Ok, here we go;

Ol' Red.: 91 XJ sport; 5spd man(AX15), 3.07 Dana35(rear), Dana30 LP front.

3" Zone lift kit

31" 15x10.5x31 General grabbers

at 300K;

I have rebuilt the engine 4.0L 6 242 from scratch (.01"over on bearings internals) [engine not a concern here]
new exhaust, header, injectors(4hole bosch).

New Optima battery. love them things!!!

ALL new front suspension components: drag-link/tie-rods//ball joints/wheel hubs/steering stabilizer shock/axle u-joints/ front drive shaft ujoints/control arms, upper & lower/ link bushings/ sway bar bushings etc

Replaced rear drive shaft new Ujoints, (bent a bit due to near death experience jack-knifing on I-20 west outside a Dallas on black-ice towin a trailer). [ another story]

New clutch and slave cyl and clutch master cyl

200 AMP alt
New A/C system, complete,, ( 100 degrees outside, you bet yer butt i want A/C!! )
New PS pump
New waterpump
Belts, hoses etc etc etc.

Installed 6 deg axle shims on rear axle to correct rear pinon angle.
(it works! trust me)

She is strong as a tank! feels GR8 at 1st 2nd 3rd , unbelievable power!

4th gear ok at high rpms goin up hill, not super great but manageable..

5th gear ( O/D) up hills or high elevation......NON-EXISTENT!!!!!

WTF? ( what I mean is goin up hill on highway 5th gear basically useless, no power AT all!)


The front end re-build fixed my death wobble (thank god! drivin me nuts)


Now, to root of all evil, er, I mean main point..........

Reading, talking, blogging, etc, my brain is mired down in this gearing thing. yes, I have consulted the charts, the tarot, the forums, the witch doctors, shamans, voodoo goddesses...........

Simple question, requesting simple answer here:

3.07 rear with 31" tires, yes I know BAD power band. (death to the O/D!! )

I am taking a cross country venture camping with Ol' Red very soon, and desire to have the BEST option of gearing for highway speed as well as medium off-roading , no rock crawling, just forest campin stuff and desert sand adventures etc etc.

So----- 2 part ? here;
1. am staying with 31's, is it better with 4.10 or 3.55 rear ring/pinion setup?

2. If I go with either of those ratios,, do I ABSOLUTELY need to change out rear axle shafts?

FYI: I have a rear axle I picked up in junkyard for $80 which is a 3.55. It is also a Dana35, I could throw the 4.10 in that setup if need be for my larger tires and keep my stock one for the street tires right?

Ol' Red is an awesome piece of American nostalgia and i have owned her since new,,, just wanna keep the ol brute cruisin without suffering the massive power loss

Thanks for everyones' help and KEEP ON JEEPIN!!!!!!

God Bless AMERICA folks! Never surrender! Pray for our guys fightin' the good fight far away from home!

cheers!

cpnwrench



"It's OK Amigo,.... Just let me go,.... ridin' free with the buffalo"

 

Do you want to stick to 31s or go bigger later on ?The 3.55s might be ok with a stick but i know they are kinda a dog with a auto trans.If you can swap gears yourself and do it right i say 4.10 or higher if you want bigger tires later on.And honestly unless you feel like you need abs i would skip the dana 35s for a chrysler 8.25.

 

HMMMMMMM....

Andrew,,, thanks for the reply.

Yeah am gonna stick with the 31's

dont have ABS

so you think 3.55 is ok with 5 speed to get some of the O/D power band back?

or would I be better with the 4.10 setup?


thanks very much!

cpnwrench

cheers!