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PROJECT BUDGET MANCHE - Now on 35's!


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whatever happened to this? haven't seen any updates in a long time!

As Wade stated I got married mid-December, so that has had an effect on things. Not to mention a move in there, and just a lot of other stuff going on.

 

We've wheeled it at 2 GLXJ events, and took it to a Jeep Jambo and it's done very well everywhere.

 

Photo's from those GLXJ events can be found here:

 

GLXJ Summer Fest - http://www.greatlakesxj.com/photogaller ... index.html

 

GLXJ Fall Crawl - http://www.greatlakesxj.com/photogaller ... index.html

 

So to answer your question, have not done anything but enjoy it wheeling. Have a few more upgrades to do yet, but at the moment it's done well just the way it is.

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  • 4 months later...

Not a whole lot of updates as I really haven't had the time to work on it much. I'm not sure how much trail use it will see this summer as we'll probably wheel one of the XJ's as we have a new baby (thus more room needed).

 

I did get some new "bling" for it however. :D

 

100_1954.jpg

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  • 3 weeks later...

That's an S&W Race Cars 10-point Cherokee Roll Cage.

They come shipped exactly like you see it.

 

Hey man awesome rig!

But, you gotta get rid of that Dana 35 and stick

a Ford 8.8 back there my man.

 

Trust me, it's the bed mod you can make.

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Yeah definatly not a S&W cage. It's the start of an exo-cage. Not sure how an interior cage will work on the outside... ;)

 

I'm building a set of D44's for it. It's slow as I'm doing it on a "budget". I'll wheel with the D35 until it breaks. As some on here can attest I'm not easy on it and it's held up thus far...

 

Oh, and a Ford 8.8 will NEVER be in any of my rigs. :roll:

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  • 4 weeks later...
dang you.

Yeah figured I'd have to fight you AND Rebecca off.

 

Knowing her though she'll somehow convince me it makes good on her busted rockers and end up getting it. :roll:

 

I know i keep saying it, but i'll be getting mine soon enough.

 

Did you get to fixin the rockers yet?

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  • 3 weeks later...
May I ask you why? You seem pretty passionate about NEVER putting one in. Is it because of the C clips?

C-Clip, carrier is known to fail with any amount of power applied in a stress situation, pressed in axle tubes, etc.

 

Some argue that since the 8.8" is a semi-floating axle that the c-clips make a big difference. Some argue that they don't.

 

A semi-floating rear axle is one in which the axle shaft does bear some of the vehicle's weight. So in addition to tortional loads, it is required to stand up to shear loads as well.

 

My opinion is that C-clips do make a difference in axle strength. If the axle isn't a full floater, then the stress is spread out across the axle shaft. The axle shaft rides on the outter bearings at the axle tube end and the side gears. The axle shafts neck down at the c-clip and those can break. (I've seen it happen a lot)

 

The other side of the argument is that the c-clips are located inboard of the splines the c-clip portion of the shaft is not exposed to much (if any) torsional or shear loads.

 

Who's right? I think I've seen more broke c-clip axle's tham not...

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Broken Explorer 31 spline 8.8 shafts? Or other C-clip axles like the almighty Dana 35 and the Ford 7.5 (or 7.something)? I've only read about a handful of Exp 8.8 axleshaft failures. If anything failed it was the carrier or spun tubes. Drop in a Detroit, weld up the tubes and go try to break it. :D But really that's another discussion for another topic for another day. :cheers:

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That is what I was figuring you had an issue with. I havent to this date (knock on wood) broken a c-clip or spun a tube on my 8.8 (which has been under 3 different jeeps now, and wheeled under all of them). Each jeep had 35" tires or bigger, FYI.

 

I have seen c-clip eliminator kits (forget exactly what company offered them) for the 8.8 and it is pretty common for people to weld the tubes to the pumpkin. I havent done either of these things. :nuts: Oh and ive heard the c-clip eliminator kits have a tendency to leak :headpop:

 

IMO the 8.8 does more than provide a stronger axle, but also depending on what ford you rip it out of, comes standard with disk brakes (a major plus to any vehicle).

 

I'm not trying to sell it to you, I just wanted to hear your opinion on the matter. :cheers:

 

I apologize if i'm not making sense here, i had shoulder reconstructive surgery yesturday and i'm feeling alittle loopy from the meds :nuts:

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A c-clip eliminator kit can be purchased. It's call the Super 88 kit. It's quite expensive at around $525 (cheapest I've found). It includes 2 new chromoly axle shafts, housings and adaptors, and all the needed hardware.

 

The tube problem can be fixed by welding the tubes to the housing. A lot of people also truss the axle to help eliminate the problem. A 8.8" truss can be purchased from T&T for around $150.

 

Even though that 8.8" has the disc brakes, expect to have to refurb them prior to installing it in your Jeep. The majority of the 8.8" axles found/purchased are from a salvage yard so it's always recommended to refurb them. Expect around $200 in doing this.

 

Also we need to get the axle under the Jeep. MORE sells an 8.8" install kit for $180 (perches, shock mounts, yoke, etc). If you want to use your e-brakes expect to pay another $120 for that kit.

 

The 8.8" diff cover is about as thick as aluminum foil. So a good (and in my opinion needed) upgrade is a new heavy duty diff cover. Expect to pay around $100 for a quality one.

 

Wheel spacers? I'll let you decide if they are needed. I won't factory that into the cost of "upgrades".

 

We haven't even address the fact that it's probably not the same gear ratio as your front D30. So factor in gears. If you've got it all a part you might as well throw a new carrier and locker in there as well. We'll say another $600 minimal for a set of gears and a lunchbox locker.

 

Factor in the original cost of the axle and now you've got a REALLY expensive 8.8.

 

I can build a pretty sick D44 WITH a locker, WITH chromo shafts, and WITH disc brakes for probably half of that money that I can promise you is stronger. Heck I could probably build a budget D60 for less....

 

OK now I realize I went overboard with cost to build a sick 8.8, and a good portion of guys won't dump that kind of money into one. However I think many things do need to be done to the 8.8 to make it as strong as the D44. I'm just saying I think that the 8.8 is kinda a lost cause and money is better spent dumped into a different axle (like a D44) that is a much better starting point. I think the end result for the same money you'll end up with more with the D44 than you would with the 8.8".

 

Like I said prior, just my opinion....

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Your opinion is much appreciated sir. :cheers:

 

I was lucky when I got my 8.8 because it came from a fellow jeeper who had it completly ready to swap into an XJ before selling it to me for around $450. The gears didnt match but I was ready to change the gearing on the truck anyway (put in 4.56's). But your absolutley right about cost, which is a factor often overlooked when preparing for new projects.

 

Do you have a URL for that TNT company? i'm having a hard time finding it on google. :hateputers:

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Definitely depends what the plan is. :yes: For some Jeepers looking to limit it at 4.10s, it's hard to beat an Exp 8.8 (I just picked one up for $110 and it looks to have recently had a brake job), but Lead never stops there. To use a Walt Disney term, Lead is always looking to "plus" it. :D

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Got my new rock rails from Motion today.

 

http://motionoffroad.com/catalog/index. ... ucts_id=67

 

These things are super beefy. They will be tied into the cage (more info on that to come soon evileye.gif).

 

100_1990.jpg

Hey will you do me a favor and tell me what size square tubing those nice beefy sliderz are? I'm going to make some fore mine before I do something worse to the rockerz by the way I dig the truck come out to Utah and do some real wheelin hahaha o and thanks for some of your ideas check out the piece-o-manche site and leave me a line my pictures are small but I'm workin on showing off the goodies when i get some more pics taken
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