44s & a 3 link

[twodoorXJ]

Recently i ran into a little bit of money, sold this honda accord i bought, and made 1500 bones profit...Jeep money

So i found some wagoneer 44s on craigslist, they were out of an '89, but they had been swapped into a YJ. The front has warn lockouts, 4.88 gears, and a mini spool. The rear has 4.88s and a mini spool. I paid 800 for the two of them. Oh yea, the guy threw in a 3/8s hd dif cover too

Here are the axles when i first picked them up:

Gears:

Okay, so here are my plans.

For the upper link ill be using:

-7/8s ruff stuff heims

-1.5 inch ID .25 wall DOM, probably going to be sleeved, i need to do more research.

Lower links

-(2) 1 1/4 ruff stuff heims

-(2) ballistic fab poly bushings

-1.5 ID .25 wall DOM, possibly going to be sleeved with 2 inch ID DOM, not sure on the width yet. I still need to do a little more research.

Axle Bracketry

- Ballistic Fab Coil buckets, with LCA mounts, and shock mounts. http://www.ballisticfabrication.com/Link-bracket-coil-spring-shock-mount-combo_p_1461.html

- Im going to be re-using a trackbar mount that i have, and most likely the trackbar itself too.

-Barnes 4wd, adjustable link tower. http://www.barnes4wd.com/product_info.php?products_id=2400

"Frame" Bracketry

- Ballistic Fab link mount http://www.ballisticfabrication.com/Heavy-Duty-Frame-Link-Mount_p_1511.html

- Ballisitc Fab upper/lower link bracket http://www.ballisticfabrication.com/Dual-frame-link-mount_p_1164.html

They will both be welded to HD offroad engineering Frame stiffeners.

Steering

-JCR OTK knuckle steering, and eventually chevy flat-tops and true high steer.

Im planning on a ~31' lower and a ~31 inch upper, Should keep the pinion pointed at the output on the t-case even at full droop. Around 8 inches of vertical seperation at the axle, and around 3-4 at the frame.

For all of the welding, ill be using my Marquette 220v with 75/25 gas, and .030 wire.

Practice welds:

I have all of my "junk" on order, i hope to start fabricating by this weekend.

The only progress i have on the axles, is that they are both stripped of their old YJ SOA brackets, they still need to be ground down to bare metal though.

Grinding/ cutting sucks in this weather, all the sparks stick right to my sweaty skin.

I guess ill throw in a before shot of my XJ, once im done, its gonna have 35 inch MTR/kevlar, and soft 8s (the official rim of jeepforum)

All comments, questions, criticism, concerns are welcome.

This is essentially shortxjdougs old setup. I saw his setup on his old woody waggy, and decided it was good enough for my rig.:greensmok

 

[twodoorXJ]

Welded up my barnes 4x4 link tower today.

How do my welds look?

Yes, i did fix the weld all the way to the right.

Frame stiffeners came today.

 

[Stukboy]

Looks nice so far.
Check out my thread.

http://naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1015215

I didn't put details about where I got my stuff but a lot was from Ballistic and Blue Torch.
Stiffners from HD Offroad.

I think I have the same brackets but your links don't work.
Good luck and can't wait to see more pics.
Stukboy

 

[twodoorXJ]

Looks nice so far.
Check out my thread.

http://naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1015215

I didn't put details about where I got my stuff but a lot was from Ballistic and Blue Torch.
Stiffners from HD Offroad.

I think I have the same brackets but your links don't work.
Good luck and can't wait to see more pics.
Stukboy

I saw your thread a while back.

And yes we have the same coil bracketry, how do you like yours?

 

[XJLI]

tire size?

with spools front and rear you need hydro assist.

 

[twodoorXJ]

tire size?

with spools front and rear you need hydro assist.

Im going 35' MTR/k

I forgot to mention it in the first post, but im going to get rid of the spools and go with lunchbox lockers.

 

[XJumpmaster]

You will still want hydro assist.

 

[XJLI]

Im going 35' MTR/k

I forgot to mention it in the first post, but im going to get rid of the spools and go with lunchbox lockers.

werd. thatll be better, i reread and saw they were mini spools. good luck with the build mang, sounds good.

 

[Wiser]

Im going 35' MTR/k

I forgot to mention it in the first post, but im going to get rid of the spools and go with lunchbox lockers.

Run a spool in the front and a lunchbox in the rear. Your turning radius will suffer a little with a spool but it is expected since both tires will be turning at the same rate. For a steering box look into a Durango steering box and a PSC pump or grand Cherokee 4.7l pump. With that steering set up you will be able to turn those 35's with a spooled front no problem.

 

[Wiser]

tire size?

with spools front and rear you need hydro assist.

Does this also pertain to ARBs?

 

[twodoorXJ]

Run a spool in the front and a lunchbox in the rear. Your turning radius will suffer a little with a spool but it is expected since both tires will be turning at the same rate. For a steering box look into a Durango steering box and a PSC pump or grand Cherokee 4.7l pump. With that steering set up you will be able to turn those 35's with a spooled front no problem.

I actually need a new steering box anyway, mine leaks like a sieve. I know i could just replace the seal, but id rather get a new better box anyways.

Does the WJ pump need anything else to install or is it all bolt in?

 

[Lowrange2]

You will still want hydro assist.

Why? I can turn mine with my index finger with the same set-up... stock steering box with high steer...

 

[XJLI]

Does this also pertain to ARBs?

when you can switch from spool to open by hitting a switch, it gets fairly easy to turn.

 

[Wiser]

I actually need a new steering box anyway, mine leaks like a sieve. I know i could just replace the seal, but id rather get a new better box anyways.

Does the WJ pump need anything else to install or is it all bolt in?

I believe it's a bolt in affair, u just need to plug one of the return lines.

 

[XJLI]

I believe it's a bolt in affair, u just need to plug one of the return lines.

yup, i didn't have much luck with it, the PS eventually fluid ate through whatever i plugged it with when i had one on my old xj

 

[Wiser]

yup, i didn't have much luck with it, the PS eventually fluid ate through whatever i plugged it with when i had one on my old xj

Damn that sucks man, I just bought a napa oe xj pump and did the west Texas mod and a yj box. For 35s so far so good.

 

[Stukboy]

I like the brackets so far. I have air shocks for it so at some point that stuff is going away.
I run 36s and dont have issues with turning but my steering box is already tapped for hydro assist and I have the ram. Just need to mount it. I have caps on the in and out ports until I get around to it.

I run a spool in the back and a lock right up front. I also run 4.88s an I have alloys up front.
I've had this set up for about 8 years and haven't had any problems with it.
Stukboy

 

[Stukboy]

One thing I regret and will change at some point.

The crossmember I made has the lower link mounts incorperated into it so if I have any trans issues and need to pull it I will have to drop the entire front end because it's connected to the cross member.
That was a DUH moment after the fact.
Stukboy

 

[twodoorXJ]

One thing I regret and will change at some point.

The crossmember I made has the lower link mounts incorperated into it so if I have any trans issues and need to pull it I will have to drop the entire front end because it's connected to the cross member.
That was a DUH moment after the fact.
Stukboy

My LCA mounts will be welded to the frame stiffeners, right before the x-member, ill be using a stock x-member for now, until i build on of my own.

 

[WaXJ_Skier]

I believe it's a bolt in affair, u just need to plug one of the return lines.

Little more complicated, you have to take the high pressure fitting off the XJ pump and put it on the WJ pump. Also tap the mounting holes using a 3/8 tap and enlarge the bracket holes to 3/8. Its not hard but it's not exactly bolt in. Also buy the one with the reservoir, XJ reservoir will not seal and you can't buy the WJ reservoir separately. I just finished bleeding this system (10 min ago) after having to buy another pump just to get the reservoir.