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Comments
Adding the JKS 1.25" BL (and the MML if you want - it's pretty easy), is a great way to fit 33's. In fact, that is what I did.
I did not flat fender it and I still have plenty of room for flexing (4.25" BS on the wheels) my 33x12.5" tires.
If you want to even it out, you can add some spacers to the top of your springs and they'll hold them in place easily. I had to do this to compensate for my Warn winch and Jeeperman bumper in front.
With the BL and OME lift, I am sitting at 4.5" of lift.
Your setup sounds really nice. Would love to see pics of your rig!
If you want to go to 35's, a bit more will be involved. Namely, a bigger lift, which has more implications on your driveline, steering geometry, etc. Adjustable trackbars that work for shorter lifts like ours won't work for those larger lifts, so those would have to be replaced. You'd probably need to do a slip yoke eliminator (even on the longer Unlimited) and put on adjustable control arms to correct pinion angles to eliminate the driveline vibes. You could POSSIBLY need a drop pitman arm to keep steering geometry lined up (or replace the steering entirely with an aftermarket one). So it CAN get pricey if you want to do it right.
I find with the 33's and my lift, I can do all the challenges I want. I just have to deal with high-centering on occasion. I would LIKE to address that with a bellyup, like this one from 33 Engineering. This would require adjustable control arms and the SYE/DS as well, so I've really held off on doing it.
-Paul
I've seen a lot of articles in which removing the rear swaybar is suggested because the front is primarily responsible for ride quality and roll rate in most situations.
Is there really a big difference? It seems like removing it or disconnecting it would be the way to go.
Anyone have any experiences with this one?
Everything else being equal, is the suspension with more room to move going to be more capable than the suspension with the bigger tires? Or is less flex worth it to fit the big tires?
My vote is on the smaller tires and bigger flex. I guess this all depends on where you're taking your Jeep. I think that 33" is a great size to put on a 2.5 lift to ensure that you've got (in orthopedic terms) full range of motion. Use it or lose it right? Well if you're not using your nice suspension for articulation, then you should just installed a body lift...
my .02 cents
Diego
Miami, FL (North Cuba)
Try driving w/o your front sway bar connected and take a turn at your normal speed. You'll see what I mean. Then magnify THAT feeling about 4x for no rear sway bar.
-Paul
Plus with 35's, you have to consider your gearing in your differentials. So with the same diff ratios, your 35-equipped TJ is gonna feel slower and less powerful. So going to 35's involves more than just the lift.
If you want to increase clearance, get a belly up, as I mentioned before. The t-case will generally be your sticking point when going over obstacles as your line and how you place your tires/wheels will effectively get your axle over it.
Below is an obstacle I got hung up on. A guy came behind me with the same size tires, but had a belly up. He cruised right over it. I think he had a slightly different line too.
-Paul
Also Eugene my 98 has turn 250K last week with out any work on the drive line. I did have to replace the Radiator at 75K and had some A/C work done around 180K.
Walt
- I have added a JKS rear adjustable trackbar. This is the version that will work with a SYE setup should I go down that road for a belly up and changed pinion angles.
- I changed my stock tie rod to a stock tie rod out of a ZJ (Grand Cherokee) with a V8 engine. It is MUCH beefier!
- I added OBA (Co2 tank) and am working on a design to incorporate it into my rear tire carrier (like Jeeperman's)
- I added a second switch bezel after removing the ashtray. This gives me 3 more switch positions to run my aux lights (perhaps rock lights down the road/trail). Here's what it looks like.
The switches are the exact same as the ARB switches, and made by Carling (Carling #V1D1J66B) and the blue lenses work the exact same way, but w/o the ARB labels. The most fun was determining which leads were for what on the back of each switch.
When I got my switches from www.offroadtoystore.com, one was defective/broken. They sent me a new one right away and I can't praise them and their prices enough. I was about to throw the bad one away, but with me being a geek, I thought I'd play with it and see how they worked inside. I messed with it for 20 minutes, and actually got it fixed and working. It is now my spare switch for testing.
Here it is at night...
Hopefully going wheeling this weekend - we'll have to see how that goes.
Still holding off on the belly up?
The extra length of the Unlimited is great, but makes getting high-centered much easier. I like the idea of getting rid of the big skid plate hanging down in the middle of my rig...but I'm not yet ready to add the body lift, SYE, CV driveshaft and adjustable control arms that go with a belly up or tummy tucker style skid. Have you seen the "stinger" that nth degree sells to replace the upper control arms?
Rewind tape...
I was about to go on a wheeling trip when I noticed a squeak in the back of the Jeep. Thinking I needed to grease a fitting, I look and find my trackbar and OME bracket handing there, detached from my axle. So, I reattached it, but w/o using the spacer that filled the gap where the old TB attached to the axle. I overtorqued it and bent stuff a bit. Once I tried to put the JKS bar on a month or so later, it wouldn't fit. Beating the heck out of the old TB and putting it back in it's place made the gap big enough to install the JKS.
Back to the present...
I got the JKS version that will work with the SYE/pinion angle changes should I go the bellyup route in the future. I did NOT want to buy it twice.
I've seen the Nth stuff, but prefer the JKS stuff.
-Paul
1) The package does not say anything about the using backing material(to avoid metal to metal contact). I really cound not justify spending another $30 just for that. Any way, it took me a while to find a good backing materil from Homedepot for about $15. I personally dont think us silcon is a good alternative since this will make taking it off at a later time very difficult without damaging the paint job.
2) I lost a painted bolt whicn you can't find it in local Homedepot or OSH. Had to wait about 1 week for Warn to send the replacement.
3)Some of the bottom bolts are too long and some of the buttom spacer tubes dont fit either. Another home depot trip for these.
4)Due to the faily thick backing material I used, the rear end of the slider which did not come with the hole, showed an annoying gap which could only be eliminated by bolting it up which required drilling a hole to the rock slider and a 1-1/4 hole from the back of "double sided" area right in front of the seat belt. Needless say, another trip to Home depot for the hole saw. Oh no, I did not notice the first hole saw I picked was for wood and guess when did I find that out?
5)Since drilling the 1 1/4 requires removing the seat belt, I accidently "shortened" the seat belt to a point of no return, literally speaking. Eventually, I had to order a new seat belt.
This is not all, but I think I know why my blood preasure is high now.
I use Tough Stuff gasket guard on my rockers to keep metal/metal contact to zero. I even used them on my side sliders and corners - not that I'll be taking them off though. VERY good stuff and not too thick.
My mods may look easy, but even the simplest of installations can be a PITA for me too.
-Paul
-Paul
It does make me feel a litter better.
Anyway, despite all the mod frustration thus far, I am still thinking about my next step, the lift. I am leaning toward the "stage 1" setup with 2" spacers and 31" mud tires. From all I can see, the drive line vibe is probably and hopefully not gonna happen. So I am hoping I wont need to do any mod over that area. Now What about track bars? It seems to me both the front and rear track bars' position will be changed due to the 2" lift but non of the lift instructions or wirte-ups mentions anything about this. ?? Will the axels be off center if the track bars are not changed accordingly?
Haven't posted in a while, but I read daily.
In case you didn't see it, Spike TV's Xtreme 4x4 took a new 4dr JK through 2 Quadratec "stages". Pretty interesting show. The following link lists an encore showing. Enjoy.
http://www.quadratec.com/Showcases/rtm_4x4_xtreme/
-Dan
As for a 2" Budget Boost (Stage I) as you put it, I don't think an adj track bar would be needed, esp if you only have 31" tires. Yeah, your axles will be off a tiny but, but you should still be okay at full turn. If not, you can adjust the steering stops and fix that.
My OME lift (3") shifted the front a bit more (had the OME bracket in back until recently), so I did need that front track bar to straighten things out, especially since my tires are 33x12.5's. Now all is good.
I did the rear only because the rear OME bracket came off (probably due to my bad mechanics). IT WAS NOT OME's FAULT - it was the operator error.
-Paul
I do think they should have started with a Rubicon so they wouldn't have to do a 4:1 ratio setup (as the Rubi already has that), but I guess that is one more opportunity to show what kind of stuff Q-tec sells.
-Paul
I was willing to overlook that to see a 4dr Jk modified.
When the time comes, I'll probably look pretty hard at buying a 4dr JK. The first thing I would do is take those giant wide flares off. I'm not sure how everyone else feels, but I think they're hideous. I'd rather have a slimmer flare similar to previous models.
-Dan
The term "stage 1" actully came from Quadratec's catalog.
Do you mean it is ok to have off-centered axels(from the small 2" lift)? This can definitely save me a lot of headache.
-Paul
1. driveline angles
1a. t-case drop
1b. SYE (with adj control arms)
2. Regearing for those huge tires
I agree that it looked great (and I'd LOVE to have the Warn lights they put on it!), but would have like to see them do armor and such as well.
-Paul
I have a question about the legality of smoking out turn signals. I live in North Carolina and was wondering if anybody knew if this broke any laws or guidelines. I figure I will probably use the VHT smoke spray. This just blacks out or "smokes" out the blinkers which I find looks really sweet on a black Jeep Wrangler (as that is what I have).
If this does happen to be legal for me to do, this will be my very first "mod" on my '06 Jeep Wrangler X. haha pretty sad I know, but its the only thing I can afford at this time. Plus I'm still waitin on the warranty to run out on my car before I do anything major!
Everyone take care, and I look forward to your replies as always!
I know an all-black Jeep looks incredible, but in this case, I'd probably keep the lenses the same or get clears for a TINY bit of contrast. Clears with an all black Jeep would look great too.
-Paul
The regular Sport has two sensors, one before and one after the main cat under the vehicle. The California spec has four, two before and two after the small cats on the header in the engine compartment.
Unplug the wiring connector, unscrew the old sensor, screw in the new sensor, tighten to 22 ft/lbs, reconnect the wiring.
If I install a limited slip (like a Detroit TrueTrac) in the front axle, will it always act as a limited slip or only when in 4WD?
Many different lockers advertise "great on road manners" in the front axles...is that because they're not really "locked" unless being driven in 4WD high or low?
Does that mean the axle really acts more like an open differential when in 2WD and like a locker in 4WD?
The short answer is yes, unless it's a clutched LSD or a true locker like an ARB or an Eaton eLocker.
My Jeep is and will be my daily driver and my weekend warrior. I have a rear Dana 44 with a Limited Slip that seems to work very well off-road. What I would like to do is add a traction device to my front Dana 30 to make it more capable off-road.
I don't live in a climate that requires 4WD on the road, so I'm 2WD 5 days a week and 4WD on the weekends (always off-road).
Could I add a Detroit Locker to the front without sacrificing on road driveability? Could I gain all the benefits of the locker when in 4WD, but not sacrifice drivability when in 2WD?
The selectable lockers (E-locker, ARB) are too pricey...and again, I'm either commuting during the week (2WD) or off-roading on the weekends in the dirt/sand (4WD).
If I install a Limited Slip type device...it will be transparent during normal 2WD operation and work well while in 4WD.
If I were to install any of the typical "locked" type differentials, they would act "locked" (make sure each wheel rotated equally all the time) whether actually being driven in 4WD or not?
You can use one of the cheaper 'lunchbox' type lockers in the front but it will be noisy and kick a little on sharp turns. Certainly don't use a regular Detroit Locker. An ARB or eLocker would be fine in the unlocked position.
IMHO, a TrueTrac would be ideal for your situation. It's made by Eaton, who also make Detroit and the E-Locker. This is from their FAQ:
"Can Truetrac be used in the front axles of full time 4 wheel drive jeeps and trucks?
Yes, it can. You will find will find Truetrac differentials to be very smooth yet effective in either end of your vehicle."
The best things to check, besides what mac said, are to check to make sure your tie rod ends are all tight and in good shape. If there is ANY play on either side, you have a problem.
Also, make sure that all steering components, including that new track bar, are all secure and the holes are not too big. Make sure your alignment is correct too.
-Paul