DirtyComanche

The one I linked originally is listed for TJ/YJ/ZJ/XJ of the HO type, but who knows what it will actually fit. I do not have driveshaft clearance issues with the exhaust (pinion is about 5" farther to the driver's side due to the axle that's in it). I don't know what else would be an issue, the firewall?

can you explain whats going on with that shackle? something doesn't look right.... They're these: http://www.ironman4x4fab.com/Products/RLS.html You can thread them in or out to adjust the length... Kinda nifty. Rather long.

Yes. Ruff Stuff would be my go to. Ballistic is a last resort, to the point that if only they have it, I probably don't need it, since they probably aren't going to ship it anyways...

I joined in 2005. I missed my 10 year anniversary.

Yeah, I'm not sure what I'm going to do actually... I had a flex joint somewhere around where yours is the last time I built one of these, worked well, but this is all getting weird on me. Either I'm going to abandon this (and scab what was there back together) because the potential cost is getting out of hand, or I will go all in. I'm thinking I might cut the existing flange off the header and weld a V-band flange on it. Why? Because I know it will seal then, and I know it will fit. From there just buy a couple U bends and a flex joint and start building it. This will be really time consuming. It will be costly too. That 'cheap' header is still $250 by the time it gets to me. Figure another $100 for the V-band setup. Then about $80 for bends. Another $100 for pipe (sourced locally I hope). Then I can either drop $400 for a pre-made catback and hope it fits, or buy more bends and a muffler... Hmm.

And before anyone else says anything, design matters more than materials by a factor of 100:1. People went to the moon in something made out of aluminum foil.

Terrible generalization and pretty much just 'wrong.' If we were talking ABS or PVC, yeah, sure. Steel? No. ASTM-A53 standards are for structural rated pipe that is made from carbon steel, and they spec very similar in mechanical properties to A37 steel. You probably see A37 steel in use all the time as angle iron, flat bar, channel, H beams (W-flange), and many other structural steel shapes. ASTM-A53B is actually stronger than A37 by some 10-15%, IIRC. Note, these standards are not as strong as DOM, which is about 100% stronger, depending on exact grade. Steel pipe also comes in other standards for other applications. I don't want to talk about that, because there is a lot of them, and while some are useful and many are not (you can buy T-304 stainless pipe, it's useful for some things, but pretty irrelevant to this conversation). Pipe that is built to a standard will have that inked down the length of it, or tagged, or bundled. Places like Homedepot will probably sell ASTM-A53 pipe, but they may not, go to a real steel yard and you will get the correct type (they typically will not carry any non standard steel pipe as their customers have no use for it). The ASTM-A53 pipe is also very similar to many of the HREW/ERW tubing standards. Pipe sizing is odd, as it is a carryover from 'old times'. You basically need a pipe size table to know what the hell it is. The ones I use most are 1.5" sch40 (pronounced 'schedule 40' and it refers to the thickness of the wall), which is something like 1.92" OD and .145" wall thickness, giving something around a 1.5" inside diameter (how they're actually sizing it), and 1.5" sch80 (thicker wall) and 1.25" sch40/80 and 1" sch40/80. I keep short lengths of the smaller stuff around to use for making sleeves and bushings, it isn't much use for anything else. A pipe bender and dies are for bending pipe, but most of the cheap ones need work to actually function correctly. Generally they're way too wide, and will cause flattening (which is not desirable), so the inside of the dies are best welded up and ground smooth to tighten them a bit. Also the rollers are normally a terrible design and will cause denting, guys replace them with angle iron and other bits, but that's up to you. As to roll cage construction, since somebody brought it up, it's fairly common in the offroad world for HREW/ERW tubing to be used for cage construction. Typically 1.5"x.120 or 1.75"x.120 for a midsized vehicle. 1.25" sch40 pipe is stronger than 1.5"x.120 ERW due to the large dimensions (both OD and wall thickness), and 1.5" sch40 is stronger than 1.75"x.120 ERW for the same reason. That said, SHOULD you be building the majority of a cage from any of these materials? Probably not, but it happens. I see little harm in building certain less critical pieces from them though. The main hoops and "driver safety critical areas" should always be DOM or like material, IMHO. Anyways, in summary, pipe can be used in many places structurally as long as you realize it is what it is. Hopefully somebody actually reads that, rather than having their eyes glaze over and skipping it. It took me a while to type.

If you're going to use a metal brush on aluminum, brass is the preferred type.

Yeah, that was my plan if I didn't get an actual HO downpipe. Summit has them. Cheap, easy. Any ideas if that flange from Summit for 2.5" pipe will fit???

Oh? Well that makes it easier. There's not many parts of the stock exhaust pipe that haven't been massaged to fit it seems, so I always ASSumed it was 2.25".

Actually an XJ thing, but it's the same for what matters in this case. 89, Renix, 4.0L Factory exhaust is scabbed, broken, doesn't fit right, has a 'newer' catback on it that's totally rotten because it was bare steel. Anyways, Renix parts are always harder to come by, and seem to be a premium. So I was thinking I'd massage the intake and install this header: http://www.amazon.com/Wrangler-Cherokee-Performance-Stainless-Polished/dp/B00JA1BGYY?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_act_title_1&smid=A1F86TF7G43XA2 Any experience with it? Reading the reviews on Amazon is mixed. The flange thickness issue is well, an issue, but it can be dealt with by making some custom washers. Obviously there also isn't a bung for my O2 sensor, but on to that... Who makes a stainless downpipe, or 'front pipe' as it seems to be called by exhaust manufacturers, that will fit an HO and have the bung in it? Failing that, does anyone know what flange style can be bolted to an HO header? These maybe? http://www.summitracing.com/int/parts/vpe-1471/overview/(they sell individually also) Is there a flare piece on Summit that will fit the needed donut gasket? Closest I think I can find is for 2.5" pipe: http://www.summitracing.com/int/parts/vpe-2599/overview/ If I have to use that (if it would fit on the header and seal) I would neck it down to 2.25" right away. I do not have any issues with front driveshaft clearance but will have trouble fitting larger pipe from there back. Unfortunately 2.25" parts seem to be much rarer than 2.5". I can buy some U-bends and make the exhaust from the header back if I know what flange and flare will bolt up. Otherwise I'm at a bit of a loss. Buying a weld in bung for the O2 isn't a big deal. I can get everything from there back easily enough if I just buy normal universal parts. Yes, I can weld stainless well enough.

Well, it would probably be about as useful as the OEM part then. I've purchased some Omix stuff, nothing seemed too bad about it... :dunno:

I think you can get them on Rockauto for $70 (Omix-Ada)... They aren't worth that to me, I think they're just a goofy concept that gets in the way of everything.

One of my J-truck piles had them made out of 1/4" ply that was then covered. I think the concept would have been fine IF they had actually done a somewhat decent job of it. They did not. They also welded a craftsman screwdriver to the window regulator to act as a crank, just so this is all in perspective.

Haha, They did that because they're actually out of stock, but Amazon will penalize them for that. So list having one for $10K and there's no risk anyone will buy it, which is good since it doesn't actually exist, and that way they don't get in trouble with Amazon.

The whole thing is a weak link. The housing sucks, but while you can truss it the tubes are still thin enough to dent. The stock axle shafts suck, upgrading them moves the failure point to either the carrier or the ring and pinion. A full case locker guarantees the failure point is the ring and pinion. You could get a nice set of Spicer gears and send them out for cryogenic treatment to try to avoid this, it will still break eventually. Basically you wind up with a really expensive axle that will still break. Do it if you want, I wouldn't.

Two rules I live by that apply in this scenario. Never lift a vehicle more than you need to for adequate tire clearance (and not until sheetmetal mods have been performed). Never lift a vehicle you intend to use to tow with.

Bumping a slightly old thread because I need one. They don't. Totally different shape. Nobody has found a source for a decent price? I actually stripped the power windows out because I prefer manual, unfortunately my donor door had a bad one... Last time I hit the junkyard here they were all stripped. They had lots of the new (97+) style ones though...

Mine are torn. I don't know if they will clean up given the nature of the staining. Basically they were stacked interlocking while they sat in a shed for about 5 years with stuff on them and they are rust stained. I'm going to clean them before I put the covers on either way, but I don't have high hopes. Cabellas sells some for around $20. I'll order them as long as they ship to me.

Links to refurbing them? A junkyard set will be $100. My guy won't sell me the covers only. Would rather just order something on amazon and have it on my doorstep when I get home.

If you convert your Renix to an open system you can use the 97+ hoses. Otherwise you will have to splice T-fittings into them to hook to the expansion bottle.

IMHO, and only IMHO, the HD SYEs for the NP231/242 are a waste of money because they do not, and can not, address the front output. I'd love to see the whole Hummer 242 case, it should have the 32 spline front output in it, like the NP241 does. I used to cut down the hack'n'tap crowd (I still refer to them as a hack'n'crap), but I've decided that the HD rear output really isn't that likely to be worthwhile.

I'm with the warped pan crowd. But it's worth checking to make sure the pump isn't hitting it anyways. Order a new pan, install it without the gasket and make sure the bolts will run up by hand, then check it for rub marks when you take it off. Chances are you have a stock pump and there is no issues there anyways.

The bigger reason for the 8.8 axle's popularity is that they are plentiful and cheap. To me it was worth searching for and finally finding an MJ D44. Do not confuse cheapness with economic sense. If you want 4.10 gears and disk brakes, the 8.8 makes an awful lot of sense, and that's not just because somebody is being cheap.

Image Not Found Here is the amount of tire stick out I have on an XJ with 67"~ wide axles and 17"x9 rims with about 6" of backspacing. Sourcing rims with more backspacing proved to not be very easy, and there's more to the story if one wants it told. If you have to have your tires covered it is a big problem. Granted those tires are also quite wide (13.5"), but even a 10" wide tire wouldn't fix it.