Bounty Hunter

Still need the small vacuum canister?

Still need?

It's used primarily on d44 axles to set balljoint preload, the amount of force required to turn the steering knuckle. You can also get them with an offset to adjust for camber and caster. Not always the proper method but wth.

You can remove the 4 bolts and remove the vacuum disconnect from the front axle. Engage the shift collar to lock the two axleshafts together. Install the vacuum disconnect upside down and it will hold the shift collar in the locked position. Done.

There are MANY more advantages to a Waggy 44, such as larger brakes, serviceable bearings, locking hubs, better high-steer options, stronger axle housing, lower gearing options, and more locker options. I run one to match my 'Zu rear. 6-lug wheels are cheap and plentiful. Sure switching to low pinion is a disadvantage, that's why I'm narrowing two Ford HP44's to run Waggy shafts.

Not exactly accurate. I have seen a couple of 8.8's fail and lose an axle shaft in person and know of more. So they 8.8's you witnessed break were due to the c-clips? Or they broke a shaft and the axle walked out because it's a c-clip axle? Would take quite a side load to break 'due' to c-clips.

Good chance the input shaft will not be long enough to reach the seal in the auto.

Not true. You're thinking of side-post batteries. The studs on a blue-top Optima are adjacent to the top terminals and they're fine for heavy loads such as winching.

I've never seen anything available for a 2.5L TBI. I've rebuilt my 2.5L TBI throttle body and there isn't much metal there to remove. Now if it's a '91-'04 throttle body, I make 62mm throttle bodies and spacers. Professionally machined.

I've had a good experience with my two Blue-top Optimas. The additional stainless threaded studs on top are great for attaching the winch and other accessories.

I love my manual for tight trails, being able to clutch and roll back for tight 2 and 3+point turns is far easier than brake, shift, brake, shift, brake, shift, of an auto. Auto's are much more prone to water contamination, and go against the KISS method of keeping things simple.

I use a wire brush, then follow up with brake cleaner on a rag to clean all the sealing surfaces. Use the RTV very sparingly, 1/16" bead and spread flat with your finger.

Wrangler cases are clocked differently, but the difference is where the holes are drilled on the trans, not on the case. Wrangler cases are clocked differently due to the attachment holes in the transmissions being different between Wranglers and XJ/MJ's. The bolt pattern on the front of the transfer cases is the same between Wranglers and XJ/MJ's. So don't worry about a transfer case that comes out of a Wrangler, what you need to pay attention to is input shaft type and rear output length, as they were different lengths over the years.

Your adjustment should be a happy compromise between pinion angle and caster. You may need to run slightly less caster than ideal to get a good pinion angle that doesn't vibe. Since both your UCA and LCA are adjustable, keep an eye on wheelbase and where the tire is in the wheelwell. You may need to change the length of the UCA's as well to get the wheelbase where it needs to be along with the proper alignment specs.

I run BTF high-steer arms on my Waggy front, they're reasonable priced and clear my RE SOA springs just fine. I run TRE's, not heims. You'll need a passenger side flat-top knuckle minimum, unless you want the tierod over the springs too, then pick up a DS flat-top knuckle. The DS flat-top is plentiful and cheap, the PS is a little more rare and costs a little more. Whether you go with the Waggy axle housing or the full-width Ford, you can use the same GM/Jeep flat-top knuckles designed for disc brakes. You can use GM/Jeep parts from the knuckle out on either axle housing. The big benefit of the '78/'79 Ford F250 d44 is the thicker axletubes and high pinion. I'm narrowing two Ford d44's to Waggy width to run Waggy shafts for these two benefits alone.