with which I approach every system I design and, to some degree I like to apply those same principles to car audio. To the OP, apologies for the spurious information. You can fit 4x6 speakers in back and they do help the overall soundstage. I recommend you buy a well built quality speaker and keep them all the same brand and preferably the same series. This should help timbre match the speakers and provide better sound quality. You can fit 5.25 speakers back there also but the corner position they are in greatly increases speaker reflection. So basically, just stick with 4x6 speakers and delete them as @Minuit suggests. One of these days, if I get the time and ambitions, I’ll work on installing a pair of 6.5 or 8” subs into the b pillars.

Most car audio systems I hear are not what I would consider quality and getting a system to sound good in a rattly, loud old Jeep is tough. It’s so much more than just the kind of speakers installed. The environment needs to be treated first. I’m also strongly against using any sort of EQ. If a speaker can’t keep a flat frequency response than it not a quality speaker. Car audio is tricky though and my background is integrated AV systems in commercial and residential theaters as well as restaurants and club environments so I approach car audio a bit differently than others may. Not saying it’s the right or wrong way but I know what I’m listening for. In my mj though, I haven’t spent to much time on the audio system aside from dynamatting the whole interior, replacing speakers and wiring as well as installing the head unit. I was prepping for it though. Installed a singer 240a car audio alternator.

Was a lot of work but well worth it. The backup cam is an awesome feature in a lifted truck especially when trying to hookup my boat trailer.

Don’t meen to disagree but that hasn’t been my experience. I’ve noticed a more encompassing sound stage. The frequency response of the cab is all relative to what’s in the cab anyways. If I have a bunch of stuff behind the seats though the sound gets lost and they become useless. I really think it would be a great location for a pair of 6.5 or 8” subs though! Also thought about putting a sub in the center console.

That being said, I currently run infinity reference 4x6s in back and 5 1/4 up front. Also installed a Sony double din touchscreen CarPlay head unit (that was a ton of work)

5 1/4 will fit with a bit of trimming. My though has been to put a pair of 6.5” or 8” subs back there behind the panels. It would be a nice custom setup

I’m about to pull out the oem ones I have in storage for that price lol

Holy cow, $86 and counting!

Also, the drum brake axles from 96-97 are 4.56 Dana 44’s. I built 2 of them. There was very bad information and too many rumors about these axles several years back so I went and bought a 95, (2) 97s and a 99 for comparison. Also had a JK 44 housing, a couple of TJ rubicon rear lockers and a Grand Wagoneer D44 front (very heavy 44 lol). Suffice it to say, I was able to check all the differences and variations at that time. It’s still my opinion that the 96,97 4.56 drum brake axle is one of the most straight forward overall swaps and a very stout axle (it’s the one I ended up keeping). Ebrake was a direct swap and the 10.5” drums are quite nice for towing (great parking brake when launching a boat). Swapped in a Detroit truetrac and wheeled the daylights out of it. Never gave any problems and had great clearance over the 8.8’s of which I have had 4.

+1 I run the 96+ configuration and it’s a much better tensioner design vs using the ps pump like the pre 96 design. Don’t worry, you’ll get used to all these “easy mods” and come to expect there are many other pieces involved most of the time lol.

I’ll add my $.02 Run SAE 30 weight conventional oil in your transfer case. I switched after running atf in np231’s for many years. Much quieter and seems to offer better lubrication.

I had a leak in the same place as your first picture. It was coming through the seal between the firewall and the blower motor. I drilled a 1/4” hole at the lower point below the blower motor opening on the engine side of the firewall. It prevents water from building up in that area even if there is a bit of debris there. I’ll see if I can snap a picture later if what I did. Hopefully it helps!