Educate me on the JK

[crimsonride]

So I'm looking at picking up a 2dr JK Rubicon. 08 with a 3.8 and a six speed manual.

Here's a few questions I have.

I want to lift it for 35's. Will the axles hold up? What lift kit do you guys recommend? .....or should I build my own? I currently have a sprung over D44'd YJ with lockers, 4:1 Tera Low, 4:56 gears with a 4cyl... I want something pretty much comparable off road but more street worthy.

Anyway, chime in and let me know what I need to look out for and what I can do to make this thing a capable off road machine!

Mark Bryson.....I'm sure you can tell me a lot since you're in my same boat...the YJ to JK boat.

 

[mbryson]

Come over (I live next door to Ross now). We should chat. In summary I like the JK for what it is. It's not an off-road monster but pretty capable and you don't have to tow it. You're welcome to take mine for a spin. With your pending bachelorhood death, why don't you snag the 4 door?

 

[Bart]

Really agree with Mbryson's last statement, I would grab a 4 door. You won't need much lift for 35s and I'd stick with Tera.

 

[lhracing]

I run a Teraflex 3in spring lift with 37's on my 4-door and it works very well.

 

[DAA]

I have serious 4-door envy...

- DAA

 

[frieed]

Dave, get a new 4-door and I'll take your LJ

 

[crimsonride]

Thanks for the info guys. Bryson... send me your number... I think I have it but I'm not positive.

So here's the deal. I have the opportunity to pick up a 2dr for a crazy good deal. It's a rubicon so I could be tempted to do it since it wouldn't take too much to make it fairly capable. The one draw back to my YJ is that it isn't very streetable. I think I would get out a lot more use out of it if I could drive the jeep on the street easier and I would also use it around town more. The YJ is a 4cyl so I can't really take it anywhere that involves a canyon or much highway....so I just don't get it out that often. Even if my jeep was less capable I would most likely get more use out of it if it was more comfortable to drive. .....p.s. air conditioning would be nice as well. I know it's not a 4dr but that just might have to come down the road.

So here are a few questions I have.

-What lift kit do you guys recommend? I think I want to run 35's. I want a comfortable ride. 3" or 4"? I like the Teraflex idea. I think I can get a pretty good deal on a tough country kit as well.

-Do I need to do anything to the axles or will these hold up to 35's?

-How are the brakes and the steering? Do I need to upgrade anything there? I had hydro assist on the YJ and love not getting my shoulders jerked around driving on the rough stuff so maybe that will need done?

-I've heard the 3.8 is a lousy motor..... I test drove the jeep and it wasn't a powerhouse but it also wasn't terrible.

Thanks for all the help guys.

-The jeep already has some big burly bumpers and rock sliders so I don't really have to worry about that.... I'm just not certain what else I might have to do to it to make it a solid wheeler.

 

[crimsonride]

I guess I should add that I have a truck and I have a car so I will have this jeep to be a jeep....not a daily driver etc....just to be a jeep and do what jeeps do.

 

[mbryson]

Thanks for the info guys. Bryson... send me your number... I think I have it but I'm not positive.

So here's the deal. I have the opportunity to pick up a 2dr for a crazy good deal. It's a rubicon so I could be tempted to do it since it wouldn't take too much to make it fairly capable. The one draw back to my YJ is that it isn't very streetable. I think I would get out a lot more use out of it if I could drive the jeep on the street easier and I would also use it around town more. The YJ is a 4cyl so I can't really take it anywhere that involves a canyon or much highway....so I just don't get it out that often. Even if my jeep was less capable I would most likely get more use out of it if it was more comfortable to drive. .....p.s. air conditioning would be nice as well. I know it's not a 4dr but that just might have to come down the road.

So here are a few questions I have.

-What lift kit do you guys recommend? I think I want to run 35's. I want a comfortable ride. 3" or 4"? I like the Teraflex idea. I think I can get a pretty good deal on a tough country kit as well.

I have a Tera 3". Like it. I haven't ridden in anything else. Mine tracks well and rides pretty similar to stock. I'm not sure I'd go with a Tuff Country kit or not? Don't know anything about it. There are a bunch of kewl JK dudes that formerly owned H2's. They all INSIST you need AEV or other uber high dollar lift kits. I would assume those ride well but I don't know for sure.

-Do I need to do anything to the axles or will these hold up to 35's?

35" are pushing the strength of the housings themselves. With a number of kits that are reasonably priced, you can strengthen the D30 or "D44" stock axle to decent strength. Your weak spots are bending the knuckles or the tubes. Most kits address that. The ring/pinion strength is decent in the D30 (unless you're a former H2 guy and insist that the "D44" is a "massive" upgrade) and with some gussets/tube strength you're at "OK" for 35". Your Rubicon will have the "D44" that will still need the same treatment. Ring/Pinion is obviously stronger than the D30 unless you're an idiot with the skinny pedal.

-How are the brakes and the steering? Do I need to upgrade anything there? I had hydro assist on the YJ and love not getting my shoulders jerked around driving on the rough stuff so maybe that will need done?

Brakes are OK. Steering is decent but far from hydro-assist. Hydro-Assist would be nice. They have upgrades available for whatever you want. It's a JK platform. EVERYTHING is available. You can probably get a welded chain steering wheel like you like?

-I've heard the 3.8 is a lousy motor..... I test drove the jeep and it wasn't a powerhouse but it also wasn't terrible.

I've heard the same. I don't think it's as bad as touted. Just not as powerful as you'd like. you'll need to pay attention to gearing. I have 4.88 gears with my 35" tires. I think that's more gear than I like but with the 3.8L, you'll supposedly want 5.13 or 5.38 for 35" tires.

Thanks for all the help guys.

-The jeep already has some big burly bumpers and rock sliders so I don't really have to worry about that.... I'm just not certain what else I might have to do to it to make it a solid wheeler.

Chrome it up

 

[nnnnnate]

I did a 2.5" TF spring lift on my '13 2 door and it was plenty for 35s. You can even run 37s with that lift given enough backspacing and modded fender flares. The only place I rubbed with my 35s on OEM wheels was the front plastic air dam at full lock which certainly won't be an issue with aftermarket bumpers. After doing my lift it felt like my steering was a little "flighty" on the highway but I found a TF tracbar on ksl and that resolved it for me. I think if you read up on it people with recommend sleeving and gusseting your axles. Thats sleeving the inner tube and welding on gussets to the outer C's up front. Mike should be able to chime more in on that if he sees this thread since I know he has recently done it for a customer.

I wheel pretty mild but thought a little lift was more than enough. I did Poison Spider, Hells Revenge, and Fins with the little lift and Rubi take off 255/75/17 KOs. I bought used KM2s in 35" and did Elephant Hill with them. I didn't have issues on any trail with either setup. I ended up selling the 35s pretty quick since I DD'd the JK and didn't see any real benefit (other than looking more cool) to the bigger tires. I ran them for about a month with 4.56 gears and a 6 speed.

I haven't driven a 3.8 but while reading the boards found many that echo'd what Marc said about gearing being a big deal. Its not like you're going from a hotrod anyway in the YJ so with decent gears for the tires you want I think you can be happy.

I ended up selling the JK after 18 months and 32k miles because I couldn't fit an infant car seat in the back and a passenger up front. I narrowed its replacement down to a 4 door and a 100 series cruiser and let the wife chime in. She chose the comfort of the 100 so thats what I went with.

One thing I did dislike was lack of gear space. I often had to choose between the dog and the camping gear because (and I have a great dane) I couldn't fit both at once.

Here are a couple pics with the 35s.

 

[capt scotty]

I run a 2007 auto 2dr. Mine is a Sahara so I have a D30. With 35's I've run 4:88 gears with ARB Lockers through 60,000 miles. Lots of off road use including the Rubicon trail. I really like the Teraflex 4" lift. The weakest link in any Jeep is between the brain and right foot. Your Rubicon will have D44 front but should still see atleast gussets. HD tracking bar and re inforced axle brackets. With almost any lift plan on new drive lines.

 

[crimsonride]

That's good to know about the front axles. How do you check to see if the axle is bent? Just look at it or what? I guess we're trying to make sure the axle tubes are straight?

 

[Hickey]

Some lifts give more lift than others. My 2 door has a Mopar stage 1 2" lift. It's definitely more than 3" and plenty of clearance for 35's.

Get a coil lift of whatever size you like, but don't be cheap with the shocks.

 

[TJDukit]

With trimmed fenders or aftermarket flat fenders you can clear 35's easy with no lift.

That being said when I had my 4 door Rubi it had MetalCloak fenders on it already and I ran the 35's on budget boost it came with until I went with a 3" TF long arm kit. The ride quality after a good long arm kit is such an improvement I would never own another JK again without going with a long arm. With that combo I had plenty of room for 37's.

As far as gears go I had a manual so the 4.10's weren't terrible. I spent more time in 5th gear than I would have liked on the highway and occasionally it would bog down on the trails and die even in first gear in low range. It was live able but had I kept it I would have ended up on 37's and re-geared for them. Mine was an '09 so it had the 3.8L as well. It's not a powerhouse that's for sure, sometimes it felt like I was trying to push a bus with that mini van motor but having the manual helped a whole lot.

As far as the axles go I'll echo the need to gusset and either truss or sleeve the front. I never bent mine but I'm sure I would have had I kept it. Many people can confirm that I wheeled the piss out of that JK and there is no reason I shouldn't have bent a tube or inner C. My only major breakage was a front driver side axle shaft which blew up the u-joint and popped the ball joints loose. Pretty good carnage weekend for sure.

 

[mesha]

I have a 4 door JK and love it.

With 35 inch tires your stock shafts will hold up fine, but the front housing will be weak.

If you want to upgrade the stock housing a sleeve and gusset kit works well. http://alljeep.com/sleeve-kit-gussets-jk-front-axle
Sometimes the housing starts out bent and you need to get it straightened before you sleeve it. Extreme alignment is able to tell you if it is bent and they can pull it back to stock specs if needed. Occasionally the stock housing cannot be put back within spec. at that point you will need to replace the housing.

Replacing the stock housing with a Teraflex housing is the way to go. http://alljeep.com/teraflex-dana44-housing-replacement
the additional thickness and diameter make the Teraflex housing crazy strong.

The rear dana 44 is plenty strong. The housing is beef and the shafts are 32 spline.

I would recommend a Teraflex lift. Of course the long arm is a better ride than the short arm, but both are working pretty well.

The stock driveshafts are fairly weak so plan on replacing those at some point.

JKs get it done in the wheeling category. People are always surprised at the things my JK can do.

 

[pkrfctr]

My buddy is on his third engine. He has just over 40k miles on the odometer. The engine does SUCK. First one threw a rod out the block at 33k, second one had a oil pump failure with no warning light 6k miles later. The third one has a few hundred miles on it and has been towed in the shop twice for engine lights so far.

 

[mesha]

My buddy is on his third engine. He has just over 40k miles on the odometer. The engine does SUCK. First one threw a rod out the block at 33k, second one had a oil pump failure with no warning light 6k miles later. The third one has a few hundred miles on it and has been towed in the shop twice for engine lights so far.

Weird. My JK has 125000 miles with no problems at all.

 

[crimsonride]

Hickey that's a good looking jeep. ....And Mesha thanks for the info. This is exactly what I needed to hear. I'll be ordering that sleeve kit in the morning.

I did pick it up. It's an 08 with 40k miles and we snagged it for 13k so I feel pretty good about it. It has had some shoddy body work done to it (Runs in the clear coat etc...) so we were able to get a killer deal.....plus it's a jeep so I don't need it to be too pretty.

I'm really struggling on how much to build it...A part of me wants to keep my YJ and the JK at the same time (MBryson style)....another part of me wants to just put long arms and 37's and beef things up...ahhhhhh!!!!!

 

[crimsonride]

 

[Hickey]

Congratulations, that's a hell of a price.

I'm selling a Trektop NX for a 2 door, if you're looking for a soft top.