DirtyComanche

2.5s don't make power. But they'll haul anything providing you have the patience - and the same for the guys behind you. Personally I can't stand the 2.5 as it is. I'd probably get bored while driving and fall asleep.

Yeah, I knew that was the appeal. I guess guys run them in their street/strip cars often enough - but I assume they aren't stock trannies? Not that it matters - if I make 250HP I'll be suprised. I have to admit I got converted to wheeling with an auto. It just happens that I could just pull a 4.3/700R4/NP231C all as one for about $300.

That depends how long your links/panhard is and how much travel you wish to see out of the suspension. As a typical LA setup travels the axle only moves forwards and back a couple inches (flex steer is the term) which even with a stock (or near stock) length track bar and a bushing will not have any appreciable bind. Move the axle forwards 3-4", and keep the track bar brackets in the same place, with a bushing I'd definatly foresee some binding - so a cartridge joint would work better there. Buuuuuut - that's just factoring in flex steer. Throw in the horrid castor change typical of radius arms and you might just cause some binding. But, in summary I'd say that for most people it is fairly unnecessary. If you want to spend the money and are going high-end - go right ahead. If you're cheap then who cares.

Just curious.

I dunno how you guys get $100 for your's. $50 is more reasonable around here... And I've seen them with HD SYEs for only $200.

I always take XJ/MJ bumpers off at the unibody. Those bolts aren't torx and aren't as likely to be seized.

It's probably worth that in scrap alone.

I'd either glass bead or aircraft strip them. You want the real aircraft paint stripper. The non-ferrous metal one (ie, aluminum). That is, if you can find it. Which is probably not likely. The generic 'aircraft stripper' does work in its stead. Anyways, it actually works best in a cool place out of the sun - inside a garage for instance. Brush on, let sit. When I say let sit, I mean feel free to wander off for an hour or two if you want. Then take a brass brush and scrub the painted area with it. Then rinse with a hose. One application won't get it all, it never does. But if you scrub it with a brass brush you should only need two at most. Oh yeah, while scrubbing wear some goggles - and a good set of non-latex gloves are nice. Oh, Eagle, AC stripper isn't acid. It's something FAR worse. However, water renders it totally neutral. We strip everything that's large outside on the grass next to the spare parts hanger and our personal aircraft float junkyard... Anyways, it won't hurt your lawn or anything like that - but the goopy paint residue that will be left on it is just kinda gross. And if you want to glass bead them, it'll leave them in a matte finish. Find a u-blast-it and it'll only cost $20-30 at most. It is a pretty painless way to take the paint off though.

Yar. And because of that tire manufacterors and (more importantly) tire shops often have charts which stipulate what size of rim you need for a given tire - and they won't always allow a deviation from the chart. Which can cause headaches.

I agree on bypassing the resistor to rule it out. That's normally what causes that.

One of my friends had one of those blow away on him. It got plastered to the side of a house a ways down the street.

Don't use the flexing thread crap... Well, you can get away with it in the short term - a couple years depending. And if you grease them religiously. But when they fail it ain't pretty.

How about the stock jeep turbines? They don't look bad - and I betcha they'll fit!

Got pinion nuts? They're stovers - and shouldn't be reused. (Hey, there's a factory application of a stover for that other thread...) Anyways, Randys R&P, Reider Racing, etc all will sell crush sleeves. Ask about a crush sleeve eliminator if you want to save some headache (costs about $20).

It'll work with a 33. Quite well. I'd struggle to recommend 4" (or more) BS as you'll probably rub the CAs at full steering. Be wary of fender flare laws.

The shocks will undertravel the leaf springs. Which can cause them to explode, bend, or generally just stop working. That and it won't flex as well. I think Pete's is like that though. Mine isn't, I put new mounts on both the axle and frame side of things so that the 12" (travel) shocks give about 15" becuase of their angle. Now the only thing hindering flex is that the tires hammer the frame on up travel. And that I've got leaf springs.

Yeah... Or you could use a RE cartridge joint, a polyperformance uniball, an evolution sleeved heim (a heim with a poly sleeve) or several others that I can't think of right now. There's LOTS of joints out there. The ones I mentioned have adjustable preload. Johnny joints have to be shimmed with a washer as they wear - which is okay other than you have to get the washer. With adjustable ones you just need a spanner wrench or a hammer and punch (in a pinch).

Is that on a 15x7? Or 15x8?

A stover is a nut that the top is oval. It mechanically locks itself via friction. You can find them in high vibration areas where there is not clearance to run a castle nut. If you ever see a highsteer kit for a D44 - the nuts on the studs will be stovers. Likewise, the nuts that hold the spindle to the knuckle on a D44 are stovers. I can't think of any uses that you'd see on a stock truck.

I was gonna say that if it is just too short, you can use a stover instead of a castle/pin. Not many OEMs use them, but they work fine.

There is no spools or mini-spools for D30s. I LOVE my front spool. With hydro-assist.

Your wrong either way. One is for if you have an AW4/AX-15 and the other if you have a peugeot. I think. Or you're right. I could look at my skids to tell you, if I could find them.

I've never heard of running synth on old seals or gears being a problem. If anything it'll swell the seals a bit. But what do I know, I only did it once (then never did again because $50 to change the oil in your rear end is BS). And the only additives you should ever need is if you have a clutch type LSD. Like the factory trac-lok. Then it's just a generic LSD additive. Most gear oil will even come with it already in it.

The reamer costs about $120. I'd have one other than NOBODY in canada stocks one. They're useful things to have around. Would have saved me huge headaches on the pitman arm BS I went through. At the same time, 15 minutes of reaming shouldn't cost you too much unless you're dealing with a cut-throat machine shop (100/hour, minimum 45 minutes work...).

I'd 'OTK' a stock-height 2wd DD. But that's because I'm insane. If you're steering is all worn to hell, look for a junkyard donor that's in decent shape.