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XJ axle swap/build

themauler said:
Front stretch without moving anything is 2” max for sure. I found the pitman arm to be the first thing in the way after the trac bar.


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Thanks! I appreciate the input!

Took the Jeep out today did some pretty light wheeling as I was alone. All was fine till a couple hours later I’m driving to the next town to pick up a welder, and while driving up a hill I heard a pop and grinding for a moment then I had no power to the wheels. Thought the clutch was toast because putting the Jeep in gear would not hold it in place on the edge of the road. Then we the tow truck the wheels locked up and this confused me because I had to take it out of gear. Got it to a friends house and it is stuck in 4 low now with the shifter in 2hi. Tried to shift it out but no luck, will shift to 4hi position but nothing happens, still in 4low. Looked at the linkage and it appears to be in the correct alignment. I’m thinking I might need to crack the case and see what’s going on.


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GordoSmasho said:
Did you check to make sure the linkage was all tight. If it slipped on the rod it wouldnt shift out of 4low properly.
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I did, and that was good. I tried to shift it manually at the Tcase and it would not shift through all the gears. Tried shifting it and rocking the Jeep but that didn’t work. Also found that it was in 2 low lol. No connection to the front axle. I’m not sure what’s going on but I have a feeling the shift fork may have failed. I don’t have the tools to crack it open where the Jeep is currently parked, but I will tomorrow.
Thanks for the advice Gordo


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DocTremp said:
I did, and that was good. I tried to shift it manually at the Tcase and it would not shift through all the gears. Tried shifting it and rocking the Jeep but that didn’t work. Also found that it was in 2 low lol. No connection to the front axle. I’m not sure what’s going on but I have a feeling the shift fork may have failed. I don’t have the tools to crack it open where the Jeep is currently parked, but I will tomorrow.
Thanks for the advice Gordo


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Definitely the fork failed. Thats a bummer.
 
e5e5d0cbc073c38d64d9a7cace4ba6a1.jpg

What is left of my shift fork. Had a small leak that I keep trying to fix and didn’t realize how low my fluid got. Guess I’m lucky it wasn’t worse.


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GordoSmasho said:
Bingo. Glad you found it when you did man.
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Yes! Lucky for sure! I ended up ordering the wrong shift fork and so I won’t have the right one till Wednesday. So it will get done eventually.

What do you guys think about off-road sway bars? The Currie antirocks look nice but they’re pretty expensive. Found a place that makes them for hot rods but I think they would still work. Here’s the link

https://welderseries.com/Sway-Bar-K...U7h9dNBRV5nVTrTkJvYKLcN_TMlJE3ARoCKlcQAvD_BwE


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DocTremp said:
Yes! Lucky for sure! I ended up ordering the wrong shift fork and so I won’t have the right one till Wednesday. So it will get done eventually.

What do you guys think about off-road sway bars? The Currie antirocks look nice but they’re pretty expensive. Found a place that makes them for hot rods but I think they would still work. Here’s the link

https://welderseries.com/Sway-Bar-K...U7h9dNBRV5nVTrTkJvYKLcN_TMlJE3ARoCKlcQAvD_BwE


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I dont even use one on the road. If you still have leafs in the rear, they do a pretty good job stopping sway. I personally use stiffer springs up front to make the rear work more.
 
I’d just accept the body roll and realize at some point it’s 75% toy and 25% daily driver.

I have the factory sway bars with my 1 tons. I don’t expect to use them when it’s all done.
 
89Mock said:
I’d just accept the body roll and realize at some point it’s 75% toy and 25% daily driver.

I have the factory sway bars with my 1 tons. I don’t expect to use them when it’s all done.
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I agree. Ill be keeping the front on my camping rig because ill have weight up high sometimes.
 
I’m conflicted on the sway bar, it sounds like it’s a nice to have but not a need to have. I don’t plan on doing a roof top tent or having too much weight up high so i provably will hold off and see how it rides one the axle swap is done.
Thank you guys for the advice!


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if you're doing a 4 link with stiffer shocks and or stiffer coils you wont need one. I did not run a sway bar for like 10 years on any rig.

I recently went to an antirock and it did help alot on and off road , but im on 1tons, 3 link , really heavy and I drive it everywhere so I needed some stability. I wouldn't bother with a stock sway bar, if you have the budget, do an antiRock.Like Lou said its some sway bar all of the time Its nice to have .
 
I love my antirock keeps the body roll tolerable on road but really helps it offroad and being able to adjust it is nice too. I ran sierra fest without it and really noticed the increased body roll on the trail.
 
Sounds like it might not be a bad idea to do an Antirock, as I would like to drive my xj to the trails and take it camping etc. What do you all think about not going name brand with the sway bar? I found a place that does them for hot rods and they are almost half the price.

d0a5ee8e4915d46beabbd416bd2c4b0a.jpg

Paint my steering knuckles and the inside of my frame stiffeners so they don’t rust. Also have been working on rebuilding the hubs for the Sterling and the D44.
I have a question for those of you who have Ford D44s, do you need a very large hammer or press to seat the wheel studs all the way? I can’t seem to get them to seat with a 3lb hammer and the rotors are still pretty loose on the hub. Bought new wheel studs just in case too.
Thanks in advance!


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It's been a few years since I did mine, but if I remember right, I just used a lug nut with a short stack of washers for spacing and it pulled the studs right into place with no problems.
 
Rob D said:
It's been a few years since I did mine, but if I remember right, I just used a lug nut with a short stack of washers for spacing and it pulled the studs right into place with no problems.
Click to expand...


Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. I feel kind of dumb for not thinking of that before haha.
It work great and now my hubs are mated to the new rotors. Also was able to spray my knuckles to prevent rust etc.
312f4919e5a284702dbd2be70c028a24.jpg



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Pretty disappointed to not see any more pictures of that Willys wagon.

I still have dibs on that 44 rear right? :laugh3:
 
Phil said:
Pretty disappointed to not see any more pictures of that Willys wagon.

I still have dibs on that 44 rear right? :laugh3:
Click to expand...


Sorry to disappoint you Phil, it belongs to my friend who’s shop I’m building my axles at. I’ll try to get some pics next time I’m there, but that might not be for a while cause of this shelter in place business.
Yeah, for sure 👍🏼


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