High School TJ build

This little Tj is coming along, that big dent in the side is gone due to a friend in town, repainted the hood and part of side panel where the dent was, the paint didn't match to what I thought it would, but that's ok, it gives it character. Repainted the the fender flares black, looks so much better than it did. Put on some Rugged Ridge rockers on it, took the old front bumper off, working on building a new one. It has a cute 2" coil spacer lift, I swapped the tires I had on the XJ and put them on the TJ. I've put some quick disconnect sway bar links on her as well. The heater wasn't working very well, turns out the heater core was clogged inside the pipe and as well as the fins, cleaned it up just enough to get a welcome breeze of nice warm air. As of plans on this daily high school driver, the floppy mirrors need to go, every time I close the door they move out of position, I have a hp d30 and a Ford 8.8 that need a little work before I throw them under. I also plan on putting 4.10 gearing and a lunchbox locker in the front, the 8.8 came with a limited slip that I'm going to keep in there for "High School Budget" reasons. Hoping that I can get 35" tires on there after my axles. I want to do high-line fenders just to get me that extra tire clearance that I may or may not need. This little Tj has been a good little Jeep for me so far, has done what I've wanted it to do for me so far, haven't taken it wheeling yet, but I can tell you it climbs curbs no problem.
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RockChucker

Well-Known Member
Location
Highland
Whether or not you want to cut for more clearance in the rear…I discovered back in the day if you flip the rear flares left for right and vice versa, the new back of the flare will line up with the bottom of the tub and the top lines up with the belt rail. Image attached because I probably didn’t describe it very well. You’ll find you will probably want bigger tires after that 😂
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ebryson

Active Member
Location
Bountiful, Utah
Curiosity has stuck me once again! I am looking into doing the AW4 swap for my TJ. My hopes are to increase the "roadability" and give me a lower first gear. Let's just say I would like to not be at 3k RPM when I'm on the interstate at 70-75mph. I reading off of this thread from another offroading forum which explains what I would need for the swap.
https://www.jeepforum.com/threads/what-32rh-to-aw4-swap-finally.1274364/
Instead of getting a super short shaft SYE I was thinking I would just stretch the rear end 3" and still have the ability to use the "stock SYE" driveshaft. Technically the AW4 is 3.25" longer than the 32RH. My question is, would I want to stretch it 3.25" or just the 3" like I was originally thinking of doing?
 

N-Smooth

Smooth Gang Founding Member
Location
UT
I’ve never heard of someone switching from auto to auto. Are you sure your motor will like having another gear? Legitimate question cause my Jeep didn’t care that there was a 4th gear on the highway most of the time lol
 

I Lean

Mbryson's hairdresser
Vendor
Location
Utah
I asked a buddy who was looking at this for his TJ in the past....first of all, he says "Don't be a bitch, run 3K RPM". His words, not mine. :D

But, switching from a 32RE to an AW4, you will need a new ECM from a manual transmission TJ. The stock ECM looks for a torque converter lockup signal, and will throw a check engine light if it doesn't get one. Aside from that, your donor AW4, the plug/wiring that goes to it, and the TCM should be the major components you'll need.
 

85CUCVKRAWLER

Active Member
Location
Tooele
The AW4 is a better auto in al lrespects, but one of the big ones is the ability to install a manual valve body, which is a huge offroad plus.

I wouldnt stretch the rear at all, i would install the setup, remeasure and take the rear shaft to one of our local driveshaft shops and have them shorten the shaft. IIRC its only like $90
 

DaveB

Long Jeep Fan
Location
Holladay, Utah
I asked a buddy who was looking at this for his TJ in the past....first of all, he says "Don't be a bitch, run 3K RPM". His words, not mine. :D

But, switching from a 32RE to an AW4, you will need a new ECM from a manual transmission TJ. The stock ECM looks for a torque converter lockup signal, and will throw a check engine light if it doesn't get one. Aside from that, your donor AW4, the plug/wiring that goes to it, and the TCM should be the major components you'll need.
I wonder if the torque converter lockup is close enough in voltage to fool his current computer (as long as it is only sensing the signal and not driving it). I had an AW4 in my Scrambler and it worked great. I swapped it when I did an LS conversion. Even have a couple of spare AW4s in the garage.
 

RockChucker

Well-Known Member
Location
Highland
IMO, if you are going to go through the effort and expense of stretching it ~3", you might as well stretch it 7". Diff to gas tank clearance is going to be an issue in either scenario and the 7" stretch will completely change the attitude of the Jeep.
 

Hickey

Burn-barrel enthusiast
Supporting Member
IMO, if you are going to go through the effort and expense of stretching it ~3", you might as well stretch it 7". Diff to gas tank clearance is going to be an issue in either scenario and the 7" stretch will completely change the attitude of the Jeep.
I agree with this, and I also don’t think swapping out your auto for an AW4 is worth the effort. I’d you had a manual trans, that’s a different story. Live with the RPM’s and buy a commuter car if you want the pleasure of low rpm, high MPG driving.
 

ebryson

Active Member
Location
Bountiful, Utah
Wow! There's a lot of difference in all of this 🤣.
I asked a buddy who was looking at this for his TJ in the past....first of all, he says "Don't be a bitch, run 3K RPM". His words, not mine. :D
This made my day! I might just need to do that.
I've been thinking of just triangulating and putting an anti-rock swaybar on the rear. Then just put hydro assist on the front and it would be pretty sweet!
I agree with this, and I also don’t think swapping out your auto for an AW4 is worth the effort. I’d you had a manual trans, that’s a different story. Live with the RPM’s and buy a commuter car if you want the pleasure of low rpm, high MPG driving.
I've been wondering if it is worth it. It's a lot of work just for an extra gear and overdrive. It crawls really well the way it sits now, but I do wish that my first gear was a bit lower and that I could travel to trails/ destinations via road more comfortably.
Luckily my commuter gets 17.4 mpg, thanks to a '14 GMC 1500.
 
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