Incommando

Doubling your traction for no additional money? ;)

If I could pick it up cheap to keep it, i would. i am just not sure it is the best flip option. the OP is not mj guy, just a guy looking to make a quick buck like the seller.

and after buying that kit and the swap drivetrain, and considering the real world numbers, not the inflated ad numbers to get you to buy a kit, how many miles will you have to drive to recoup your investment even if you labor is worthless? Ask yourself this: if veggie oil was really an answer, why isn't it being done commercially? How come the largest "bio diesel" groups have taken millions of msiguided taxpayer cash and gone out of business? snake oil, IMHO. If VW diesel swaps were such a god send, how come they don't sell more of them new? I don't know where you are, but gas is $2.93 here. I would move if your gas "averages" $5/gal now as claimed by the present tense of your statement. That would probably be the most economical move you can make.

I'd say this is already a guy trying to make a quick buck: an owner would know what engine the truck has while this seller does not. Seller is probaby saying "rancho" as that is the only name he knows and thinks it will lure in an easy mark. This is a typical craigslist ad that is 90% BS. As the seller probably bought it "right" for about $500, i doubt you will buy it with enough rom to flip it easily.

Do you mean CJ8-esque? Scrambler was an appearance package on a CJ8, not a model....(ducking/running) :D

RK, like RC, is not a very good company. They made a Liberty kit that even attempting to install it required a sfa conversion or junking the jeep to fix the mess. There are plenty of stories about their stuff causing problems, even a basic jk lift. But hey, they have a cool logo!!!!!

I don't have pics, but I used a basic antenna L-mount bolted to the inside lip of the bed about 2" back from the cab and a 3' firestick. works/looks good.

crew cab fc170 with hemi 5.7L, a518 tranny, stak 3 spd x-fer, Ford king pin hpD60 front with a d70hd rear ( the D70hd is the rear GM used on their heaviest gvwr units and was an upgrade from the 14bolt) on 37" tires.

I never claimed that this post was MJ/XJ specific... but jeep in general. I have owned ( and kept, not flipped) many jeeps. I have had Willys*, Kaiser, AMC, chrysler, and DaimlerChrysler era vehicles. Obviously I have an affinity for jeep, but that doesn't mean that I don't realize that the small-jointed LP D30 fronts on my various CJ's were a time-bombs once I put some bigger tires on them. They may have been fine with the 27" stock tires, and maybe jeep's real issues is putting stock tires on JK's that are nearly at the max of the axle's ability too start with? And although D44 rears were available for most MJ years, they are apparently a little rare and the D35 was much more common. I have recieved PM's from nearby folks trying to buy my factory LSD D44 just because it is listed in my sig line. They are even less common in XJ's and it wasn't until the 29-spline 8.25 made its way into the line-up that a comparable rear was offered: even then, D35's were plentiful. The D35 isn't universally hated for no reason. The pukegoat trannies issues are not imagined. I don't doubt that anyone has whatever mileage they have without issues: but any objective source lists a myriad of Jeep issues. No one mentions jeep as being better than Honda or yoder in reliabilty, but if every jeep went 200K with nothing but spark plugs you think you would hear such comparisions. I can't count the number of posts about being left stranded by CPS issues, or TPS issues (help! My jeep won't start!), or.... I have seen many unit bearings take a crap and seen D35's spit axles. The front page of tech has numerous posts talking about the weakness of the CAD/260 D30, even if it is HP. The Tech section of every jeep site is full of issues. I did not imagine the whole 4.0 exhaust issue: just because one person's jeep avoided it doesn't mean it wasn't an unaddressed factory issue for years. I drive and own/have owned many decades old vehicles that do not have the issues my MJ has: despite being 17 years older, the window regulators in my Road Runner somehow manage to still function perfectly, for example. Does that mean that any individuals jeep has not gone 200K with nothing but spark plugs being changed? Not at all. But it would seem that those are not the norm and far more people have to replace idler pulleys and such. I wonder why a prominant member of this site extolls us all to pull up our carpet and check the floors "before it is too late?" Sounds like a repeating issue to me. If every jeep would go 200K + miles with nothing but spark plugs, jeep dealers would all replace their service departments with quik lubes that also replaced spark plugs and save a ton on mechanic salaries. A lot of this is personal preference: personally the early MJ/XJ brake system is IMHO terrible. I am not alone in this by the popularity of swap/upgrade posts even right here in CC. But to others it is apparently just dandy. :dunno: It is also dependent on what each individual is willing to accept: Heck, I drove a Festiva as a DD for 8 years!!! But being realistic about a vehicle does not mean you hate it. * I can even correctly pronounce it :thumbsup:

I never claimed to have a life, Jim... :D

The 3.7 is a good engine. If you fit one into an XJ or MJ, which are a 1,000# lighter than a KJ, I'd bet the doubters would change their minds. I know I only have 80,000 miles of experience with the 3.7, but it is a better engine than the 105K mile 4.0 I have. There are a number of 3.7's over 200K now. If you think the new JK axle are weak, what do you think of the 260-jointed d30's that jeep used forever? Or the awesome turdy5? Or 2-piece axle M20? I'd take the hp30/D44 axles under jK over a small-joint LP d30/D35 combo any day of the week. I guess swapping bigger jointed axles, or complete assemblies as many of us have done, under XJ's and MJ's don't count as "beefing up the axles" as the JK's "require?" Just asking you to put aside personal feelings and look at the stats and true history...

Fiat now owns about 25% of jeep. They have agreements to purchase another 10%. Unless something changes again, Fiat will not own Chrysler and, by extension, jeep. In exchange for shares, Fiat manages Chrysler. Although DiamlerBenz tried to kill the Chryco brands, the new Grand (based on the new ML and created under DC) is outstanding. The first thing that Fiat does is take that great product and dilute it by copying its front onto an econobox: The Dodge Caliber that pretends to be a Jeep Compass/Patriot ( they are the same car for those not in the know)!!! This can only hurt the Grand by comparison and is not a good sign about Fiat management. That Compass is surely a poor move. Jeep has long been a crappy company no matter the overloards. Poor reliability and build quality along with cheaped-out parts are the norm, not the exception. It certainly applies to our rust prone MJ's with a myriad of issues from the day they were born (2.8/pukegoat/d35, ad nauseum). That isn't hating: it is reality. No one can look objectively at the history of jeep and see anything else. I love jeeps, and have owned something from every overlord's era. But I do not wear blinders about them as the fanbois do. And remeber: that Panda-based jeep pic'd above is no closer to reality than the Rescue concept of 2000.

I wish that that there was great upgrade bolt-in for the front. The Rubi "44" is a LP design with D30 outers. :(

I think that a disc brake 8.8 would aid in axle retention should a shaft fail where a drum axle would allow the shaft to exit the housing? But if you are using an Explorer 8.8, don't you need to factor in the cost of wheel spacers?

The 29 spline 8.25 is a decent axle. I'd worry about the front before the 8.25. I had a FSJ Chero with 34" LTB's and a 109" wheel base: I never got to hit it hard but I patterened it after some other FSJ's that wheeld hard. I think the 34's would be nice on an MJ, or even some narrow 35's. A narrower tire may help the D30 live. Did you save info on your waggy axle conversion?

I guess I have an issue with "assuming positive intent." I would not accept the poster's claims about his brother due to the original post and the way the OP presented the completely unnecessary info. Also, without being on that board, the reply about "get your Bro to help you" may mean that the poster who said that may have more info about the OP's real situation than is evident by one thread out of thousands. Who knows? Each website sets their own level of acceptable. The most succesful 4x4 site ever, Pirate, makes that exchange look like a sunday sermon. It is like TV: if you don't like the show, just change the channel.

Maybe it is less a blonde thing and more a TJ owner thing....(ducking) :D

About 20 miles south of Cincy. I have never been to the eastern OH spots so I am not sure how it compares. It is not as good as Badlands if you have been there. http://bills491offroad.com/

I went to 15 psi, but they are 10p ply and the light-weight MJ rear didn't bulge them at all. Maybe after they get broke-in? 10-ply was not my first choice, but I got such a screaming deal on these two that i could not pass them up. They were already mounted/balanced on jeep rims and still had nubbies on them. How do I embed video?

No, the winch-equipped vehicles did the recoveries.

went to a new ( to me ) place over the weekend. Bills 491 Off Road park in N. Ky. I would like to try it again when it is nice out. There was maybe 7-8" of snow on the ground and it added a new dimension to it. I have 2 brand new 9/32/16 TSL's on rims, so I threw them on the rear and left my 32/11.5/15 A/T's on the front. That is why the rims are mismatched on the pic. I really need two more swampers for the front... :brows: the MJ walked up that hill where a 4runner on 33/12.5 Timberline M/T's and taco on 35 TSL's had to take several tries. I think the torque of the 4.0 is the reason.

excellent point about "intended use"

What was the u-turn answer? I prefer 12.5's on 8" rims for bead retention. Many, many run this combo with no issues.

They are tough in certain ways, but not for withstanding pot holes, etc...

I destroyed my FEY rear step bumper pulling shrubbery out by using a strap around the tow ball. It looked good from the outside but the back was rusted severely. The rust was in the seams, if that makes sense, and the bumper just pulled apart so badly I had to cut it off of the brackets to open the tailgate.