Posts by Bkovey21

  • New Member

    Quote from whatevah

    Guess I skimmed over the 8.8 comments. :D
    Assuming it's the rear shackle mounts, there is a "bolt-on" replacement for those. http://www.hdoffroadengineerin…ackle-relocation-brackets Some cutting and grinding needed, but no welding. Those are under my old XJ now. If you need the front mounts, Synergy sells a set of those http://www.synergymfg.com/Syne…nger-Bracket-p-20685.html Synergy also makes the shackle hangers, but they're a bit more money than the HD Offroad.

    no worries and ok awesome thanks ! I'll look into those

  • New Member

    Quote from altierior


    That day was certainly interesting. In a fashion - by some definition - I would call it fun. I wonder how the rest of the group would classify it?



    I have never had a truly bad day on the trails, especially with the guys in this club. What some people might call 'bad days on the trail' nearly always turn out to make for the best stories, the ones we remember more so than others, and the ones we most fondly recall later.

    haha after reading the first part I was gonna say yeah I bet you'll never forget it though and trouble shooting and stuff is fun! I wouldn't want to wheel at all if I knew 100% I'd never have any problems or break anything. That'd be so boring, I'd just stay on the asphalt for that !


    It really seems like a quality group of guys and I'm looking forward to joining and meeting all of you ! I really appreciate all the help!


    "It's not the destination it's the journey" right?

  • New Member

    I'm swapping the rear to a ford 8.8 and my chromoly 31 spline shafts just came yesterday actually!


    How can I patch the leaf spring mounts? There's definitely some rust there when I crawled under last time and it did catch my eye.


    Yeah I think 4.56 will be fine for what I'll use it for, I never really use it to tow anything and I have no intent on being heavy on the gas, I don't want my mpg to go too far into the toilet


    Nice rig ! Thanks for the advice and help !

  • New Member

    Quote from Slowpoke

    Look at page 255 of the "What have you done to your Jeep today" thread, about half way down the page, and follow the thread from there. You'll see what happened to John's steering box and what he did to fix it.

    Thank you! I'll do that same upgrade to mine! That looked like a really bad day

  • New Member

    Quote from Erock

    im pretty happy with it even though it does run pretty high RPM on the highway. the xj has better aerodynamics, so you would probably be ok with the 4.56's. it may be different for you with an automatic transmission though. Also, my engine is a bit tired, yours is likely a little stronger.
    and im going to echo the above statement about armor. good skid plates are invaluable

    when I plugged my info into grim jeeper it showed about a 4 mph difference at 2500rpms or something so it's a difference but not much. Thanks for the input! And copy I'll get some before I hit the rocks !

  • New Member

    Quote from altierior

    Agreed. Detroit rear and ARB front is my setup. It was my DD along with wheeling it once or more per month for seven years or so before I took it off the street altogether.
    If money were no object whatsoever, for a street-mostly XJ, I would have preferred selectable F&R. I agree with Ian that the rear would simply remain locked most of the day when wheeling it, but for the street (which I assume is where your XJ will be most of the time), you can't beat having the ability to just turn it off front and rear and leave it off. The Detroit is okay on the street for a DD, but open is better.


    I found that my Detroit would chirp the tires when accelerating into a turn from a stop. I think a Detroit on the street contributes somewhat to tire wear and poorer fuel economy to some extent. It also affects handling - it's not too bad and you'd quickly become accustomed to it, but it's another consideration, especially if someone else (wife, gf, SO, whomever) sometimes drives the XJ.


    I'm not trying to talk you out of the Detroit for the rear. As Ian aptly said, ARB front and Detroit rear is a solid combo. I've been happy with it. Just offering my opinion.

    yeah that was my reasoning for doing both selectable. Thanks for the input ! All is welcome

  • New Member

    Quote from clendaniel

    Yeah, that'd be a solid combo....nothing wrong with an aussie but I'd personally consider a detroit stronger. The benefit of the lunchbox lockers is usually if you're not regearing as they don't require touching the gear setup since they use the existing carrier.
    --Ian

    thanks i appreciate it ! I'll think about doing that instead, it's certainly cheaper

  • New Member

    so you would reccomend A Detroit for the rear and arb for front ? Is Detroit generally a higher quality than Aussie ?

  • New Member

    Quote from altierior

    Oh, I didn't see mention of heavy-duty diff covers. No, you don't need additional. Some people like to protect them differently other than replacing the covers. The covers are the best method.
    and yeah, when I talk about the armor being paramount, I mean before taking it wheeling.



    Heavy duty covers come with the ox lockers, but otherwise thatd certainly be something I'd do while i had the whole thing apart.

  • New Member

    Quote from altierior

    Yes and no. First should always be diff guards. Of course, rock sliders. Oil pan and transfer case skids are FAR more important than fuel tank.imo



    Diff guards meaning skids plates on top of heavy duty diff covers ? And ok I'll look into those too. That stuff is easy and can be done once the thing is rolling. Mainly focused on axles, gearing, lockers now to get the thing rolling but I'll definitely armor it before taking it out. Thanks !

  • New Member

    Quote from altierior

    I'm not sure where to start. Wait, yes I do.


    You want to wheel it, but did not mention armor. I'll guess there are elements of your build that you did not put in your described plan, and hopefully armor is one of them. Wheeling an armored stock rig is far preferable to wheeling a naked built rig. IMO

    that's my plan to just get it up and rolling instead of sitting on jack stands for eternity. Tentative armor plans are jcr quarter panels with rub rails and tail lights, diy winch bumper but unsure what as of now, and of course rock sliders and fuel tank skid plate but haven't done research to pick one type / brand over another yet

  • New Member

    Quote from Erock

    fwiw, I have a lp d30 with 4.88s, an ox, and 35's. I don't wheel it crazy hard, but do blacks at rausch and have never had a problem. it depends on your wheeling style. if you want to hammer down and smoke the tires, then go with 1 ton axles. if you are more on the smooth and steady side of the spectrum, you should be ok

    no I'll be creeping my way along, I don't want to go out and break everything in one shot . Do you like the 4.88s better than if you had 4.56? I was on the fence on which to choose and elected 4.56 since it'll be a DD and figured if I needed more gearing I could get a t case doubler or the atlas 2 later on

  • New Member

    Quote from altierior

    You have very ambitious plans. The build you describe is not very dissimilar to mine. I built mine more for the trails, but continued to DD it until (as some DeJA members might here attest) after years of beating the hell out of it, it became undriveable on the street.


    The extensivity of your outlined plan will be expensive, but planning ahead as such will actually save you money in the long run. I am not the only person who did a mild build to their rig, then wanted bigger, and later wanted even bigger, badder, more - and spent a small fortune in the process as compared to doing it that way in the first place.

    Thanks ! I started out planning to spend 2000$ on a lift and tires just to make it look good but then found out it would be crap in a couple of years and that's a lot of money to throw away, so I decided to do a bunch of research and ask around and build a rig that's done right and has some serious capability but without spending boat loads of money.

  • New Member

    Quote from Slowpoke

    I'm running Eaton E-Lockers, but I like the idea of the Ox. Here's a write up on the Ox: http://www.4x4review.com/ox-locker-review/ Apparently the routing of the cable is key, and the cable design has been improved. You can also get an electric actuator that works through a short cable, eliminating most of the routing issues. And there's a tool you can get to lock and unlock at the diff if all else fails. It ends up being more expensive than the E-Locker, but you don't have to buy a diff cover.

    that was one of the articles I read in order to first decide to go with the ox but I figured Air selectable since on board Air is a good idea for tools + airing tires up correct ?

  • New Member

    I might go down to 33s when I wear down the 35s but I got a great deal on them so I just went for it. I'm going to have it all apart so I just need to decide on what to go with. Do you have any opinion on the Hp d30? I've heard and read mixed things about it being fine with 35s and my upgrades and others said that I should leave in stock shafts so they break instead of the ring and pinion. what else would be my option for the front ?

  • New Member

    Thanks everyone for the well wishes!