DirtyComanche

We'll, you've broken two of the worst parts of these trucks. Swap something better in and you're off to a good start...

Pretty much covers it: http://www.off-road.com/jeep/cherokee/x ... yswap.html

He's registered here, I'm pretty sure. Just we don't exactly have much hardcore tech, so I don't think there's much here for him.

Didn't those things come stock? My 86 had one, unfortunatly I was in a sledgehammering mood and it seemed like the best option.

Webshots won't allow remote linking. Try photobucket. Oh yeah, BrettM's is awesome. Too bad he doesn't ever post here.

$1600 cnd. Wasn't a good deal, however I was in a pinch. It was that or a S10 that had studded tires in the middle of the summer.

At this point I actually think less of TnT customs for having seen those. Maybe I still just don't get it? Oh yeah, I had mad wheelhop with this thing stock. Couldn't tell you as far as with it being SOA, but I doubt it will have improved. Oh, and with mearly an angle grinder and a cordless (or even corded for those in the dark ages) drill you could make those. Sorry.

I wouldn't mind knowing too. I saw those before, and umm, the look like spring plates and bolts. And I don't see how they'd be reducing axle wrap or anything else...

I don't think you could. My spring perches are too wide by about 3/4", and that made if very difficult to get the shackles bolted up. But, you could and just leave the shackles unbolted and resting against the frame. I wouldn't move it by any means other than pushing. Not worth the bother, until you get the toy axle, really.

I made a bastardized spring pack out of two MJ packs. I cut the eyes off the main leaf of the second pack, added to the origonal packs, and stuck the mess back together. It definatly arched them more, how much I don't know. I think the maximum you could get out of this would be about 3". The AALs that go on top of the packs are just ugh. I'd avoid that at all costs. S10s/Dakotas, etc have similar rear springs, which could be a decent donor. You could also run a longer shackle, such as one ment to drop a fullsized chevy. How about some links for the rear? Not into crossing that bridge yet?

Toyota springs are pretty short, like 42~". I think. Least that's what I remember the last time I looked at one of them.

Was aware of the major differences. Too bad the FSM frame alignment diagrams are just alignment diagrams, and don't have measurements for much. Then I could know for sure. Although, from the diagram, it does look like it should be the same, disregarding the welded in LCA reinforcements and the cab mount. That and it snowed today, so, I'm not lying under a cherokee in a 'yard to see if the uniframe rail is wider.

Perhaps somebody might be able to shed some light on this? I've seen it mentioned more than once that the MJ unibody is stronger than the XJ. Before the unibody widens towards the back of the cab, is it thicker than an XJ one? I mean this in did they use somewhat heavier sheet which lead to a somewhat larger external dimension? To clarify I mean specifically the area between the LCA mounts and the cab mount and where the unibody widens. If so, that would explain a bunch of things. If not, I'm pretty certain my unibody is a little bent too ~ too many ditches. It still tracked straight though.

Backspacing is the back of the rim center to the back lip of the rim. Lay something straight accross the back of the rim and measure in the center, to make it easy. Don't ask me what they came with.

Hydroboost uses the PS pump instead of engine vacuum. The benefit is that it can create absurdly high pressures, whereas the stock (any year) vacuum brake booster can only make upwards of ~1200psi (I think, don't quote me). With the vacuum assist booster, it doesn't matter how hard you press the pedal, that's all the pressure it can make. The hydroboost can do 2000+psi without flinching. Another benefit of hydroboost is it will still function if you have an absurdly huge cam, but don't ask me why you'd have that in a 4x4. Don't quote me on the numbers, it's something a read a long time ago.

I ain't got a bed! That's why I said "back", but I guess there's no "in" at the moment. :D Shouldn't be hard to fab up a holder of some kind. I might make one of my own someday when I get bored. Jeep on! --Pete Actually, it's a good idea. Well, the whole using it to ride out when you break part is kidna iffy... Anyways, bungee cords and rachet straps are my friend, I'm sure I could make it stick. Are you a rider? I keep debating buying my friend's 04 Norco Six, actually I've had the thing on testride for about a month now... Too many toys that require money :D

Thanks. That should yeild something.

I ain't got a bed!

Only issue is that the avaliabilty of shafts with 297X ujoints is somewhere between zilch and really poor. I hope I can track down a set for a decent price - gotta hit up the pick'n'pull to see if they even have a newer cherokee/tj. Would a ZJ shaft work?

Not thinking I'll build something fail proof, just something that isn't failure-prone. I wheel alone because I like to, sometimes. I just would rather avoid the whole walking out thing. I've got 35s now, 37s would just be for when I decide I want bigger. Yes, I'm prone to deciding that something isn't big enough. So, I threw it out there as a potential factor. Realistically that won't be anytime soon, the D30 was just bothering me. The 4.0 runs well, actually, and still pulls well. However, it was burning more oil and things were getting a bit rough before I garaged it. I don't neglect it either. That and the odometer read 300000Kms(and change) - which is wrong as the tire size hasn't been stock since the first set, it appears. It didn't exactly have a gentle life either - I'm pretty sure it rarely saw highway. Well, I think I know what I'll do. So, all is good, or close enough to good.

Hmm, more reasonable responces here. Well, I'll think on it some more. Just gotta do something about the unibody though. Otherwise, I guess I'll just keep going, true enough that the money is already spent. Anybody an expert on bastardized unibody repairs? Or should I just be plating it and welding the rusty's kit in - how it should have been done? Oh yeah, not looking for a box. I like it this way actually. I was going to fix mine, but well, that just didn't work out.

I'm at a loss here. I've not actually touched my truck in 3 weeks. I've made excuses as to of why not, being to busy or it being too cold, but that's not the real reason. The real problem is I'm at a failing point as to of what to do. It's depressing. I'm going to try to outline my problems, and my proposed solution(s). Problems aren't in any praticular order. Problem one: The D30. I don't like it. It's compounded by the 8.8, which I also don't really like. I feel the D30 is either going to fail me now (with 35s) or later, as I'll probably try to track down 37s. I'm also quite heavy on the skinny pedal, and probably won't be keeping the 4.0 stock. As the D30 sits, I haven't regeared it, but I bought a R&P, Trutrac, and bearing kit. I'll never use that dealer again either, he was a nice guy but I got a new a$$hole for it. Also, I've got a vac disco axle, and I still have the two peice shafts with the 260X ujoints and all that other lovely stuff. I had a line on new shafts, but that got messed. Basically I'm hesitant to throw down the cash to have it regeared, and then have to buy new shafts, seals to get rid of the vac disco(?) and still have it fail. If it's a shaft failure, I can get chromoly, and kiss away more money. If it's a R&P, then what? Ditch it? Not to mention I'm probably going to eat unit bearings like a fat boy eats donuts. Problem two: The 8.8. I'm in it now, sorta. It cost a lot of money, as they're hard to get here. That is, the disk brake versions. I've bough all new brake parts for it, well, pads and rotors and brake lines. I've realistically got everything to make it work, and it is already in. Shocks need some work too, and I messed with the leaves; so I'll have to pull it all apart or it's going to either kill the leaf packs or not flex. However, I still feel it's rather on the light duty side, possibly partly because it's an in-house ford jobby. Realistically it's not really a problem, and I could sell it now for what I have in it, or very close. I also spent money on spacers (they're same design as the powertrax ones, before anybody jumps on me for that) which I could also recover most of. Problem three: Unibody, grr. Actually, more like "I hate rusty's". I didn't really feel like admitting this to anyone, but well, due to the vaugness of their instructions and model specific circumstances (read, I'm an idiot); I 'accidently' drilled the holes for the LA braces in the wrong spots. One of them 'kind of' went through an internal brace in the uniframe, which leaves me a bit worried. Heck, a 15Km/H collision will probably pretzel this thing, which well, bodes well if you like living on the edge, but I would feel bad if I had a passenger. Problem four: Drivetran woes. I have a tired as heck 4.0, which I have a fair amount of faith in. I figure when it's really on its way out it'll at least be nice enough to warn me. I also have a peugot BA10/5, which was getting noisy before I started this insanity. The NP231 should be fine, so no huge issue. Compounding my drivetran touchiness though, is I dropped a large chunk of change on a TomWoods CV DS, which basically I don't want to have to change. So, I'm in a bit of a bind there, unless I'm willing to play with my wheelbase, which would just be a huge complication. Did I miss anything? Yeah, my doors don't work my paint sucks beyond belief : and I'm still out a cab window (which started all of this). Otherwise I think things are decent, providing you like the sound of an open header and don't plan to listen to music. Solutions: (Need opinons here, or something) 1. Do nothing. Well, as close to 'do nothing' as is possible regarding the circumstances. Either weld pipe into the holes in the unibody, then cover with plate, or what? I WON'T leave it. Just regear D30, pick up shafts with 297X ujoints, phone warn and get the axle disco delete kit, cross fingers. Build up a junkyard stroker (that'll be a fun learner...) and mate it to an AX-15, and hope that the 4.0/BA10/5 will survive till that is done? (I'm not too worried about that) Keep my 8.8. Fix other unmentioned problems (steering rings a bell now). 2. Sell it/scrape it. I could probably part this out and recover fairly well. I could then either start a project the right way, or just move onto something that doesn't involve molesting jeeps. (Hey, I was pretty good at building model trains) 3. Sell D30, gears, trutrac at a rather high loss. Sells wheel spacers for 8.8. Obtain D44 from a grand wagoneer, weld on bracket kit for control arms, etc. Pay to have axle welded up, buy gears, traction aid and pay to have them set up. Buy wheel adapters for 8.8, and a new set of wheels. Wheels are cheap, the shipping isn't. I might have some luck in a junkyard for the 6 on 5.5 (?) bolt pattern though. Fix unibody(duh). Worry about drivetran some other time. 4. Sell D30, gears etc, 8.8 and associated items. Buy axle donor. Say screw traction aids, or get ezlockers or such. Fix unibody. Worry about drivetran some other time. Hope that I can get my pinion length close enough to the 8.8 that I don't need to mess with the D/S. New wheels, or reuse what comes with the donor vehicle. 5. Something else? I'm an idiot? So, thoughts? I worry to much? Few things to keep in mind though. I suck at driving, I'm more than likely to revert to the throttle if I get into anything touchy. I also like using my throttle. I OFTEN wheel alone, and in places that 'remote' isn't even an apporpriate word for; basically your crap breaks and you're walking for 3 days. I also don't like to be the dick that broke when I'm with people. Hmm, I probably forgot things, but you get the point. I'll post this elsewhere too.

You can get/make things to bypass the electronics for the aw4, I believe. However, it would probably be easier to get a donor vehicle (K3000 anyone?) and just steal everything that looks beefy. V8s seem to fit better than the I6, nowhere near as long. You want this thing to be somewhat streetable? Hmm, I'd just be doing a stroker then.

They can be rebuild fairly easily, I hear. I also hear it's not worth the bother as the bore normally gets scratched, so it'll just eat the new seals. Remans are also bad for this.

$75s beyond fair. The D30 carrier split is 3.54 and lower#, 3.73 and higher #. D35 is 3.31 and lower#, 3.55 and higher#. D44 is 3.73 and lower#, 3.92(?) and higher#. You're gonna need new carriers. You can get them out of a yard pretty easy(cheap), or consider a LSD(blah), trutrac, detroit, etc.