Red Jeeps reincarnation

kastein said:
Yeah, probably.

My 1/2" ubolt plates that Colin said were going to bend in 2011 are still straight, except where I have introduced them to rocks rather vigorously :gee:
Click to expand...

The perch was only 1/4" thick and the top plate was I think 5/16" thick.
 
k so update time. finally been working full time for the past month and a half or so, and between that, fixing all the shit thats been going wrong with the jeep, and attempting to keep the girlfriend happy, ive been lazy as shit with this thread. But now that I've got an income i'll actually have money to throw at this thing

this was splurge 1. had to figure out the 8.8 situation, and added a couple fun things. also found the whole tool box set for $300 at sears




after a weekend with Ross had this ready to go



tried to be artsy and shit


found some more of the next in the frame while replacing the nutstrips and putting in the shackle relocation brackets. still think its ****ing adorable that something used my jeep as a home at some point in its life



did this






drove it for maybe a week or two, then the pilot bushing went boom. guess it started slipping and finally popped out so the input shaft couldn't line up with the pilot bearing or something. said **** it, did a whole new clutch kit from crown and put new fluid in the tranny. think we had that thing out in a couple hours




 


drove it for another 4 days.....


went to the jy and found this poor little 2 door about to die, so thought it would be fitting for it to donate its front driveshafts yoke. was too lazy to go get a new 1310-1330 ujoint so I looked at the one i thought was ruined, and it turned out that the driveshaft just pulled the caps off both ends and left the joint itself unbent. threw some new caps on, pressed it in, and $25 later it was fixed




and now just some pictures because shes so damn pretty




 
still 3:55 open/open at the moment. but I'm hoping to change that pretty soon. the big thing im stuck on now is what to do with all this. got a lot of questions, and a lot of decisions to make so might need some help with this one



waggy 44 housing with a mini truss on it, came with Ballistic fab spring and lca mounts, rusty's offroad flex joint uca mounts and otk trac-bar mount, '79 ford d44 flat top knuckles with brand new synergy balljoints, rebuilt dual piston calipers, Yukon spindles, Solid drive slugs, RuffStuff diff cover, dodge rotors for a big brake kit (writeup done on JP) all for $600

found the write up
http://www.fourwheeler.com/how-to/transmission-drivetrain/154-1206-vintage-jeep-dana-44-big-brakes/

looks like I'll need to find somewhere to machine the rotors and other knuckle, which i might have found a solution for too considering its the 3 bolt ford hi steer arm instead of the 4 bolt like the ried knuckles. hope this isnt a dumb idea

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DANA-44-FLAT-TOP-KNUCKLE-service-FULL-HIGH-STEER-COMBO-/281296842177?pt=Automotive_Services&hash=item417e992dc1&vxp=mtr

as for gearing, Im shooting for 37's because of the big brake kit up front needing 17" rims, so I was thinking at least 4:88 but couldnt decide whether 5:13 would be better. this is still going to be my daily driver for quite a while, and if i ever want to go back down to 35's im afraid the 5.13's will be to deep, adam how'd you like dding yours?

still need shafts, and a locker too. was really hoping to do a selectable up front, so might take some time to get the money for an ox or something similar, but most likely going to go detroit out back.

lastly, i have no ****ing clue what to do with the mini truss, something in me really wants to extend it because of the 37's, but the lazy side of me says itll be fine. hopefully ill get this thing figured out soon
 
Full truss and 5.13's is my vote. If you want help anytime let me know, I'd love to help you ruin your Jeep like I ruined mine.
 
CTeunuch said:
Full truss and 5.13's is my vote. If you want help anytime let me know, I'd love to help you ruin your Jeep like I ruined mine.
Click to expand...

thanks man, it could definitely use some trashfab in the near future.

im definitely leaning towards that too, question is, do I keep the tabs/brackets that ive got already and try and custom fab a truss around the existing mini truss? or do i just say **** it and go with this and trim it to make it work, get all the included brackets, sell the ones ive got now and call it a day?

http://www.tntcustoms.com/jeep_wagoneer/dana_44_front_axle_truss.aspx

almost seems like a better solution in the long run
 
The TNT truss is super nice, I boogered one on for Sheep and I would definitely recommend it as the easiest and best choice for factory bracketry and strength.
 
but that means money and cutting to make it fit with the mini truss/cutting the mini truss off and money and selling things and fuuuuuuck i need to get this shit done. ill probably sack up and end up getting the full tnt truss eventually unless someone talks me out of it for some reason, or im too poor
 
tnt truss over here..and i love it. Going with ruff stuff OTK bracket instead of TNT's version though...if ya need any tips or anything for the swap let me know...
 
I dunno, but it looks pretty easy to cut some box tubing to shape off the side of that mini truss and extend it out to the inner C on the passenger side.

I'd do that, reuse your LCA and track bar brackets, and just get two generic tabs and throw them on top of the truss on the passenger side for a 3 link.

Done and done cheaply.

Also, I'd try to make a solid decision between 35s and 37s. With a 44, I'd stay on 35s and be bulletproof. I've no experience with a stick on 35s, but I had 4.88s with an auto and loved it on the highway. I'd be tempted to go that route and just get a doubler when you can afford one.
 
i wouldnt use the TNT truss, you already have half of the truss work done for you. just make mounts. and those are some BIG brakes... i put myself through the windshield with mine, these are even bigger. what are you doing for the rear? with the chevy 1/2 ton single piston rears and a wilwood prop valve adjusted as far out as possible i still locked up the rears easily before the front. not a huge deal as long as you are aware of it but i still had a few butt pucker moments doing full on mash the brake pedal panic stops so i wouldnt monster truck some idiot not paying attention. going to some sort of dual piston setup (i.e. D60-ISU stock discs like colin has) would probably even that out since they are a larger caliper than the old school chevy one.

as far as gearing goes, i had an auto and 513s were great, but it did run through the gears very quickly. i've definitely learned that substituting gears for power will not work. sam ran 5.38s and 35s with an auto (prob the equiv of 5.13/35s/5spd) and never had an issue but again, it went through the gears fast. for DDing with a healthy motor, you really dont need more than 4.88s on the street with 35s (or even 37s imho), but you'll want more gearing for the trail and more power on the road. driving through the most grade-y part of the catskills i was pushing my jeep to maintain 45-50mph, it weighed 5000lbs. it wouldnt have mattered if i had 4.56s or 5.38s, i just didnt have the horsepower.

a stroker or motor swap is something to seriously consider, but with the 5spd youll be maybe 20 whp ahead of an autobox XJ.

TL;DR... 488s. also, get a 4:1 tcase.
 
MoparManiac said:
I dunno, but it looks pretty easy to cut some box tubing to shape off the side of that mini truss and extend it out to the inner C on the passenger side.

I'd do that, reuse your LCA and track bar brackets, and just get two generic tabs and throw them on top of the truss on the passenger side for a 3 link.

Done and done cheaply.

Also, I'd try to make a solid decision between 35s and 37s. With a 44, I'd stay on 35s and be bulletproof. I've no experience with a stick on 35s, but I had 4.88s with an auto and loved it on the highway. I'd be tempted to go that route and just get a doubler when you can afford one.
Click to expand...

It may be hard to believe, but THE moparmaniac used to wheel all the time. I like his advise here.
 
looking back i also agree with XJLI and moparmaniac...i didn't even realize you had a mini truss on that, that's mcguyver's old for sale 44 IIRC.

if you have all the brackets and what not absolutely no need to buy a TNT...just use what you have and build a mini truss Adam has a sweet truss he built for his waggy 44..definitely worth looking through his thread for some ideas
 
The 5th gear on an AX15 isn't that far off from OD on an AW4. It's just the gear spacing and first gear really that's different, and of course drivetrain power loss.

I'm not sure I'd say 20whp lost in an AW4... that is a hell of a lot of heat, and it really only has one place to go, out the case and to the cooler. That's 15 kilowatts, you'd cook your trans fluid in a real hurry there. Maybe I'm wrong, but it feels 'off'. I'd believe 10hp lost no problem, though.
 
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