DirtyComanche

People do both for everything. I just figure it's a wth either way. If you're talking avaliable stock trannies the AW4 is a better choice than the AX-15/NV3550; and if you don't like the way it behaves PM brettM and buy one of his shift controllers. For heavily modified (ie. all that's stock is an emblem or a couple peices of sheetmetal) then it is far more of a tossup. SM420/465s and NP435s both have a great first gear (all around 7:1) which really helps if you plan to rockcrawl. Throw in a doubler and a 4:1 tcase and some low gears in the diffs and the next thing you know you can dump the clutch from idle with the brakes on HARD and not stall. But there's a lot of bulletproof autos out there and then you don't have to think about things as much and you don't need an absurd crawl ratio - just a really good tranny cooler. With an auto more wheelspeed is just a matter of hammering the throttle - it'll shift up if you have no traction. One thing that is nice about a standard is being able to get into neutral easy. A friend of mine missed neutral - went all the way to park - and went over backwards because of it.

I'm going to stir the pot full of zuki guys with that on my local board.

Just jack the damn thing up and grab the tire and see if you can wiggle it all over the place. I've seen a case that looked as bad as that, and it was the unit bearings. Although, dying ball-joints could also contribute.

They did away with the switch. Went perma-power. Mmm, 1990? Or was it when they brought in the HO. My 89 XJ has it. I always leave it in power. Doesn't make much difference, other than it feels more like a slush-box in comfort and I HATE slush boxes. Anyways, the HoHo gets worse milage because there's no nock sensor so the timing follows a fixed curve. Which is retarded.

Yeah, like me.

It's something like that. A friend of mine with a YJ just got a 91? I think, and it was kingpin. It worked well for him because of the greater offset - he took about 6" off the tube on the passenger side.

Uh, nice colour choice.

I'd buy the adapters. Looking at the price it isn't worth it for the taps. Especially if you want to run the 3/4-18 thread or whatever it is that the chevy TREs run - it is WEIRD.

Do both. Use the ford centre section and inner shafts and the chevy outer knuckles and outer shafts. I believe the newer ford HP60s (before they became unitized hubs, but still had kingpins) have the pumpkin offset far enough that you shouldn't have any real driveshaft clearances.

Heim wear is an issue if you DD it or spend a lot of street time. They'll last 'long enough' in a trail only application. As in you'll probably decide to rebuild the rig before they will actually wear out. That is providing you run the ones with an insert (teflon or such). But, for the money you can get some nice chevy 1/2 ton TREs. The ones everybody tries to sell as being 1-ton....

As far a lift... It can handle about 6". It won't work right, but nothing will be bound. At least, not at static height. It is weak and poorly designed. Upgrades get expensive. JCRoffroad makes a nice setup.

Yes, I agree on the 203/205 being too heavy. I'd never be able to break it, but I haven't even managed to break my peugeot. But, I'm leaving towards trying to make things really light. I just need more money/time and my MJ is going to lose a few pounds. Like, 1500.

You can get a 15" rim to fit. It involves an angle grinder and LESS than 2" backspacing. Alternatively you can steal some knuckles from a ford 1/2 ton D44 and use them to run a more normal brake setup.

My winch is under the rad. I think the box4rocks is the bang for the buck NP231 to whatever doubler. The madrooster one is expensive and not as good. Or it is the other way around? Either way it's not a bad idea. You can put the 241 planetaries in the first case if you have strength issues. I'd not run a 231 as the second tcase. But a 241 might survive. Or a D300 would be better.

I'd wonder how much wound up being in it. I guess it would be as easy as narrowing an axle other than the outer stubs would probably have to be splined 'differently' which ultimately would probably lead to all new shafts. That's assuming that mogs don't use a closed knuckle CV or anything like that - I'll admit I know little about them. That still leaves the brakes/bolt pattern too. Although, one can run what's there. But I'm not into 20" rims and 4-wheel drum brakes. It does make me think though. Unfortunatly the Canadian military won't be surplussing mogs or their parts anytime soon. Or maybe that's for the better that they don't.

Mmm... Measure the ones you've got, then go to a parts store and demand the monroe parts cataloge. Get ones that are 1-2" longer with the same end style. If they won't give you the cataloge, swear at them then look for it with google.

Yeah, and I've heard a welded D35 is right up there with a D70. Jeepspeed guys run D30s because they have to. They truss them or they'll be smiling in no time. Only the highly modified classes allow any other axle type - a bunch of them swap in ford TTB or a custom IFS. A truss in a front application matters if you're really hammering weight on it (dropping vehicles weight on it, ask Pat about his driving style for example). It doesn't do anything for the patheticness of the R&P, unitized hubs, axleshafts, ball-joints, knuckle design, gear carrier, etc. Yes, some of these things you can upgrade, others you can't. Some of them when they fail leave you really screwed. I know people that have had failures on 32s. Not fatique failures - plain old 'she broke' failures. That said I know of a lot of people who run 37s, 38s and even 39s on them. I think they don't know how to drive.

If you want my opinon, I think it's hack. But that's me.

The wrangler yoke is the same length. But, it has more offset in the yoke ears so the joint can travel farther. Ask BrettM if you want a picture...

Unless you run a rubicon front (total waste of money) you can't keep the 5x4.5 bolt pattern. Waggy D44s are common.

I dunno that there's a good proggy to do that, but I'd not be too worried. If you actually want lots of feedback or exo ideas, I'd talk to the 'yota guys. I know their brains have been warped by trying to break the 100HP envelope with their 22Rs, but they still know how to build a cage. Sometimes. But yeah, the trucks are similarily shaped and dimensioned.

Good. Just about lost some of my dinner.

Mogs aren't the inital price thing... They get you later. Pinion conversion, brakes, narrowing or dealing with clearance issues...

Do you want to run doors? You can't with his cage. To design it to be as strong as that and still have working doors gets a bit trickier.

Betcha I could rip those mirrors off in about 2 minutes...