DirtyComanche

Yeah, 8" is too tall. I want 6" max, with the hitch in it. I've dragged the hitch and bumper I have a bunch, and I think the S10 bumper is only about 7" tall in the middle and 6" on the ends. The hitch is lower than that, with about a 1" gap between. I'd rather minimize the dragging. If I build it as a step bumper I would have to put the hitch in the middle of the step area, which wouldn't be terrible, but it would be a bit weird. And the license plate couldn't be centered. As a traditional rectangular tube bumper the plate still couldn't be centered, but its easier to weld the hitch into it then.

Also illegal here. The front plate on my JK is cut for the bumper, and you can normally get away with that since at least you still have it. Cutting much of the rear plate will get you harassed, which I really don't need. I could probably trim it to only being 5.5" tall without anyone caring though, which means it would fit on a piece of 6x2 without any exposed edges. Thinking about it more, I might build a step bumper rather than the traditional straight across HSS. But I am undecided as of yet. Technically I also need a license plate light. That's pretty unlikely to happen though.

Is your RC track bar like this? http://www.roughcountry.com/adjustable-track-bar-7572.html Or is it more like this? http://www.roughcountry.com/adjustable-track-bar-1084.html My RC track bar must be an older design, because it is like the WJ one, and uses a heim on one end. It's not exactly like that though. If yours is like the newer one, pictured in the first link, with a tie rod end, it will not work with any aftermarket bracket. About the only thing you might be able to do is measure the thread pitch on the tie rod end and try to find a heim/poly joint/cartridge joint that has the same threads. Typically tie rod threads are bizarre UNEF or even finer threads than that, and nothing matches them. If it's like mine, you should be able to buy any of those aftermarket brackets, and drill them out as needed. I believe the heim they provided uses a 5/8" through bolt. Some cone spacers/misalignment spacers or hardened washers would be needed to take up the slack in the bracket.

The ball joints are very comparable. And the hubs netted you 19 spline outer shafts, unless you went with drive flanges or Yukon Hardcore Hubs. I swapped a Waggy front into my first MJ. I regretted it. Yeah, the brakes are better, the tubes are better, and the wheel bearings will last longer... But for what it's worth, I'd never do it again. If I wanted to spend money, I'd build a Jana 54/60 hybrid. But for the same price as a regular D44, and a fraction of the price of a Jana 54/60, I swapped in a regular HP D60. To do that over again I'd get a Super 60 from a F-Superduty and not have to waste money on 35 spline outers and Yukon Hardcore Hubs (that are a whole other story in themselves). Although the Super 60s are wider yet, so I might not have been as happy with that aspect. All in all, a guy can do what he wants, but everything has pros and cons, and the economics often don't work out the same in reality as they appeared on first glance.

IMHO they're too narrow for any tire size that justifies using them, you're probably running 15x8 wheels with 3" BS? It's not ideal for scrub radius, you're better off with a 64-66" wide axle and running more backspacing to get the scrub bang on. The rear especially is too narrow given how the MJ frame is so wide. Also, personally I hate low pinion front axles, and feel that while the LP D44 is going to be stronger than the stock D30 in the R&P department, the other downsides don't really make it worth it. Well, I hate low pinion rear axles too, but I don't exactly have the money or inclination to do much about that. On my XJ I went full width, then used stock Dodge truck wheels, which are a 17x9 with 6" BS IIRC (something like that), bought Yukon Hardcore Hubs to get 35 spline outers and keep the hubs in closer, and the scrub radius is perfect. Even without the hydro-assist it was easy to steer it, and there's an autolocker in the front. It literally couldn't be built any narrower and preserve steering anyways, and that's with highly modified inner fenders/extreme cutting on the outer fenders.

1-tons have extra complications. You'd want to be running at least 37" tires for clearance. I partially wish I had ordered 40s rather than 37s with my 1-ton XJ build, just for clearance. Plus they're heavy axles, so you will need to do some reinforcements on the chassis/suspension, spend more money on shocks, steering, etc. Weight in general is your enemy. Part of the reason the XJ/MJ generally wheeled circles around everything else in their day was because they were lighter to start with, especially given that they were longer than many of the comparable Jeeps; it makes a huge difference performance wise being 4000lbs with 35" tires vs 5000lbs with 35" tires. But yes, building a D44 vs a 60... 60 almost every day, just as long as you've got the tires to justify it. I already told him I think JK axles might be a good option. Would they be? I dunno. He hasn't said what size tires he wants, or if/how he plans to wheel it.

If you're going to scrap that truck make sure you save the taillights, tailgate, the rear flares, the vents on the cab, the back interior panels, and try to cut the rear window out... Then offer them up cheap in the for sale section if you don't need them. They're all hard to find.

Yeah, ideally find a donor to steal as much stuff from as possible. You might as well snag the front driveshaft too, because then you know you'll have the correct one. The shift linkage for the tcase is different too, I forgot that, I just made my own because I don't like the factory setup. I don't recall the length difference or if there is one. I'd suggest reading through this thread: http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=70388

If I ever tow anything it isn't legal.

My truck has a S10 rear bumper on it right now, and I hate it. So I intend to build a new one. One thing I'm a bit hung up on what to do with is the license plate. It seems 99% of the aftermarket bumpers are made out of 6x2 HSS, or something like that, and the typical license plate will not fit on the bumper. It either has to stick up, or hang down, either of which is a guarantee for it being damaged or snagging on something. Has anyone seen a decent solution? I'd put it on the tailgate, but it just doesn't fit anywhere nicely. I debated building the bumper from 8x2 and tapering it, which would allow for the plate to be hung in the middle, perhaps this is the best solution?

My original Peugeot lasted a long time, but it was the second one IIRC... It never blew up on me, but wasn't sounding very good at the end. Most of them fail in short order if they see wheeling/racing/abuse. The swap is well documented on here, I'd suggest searching for it as I might miss something. It's fairly straightforward though; my current truck is swapped. You need an AX-15, and a 23 spline tcase or 23 spline input gear to swap into your tcase (yours is 21 spline currently). A newer (93+) XJ AX-15 is preferable as it has an external slave cylinder. YJ ones work too, but they clock the tcase to the wrong spot (you can redrill or massage the floor), and I believe they need to be a 95+ for an external slave with them. You need the clutch for whatever transmission you get. Use your original flywheel (I suggest buying a new one though, but one for an 87-91 4L will work). You will need a pilot bushing from a 74ish CJ-5, as the pilot bearings from either setup will not work. Ideally you want the AX-15 transmission crossmember, as it has a drop section in it for the mount that lowers it by about 3/4". I used an AW4 crossmember as I prefer having the transmission/tcase up higher, but I've had to do some trimming in the shifter hole in the floor (and it needs a little more yet). You also need the correct AX-15 mount/mount plate, I made one out of an AW4 version, which also wound up mounting my tranny/tcase even higher. I don't recall if the driveshaft lengths stay the same or not. Like I said, search, or look in the write ups section, it's been covered (the swap is also the same on an XJ, so you can search NAXJA, Jeepforum, Cherokeetalk, Cherokeeforum, etc as well).

I think I'd be wise to replace my front bumpstops and add a little length to them. Is there much difference between any of the ones out there? I've found the Rubicon Express RE1396 and the Daystar KJ09101BK, they look basically the same. Any other brands? Any issues with installing them, or having them fall out after install? Should I just use a hockey puck?

So would be the benefit of a 35 out of a jk vs a 44 from an older ford? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk D30, not 35. The only clear benefits, IMHO, would be overall less weight, perhaps somewhat less complexity of the install, better ground clearance, and better u-joints/outer axle shafts. The JK D30 gear set was upgraded over the prior D30 in regards to how they cut the gears, and the pinion size and bearings. This should make the gear set close to the regular D44 in strength, although this is inferred as the way Dana rates input torque limits makes it hard to know, however there's lots of JKs running around with 35-37" tires on their D30 fronts with minimal failures (after they do some other basic upgrades). The outer stub shafts on a regular D44 are a puny 19 spline. This is intentional, as they intended for any failure to occur in the outer shaft or hub. On a JK D30 they're either 30 spline or 32 spline (the JK D44 are 32 spline for sure). A XJ/MJ D30 they're 27 spline. The old style D44 is a clear downgrade in this department, but it can be upgraded to 30 spline outs BUT you need to buy either Yukon Hardcore Hubs or drive flanges. Most of the aftermarket hubs for the old style D44 suck too (you listening Warn? With your 'premium' overpriced garbage hubs :thwak: ). U-joints on the old style D44 are a 760X type (or 297X, same thing but old style). A XJ/MJ D30 91+ (I believe) are also the 760X. The JK uses a larger joint, the 7331X, IIRC. It will not fit in the old style D44, and it is a clear upgrade from the 760X. That said, you can run some high-zoot aftermarket u-joints in an old style D44 or D30 to 'solve' this weakness, but they tend to be labour intensive (bushing style, must grease daily), and the ears of the yokes will just stretch out and fail anyways because there wasn't space to make them large enough in the old D44/D30. Ball joints are fairly comparable between all of the above. There is aftermarket solutions for all of them too. Short of going to a D60 or bigger there isn't a clear winner. The old style D44 does have better inner Cs. Thus bracing or trussing the XJ/MJ/JK axles is always a good idea. The outer knuckles on many D44s are crap though, and the JK ones will be better. Later XJ D30 ones are better even. The JK knuckle already allows for proper crossover steering without milling/buying high steer arms. The JK axle tubes are weaker than most older D44s, but it's not so clear cut. Ford used a lot of different types, the 78/79 HP D44 with the cast wedges was terrible, and the JK stuff is probably stronger stock vs stock. But there was some F250 HD D44s that used a 3x.500" axle tube, IIRC, I had one of them, and that's in D60 strength territory, BUT it's also D60 weight at that point. In the middle of this is most of the Ford HP D44s and the Wagoneer LP D44, which were 2.75x.375" tubes, which is IMHO a good compromise, better than the JK stuff stock vs stock, but if wheeled hard I would still recommend a truss. I would sleeve and truss a JK axle if running one (the sleeves are cheap and easy to install, I would plug weld them in more places than the instructions say to though). Honestly, decide what you want the truck to do, tire size, wheeling type, lockers or not, gonna jump it, etc. There is no clear answer on any of this, but without defining the intended use and needed strength there is no answer at all.

The odd sized square drive plugs are one of the hallmarks of the Peugeot tranny, as they are a metric size. The Peugeot is also split down the length of the case, that is there is a flange at the top and the bottom of it where the case bolts together. I'm guessing you have a Peugeot. It's unfortunately a piece of crap. The steering can be upgraded using a V8 ZJ tie rod assembly, and a newer XJ drag link assembly. I think I put all the Moog P/Ns to do this in my build thread. Allegedly the ZJ drag link fits too, but I haven't tried it and there seemed to be some debate. The track bar is another animal, and I suggest buying an aftermarket one if you're going to lift it. All the XJ track bars from 87-01 are the same, so no upgrade there, and I do not think the ZJ one will fit or be an upgrade if it did. Make sure you have a D44 rear before you order anything for it. They're much less common than the D35. D35 is an egg shaped cover, D44 is a sideways diamond. Any set of normal non-JK low pinion D44 gears should fit. Yukon, Motive, G2, Dana, etc, will sell new gear sets. You will also need a bearing and setup (shims and seals) kit, available from the same brands. I don't personally like transferring used gears from one axle to another, they rarely setup properly if you do that, but the D44 is a common axle in older GM, Dodge, some Ford, Jeep, IH, etc applications and it would not be impossible to find a set of low pinion 3.55 D44 gears with the carrier. Make sure the carrier is a 30 spline setup, as there is 19 spline (IIRC) applications in older stuff, and that will not work. I'm running slightly larger tires than you with a manual tranny and 3.55 gears. I think it's fine. If I was going to use it as a serious offroader I would get a 4:1 tcase or doubler before I would change the gearing in the axles.

I like that front bumper, real clean looking. When you truss that axle be careful to not warp it.

What are you looking for? A weld on brace for the frame rail? Or a cross brace from the track bar bracket to the other frame rail?

I can assure you that you're missing something. However I'm not sure if you're talking about the rocker lock button on the interior, or the push button on the exterior handle. If the handles break you buy new ones, because they're junk. The interior rocker button is easy, pull the interior panel off the door and reach up from the bottom.

I think even the SWB 2wd trucks used them. I cut up and scrapped a shaft that I think was the original from my truck, as it started as a 2wd, and it had the rubber dampener thing. It was probably 3.5" diameter. Like I said, I don't have a lot of clearance, and I've got a 2.25" (IIRC) diameter retubed front shaft.

I don't know how well/if the RE9905 support brackets fit the MJ... They might be a waste of time because as I understand it they're just bracing the control arm bracket in a similar fashion to how the MJ already is; that bracing is one of the differences between the XJ and MJ chassis. The RE1665 track bar bracket should be a decent piece, you need the RE1660 track bar to go with it. I'm debating ordering them for my own truck. If you're building an all out wheeling rig they aren't the best setup, but they're a good compromise for driving nicely and weekend warrioring.

How close is it? Measure it. LWB or SWB? Mine's about 3" and it's a LWB. It should be a SWB given that it's a SporTruck and the P/N is for a SWB tank. I'm running a retubed (lengthened) front shaft on my SWB, and I doubt I even have 3". I'd measure it but I'm not in town.

How close is it? They're normally quite close... The 2wd driveshaft is a large diameter tube, and if anything else is amiss (rear axle is bent over due to a crash, or the trans is mounted wrong or the mounts are shot) it could easily be too close.

I still haven't figured out Imgur's resizing thing between using my phone to upload and running noscript in my proprietary browser. The forum should be set to automagically limit the image size, but that's a display preference and I'm guessing it loads the full thing then dithers it. If Photobucket would actually still work I wouldn't have this problem. But it doesn't. :rant: About the mirrors, what was on there was already a transplant (I think they were stolen from a FSJ :nuts:). I couldn't find any cheap generic that would work well, and even took some random crap home from the junkyard and looked through the shed. I was left torn between ordering the 97+ mirrors, Toyota mirrors (my soul would burn in hell), these, or tracking down a set of first generation Racemirrors and building brackets for them (to bolt in the stock location). Functionally the 97+ mirrors are better than the early ones, but they're still just a little small for my liking. I would have loved to get a set of the Racemirrors, but the current generation would not work as well IMHO, leaving you to track down used and rare mirrors. That said, I may still barter for a set and try them sometime. They are still the wrong shape to look 'right' on the XJ/MJ though, IMHO. If I peeled the bondo off the doors I bet we could find more holes. :rotf:

Thanks guys!

Looks really nice. :cheers: Plans for mods?

This was actually a couple days ago, when the P/S box blew up. The mirrors loosened up really bad on the washboard and one got knocked off shortly after this picture.