Purchased 1St Mj. '87 Metric Ton... But Wth Is This?!

[Bounty Hunter]

Waggy 44 is low pinion. Your stock D30 is high pinion, so even though the 44 has larger gears, the strength increase is minimal. I found the u joints (even the Spicer cold forged solid cross 5-760X were the weak link in my D30. Problem is that D44 axles use those same u joints.

 

So the Waggy 44 offers no strength increase to speak of while lowering your ground clearance from the larger pumpkin. The ONLY advantage would be matching the Rodeo 6 bolt pattern.

 

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.

[Megadan]

^^^^^^ Pre 1978 Ford F100/Bronco's came with a high pinion dana 44 as he mentioned above me.  They are preferred over the 78 and newer versions due to everything being welded on to the axle tubes instead of cast in design.  That is exactly the route I would take if I wanted to upgrade the front.

 

To the OP.  What yearis, and gear ratio came in, your Rodeo housing?

[MancheKid86]

nice build,

i didnt see any mention of welding a cross brace on the frame you chopped,

i would highly suggest if you havent done so to do so immediately,

but if you did never mind

 

keep up the good work!

[DangerWillRbnsn]

nice build,

i didnt see any mention of welding a cross brace on the frame you chopped,

i would highly suggest if you havent done so to do so immediately,

but if you did never mind

 

keep up the good work!

Thanks! I have not reinforced the rear framing yet... I was trying to come up with ideas. Have any photos or suggestions?

[DangerWillRbnsn]

Well, I want to start the paint job portion of the truck soon... which means tons of body work.

 

The doors in my MJ had tow mirrors mounted mid door, and trim holes at the body line. They also had a few dents I would have to work on, so I found a set of near perfect doors locally and installed those. Bonus is that I now get vented wings and smaller mirrors mounted in the frame instead of on the sheet metal.

 

I'll start sanding/straightening sometime this week. I don't intend to make a perfect truck... just reasonably clean and straight.

[DangerWillRbnsn]

After a really good cleaning with the pressure washer yesterday, I'm happy to see that it's actually a really clean truck all over! I found only a small area of surface rust in the driver floorboard and none anywhere else!

 

Bad news is that I now have a start and die situation. Over and over again she starts, and sites right away. I smell fuel heavily.

 

Video.

 

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[DangerWillRbnsn]

Must have gotten water on something during all my pressure washing that froze over night... it started right back up this after noon no problems.

 

Anyway, I started sanding the passenger side of the bed down to bare metal today. Then primed it to keep from rusting. I'll start filling in the small dents and dings this week, and blend in my bed where it was bobbed. I'm thinking I'd like to paint it white. Any suggestions on color?

[DangerWillRbnsn]

Pulled inside to let the truck warm up a bit, decided to spread some Bondo. It's going to turn out nice, I think!

 

Tomorrow I'll install a new track bar, probably start on the rear bumper... and fill in some more Bondo.

[Roost426]

What color are you going with? That was a pretty sweet camo job someone did on there.

[DangerWillRbnsn]

What color are you going with? That was a pretty sweet camo job someone did on there.

Not sure if you're being serious about the camo paint or not... because internet.

 

But the PO hacked this paint onto an otherwise clean MJ. I've had some people like it, and others hate it. Personally I think it looks like a giraffe.

 

I'm planning on white, for now. But I'm open to suggestions. I thought of going back to the factory silver color as well.

[Roost426]

Nah I was being serious I like the looks of that camo, had a nice Desert Storm vibe going. I am partial to blue myself  :thumbsup:

[DangerWillRbnsn]

Nah I was being serious I like the looks of that camo, had a nice Desert Storm vibe going. I am partial to blue myself :thumbsup:

Right on. Well it's easy to do if you have time and $30 for rattle cans. I will be stripping to metal and doing a quality paint job.

 

I also like blue... all of my bimmers are blue, actually. But the MJ had a burgundy interior in great shape, so I'll have to find a color that well fit well with that.

 

Today I started building the rear bumper, I have a ways to go yet. I'd like to ad another bit of plating, angles, and a receiver. It'll get there... slowly.

 

[MancheKid86]

 

nice build,

i didnt see any mention of welding a cross brace on the frame you chopped,

i would highly suggest if you havent done so to do so immediately,

but if you did never mind

 

keep up the good work!

Thanks! I have not reinforced the rear framing yet... I was trying to come up with ideas. Have any photos or suggestions?

 

 

you can just take some square stock, the same size as the frame and put it from end to end of  frame rails,

 

 

 

H3RESQ's thread on it

http://comancheclub.com/topic/26632-project-h3-rescue-2/

[Megadan]

Personally, the right shade of blue would look nice if it was darker.  A good Forest Green never looks bad on a truck either.  I think these trucks would look really good in a deeper metallic Gunmetal grey that had a lot of depth to it.  Big flat panels and deep colors just work well together.

Or you could go the other direction and burn out peoples retinas with a color like Brazen Orange 

[DangerWillRbnsn]

Thanks for the feedback, guys.  I decided I'm going to paint her Silver.  It was the factory color, I love Silver, and I'm pretty sure it'll look classy... which is what I'd like.  Something I can drive around town without looking like a hillbilly.

 

Today I made my drop brackets and finished welding the bumper in place.   It's STRONG.  I'll pull it back off and coat it in Raptor Liner when I have a bit of time and a spot open in my bay at work.  I also picked up a toolbox for the bed.  It was supposed to be an over the rail type box, but ended up fitting between the rails.  I actually kinda like it - although opening the thing is a PITA.  No problem - just another thing for me to modify and paint.

 

I also have to add the arms that will run from bumper to the wheel well to protect all that damned bodywork.  Nothing much to see, but pics anyway:

 

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[DangerWillRbnsn]

Today I made some lower shock mounts. They are fully boxed, and welded inside and out. I didn't take any pics of that process. Anyway, I only had 1" of uptravel with the previous setup (bolt welded straight to the axle tube). That was no good, as the shock would bottom out even hitting bumps on the streets.

 

Now I get a healthy uptravel, and plenty of articulation. Here's a quick pic... the front swaybar is still connected.

[Crash]

Question for the op, I know that the rodeo 44 is spring under from the factory, do you remember if the width was the same as mj?

[DangerWillRbnsn]

Question for the op, I know that the rodeo 44 is spring under from the factory, do you remember if the width was the same as mj?

Mine is from a 94/95. It is narrower than our stock axle by probably 3". I chose this one on purpose so that I could run adaptors and get my 5 lug bolt pattern back without having the rear tires sticking it a ridiculous amount.

 

The 96+ isuzu axle is wider. I am 100% positive this 94/95 axle would not fit into an XJ. My spring perches are out to the very end of the axle in the MJ. The XJ axle perches sit out wider.

[DangerWillRbnsn]

Scored a WAGGY front nose panel today!  Will post pics when it's installed.  I need to work out a minor issue with the center fiberglass support being cracked.

[Crash]

My bad. I was on my phone late at night on vacation. Was the spring perch width the same? I know the logistics of the rest. I have a chance to pick up an earlier model, like yours. Was just curious about the spring perch width.

 

Question for the op, I know that the rodeo 44 is spring under from the factory, do you remember if the width was the same as mj?

Mine is from a 94/95. It is narrower than our stock axle by probably 3". I chose this one on purpose so that I could run adaptors and get my 5 lug bolt pattern back without having the rear tires sticking it a ridiculous amount.

The 96+ isuzu axle is wider. I am 100% positive this 94/95 axle would not fit into an XJ. My spring perches are out to the very end of the axle in the MJ. The XJ axle perches sit out wider.

[DangerWillRbnsn]

Oh, gotcha. No the perch width is different. You'll have to cut of the old ones and relocate then to bolt you too your MJ. The perches sit all the way at the end of the tube near the brakes on mine.

 

You'll like the early axle, you can run a good adaptor to keep the 5 lug pattern and your track width will be perfect.

 

 

My bad. I was on my phone late at night on vacation. Was the spring perch width the same? I know the logistics of the rest. I have a chance to pick up an earlier model, like yours. Was just curious about the spring perch width.

 

 

Question for the op, I know that the rodeo 44 is spring under from the factory, do you remember if the width was the same as mj?

Mine is from a 94/95. It is narrower than our stock axle by probably 3". I chose this one on purpose so that I could run adaptors and get my 5 lug bolt pattern back without having the rear tires sticking it a ridiculous amount.

 

The 96+ isuzu axle is wider. I am 100% positive this 94/95 axle would not fit into an XJ. My spring perches are out to the very end of the axle in the MJ. The XJ axle perches sit out wider.

[Crash]

Which adapters are you running? I actually have a set of aftermarket 6 lug wheels that I could run. Have considered a 44/6 front to match if I do not run spacers. As mine sits right meow it is 2wd and no rear axle. haha. 

 

Oh, gotcha. No the perch width is different. You'll have to cut of the old ones and relocate then to bolt you too your MJ. The perches sit all the way at the end of the tube near the brakes on mine.

You'll like the early axle, you can run a good adaptor to keep the 5 lug pattern and your track width will be perfect.
 

My bad. I was on my phone late at night on vacation. Was the spring perch width the same? I know the logistics of the rest. I have a chance to pick up an earlier model, like yours. Was just curious about the spring perch width.

 

Question for the op, I know that the rodeo 44 is spring under from the factory, do you remember if the width was the same as mj?

Mine is from a 94/95. It is narrower than our stock axle by probably 3". I chose this one on purpose so that I could run adaptors and get my 5 lug bolt pattern back without having the rear tires sticking it a ridiculous amount.

The 96+ isuzu axle is wider. I am 100% positive this 94/95 axle would not fit into an XJ. My spring perches are out to the very end of the axle in the MJ. The XJ axle perches sit out wider.

[DangerWillRbnsn]

I am impatient. The truck is in multiple colours anyway... I mounted the waggy front panel. It is plug n play for anyone interested. To my surprise, the light output is WAY better than my stockers!

 

[DangerWillRbnsn]

Couldn't help myself. Today I went back and got his front seats, door panels, wood grain dash, center console, and a few other goodies. Cheromanche Wagoneer?

[DangerWillRbnsn]

Anyone know if I can get XJ power bucket seats into a bench MJ?