Sounds like fun. I should have my jeep ready to go by then

 

P.s. I will only go if that music from the video is played 24/7 during the trip.

 

Haha deal! Ill mount a few Bazooka Tubes to the roof of the Jeep so we can spread the message to the animals as well.

 

Well I go on a CF break and come back and it looks like we have more Missoula XJ's!! I've most likely seen y'all around town, just like you've most likely seen me.
I'm in the process of building my second XJ!! Goin to a 4 door this time though. I've got a body to swap everything to but all I'm needing is time!

When I start working on it maybe I will post something and we could all do a meet and greet sort of thing with some beer and brats or something?

 

Sounds good to me! I know there a few more on Campus but I don't think they are on here- there is two lifted ones where I work (Directv) and I have seen a few others around town. Tons of stockers haha. I am about to drop in my stroker when it gets warm enough for paint to dry and wouldn't mind doing a get together at all.

 

Yeah sounds like fun. I just orderdd a 3 inch lift for mine, so i have that to look forward to this spring.

 

So there is a bunch of people from Montana on this forum. Im a native Montanan as well. Well Ill join the thread!!! Hope yall dont mind.

Here is my Cherokee and all that I have done to it within the last year...

What do you guys think?

 

What do I think?

1. You definitely took care of the deer problem.
2. It looks like you did a good job with the fabrication. Both bumpers look pretty solid.
3. You could kill a buffalo with that thing!
4. I don't know if I have ever seen a build thread video before- I have never really looked but a pretty cool idea!
5. Looks like you have a good trail rig now.
6. I'm betting you would win in a test of strength with a Pachycephalosaurus

I'm just playing man. Looks great. What are your future plans? And where are you located if you don't mind me asking?

 

Im located in the Seeley Lake Area at the moment. Hoping to move to Missoula soon if I can find a job there. Future summer plans with the jeep will be new 31 inch tires, wheel spacers for wider stance, new 15 inch rims or paint the existing, also needs a new differential which is probably the first thing Ill replace before any of the others. I might look into trimming the fenders later on down the road. Today Im headed to napa to get a 50 amp relay and 6 awg wire to rewire my roof lights for maximum output. Lots to do and not enough money to do it all at once.

 

I don't know what your looking for job wise but you could easily get a job at Directv (where I work). They start you at 11 dollars an hour, 1.50 xtra for weekends and 1.50 shifts that start past 12 (can get both). Unlimited and tons of available overtime (you can literly work as much as you want), paid vacation, 5000/year student loan repayment, free Directv (including NFL Sunday Ticket, HBO etc) and a few different monthly bonus that can add up to about 500 extra a month if you get them all. Shoot me a PM if it sounds like something that would interest you. (You also can get 500 dollars for each person you "refer" If they make it 6 months )

Plans sound good- By differential what are you thinking? I have a set of 4.10s for a HP Dana 30 I would be willing to part with. I think they are Yukons. Money is always an issue with these things. So much you can do to them.

Side note- are the lakes frozen enough for Ice Fishing up there?

 

I havent considered directv. My biggest problem is that Im a wildland firefighter for the forest service and its hard to get work when I have a commitment from May through October. So Im aiming at a temporary position or just odd work.

As for differential, I am new to how the gears work, what goes with what, do the gear ratios in the front and rear need to be the same for sake of 4 wheel drive? I currently have the 8.25 chrysler dif on my jeep. I was hoping to just go to a junkyard and swap out axles completely for another 8.25. Not sure if that would be easier than just replacing the dif?

Anyway, yes, the lakes are nice and frozen. Plenty of people have had their ice shacks and trucks out on the ice.

 

There are a few fire fighters that work here- they are pretty lenient on that kind of stuff if you let them know before hire.

Yes the gears need to match front and rear. If not, when you put it in 4x4 the tires will try to spin at different speeds at the same RPM causing your transfer case to bind and fail. Think of it like the gears on a bike- if your front sprocket has more/less teeth than the rear, every time you pedal it is going to spin more/less than its rear counterpart. You can find your ratio on the metal tag next to your differential cover. If you have an auto, more than likely yours is 3.55.

The XJs came with 3 rear axles- In order of strength: Dana 44, Chrysler 8.25, Dana 35. They came with two different front axles- Dana 30 (High pinion) and the Dana 30 (Low pinion). Here is an explanation on why the high pinion is better:- http://www.wranglerforum.com/f282/di...30-102022.html 1999s came with HPS. in 2000 they went back to the LP. Im not sure on all the years as far as HP/LP but someone here can let you know.

There are not very many options for front axles for us. The only upgrades to your LP D30 that are bolt in are the Wrangler TJ Rubicon Dana 44s and the High Pinion Dana 30. You can't use a 8.25 in the front because its differential is in the center while our front axle diff is on the drivers side. You can buy a custom built one (Dynatrac, G2, Currie etc) but they are expensive. You can also cut the tubes, order custom axle shafts and build one to work but it is a giant pain and pretty expensive as well.

Your Dana 30 will be fine for 31 inch tires. You can make the HP Dana 30 handle 35s if you beef it up (Truss/chromoly shafts, RCV joints etc). I ran 35s on my stock (except for gears) HP Dana 30 for along time. If I had it trussed, I would probably still be running it (cracked one axle tube in half). The HP Dana 30s are everywhere- Just find a 99 with the same tranny/engine as you and 99% of the time it will have a HP Dana 30 with the correct gearing (Collins in Missoula had quite a few last time I was down there- they are a rip off though). Also if you choose to I have a set of the 4.10s for it.

If you want to go with larger tires, it is highly recommended that you regear. Back to the bicycle, gearing is similar to changing the gear on a bike. On flat ground you can be in 6th and go fast. When you hit a hill, you need to down shift so the weight is spread over more pedals. The same applies to your Jeep. Essentially adding larger tires is adding a hill to your engine. Deepening your gears will allow your engine to spin them much easier and more efficiently. 3.55s means that your driveshaft spins 3.55 times per tire rotation. 4.88 means it spins almost 5 times per rotation.

You will be fine with what you have if you stay at the 31s. You may want to regear anyways as it will give you the feeling of more torque/take off and might save you some MPG. If you go up to 33s, you will have to for sure or you will be flooring it everywhere you go... slowly

Another tidbit is that the stock dif covers are really weak- if you are going to play in the rocks, it is a good idea to get a stronger one (Riddler, ARB, Solid etc)

If you have any other questions, just shoot!

 

Nice, thats a lot of info. I really dont think ill ever get larger than 31s. Keeping the gearing the same is best for me right now. Im just wondering if I should replace the entire axle assembly or just replace the "gears and bearings in the differential? What would be the better choice?

 

Whats wrong with what you have? Both those axles are fine for the 31s. I know you said it needs a new differential but why?

 

It hums and whines a lot. Especially when I turn right at 15-50 mph. Had a mechanic check it out. He said it was a bad differential and said he could fix it for $1400. I thought that was a little high, but then again I dont know what it should cost. All he told me was bad dif, nothing more and it would still work fine as is, so long as I could stand the noise. I thought id try to fix it myself, just dont know if it would be easier to swap out a used axle or replace the gears and bearing in differential.