ChiefJosh

88 MJ - 4.0/5spd/31's - Normal acceleration in a parking lot and I munched the spider gears, snapped the cross shaft in two spots. I think there was some play in the passenger side axle shaft that caused it, possibly bad/worn bearings. There was also lots of metal shavings in the gear oil.

Yeah, the shock mount idea saved me some cash too, though I did burn through a few cutting wheels. I wish I could take credit for it, but I got the idea off of GoJeep's website. I ordered a WJ master cylinder and booster that I'll be putting in as well as all new brake lines when I get around to it. This weekend promises to be nice, so that's when I'll get started. I've got a lot of other work to get done this week before I can play with the Cheif.

Does a YJ even have a front track bar because it is leaf sprung? I don't know :dunno:

If it makes any differance, my old axle was the D35, my new one is an 8.25 out of a 99 XJ. So what is the easiest way to double check to make sure the axle pinion is parallel to the t-case output shaft?

I've got two stucks- and both are humbling.... :oops: The first is my 85 CJ, Ozzy (R.I.P.). About a month after I bought it, I was showing it off to a girl I had my eye on, and high centered in a couple of ruts. We had to walk back to the dorms and I had to ask the only other person I knew with a 4wd to pull me out- another girl with a nice Toy truck. Not sure what exactly I did right in all of that, the girl that was riding with me is now my wife...... Image Not Found That is her, standing behind my XJ, about 15 miles from nowhere in Seneca Rocks, West Virginia on Easter Sunday. Me and my mostly bald Goodyear Wranglers got into a sort of predicament. I took us about an hour or so, but we got out. She's a tough one, she pushed from the ditch while I spun snow and mud at her. I really wonder sometimes what she enjoys about going out with me in our Jeeps..... :D Image Not Found This accident almost took my XJ from me, I didn't have collision insurance on it, and I wrecked it, so it sat for about a year before I could come up with the cash to fix it. I screwed up the unibody, so I had to have that pulled back apart, but it drives in a straight line now. :D Thankfully no one was hurt, I pulled that Pontiac into another car, :cry: , it was a ZJ. There's nothing quite like causing traffic to back up on the highway right outside Yankee stadium on a night there's a ball game! I don't think I've ever had so many foul things yelled at me in one night! Image Not Found Image Not Found

So, I'm about ready to weld on my new spring perches, but I thought I'd double check to make sure I was thinking correctly about this. On my old D35, I set it up on some jackstands and put a level on the spring perch. With the spring perches level, and the degree finder placed on the surface of the diff that the cover mounts to, I get a reading of between 10 and 11*. So, if I do the same with my new mounts, level them with the diff case at 11* or so, I should be okay right? I do not have a slip yoke, just using the stock driveshaft, so I do not want to tip it towards the t-case correct?

What it looks like to me, is that the PO snapped off some portion of the stud, then tacked (poorly) a bolt to it. He then spaced the correct amount using the washers, then double nutted it to lock the washers and the spacing at the correct amount. I will gladly not chop up my lower mounts, I just had them laying around, so as I was looking for other options, I noticed them. I believe you are correct, though I didn't measure, that what is left of the stud is not enough to support a bushing if I were to weld a new threaded stud onto it. That was part of why I was wondering about just replacing the whole thing. Your Monroe mount may be just what I need. You have a PM.....

I finally got my leaf spring mounts from Ruff Stuff Specialties, took a little longer than I expected, but they look like they are worth the wait. Plus they sent me free stickers!!! Should be able to get all this welded up this week, a friend of mine is bringing his welder over so I can stick it all together. I've got to fix this upper shock mount too....

So, I finally got around to removing my shocks, now that my axle has been out for about a month or so. I put the wrench on the nut, applied torque, and SNAP! it came off in my hand. It seems one of the PO's poorly fixed the shock mount on the frame. Here's my pics: How can I properly fix this? I've got my old lower mounts which I thought about grinding off the mount from there and replacing the upper with it, but I'd like to know if there's a better way to do this. Or easier. JB Weld perhaps?...... :brows:

This is the best I can do right now, it's before and after I put on the polished wheels and Baja Claws. It's still SUA with an AAL and coils. I bought it that way, so I'm not sure on the actual lift height. Right now it's up on jackstands in the garage, so I can't give you any other pics. Both tires are 31x10.50's, the polished wheels have much less backspacing.

Any other ideas or methods?

The bumper is made by JCR Offroad. They've got some really good looking stuff. Check it out: www.jcroffroad.com

Welcome! :cheers: Unfortunatly for you, the short bed 4.0 in not an uncommon combination here. Lucky for me, I found one for me. Sounds like you've got a great fleet going. It sure is cool to hear about all of the Jeepers there are scattered across the globe, so don't make yourself a stranger!!!! :D

All of you who are running SOA, did you have to replace or alter your ebrake cables? I'm installing the 8.25 out of an XJ, which has two different lengths of cables, one is like 30", the other is like 60". The cables out of my D35 are around 45", I'm just not sure they will be long enough. Any ideas?

So, I'm going SOA while I'm at it. I ordered a set of 8" anti-wrap spring perches from RuffStuff Specialties to try and avoid the wrap problems. I got creative with the grinder and altered my shock mounts, after I removed them from the 8.25, to make them high clearance. Image Not Found This is how she looks right now, ready for a trip to my buddy's shop to weld up the spring perches and shock mounts. I'm hoping to have that stuff done within the next two weeks so I can move on to figuring out the bumpstops, shocks and what I need to do to the front end to make it all match up. I've got a set of these waiting to go in as well, but they don't do me too much good without any running gear....... ;)

Pete, I fixed it, now you can see it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ An update: My D35 that I replaced the spider gears in, blew the spider gears apart again :grrrr: So, I spent the day in the junk yard to pull another D35 from an MJ. My wifey was a great sport and helped me out, even though it was only about 15 degrees out. I thought I looked it over good enough, and I was mostly concerned with the spider gears, only to get it home and see this: :grrrr: After that mess, I decided to throw in the towel on the D35. I found a wrecked 99 XJ that I pulled the D30 and the 8.25 from complete brakes and all, for $200. They're matching 3.55's, so that'll enable me to upgrade my tire size as I desire to do so without paying for regearing. Image Not Found Image Not Found

How do I go about measuring for new shocks? I've relocated the rear lower shock mounts, so I know it's changed. How do I figure out what I need for bumpstops as well?

That's exactly what I'm asking- What do I need? I don't know, that's why I'm asking. :huh???: Do I need long arms or drop brackets?

Anybody else?

Is that for front and rear?

I bought my MJ with a lift already on it- some coils and a big fat short AAL. It rides like crap. In the process of my swapping out the D35 and in the 8.25, I'm going to go SOA. Just by guessing, I think I am sitting between 3-4" of lift, with an aftermarket track bar(non-adjustable). So here's my questions: 1- What were the factory 4wd hub to fender heights? 2- Is there anything else I'm going to encounter in lifting it another 2" or so that will need to be upgraded/replaced/etc? 3- What was the factory make up of the leaf pack? I want to make sure it's all there. 4- What do the factory upper rear shock mounts look like? Pics would be helpful, I'm trying to determine if mine have been altered, they look like they might have. 5- What is the best way to measure for new rear shocks? As I will have moved the lower mounts on the axle. 6- Anybody have pics of an MJ set up SOA with 31's? Thanks in advance- JOSH

Well, I opted to go with the 8.25. I found a wrecked 98? XJ in the yard, it had an engine fire, so both axles were in great shape. The only pain was pulling the upper control arm mount bolts on the front, but even that didn't take too long. So I pulled the 8.25 and the matching D30. The yard gave them both to me, drum to drum and caliper to caliper, for $200. Not bad. Thanks for all your help and opinions-

Thanks CW, that was a great essay. J/K, it was just what I needed. One of my main drawbacks on running the 8.8 is that I'd have to figure out how I'd run e-brake cables. I"m running a 5spd, so that is definately something I want so that I can park on an incline and leave the truck running without worrying about it rolling off somewhere. MORE has a cable kit for this, but it's like $125 for a couple cables. I'm not gonna pay $125 for brake cables when I'm only paying $25 for the axle (either one) from my u-pull-it yard. What type of cables does an 8.8 run? Similar at all to other Jeep stuff, just a different length? Or completely different? What are my other options? I don't want to go into this not having any idea how I can figure all that out. And what's the scoop on the driveshaft? I assume the Jeep driveshaft won't bolt right up to the 8.8, what needs to be done to make it work?

I think I'm leaning toward the 8.25, mainly to stay away from brake and spacing issues. Not that I wouldn't love to have discs, but right now that's just not a priority. Right now I'm running 31's, and honestly, I'm not sure if I'm gonna go bigger til these wear out. Who knows, 32's, 33's, maybe 34's, but doubtful. Does anybody know what gears were offered in the 8.25? Or what packages offered a factory limited slip? Just a thought.

Okay, so I've decided to throw in the towel on my D35. No more messing around. I'll do what I have to in order to find somebody to weld spring perches and shock mounts, no big deal. This is what I want to know- what is the big deal with the 8.8 over the 8.25? It seems like the 8.25 would be easier to swap in- width, brakes, etc. Is the 8.8 that much stronger than a 29 spline 8.25? I'm leaning toward the 8.25, just to stay all Jeep. I doubt I'll be regearing any time in the future, aside from whatever I get in the axles I find. I'll either go 3.55's or 4.10's if I can find em. Any thoughts? I'm trying to stay as economical as possible.