Jeep Stuff

[Duck Vader]

ALSO, debating on swapping out the wheels too. Not a big fan of the Rubicon wheels on it. Might just go for some cheap 15" steelies.

[ChargerX3]

We are about in the same boat. I still have the 8.25 rear as well, but I managed to pick up a Dana 44 out of an 87' Cherokee Tow package. I picked up a new E-Locker with LSD that i want to put in it. Also picked up some lightly used 4.56 gears front and back. Just need to install them all and then bump up to 33' or 35's.

Like you I got a 3" lift, but mine is the Rubicon Express. They say its more like a 4.5" lift but who knows? Ill need to take it up a bit more to clear the larger tires, so i might use front spacers and maybe extend the rear shackles a bit. Will definitely go long arm though.

[Duck Vader]

[quote=""ChargerX3""]We are about in the same boat. I still have the 8.25 rear as well, but I managed to pick up a Dana 44 out of an 87' Cherokee Tow package. I picked up a new E-Locker with LSD that i want to put in it. Also picked up some lightly used 4.56 gears front and back. Just need to install them all and then bump up to 33' or 35's.

Like you I got a 3" lift, but mine is the Rubicon Express. They say its more like a 4.5" lift but who knows? Ill need to take it up a bit more to clear the larger tires, so i might use front spacers and maybe extend the rear shackles a bit. Will definitely go long arm though.[/quote]

Why do you want to go up to 33s or 35s? What do you do with your jeep? If rock crawling I actually recommend no more lift and just do some trimming. So you keep a lower COG. I personally am not a fan of long arms. Not worth the extra $ to me. You can make a rig just as capable for cheaper without it.

[vr4]

Drop in an explorer 8.8

Problem solved

[ChargerX3]

Approach. Ill probably go 33's but 31's take a licking on anything medium and up. Jeep doesn nothing atm. Its not great for child seats, so the mrs doesnt use it anymore. We keep it as a backup 4wd vehicle. Now that its been sitting I can start to turn it into a true off road machine. Open diffs blow. They put me in a very tight spot a few years back. I need my rig to take the punishment of the trails out here (Rubicon, Fordice, etc.)

Long arms are a must. Better articulation, and take the up/down shock out of any road driving with solid front axle. Short arms bind and are at too aggressive of an angle after several inches of lift.

[Chris GTO TT]

Yeah a lot of the trails in the area are either fire roads no 4x4 necessary or seem to be hard core trails like you mentioned.

[Duck Vader]

How she sits right now.





Maybe I will keep the wheels, but paint them.

[ChargerX3]

She’s clean. Wheels look great. I think the painted wheels end up looking like garbage.

[Chris GTO TT]

Yeah looks good

[Duck Vader]

Really? I am not a fan of the wheels. They were off the LJ when I upgraded that. Maybe once I get better tires on it I will like them more.

[Duck Vader]

The biggest problem I have with the wheels though is tire choices. Hard to find a good tire for cheap on 16" MOAB rims.

Will probably have to go with 245/75/16 - which is just under 31" in order to find a decent tire for a decent price.

[ChargerX3]

Did this bolt right on or did you need spacers for the larger spread?

[Duck Vader]

I assume you mean the wheels?

They bolt right on - same 5x4.5 pattern, but at full lock there is some rubbing on the control arms. Could use some spacing behind them, but since I don't do serious off-roading in it I never bothered.

[Chris GTO TT]

Yeah its like a 'stock plus' look. It's obviously lifted but doesn't scream "BRO"

[Chris GTO TT]

If my Explorer is totaled I might have some 16" wheels with 265/70/16 tires on them that would bolt up

[Duck Vader]

[quote=""Chris GTO TT""]If my Explorer is totaled I might have some 16" wheels with 265/70/16 tires on them that would bolt up [/quote]

[ChargerX3]

[quote=""Duck Vader""]

[/quote]

Tint those windows and ...bam, murdered out.

[Chris GTO TT]

Haha

[Duck Vader]

I actually like it better than what is on there now.

[Chris GTO TT]

What offset are your current wheels?