boardmanXJ

im really excited cause i have a few plans for it, but i need some help. its a 1997 zj limited with a v8. the guy bought it with the intetion on fixing it but is moving so i bought it. before him, the guy installed a remote start/alarm system on it and something went wrong and the alarm locked the power to the engine so it wont start. i took a chance and bought it (it was only $750!) and here we are. now comes the questions....i am looking to go big on it since its going to be a trailer queen, but i cant find anything bigger than a 4 inch. also, does it have the d35, and if anyone knows off hand what the gears are in it. i have a cherokee as my dd and i know some stuff about that but zj i just dont know.

redjeepZJ

This site has some big lifts

http://www.csloffroad.com/ZJLifts.aspx

chrisdm4

Has a front dana 30 and a rear dana 35. I think they have 3.55 gears in them. Do not quote me on that, but i think thats right.

zjrog

V8, has the 44 HD with aluminum center section. Plenty of 6" and 7.5" kits out there... Rubicon Express, Claytons...

ol"blue

They came stock with 3.55's. Check for a tag on the rear diff. cover. The tag will tell the ratio. My '97 Orvis has 3.73's in it. It has the tow package if that makes a difference, or the OP just chose those gears when it was ordered.

boardmanXJ

thanks everyone for their input. i checked the rear diff at a glance i thought it was the d35 but wasnt sure since it has the v8. i am going to be towing the jeep down to my shop this friday and i can hardly wait. right now its missing the sunroof glass and it has a front brush gaurd with some cheapie off road lights on it. my plans include: going up 6 inches (can i do a body lift?), running 33s, chopping the rear cargo area like some people have done with their xjs to make a truck type thing, sanding all the paint off and painting it olive drab with black rhino lined homebrew steel bumpers, and adding a lot of lights. the only thing that is worrying me is the alarm system...how many people know zj wiring and can help if i have questions????

seed

100% wrong...97 V8 ZJ = D44 with 3.73's

Rear axles and ratios in ZJs:
93-98 4.0 w/o tow package; d35 3.55
93-98 4.0 w/ tow package; d35 3.73
93-95 5.2; d35 3.73 (some early, non-tow ZJs have 3.55s)
96-98 5.2; d44a 3.73
98 5.9; d44a 3.73

seed

a 6" body lift? first off it's unibody,secondly,a 6" body lift would be about the most unsafe thing ever...check this kit out http://www.ironrockoffroad.com/Merch..._Code=IR-Z7PLA

ol"blue

Not 100% wrong. My ZJ does have 3.73's as stated. I stand corrected on the rest of my statement. Just relaying what I had heard.

boardmanXJ

also i forgot to add...the does zj have the same bolt pattern as an xj (5x4.5)? and no im not talking about a body lift. i was just wondering if you could do one, unlike my xj

seed

touche'...hows that^^^

btw,1100 posts in a month! thats gotta be a record

seed

yes,same bolt pattern

ol"blue

If you key-jumpers would have read my entire post it states "My '97 Orvis has 3.73's in it." Do you read the first line in the post, stop and then submit your reply? That's....
Forget it.

seed

wtf are you talking about? if you are referring to me you obviously didn't understand my last post to you,read it again,it was meant to be light-hearted....i guess you should know what your talking about before you spout off

ol"blue

This is what I was referring to. I had mistakenly stated the 3.55 's came stock, but my '97 Orvis had 3.73's..... Two posts later you posted the above "100% wrong...97 V8 ZJ = D44 with 3.73's" comment.