still alive

[SeanP]

So, are you going to actually commit to any runs this summer?



We've missed you and Marni.........

I will do a portion of the August run. The amount of wheeling I get in will depend on vacation availability and how emma does on the back seat.

Just an update. Jes, Phil and Billy helped out yesterday. Battery is charged. Brakes are bled and solid. Wheels/tires on. Basically it is ready to drive (except for tags and insurance). I will wrap up the interior and rest of the cage this week.

SeanP

 

[Big Red]

I will do a portion of the August run. The amount of wheeling I get in will depend on vacation availability and how emma does on the back seat.

Just an update. Jes, Phil and Billy helped out yesterday. Battery is charged. Brakes are bled and solid. Wheels/tires on. Basically it is ready to drive (except for tags and insurance). I will wrap up the interior and rest of the cage this week.

SeanP

Phil came over and got his spare tire/rim and hi-lift jack from me after he was by your place. I'm glad your stuff is coming together. I cannot wait to see you xj with the full-width axles. Phil said you had a dana 60 front/14 bolt ff rear. Is that right? Wow, is the dana 60 rear by any change a rev dana 60 driver side drop from a ford f-350 78-79'? Are you still using your 231 t-case? Just wondering. Man those axles must have been a beast to get them into your rig. I know the 14 bolt is a real monster. You could cut 80 lbs or so off of it by converting to disc brakes.
Troy

 

[SeanP]

Phil came over and got his spare tire/rim and hi-lift jack from me after he was by your place. I'm glad your stuff is coming together. I cannot wait to see you xj with the full-width axles. Phil said you had a dana 60 front/14 bolt ff rear. Is that right? Wow, is the dana 60 rear by any change a rev dana 60 driver side drop from a ford f-350 78-79'? Are you still using your 231 t-case? Just wondering. Man those axles must have been a beast to get them into your rig. I know the 14 bolt is a real monster. You could cut 80 lbs or so off of it by converting to disc brakes.
Troy

Rear is a 35 spline 9" housing and center section that I welded 14B FF ends on. Front is 93 F350 narrowed 6" on pass side for a 63" front/62" rear. 1 ton 2 piston discs in front and 3/4 ton chevy discs in rear. Vette MC. SOLID brakes (after lot's of bleeding). Sold the 231 a long time ago.

 

[Big Red]

Rear is a 35 spline 9" housing and center section that I welded 14B FF ends on. Front is 93 F350 narrowed 6" on pass side for a 63" front/62" rear. 1 ton 2 piston discs in front and 3/4 ton chevy discs in rear. Vette MC. SOLID brakes (after lot's of bleeding). Sold the 231 a long time ago.

Nice mods. That modified ford 9" is plenty stong, light, and has all the goodies. :guitar: Did you get the idea from JP magazine. They did a writeup on that particular thing. I like that your track width hasn't gotten to wide at 68-70", but with the rims, tires you should be a little wider for more stability at the height your running, but still narrow enough to fit through the tighter trails. That's what's too bad about yj/xj's etc running full width axles, you have a lot of stability, but now you cannot fit through narrow stuff anymore, you have to have lot of flex go over stuff now with at least 1 wheel to get through tight spots.
Is you front a rev dana 60 then, or a dana 50 being that it is from a 93'? I thought only 78-79' f-350's had the rev dana 60? :dunno:
What t-case are you running if your not using the 231, a atlas? That is 1 mean xj. Are you coming on the rubicon run mid June since your just about done?

 

[CRASH]

Almost all F-350's from 1978 to 1997 use a high pinion 60 front (Some had TTB's in the early 80's).

The 78-79's had kingpins and different diff offset, the 80-90ish were still kingpin, but shorter driver's side tube, then 90ish to 97 were balljoint.

The only Dana 50's prior to 97 were TTB units in F-250's.

CRASH

 

[Big Red]

Almost all F-350's from 1978 to 1997 use a high pinion 60 front (Some had TTB's in the early 80's).

The 78-79's had kingpins and different diff offset, the 80-90ish were still kingpin, but shorter driver's side tube, then 90ish to 97 were balljoint.

The only Dana 50's prior to 97 were TTB units in F-250's.

CRASH

That's a great axle if you can get a hold of 1. I've seen them go for around 1-1.5K with 4.10 gears complete. Not cheap, but 1 heck of an axle. The strongest front axle ever made in production vehicles and it has a driver side drop too!!! How do portal axles compare? I know 2-1/2 Rockwells are absolute beasts and total overkill. So is a rev dana 60, but if you can snag it cheap and sling it under there, more power to you.

 

[BrettM]

That's a great axle if you can get a hold of 1. I've seen them go for around 1-1.5K with 4.10 gears complete. Not cheap, but 1 heck of an axle. The strongest front axle ever made in production vehicles and it has a driver side drop too!!! How do portal axles compare? I know 2-1/2 Rockwells are absolute beasts and total overkill. So is a rev dana 60, but if you can snag it cheap and sling it under there, more power to you.

don't think you can just sling a D60 under an XJ. if you're looking at axles that size, and tires to match (38+) you need to seriously reinforce pretty much everything; subframe, cage, suspension mounts, etc. As well as issues with oil-pan clearance and just the general hugeness of that axle. In almost all cases an XJ is better off with a D44 with alloys shafts and better joints.

 

[Phil]

In almost all cases an XJ is better off with a D44 with alloys shafts and better joints.

Stock 260 jointed disco D30!

 

[SeanP]

In almost all cases an XJ is better off with a D44 with alloys shafts and better joints.

Almost being the operative word. Go 60 or go home.

It certainly is no cakewalk doing a 60 with 5 link. I thought long and hard about my angles and brackets and everything and STILL had to do it twice to get it right. You either have the fabrication skill (and great coaching) or a deep wallet. Either way it's not easy.

SeanP

 

[Big Red]

don't think you can just sling a D60 under an XJ. if you're looking at axles that size, and tires to match (38+) you need to seriously reinforce pretty much everything; subframe, cage, suspension mounts, etc. As well as issues with oil-pan clearance and just the general hugeness of that axle. In almost all cases an XJ is better off with a D44 with alloys shafts and better joints.

I agree with Brett, why do you think you need that much axle under an xj Sean? I think it is cool and all, but why with the uni-body and all? At least you can sell it to a person with a tj down the road if you want. I belive that a tj/xj/zj are pretty similar up front. Does anyone know if the zj & tj are similar in the rear susp set up as well. If so, it wouldn't be that hard to swap in a tj dana 44 into a zj & not vise versa. The aluminum zj dana 44 is crap. :explosion
Troy

 

[FarmerMatt]

I agree with Brett, why do you think you need that much axle under an xj Sean? I think it is cool and all, but why with the uni-body and all? At least you can sell it to a person with a tj down the road if you want. I belive that a tj/xj/zj are pretty similar up front. Does anyone know if the zj & tj are similar in the rear susp set up as well. If so, it wouldn't be that hard to swap in a tj dana 44 into a zj & not vise versa. The aluminum zj dana 44 is crap. :explosion
Troy

He's compensating for inadequacies. Well, lots & lots of inadequacies.

Good to see you still fighting the good fight Sean. We've missed you on the trails.

Matt

 

[Big Red]

He's compensating for inadequacies. Well, lots & lots of inadequacies.

Good to see you still fighting the good fight Sean. We've missed you on the trails.

Matt

Hopefully you can get a full magazine (JP or Peterson's 4wd) write up on your mods and make all us xj guys proud. :worship: Do you think you're up to testing out at Prarie City yet? How about the rubicon run mid June?
Troy

 

[CRASH]

Sean's broken about everything you can break in a driveline, axleshafts, a tranny, and everything in between.

After you see him drive, you'll understand the need for a 60.

CRASH

 

[Big Red]

Sean's broken about everything you can break in a driveline, axleshafts, a tranny, and everything in between.

After you see him drive, you'll understand the need for a 60.

CRASH

Still with 38's on an xj with the custom rear ford 9"/14 bolt etc. It would be an interesting article in a magazine. I know I was amazed at C-Rok's rig years ago when I saw it and now see that he is a pretty active member/fabricator. We xj owners demand respect, we don't have your average grocery getters anymore!
Troy

 

[Jes]

I know I was amazed at C-Rok's rig years ago when I saw it and now see that he is a pretty active member/fabricator.

Crok's rig is lame.
I made him look silly on Outer Limits.

Jes

 

[SeanP]

I spent 6 hours into the dark of night fixing a broken rear axle shaft (31sp dutchman) 150 yards into Jackhammer. i had to tear apart the brakes, the third member and the detroit. Thank god brett and mil bung out with me for moral support. Driving back to camp with a chill and covered in gear oil I swore that I was going to build my rig one more time and correctly. I sold that old 9" and went 35 spline. I got rid of the chain driven 231 for a gear driven transfer case. I got rid of the D30 and built a 60 and bought spare shafts for it. I am sick of trail repairs, but not enough so that I am willing to lighten up on the fun pedal so I went big. That's why I have a 60.

My rig is truly one of the ulgiest XJ's that I have seen. The amount of body damage that it has would never make it a nice show-and-shine rig in a magazine. I will reserve that status for Matt (miss you guys to man) or maybe next winter I will paint it all pretty. Besides, there are a lot slicker XJ's out there than mine (crash, goat, beez, Paul S., Jes).

SeanP

 

[CRASH]

Crok's rig is lame.
I made him look silly on Outer Limits.

Jes

Agreed, but he is fun to have around to heckle.....

CRASH......in it to win it.

 

[FarmerMatt]

Hopefully you can get a full magazine (JP or Peterson's 4wd) write up on your mods and make all us xj guys proud. :worship: Do you think you're up to testing out at Prarie City yet? How about the rubicon run mid June?
Troy

Been there, done that. It looks like JP took down the feature they did on me, but BOTW 02 is still up on their site.
BOTW 02

 

[Big Red]

Been there, done that. It looks like JP took down the feature they did on me, but BOTW 02 is still up on their site.
BOTW 02

You, Andy, and Jes are making quite a few waves in this neck of the woods. Great wheeling guys. Hope to meet you guys some day and wheel with you. I'm sure you could give me a few pointers. I think you guys have taken the xj and its wheeling ability to a high that nobody really though was possible before cherokees became so mainstream lately.