XJ98Jeep said:
Well, I've got my brother's welder, and seeing as I didn't get a price for the axle I dunno about that, but IF it had been a 14B, and IF it had been around $200, I would nabbed it. The junkyard it was in has cheap prices, I got a master cylinder for $8 and a complete Ford exploder airbox for $3 with filter. Aren't 4:1s like $900? I'll just make a doubler out of a second 231 or a 300 before I do that.
I'm on 33's, but this is what I drive to school so I'm trying to beef it up so I don't have to rush around on the weekends fixing what I broke. That just makes me not want to wheel it and ruins my weekend.
I'm figuring out what I need when I wheel, like extended brake lines and maybe quick discos later on, but I'm also trying to prevent larger failures, like a broken axle shaft.
Ok, so suppose you got the 14 bolt for $200. You might want to do disc brakes while your at it, since drums suck, and you lose 100 lbs off the axle. Add another $200 for disks. Then your going to have to narrow it since its a bit wider then your front axle. Price on that depends on what you can do yourself. Then you have to realize that a 14 bolt is 8 lug, so your going to have to get new wheels. But then the front your going to have to get adapters for, or swap a whole new front axle.
Then add on a conversion Ujoint for your driveshaft. Spring perches, and shock mounts, plus U bolts.
What Im really trying to say, is that a 14 bolt is not the answer for a DD wheeler on 33s. I know your not going to like this, but wheel what you have. So many people, myself included for awhile, wheel on stock axles on 32-35'' tires and do not have 14 bolt, or D60 axles.
While I was in high school, which wasnt all that long ago, I had 32s and a D30 and D35. I wheeled like that for two years, and never had a problem. I wasnt doing full throttle assaults on waterfalls that buggies have trouble with. I was calm, and realized that if I broke I wouldnt have a ride to school the next day.
You have the rest of your life ahead of you to build an amazing XJ, with your doublers, D60s, full hydro, caged, and no body panels. But at the moment, you need to realize that even the most built rig breaks every now and again. Take it easy, and do one thing at a time.