TJ Pre-Build Chit Chat

[TJDukit]

Well since I can't start an actual build yet I figured I'd start this for some input. This idea is completely stolen from Steve. So instead of starting yet another thread in general off road I figured I'd start this. I guess I'm just really itching to talk about the plans for the upgrades, my wife is tired of me talking about Jeep stuff. I'm trying to make this thing family friendly. The wife is 5' 3" and we have the kid so LCG is key if only to keep them both safe and comfortable on and off road. I'm very set on doing everything I can to protect this thing from the rocks, so I won't be doing and kind of AEV or similar sheet metal upgrades.

This will have to be almost completely a bolt on build since I'll be using the money I would have spent on a welder. Everything I have planned has been done I know but if there are any better ideas than what I have feel free to throw them out there.

My style of wheeling is usually very technical and easy on the skinny pedal, I almost always back off as soon as tires start to slip and figure out how to do it without breaking things.

What I've got:

-'03 TJ, 4.0L D30/35 3.73's and 33" Toyo MT's on 3.5 inch springs.
-Homemade sliders.

The plans(some how they never work out the way you "plan"):

-Gen-right high fenders front.
-Smittybilt corner guards and flares rear. I'll have to cut these a little and turn them into high fenders.
-Back to stock springs.
-Spartan Locker for the rear.
-I've already got a steering box skid and my pro comp bumpers waiting for me at the house.
-I want to ditch the stupid aluminum wheels and get some steelies.
-The wife really wants tube doors, I'm fine without but she would be much more comfortable with them.

Future Plans:
-Flat skid
-SYE or hack n' tap
-Adjustable control arms
-And of course eventually at least a D44 upgrade for the rear
-I'll wait until an axle upgrade to re-gear, it's not too bad with 33's

Well there it is. Any and all ideas are welcome, criticizm and what not. You can't hurt my feelings. My budget for the first part of this is going to be right around $1500.

 

[Gravy]

First thing you need to do is get rid of your d35, and do a SYE at the same time. Pop a lunchbox locker in the front. I'm not a fan of an auto locker on a short wheelbase daily driver

 

[TJDukit]

I know I need to upgrade the rear sooner rather than later. It just might not be in the cards as far as money goes right away. I might just hold off on a locker for the 35 and wheel it with the stock axles like I have been. I do know better than to throw away money into a D35. And I would probably be better off not locking the rear for now.

 

[TJDukit]

Well after doing some searching on ksl and pirate it looks like a 44 for the rear is out for now. JK rear 44's are plentiful and cheap but won't bolt in of course and everything else I can find is all the way across the country. I'll have to keep an eye out. My limited budget won't allow for re-gearing the front so that limits my options a bit, I'd either need to find one with 3.73's or a matched set which will jump the price quite a bit.

I will keep an eye out though since you are right gravesdiggerxj, it would be much better to just get rid of the 35 to start.

 

[sixstringsteve]

I wish I knew the first thing about Jeeps, but I don't. I'll just sit back and watch. I like the idea of high fenders.

 

[TJDukit]

I wish I knew the first thing about Jeeps, but I don't. I'll just sit back and watch. I like the idea of high fenders.

Eh, jeeps are easy, you can build a very capable jeep with all bolt in parts.

I am determined to have this thing back on stock springs and wheelable by the end of April. It's wheelable right now at least if I were to some trac bar relocation brackets. But that would be useless after I went back to stock springs.

 

[lewis]

Eh, jeeps are easy, you can build a very capable jeep with all bolt in parts.

I am determined to have this thing back on stock springs and wheelable by the end of April. It's wheelable right now at least if I were to some trac bar relocation brackets. But that would be useless after I went back to stock springs.

Have you seen the new bushwacker fenders for those? I am not sure if they are for the tj or just the jk's but they look very nice. They allow a larger tire with less lift.

 

[RockChucker]

take this for what it is worth, but i, personally, would hold off on the genright high fenders right now and put that money into a 44 for the rear and a lunchbox locker for the front. (most tj d44's will come with a track lock which, when combo'ed with a front locker does really well)

my tj is sitting on 35's with 3 inches of lift. it is possible to fit bigger tires on less lift. all you have to do is extend your bumpstops a little so the tires will not chew your fenders up.

again, this is just my opinion on what i would do. i personally feel that your money would be better spent elsewhere other than tube fenders and what not, esp since you said your wheelin style is technical and slow. less chance for body damage that way...

 

[mbryson]

take this for what it is worth, but i, personally, would hold off on the genright high fenders right now and put that money into a 44 for the rear and a lunchbox locker for the front. (most tj d44's will come with a track lock which, when combo'ed with a front locker does really well)

my tj is sitting on 35's with 3 inches of lift. it is possible to fit bigger tires on less lift. all you have to do is extend your bumpstops a little so the tires will not chew your fenders up.

again, this is just my opinion on what i would do. i personally feel that your money would be better spent elsewhere other than tube fenders and what not, esp since you said your wheelin style is technical and slow. less chance for body damage that way...

Sounds like good advice to me

 

[GOAT]

Well after doing some searching on ksl and pirate it looks like a 44 for the rear is out for now. JK rear 44's are plentiful and cheap but won't bolt in of course and everything else I can find is all the way across the country. I'll have to keep an eye out. My limited budget won't allow for re-gearing the front so that limits my options a bit, I'd either need to find one with 3.73's or a matched set which will jump the price quite a bit.

I will keep an eye out though since you are right gravesdiggerxj, it would be much better to just get rid of the 35 to start.

I happen to have the exact TJ44 you need. you may have to fight rockchucker for it though

You can also build a super 35 to be pretty resilient.

 

[gijohn40]

I saw a ford 8.8 with 3.73 out there the other day for sale... I think it was on ksl... they are pretty easy to put under a tj... and if I remember right I think it had a limited slip in it....

 

[TJDukit]

Thanks guys.

Bushwacker Flares? I'm not a huge fan, it is something to think about though. The ones for the JK's look really good I'm just not a big fan of the ones for the TJ's.

This thing isn't going to be getting 35's any time soon, at least until these tires are worn out and that will be a while.

I really don't want to spend almost as much if not more on a super 35 and a gear setup as I would a complete axle.

Rockchucker you need to not buy that 44 and then I can haha.

Doing an 8.8 swap is pretty much out since I don't have access to a welder. There is a possibilty that my buddy who used to live with me will still be cool enough to let me use his but I really don't want to rely on that.

All this advice is what I needed though. I've been so set on the fenders I had really forgotten about upgrading the essentials first. I will honestly do research on anything you guys throw out there that I don't know enough about.

 

[TJDukit]

Just looked at the bushwacker fenders again and they do look better than I had remembered. So I suppose that's another possibility. I'd still have to take care of the trac bars in order to keep the springs that are under it right now.

 

[sixstringsteve]

You can bring simple welding projects over to my place, ill help you up. Too bad you're so far away. Don't let the lack of a welder hold you back, there are tons of is who would be happy to help you out.

 

[TJDukit]

You can bring simple welding projects over to my place, ill help you up. Too bad you're so far away. Don't let the lack of a welder hold you back, there are tons of is who would be happy to help you out.

I guess you are right, it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to get a bracket kit from east coast gear supply for example. At that point if I could get a good 8.8 or even a 44 it wouldn't be hard at all to throw it in the truck and take it somewhere and get it all welded up.

I guess this is another thing I'm still not used to. When I was in New Mexico it took me almost two years to get the trust of my friend that helped me out with my last TJ build. Granted he ended up being one of my best friends and probably one of those people I'll stay in contact with for the rest of my life. In Utah though it does seem like there are a lot of people especially on RME who are willing to help out.

 

[TJDukit]

There is an 8.8 down in Orem for $250 with a limited slip with 3.73's. Too bad it will probably be gone before I get a chance to even look at it. I'm guessing this is the one GiJohn40 was talking about.

 

[GOAT]

I wouldn't consider swapping in a 8.8 if you are running 33s. You'll hang that fat diff on everything. Not a huge fan of the 8.8 swap for various reasons, ground clearance being one of them.


You may reconsider on the 35. here's some interesting commentary.
http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f9/super-35-a-513492/

 

[TJDukit]

I wouldn't consider swapping in a 8.8 if you are running 33s. You'll hang that fat diff on everything. Not a huge fan of the 8.8 swap for various reasons, ground clearance being one of them.


You may reconsider on the 35. here's some interesting commentary.
http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f9/super-35-a-513492/

I didn't know the 8.8 had a big difference on clearance other than it obviously being bigger than a D35.

I'm still working on reading through that thread, if my boss would leave me alone about hunting stuff for an hour I might actually be able to just finish it. There is a lot of good information, in the past I had all but discounted any D35 upgrades as expensive and not worth the minimal performance gains. This was probably because I had never found any information talking positive about it at all.

The main problem with all this will come down to if I can find the tools to do the backlash setup myself. If I were to get the super 35 kit it would pretty much cap out my budget, I might be able to squeeze a few more bucks out but that all depends on how much this deployment actually pays out when I get home. If I went with the detroit with the kit it would give me some dollars to play with.

 

[TJDukit]

I retract my last budget statement. After further shopping around the super 35 with an ARB can be had for right about $1100 shipped, with detroit it would be right around $1000. Not to shabby, at that price if I absolutely couldn't get the tools or find somebody who had them already to set the backlash I could still get it done.

Who knows I might end up doing this with an ARB and setting up my on board air system finally.

 

[sixstringsteve]

I say just do it right the first time, whatever that means. I don't know if a super 35 is better than a dana 44 (I don't know a think about either axle), but do it right the first time.

I know a few samurai guys who've dumped thousands into their suzuki axles, and they keep breaking. If they'd just spent $250 and swapped to toyotas, they would have been fine, but they slowly upgraded their old stuff. like I said, I don't know what the "right" way to do it on a jeep is, but I'd start out with a solid foundation, then building on that.