bare with me ha

bare with me ha
Waggy axles are alot wider than yours. I run full width full size axles but they stick out alot, look at my pic's.Waggy axles are 6lug so you'll need different wheels. The rear axle on your jeep should be center not offset. The non vac um disconnect is a stronger setup.Passenger side drop front axle is correct for your Dana 300 Transfer Case .
 
so i could go T-18 with dana 44s correct? does this take laborous work?? ha:confused:
 
The T-18 is pretty much bolt on with the adapter & the right bellhousing. The Dana 44 is going to be more complicated. If you want stock width you'll have to cut it down to size so to speak. If you want to run it full width in the rear you'll have to weld on new spring perches. This would be a good time for SOA if you are so inclined. In the front I used a kit from Blue Torch Fab for full width front axle that replaced the front bumper while moving the spring mounts out to match the axles.
 
jwill22 said:
so i could go T-18 with dana 44s correct? does this take laborous work?? ha:confused:
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You're starting to get into fat money territory here. A swap to an 18 and D 44's front and rear are pretty big coin. I have to agree that dumping money into an AMC20 is not the best money spent. With new axles and welding and trussing the tubes will make it pretty tough, but a Dana 44 is usually your best bet. I'm not getting the impresson that you're going to hard core this Jeep, so in reality, all you need are a few good upgrades to make it a decent off road rig. If you want to swap trannies, a good T-176 is a cheaper easier way to go, and is a pretty tough little 4 spd. As far as gears go, on 33's I would look into the 456 range with a AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l pushing it. A locker is a must as far as I'm concerned, at least in the back. If It were me, and this was my first CJ, I would use this as a learning project and go slowly. Lift it if you feel you need to, add one piece axles to the 20, and spot weld the tubes, The Dana 30 up front is fine, and do a gear change out to a suitable ratio. Run the tranny you have till it gives up the ghost, then upgrade, which gives you time to rebuild the bank account. Remember, a JEEP is not a Blazer or a Bronco. And It's damn sure not a Toyota or a Datsun! By nature they are a good little performer off the pavement, and unless you're going to beat the hell out of it or go nuts on the rocks, they will perform as designed to, which is pretty damn good right out of the box.

Jeep made an awful lot of variations of parts over the years, and just jumping into a "44" may not be the 44 you want! Any Jeeper here can tell you hours of stories of how they made costly mistakes over the years while learning the ropes. Best to start slowly and learn as you go.
 
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I have to agree that dumping money into an AMC20 is not the best money spent.
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okay let me ask why is that?? an older cj would be better?? just curious?
 
Some older Jeeps come with T-98 or T-18 transmissions. Some older Jeeps come with Dana 44 Rear axles. Some came with V8 engines. The down side is alot of older Jeeps have weak C section frames. Jeep had a habit of using parts for a lot of manufacturers & clumping them all together.
 
and thats just my problem dave, and mr longhorn.. haha i have an image of where id like to be, and yes i would like to have this jeep as my learning project. so its hard to say what to do first or jump into before the others. i wanna work my way up, bottom to top. so i dont want to avoid installing something, then having to come back to it cause all of sudden SOA sounds good to me.. Get me. Like i hear using a 2 inch lift and gong SOA, that you might be able to get away with not having to change out the brake lines and what not. But if i buy a four inch that probably changes alot thats only if i do decide to do an SOA. Or maybe thats just the learning experience right? so im not sure if i should look to change out the tranny first or go ahead and get a lift kit, not sure where i could begin and cause more problems for my self. Yes i do want to rock crawl, and i dont have to be the best one out there, but able to keep up with some. FOLLOW?? this is my learning my project and my rookie year haha. so how you guys are telling me i can avoid get Dana 44 for both front and back helps to know what im doing. If i did upgrade to Dana 44 in the back would there be a certain vehicle that i should be looking for that fit better than others???

just want to say i appreciate all this again. :banana:
 
The most narrow Dana 44 I could find was a late 70's Scout. It's still wider than wide track Jeeps, but the closest I've found.
 
I just measured one & it's 59" from wheel mounting surface to WMS. A 78"scout Dana 44 that is.
 
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Rock Ready Dana 44 Axles

this one guy is selling his axles and lives where i do..
check them out.??? pretty sick if you ask me. and he used the axles from a scout II
 
Looks like a smok'in deal. Makes wonder why he's selling them? If they are in good shape you'll be well on your way. The flat Knuckles are especially good for SOA because you can use high steering arms like I did on my Scrambler. It takes away the bumpsteer problem. My Scrambler will run 100 MPH so stable you can let go of the wheel & it still track straight.
 
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My .02 cents...

jwill22, your new to CJ's and starting to fall into the 'change everything' build trap...

The beauty of a CJ is that just about everything that you can imagine has been done to them by someone, somewhere, sometime...

The thing that sucks about them is that just about everything that you can imagine has been done to them by someone, somewhere, sometime...

It's a double edged sword! It's great because you have so many options but it's terrible because you have to decide on what you want to do.

My suggestion is to wheel it for a short bit, see what your limitations are, then decide where you want to go. If you throw a hodgepodge bunch of parts on it without a good plan, you'll most likely end up just redoing it again... Money wasted... :)

If you really want to build it to a crawler, to what extent?
 
if you noticed the link i posted the Dana 44 axles

Rock Ready Dana 44 Axles

when i first saw rock crawling live it was that guys jeep that made me want to get into this. i may not get to the point where hes at due to maybe money issues. but id like to be some what close.

so maybe not that extreme, but still able to do some things. i wish i had something to show .. lol.

YouTube - YJ Juando Pass Explora4x4

lol maybe something like that.. is that simple haha??? enough to where i guess i could make some noise but not all extreme.. maybe one day ill get that far, but since its my first ill take my time.
 
Listen to this advice. Truer words have not be spoken. Take it out a few times and get used to picking your lines. Use bypasses when you have to , and if something breaks figure out why and upgrade. After youve done this a few times you'll know what you want to change and where to go about changing it.
CJ said:
My .02 cents...

jwill22, your new to CJ's and starting to fall into the 'change everything' build trap...

The beauty of a CJ is that just about everything that you can imagine has been done to them by someone, somewhere, sometime...

The thing that sucks about them is that just about everything that you can imagine has been done to them by someone, somewhere, sometime...

It's a double edged sword! It's great because you have so many options but it's terrible because you have to decide on what you want to do.

My suggestion is to wheel it for a short bit, see what your limitations are, then decide where you want to go. If you throw a hodgepodge bunch of parts on it without a good plan, you'll most likely end up just redoing it again... Money wasted... :)

If you really want to build it to a crawler, to what extent?
Click to expand...
 
I have to agree with the above.
Maybe for now just put a lift kit and some tires on it and learn to wheel it. the more you learn now the better wheeler you will be when you do build it. AS said even stock jeeps do well off raod. I would run the 30 and the 20 till you break them then up grade. If you have the money now, it would be a good place to start though, as rock crawling will take its toll on them. But if you go easy on the stupid peddle they will survive for a while.
It's very easy to spend a lot of money on things you decide later was not the best choice for what you do. Have fun with it till you have a real plan.
 
YJ Juando Pass Explora4x4 If all your looking to do is what's on that clip.Bone stock will get you through for a while. I just like to be able to sell the unbroken parts after I replace them. That's Jeeping, everybody has their own method of maddnes.;)
 
what would you guys say is a pretty good off road, and also some what driving lift kit.. SKY JACKER???
 
the reason i ask, is i was looking on a website and pro comp was more??? i think though cause sky jacker comes with only leaf springs from what i saw and pro comp had the shox with the leaf springs/?? hjmm
 
since im staying under the axle for now.. im guess a 4 in.. if i ever did an SOA i think it would be wise to go 2 in.. but yeah for now the 4
 
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