is this a good price????

[jmbrowning]

Putting an ARB (or new gears or new shafts) in a Dana 35 is considered by some to be "polishing a turd".

I concur with Chris about an axle swap if considering bigger tires. Ford 8.8's and Dana 44's seem to be the most popular upgrades, unless you read JP magazine and then it would be Rockwells, Dana 60's/70's and Corporate 14 bolts.

If you go with the 8.8, note that there are reports that the rosette welds that hold the tubes to the pumpkin have been known to fail resulting in a shift in pinion angle.

Found this GM 14 bolt for $100 plus shipping!
http://www.wt4wheeling.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=962

[NAILER341]

If you go with the 8.8, note that there are reports that the rosette welds that hold the tubes to the pumpkin have been known to fail resulting in a shift in pinion angle.

this is a simple fix.. just weld the tube on there, all the way around.
it is truly a good idea to beef up the rear end of your jeep before locking it. i am in the same position with my wifes jeep.

[talljeepchick]

this is a simple fix.. just weld the tube on there, all the way around.
it is truly a good idea to beef up the rear end of your jeep before locking it. i am in the same position with my wifes jeep.

Ok so I need to beef up the rear end and from the sounds of it the 8.8 is a good choice unless of course I am lucky enough to find a dana 44. Anything I should do to the front??? The upgrades I wanna do in additon to the ARB Lockers is a wench, on board air and a oversized tire carrier for my spare and more comfortable seats. Hopefully this will all fit within my budget.
Thanx again guys for all the help!!!!

[blkTJ]

although a wench for the trail would be nice... a winch is often more useful.

[mikeythefireman]

I think everyone needs a trail wench. Just sayin'

[talljeepchick]

wench VS winch

although a wench for the trail would be nice... a winch is often more useful.

Well I was wondering if anyone would catch that.............being a female I prefer to call mine a wench as opposed to a winch guys have winches and I want a wench on my jeep perhaps every good winch needs a wench....... IMHO

[NAILER341]

every good trail rig needs a wench
an 8.8 is a better upgrade for a yj than a dana 44. it is stronger, and has disc brakes
generally 3-500 in the salvage yards. for the bumper/swing out tire carrier... get with dukes69. he is making some nice stuff at a fair price

[jmbrowning]

If you want to do your front end, consider a boneyard High Pinion Dana 30 off an XJ. Not sure if these came with vacuum disconnects, but if you do get the maligned vacc disco, you can install a homemade cable disconnect so that you can tool around in 2Lo for sharper turning in the ruff stuff.

My current on-board air system is a homemade CO2 tank. It seems to fill faster than the compressors at the gas station. I may retire it to the Missus' XJ if I can get a York at a decent price. The CO2 system has fairly minimal outlay to start and has more reliability than some of the cheaper electric compressors.

Having said that you could probably get away with just a TruckAir 300 if you want to go real cheap. Just get rid of the ciglighter adapter and wire it with battery clamps directly to your Optima. Also bring along a book as it will take a while to fill up, I personally don't mind hanging around chitchatting after a ride and inevitably I putz around far longer than it takes to fill the tires.

The Harbor Freight winch is plenty cheap $289 on sale. Some say it is just a rebadged Mile Marker. Don't know if that is true, but plenty of ppl on JeepForum seem to swear by it...and some swear at it, too. It is rather slow if that is important to you.

The Missus found a deal on the base Warn M8000 with free shipping online. Don't know how essential a winch really is for most wheeling around here but I used it a bit in Moab and once in Big Bear. Used the Wife's to help realign my axle when the control arm bolt sheared off. Most of my stucks involve getting high centered and a hydraulic bottle jack, hi-lift jack, few rocks do the trick. Of course, get decent tow points and make sure you have your own tow strap (without metal ends) as it is considered bad etiquette to get somebody else's strap muddy getting YOU out.

[NAILER341]

ALL FOUR WHEEL DRIVE
21765 TEMESCAL CANYON RD, CORONA, CA 92883
Phone: (714) 524-8466

here is the info on these guys. i have never used them though.

[Dukes69]

If you want to do your front end, consider a boneyard High Pinion Dana 30 off an XJ. Not sure if these came with vacuum disconnects, but if you do get the maligned vacc disco, you can install a homemade cable disconnect so that you can tool around in 2Lo for sharper turning in the ruff stuff.

:Wisper: YJ's already have HP30's . . . shhhhhhh :wisper:

[rick]

The Harbor Freight winch is plenty cheap $289 on sale. Some say it is just a rebadged Mile Marker. Don't know if that is true, but plenty of ppl on JeepForum seem to swear by it...and some swear at it, too. It is rather slow if that is important to you.

The housing casting is exactly the same as a MM. I think EvilPsych tore one apart (or maybe it was Jim at JC Fab?) and confirmed that the bearings, bushings, and other wear parts were the only differences (cheaper of course). For the money, I'll bank on the cheap bearings and replace them with good stuff if I wear it out... which is not likely since I've used it twice in about a year. Yes it is slow...and cheap.

[tarzan]

i think the arb is the way to go and 4.88's but i would upgrade your rears to supeior axles or dutchmen the stock will break i have seen alot of this i have a friend this happen to. good luck on the rebuild hope it works out for you

[king4wd]

Axle upgrade?

If you've got the six-upgrade. If you've got the four, it shouldn't be necessary, as the fours generate roughly half the torque of the six. IMO ARB's are tough, dependable lockers, but airlines are a royal PITA! Selectable lockers allow excellent drivability on pavement while locking fully offroad. But you have to ask yourself, are you ready for a whole extra level of complexity. I prefer automatic lockers (detroit type). They're noisy, and take some getting used to on the road, but you can't blow a seal or pinch the tubing of your airline if you're running a detroit