Randerson88 Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 I have a 1988 comanche pioneer that I just dropped a crate motor in and will be lifting soon. Pics coming. I'm thinking 5" on 33's cause it is my daily driver. I have a couple questions, I definitely want a nice suspension lift, nothing cheap that's gonna complicate things and not sure where to find one for a comanche. Second, I know the Dana 35 rear end isn't very strong so can it be built up or would a different rear end be a better route? I am somewhat on a budget. Trying to sell my other rig for $3500 and that's about what I'll be working with. Any help is greatly appreciated. Also let me know if this is in the right section as I am new to posting on here. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattwheels Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 throwing money in the d35 is a waste, see if you can get either an 8.25, d44 or 8.8. As for the the lift I just did a 5.5inch lift following Alexia's you'll have to find deals on the drop brackets and a few of the other parts, Right now the drop brackets are on sale on Amazon for 173$ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeep Driver Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 8.25 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee21490 Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 throwing money in the d35 is a waste, see if you can get either an 8.25, d44 or 8.8. As for the the lift I just did a 5.5inch lift following Alexia's you'll have to find deals on the drop brackets and a few of the other parts, Right now the drop brackets are on sale on Amazon for 173$ You can still get that entire lift setup for damn near the original cost, Just have to google a few minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 I've got a set of brand new RRO Mj specific drop brackets that I decided not to use because I'm not lifting my truck any more. If you're interested let me know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randerson88 Posted February 7, 2015 Author Share Posted February 7, 2015 Is there a lot of fabrication swapping in a different rear axle and making everything work? Also what gear ratio should I go with? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattwheels Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 for an 8.25 you need to cut the old perches off, weld new ones on. Same with an 8.8, if you're lucky you can find a mj dana 44 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunnc1991 Posted February 8, 2015 Share Posted February 8, 2015 Is there a lot of fabrication swapping in a different rear axle and making everything work? Also what gear ratio should I go with? Gear ratio depends on your motor/trans setup. I'd run a 29 spline 8.25. Fairly cheap, common, and not over priced like a D44, which really aren't anything too great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incommando Posted February 8, 2015 Share Posted February 8, 2015 You could do an SOA on rear for your lift as it is no more work if you are swapping axles anyway. 5.5" on the front is a good starting place to match the rear. The best bang for the buck may be staying SUA and going with the zone 4.5" lift. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randerson88 Posted February 8, 2015 Author Share Posted February 8, 2015 Okay so what all goes into a lift kit, And where can I get one for a comanche? This is my first time building a wheeler and I don't want to mess it up because I have wanted a comanche since I was a little kid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy Posted February 8, 2015 Share Posted February 8, 2015 Depends on how you want to do it. Long arm, drop brackets, just longer arms to stock location, soa, sua with taller leafs, sua with longer shackles... You'll want a decent adjustable track bar, longer shocks, springs, correct bumps. If you go CAD you'll probably want adjustable control arms. In the rear I personally would stay sua and get hell creek 3 inch leafs and then some longer shackles. And of course shocks. There are a lot of kits. For the most part Cherokee xj fronts will work, rears are different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motorcharge Posted February 8, 2015 Share Posted February 8, 2015 I wouldn't even bother with anything but an 8.8 or an MJ D44. Same amount of work as an 8.25 for an 8.8 and they're significantly stronger. In hindsight I'd have done that with an SOA swap rather than drop $500 on the HC 4.5" leaf springs. Flatter springs will ride and flex better and it's significantly cheaper than the HC springs are. Get some 5" coils for the front, adjustable control arms, some Bilstein 5100s and you've got a pretty cheap 5" lift. Spend the money on building the axles and upgrade the steering. At a minimum for 5" you're going to need coils, shocks, brake lines, control arms (you want adjustable, much better for fixing caster angle), and leaf springs or shackles. Suspension and steering are the same on Cherokees and Comanches in the front. Cherokee shackles will work in the rear, but whatever size they say they are they'll be an inch to an inch and a half less on a Comanche. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy Posted February 8, 2015 Share Posted February 8, 2015 I bought Chevy brake lines from rock auto. Longer, OE quality, cheap, easy to find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dasbulliwagen Posted February 8, 2015 Share Posted February 8, 2015 At 5 inches you WILL need an adjustable track bar as well. Don't mess with transfer case drops or drop pitman arms. You won't need them. Your driveshafts should be OK too but will need new U joints. If you're not going off road I would get the control arm drop brackets and a set of upper and lower WJ control arms. You'll save money by going spring over axle in the rear with a new axle but if you're not going off road the Dana 35 will live just fine for a while, but if you go right to 33's you'll need regeared. The 8.8 Ford axle can be had in 4.10 and 4:10 Dana 30 fronts can be found as well if you don't want to actually do re gearing. Swap the correct geared axles in and hut the road. The Chrysler 8.25 will be all but impossible to find with 4.10. 3.73 was pretty common in those but the you probably won't find a 30 with those gears. Do your research and ask questions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motorcharge Posted February 8, 2015 Share Posted February 8, 2015 You'll save money by going spring over axle in the rear with a new axle but if you're not going off road the Dana 35 will live just fine for a while, but if you go right to 33's you'll need regeared. The 8.8 Ford axle can be had in 4.10 and 4:10 Dana 30 fronts can be found as well if you don't want to actually do re gearing. Swap the correct geared axles in and hut the road. The Chrysler 8.25 will be all but impossible to find with 4.10. 3.73 was pretty common in those but the you probably won't find a 30 with those gears. Do your research and ask questions. There's no need to regear on 33s unless you're doing a lot of highway miles, but even then it's a waste of money to regear a D35. Both my MJ and XJ are on 33s and 3.55s and they just feel like driving a 4 cyl instead of 6. Definitely not worth spending $1000+ to regear on an axle you're going to get rid of anyway. Around here I can find an 8.8 with 4.10 gears for around $100 no problem and spend another $100 or so on the swap. Much better off spending a couple hundred on an 8.8 and matching the front for another $500 or so. I bought Chevy brake lines from rock auto. Longer, OE quality, cheap, easy to find. Same. I'll see if I can't find the part numbers. I only spent like $30 for both sides at Napa and they're significantly longer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy Posted February 8, 2015 Share Posted February 8, 2015 I'm running 33s on stock gearing and it's fine. Not as peppy but I cruise 60+ fine. I'll regear when I do the 8.8 swap. Or find a 4.11 8.8 since the 3.55s aren't too bad now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incommando Posted February 8, 2015 Share Posted February 8, 2015 32's on 3.55's. Does fine off and on road. Not optimal for either but as I do not do strictly one or the other. I love how the "conventional wisdom" is that on 31's your jeep performs like new but on 32's it will suck and should be crushed. lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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