I get numerous questions about my truck between the Waggy D44 up front, the leafs up front, the rear spring over, the Toyota 8" out back... etc.

so I decided to start a thread with a bunch of pictures of my junk to link people to when they ask questions.

It's very much a work in progress, hydro-assist and crossover steering are in the works, 35" MTRs and 2.5" backspaced wheels are waiting at home in California, 14" 5100s should be coming before summer.... the list goes on....

here's the front crossmember I built for the leafs, it's 4x4x1/4 angle iron accross the front, tied into the bumper bolts, swaybar mount bolts, and steering box bolts, I think it was 13 bolts in all. You'll also notice in later pictures it has been changed a little for different mounting points.

I also did OBA with a stock Sanden compressor. Oiler and compressor here, air filter on the input not pictured

here's the pressure switch and guage, the rear bumper I made as an airtank, about 2-3 gallons.

gettin rid of the D30 and starting on front crossmember!

i did most of all this with a ReadyWelder! worked great, but on a big project it was a pain to stop every once in a while to recharge the batteries. but hey, I've got a sweet trail welder now too!

this is a weld on the tranny crossmember I made

got some 7 leaf Waggys from JCWhitney

they came out perfect height or maybe a little on the low side, 6 or 7" lift, but since they might sag a little over time I'm looking for some 44044s. let me know if you got any, or if you want some brand new Waggys

I made this bumper, it was really easy, it's just 4x4x1/4 angle for the main part

i moved 2 batteries to the back in a "rocket box" from SurplusCenter. I did it for better weight distribution and easier fit of 2 batteries.

threw a shaved Toyota 8" in the rear, matches the Waggy bolt patter up front. I reflared the brakelines with metric ends, got a driveshaft adapter from Jesse at High Angle Driveline, got u-bolts and plates off something at Pick n Pull, and haven't hooked up the e-brake.

I raised the back side of the hood 3/4" for better cooling in the summer

another

YJ slipyoke is the only modification needed for rear driveshaft, also, the Toyota 8" pushed the slipyoke back into the case about an inch. YJ on the left, XJ on the right.

ZJ pitman arm has about 1" more drop than XJ arm. This helped the steering issues a bit, but I have a flat-top knuckle sitting here waiting to go in with a steering arm for crossover steering

4.88 D44 gears

AW4 tranny swapped in to get rid of the POS Peugeot (even though it NEVER gave me any trouble)

15x10, 6 lug, 2.5" backspaced, black steel wheels from 4wheelparts. need to mount the 35" MTRs up to em and put them on this summer when I get back to California. they were $55 each, $40 each for the 15x8.

well, that's all for now. here's an overall picture of it, in the shop of course, that's all it's been doing all winter since I'm in Michigan with no wheeling and going to school. Ahh, California, Rubicon, Fordyce... just 2 months away...

It's comming along nicely my man.:beer:

Just to give you a comparison pic, 44044's on the front.

Brett, did you cut out the stock front crossmember when you built a new one out of angle iron or did you just build over it?

i cut the bottom of it off, about 1 inch, so that it was flat across between the frame

very nice work!
how did the lift on the hood work?
and are you planning to beef up the mount for the steering box?

Originally posted by mntbkrguy
very nice work!
how did the lift on the hood work?
and are you planning to beef up the mount for the steering box?

the little hood lift works great, in the summer when I'm crawlin along I can see the heat coming out. I can also lift the hood up and not get that wave of heat that flies in your face normally. I use my electric fan less now too.

the steering box has 2 of the 3 bolts mounted through the bumper/crossmember bracket, so that helps a little. but I'm also doing hydro-assist, which takes a LOT of the force off the steering box.

that is a sweet looking ride.

I am just getting started mine isn't even 4x4 yet :rolleyes:

my brother has an old j10 that I have been beggin for the axles springs and transfer case off of but no luck yet

keep up the good work:D

Originally posted by BrettM
i cut the bottom of it off, about 1 inch, so that it was flat across between the frame

Good idea; I'll definitely keep that in mind.

Originally posted by JS-Economos


Good idea; I'll definitely keep that in mind.

here's a picture, and you can also see the beginings of my new crossmember. I really like the way I did the new one, it's very low profile and plenty beefy, and it ties the two sides together, which many people's don't

Originally posted by BrettM


here's a picture, and you can also see the beginings of my new crossmember. I really like the way I did the new one, it's very low profile and plenty beefy, and it ties the two sides together, which many people's don't

Damn, that shaved off atleast an inch or so of the bottom half of the stock cross huh? That's a smooth approach; I like it.

Originally posted by JS-Economos


Damn, that shaved off atleast an inch or so of the bottom half of the stock cross huh? That's a smooth approach; I like it.

nah, it was probably only an inch off. here's a picture of it before I cut it, you can barely see the line that I cut, it runs straight through those 2 small holes

nice mj, i think i've seen it around norcal before. Makes me wish i went leafs, it was a PITA building my longarm crossmember and i still havent got it totally dialed yet.

great job with that thing, good to see some other mj's out there. i'll look for ya on the con or at fordyce this summer.

Good deal, thanks for showing some pics of that front cross cause that really gives me an idea of how I wanna do mine.

How did you mount the back of the front leaves? Did you use the stock lower control arm mounts? I'm putting leaves and a Wagoneer 44 on my XJ.

i don't trust those sheetmetal mounts, and mine is an MJ so they even had extra reinforcements. I made some mounts with 1/4 plate and welded them on. also, the LCA mounts are angled a little, which won't work well with leaf-springs. If you really want to use the LCA mounts, weld some plate on both sides of them and drill a new hole farther back in the mount, then run a brace behind the mount also.

Nice rig, good fab and a very useful thread. Thanks.
dion

Originally posted by jeep94xj
Just to give you a comparison pic, 44044's on the front.

How much did those 44044's give you up front???

Built jeeps are a dime a dozen........but I really dig built mj's. I'd build one up if I didn't build my yota. :D

Originally posted by 91 Jeep Project


How much did those 44044's give you up front???

Right around 11 inches or so.

Do you still have the Waggy springs you want to get rid of?


I like the front crossmember... it's inspirational! ;)
Do you have any completed pix of it?

Brett M,

Check out www.wheelingarizona.com

Click on the tech button.

My write up on Ram assists steering may be helpfull if you havent ordered all your parts. I took alot of pictures.

Looks Kick ass man! I love seeing well built MJ's.. every time I see one, it makes me wanna build one LOL..
Scott

It's growing :) Sweeeeet whenya gonna be back in CA :D

got any pics of the leaf spring perch on the drivers side of the diff, the one that needs to go on the cast part of the housing.

thanks,
Jeff

Originally posted by ashmanjeepXJ
Brett M,

Check out www.wheelingarizona.com

Click on the tech button.

My write up on Ram assists steering may be helpfull if you havent ordered all your parts. I took alot of pictures.

yeah, thanks ashman, I read your writeup on NAXJA (I'm mad maXJ over there) and really appreciate it. that writeup is even better, it will be well used :D

Originally posted by Po' riggity
Looks Kick ass man! I love seeing well built MJ's.. every time I see one, it makes me wanna build one LOL..
Scott

Yeah, I love 'em, that's why I sold my XJ when I found this and built this instead


Originally posted by Todd W
It's growing :) Sweeeeet whenya gonna be back in CA :D

I'm actually back this week (spring break) but without my truck. i'm done with school may 13 or 14, then gotta drive back, so i'll be back May 18ish


Originally posted by Jeffh555
got any pics of the leaf spring perch on the drivers side of the diff, the one that needs to go on the cast part of the housing.

thanks,
Jeff

i don't have any pics, but I just made it outta box steel, and shorter than the one that sits on the tube (cause the case stands taller) i just welded it on with flux-core MIG from my ReadyWelder, i did preheat a little with a propane torch.

I flexed it out a little today, I'm very happy with it. I ended up with BDS 3.5" YJ springs up front, giving about 8" of lift. that rear tire is about 36 inches off of flat.

The flex is still limited by the 10 inch travel shocks in the rear, which should be swapped for 14s pretty soon.

i also got the AW4 tranny swapped in place of the Peugeot a while back. I've been using a manual shifter for it, which I really like. More details here (http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=242965)

How about some better and closer pics of the front axle I got a buddy thats doing the same thing to the same truck

How about some better and closer pics of the front axle I got a buddy thats doing the same thing to the same truck

it's not done, but here it is

I still plan on moving the shock-mounts, beefing the tie-rod and diff-cover, and I'm hoping the springs will sag another inch, if they don't I have a little more adjustability in the hangars.

Looks sweet man, I'm hoping to roll mine out of the garage tommorrow. Depends on how many more little things hold me up.

looks good man, like how you cut the bed :D

Hey Brett the 18th eh? Man you are lucky! Class don't even end tell the end of may... o well.. we will hit up someplace b4 then anyway!

Gimme a Call or PM when you are back so we can setup some runs.

Looking sweet!!!

well I made it back to California, got the 4.88s installed in the front with an ARB, put the 35" MTRs on, and wrapped up a few other little things, and today I took it to Fordyce for it's innaugural (sp?) run

Airing down:

nothing could stop me! I don't have the ARB plumbed properly yet, and I still did EVERY line, no bypasses, with just the rear locked. That FJ40 behind me in this pic was with a group of FJ40s that were pretty built and they kept commenting how well mine worked; my reply: "wheelbase, baby, wheelbase" :D

just gettin warmed up:

This one is right before the first crossing, you can barely see a TJ on the other side of me. It was abandoned with a busted D35 rear, and there was another one farther in the trail also abandoned with a broken D35. Moral of the story: DITCH THE D35! The first crossing was only 2 feet deep if you keep to the left. One of the other crossings was right up to the top of my 35s

this sure can be an intimidating sight, but the MJ handled it with ease. I never even pushed the gas past half throttle all day, the 4.88s and auto tranny crawled as slow as I wanted.

and here I am cresting the top of that section

here's a poser shot, cause I'm a poser

(the blue line coming from under the hood and going in the window is my rigged ARB, I made it work for some mud and later for some snow that was giving me problems, but never needed it for the rocks)

Fordyce is such a beautiful trail! I was very happy to see that it was very clean also, even being the week after the Memorial Day crowd

I am very happy with the suspension having the rear sprung over with a 5 leaf mix-n-match pack and the front with 3.5" BDS YJ leafs. It is very well balanced and the whole day I never once experienced any of the "downfalls" of converting to leafs in the front; even with the shackle forward I only contacted the front of a leaf one time and it just shrugged it off

and I made it all the way through to Meadow lake, this picture is right after the last good hill, then it puts you out on the gravel road. I love Northern California! look at that view!

so totaly carnage for the trip was:

-bent tie-rod (duh)
-bent rear bumper (I've been wanting to make a new one anyway)
-broke shock mounts off front axle (few days ago I was lazy and didn't clean the crap off them before welding)

still planning:

-hook up ARB properly
-hydro-assist to help difficult steering and take strain off uni-body at the steering box
-chop the back part of the bed off and new bumper

all in all, I am absolutely thrilled with how well it all works!

glad to see it all worked good for you...good work...the jeeps looks good and best of all it looks like it performs good...keep us posted...

James

Brett, your front looks f-in wide, what BS are you running on your wheels?? The 50 should go under tonight and the 35s get mounted tomorrow :D I'm STOKED. The 8" is in final mock up stages. I've hit a few glitches getting the discs on it, but aside from that I should be good to go. BTW, I'm glad I waited to find a Taco axle, the spring perches(and springs) JUST BARELY clear the brakes. If the axle were two inches narrower, aka from a P/U, I'd have been screwed.

The waggy front is 61" WMS to WMS correct? Looks good!

Ary

wheels are 2.5" backspaced for those ones, I have 33s for the daily driving that have 3.625 backspacing. Yeah, the Toyota axle is great, but I had my doubts if the 58.5" version would work with XJ spring width, but you could always inboard the springs. the Waggy front is right around 61-62 inches, I've read it should be 61.5

Looking good and working good from the picks, thanks for sharing :D

muddevils.com click on projects... check that out....takes awhile for the pics to load

okay, update time!

I haven't changed a whole lot, I bent up some pipe to protect the sides of the cab behind the doors and added a removeable door bar for the driver's side so I'd feel more comfortable wheelin with the door off.

I took it to Mirror Lake near Fresno a few weeks ago and had a great time. It was a relatively mild trail, I had my street 33s on and didn't use the front ARB. But it was very beautiful and a great place to take my "date" :grinpimp:

I also took it to the Rubicon a few weeks ago right after the Spider closure to go clean-up the trail some and help educate people about the reason for the closure. I had a bit of carnage after making it through The Box, the usual scrapes and bruises, but I also ripped the Toyota rear housing where the perches were welded on, and ripped a spring hangar off the "frame" up front. None of my welds broke, but in hindsight I can see that I should have braced both areas a bit more. I was very thankful at this point for having a trail welder, and got myself off the trail right at dark and drove myself home. So if you have done the leafs up front thing on a uni-body Jeep, I highly suggest you make your mounts heavily reinforced with at least 18 inches of weld holding each one on.

so on to the pics:

here's Mirror Lake trail, I let my "date" drive the hardest part, and it was her first time ever wheeling

flexin at the top of the Granite Bowl, the leaf conversion is working great

as soon as I flicked the front ARB, Soup Bowl was a piece of cake

another angle of Soup Bowl

about a third of the way through The Box, that new rock took a nice bite of my bed, but oh well, one step closer to tubin' it :D

Sweet Pics

looks great man. gotta love the mjs, i know i love mine!!! jts

Your date looks surprised to see that tree there, LOL.

Anyway, nice work on the MJ. My brother just bought one in the same color with 6" of lift and 33's, detroit and an ox. He saw how well your truck did through the stuff and decided he wanted one instead of a cherokee like his bro. :)

when are you going to cage it? seems dumb to go to all that work and not cage it, for safety sake at least

I'm at school in Michigan again, and the truck stayed in California this year, so I've been missing it, and thinking of what I'm gonna do next. I already have the Hydro-assist ready to be welded on and should be buying some Bilstein 5100s soon. The only other thing I want to do is bob the bed and make a new rear bumper.


first off some more Rubicon pictures from this last summer:

:d

:)

here's a little quick photoshop job of the paint and bob I'm gonna do:

Did you bob the bed in photoshop?

Did you bob the bed in photoshop?
yes, the blue and the bob are photoshopped

here's a little quick photoshop job of the paint and bob I'm gonna do:


have you ever thought about a cage? seems paint is a little less important.

cool truck. that's the same axles I ran in my XJ last year, but coiled. Now they're in the buggy. What rear discs are you using? Brackes? thanks. Yeah, a cage would be cool!

I was trying to avoid this because it goes against a lot of opinions here, but I really don't need a cage. I wheel this on Fordyce and Rubicon, neither of which have any spots that I would potentially have a multiple roll on. there have a been a few times I've thought I might flop, maybe a 3/4 roll at most. MJ cabs fare pretty well in rollovers, well enough to save me from injury, but would certainly bash the sheet-metal pretty good. If that ever happens I'll chop the top and make it a truggy.

now before you all try and give me a bunch of crap, unless you've wheeled Fordyce and Rubicon you have no place to speak.

unless you've wheeled Fordyce and Rubicon you have no place to speak.

Hope you never screw up and roll down the granite slabs :flipoff2: A guy died there a year or so ago :( Ya, he wasn't wearing a seat belt....but still.

I was right behind a Toyota that rolled about 10 times off the side of Cadillac, his cage definitely saved his life, but the thing was he was driving like an idiot. I drive like an idiot sometimes, but not next to cliffs.

cadillac hill??? wheel both and can think of plenty of places! not trying to bust your chops, just figure its all ways better to be safe than sorry. think about it!

you beat me to mention caddilac, sorry didnt mean to double post it

Ok, I've never been to fordynce or the rubicon, but one of the worst rolls I've seen was because of mechanical breakage not driver error....i.e. had accidentally taken out a front brake hose on an obsticle, then while attempting to get out, climbing a hill, rear driveshaft lets loose snaps rear brake line, jeep has no brakes rolls multiple times down hill, lands on cage, driver ok, passenger (driver's wife) spent a while in the hospital.

Not saying, that your a bad driver, or that you're gonna roll, but in my book its better safe than sorry.....cause stuff happens.

Note: this is my opinon, I'm not calling judgement on anyone :D

Justin

wtf is this "not judging business, if you wheel anything more than fire service roads, you should be planning a cage, or a rollbar at the very least.

BRETT, GET A CAGE FAWKER :flipoff2: :D

Ary

P.S. No, I don't have a cage, but my rig is for sale, and if I end up keeping it, it will be getting a cage ;)

hey, its your life... dumbass :flipoff2:

Brett - you going 4 link or something with the rear when you bob it?? If I'm thinking correctly, you will hack off your rear shackle when you bob the bed. I remember checking out my shortbox MJ for a bob but I would have to modify the suspension. Sweet photochop man, I just finished up some 14 guage sheetmetal and some new taillights on my MJ this weekend.

Edit: Looking at it again, it may work with the rear shackle.

Scott

I'm keeping the leafs for at least another summer, but I figure I'll bob it as much as possible, so that when/if I do decide to link it I won't want to bob it again. yes, the shackle will sit behind the bed, I'll only cut a few inches of the frame off, then weld a crossmember between the back of the frame and that will be my bumper.

this shows pretty well where the shackle is:

now before you all try and give me a bunch of crap, unless you've wheeled Fordyce and Rubicon you have no place to speak.

Ill give you some crap :flipoff2:

Two weekends ago my wheeling buddy flopped on flat ground comming off a rock at an angle... not a high height, not dangerious?.
http://www.wheelingarizona.com/forums/download.php?id=2780

It didnt land on a rock or any thing and it dented and bent the cage on the passenger side:
http://www.wheelingarizona.com/forums/download.php?id=2778

This was a very mild flop, even slow, yet it was hard enough to dent and bend the cage. With the roof bracing, the cage did not tweek but a roof-nocage could have easily hurt the passenger.

Ill give you some crap :flipoff2:

Two weekends ago my wheeling buddy flopped on flat ground comming off a rock at an angle... not a high height, not dangerious?.
http://www.wheelingarizona.com/forums/download.php?id=2780

It didnt land on a rock or any thing and it dented and bent the cage on the passenger side:
http://www.wheelingarizona.com/forums/download.php?id=2778

This was a very mild flop, even slow, yet it was hard enough to dent and bend the cage. With the roof bracing, the cage did not tweek but a roof-nocage could have easily hurt the passenger.
i'm gonna make a "roll-bar", a single hoop right behind the cab with a diagonal and braced backwards. it will be enough of a safety factor, but it won't get a full cage until the day I'm sure will eventually come when I chop it.

went snow wheelin today. I also decided to forget bobbing the bed and just tube it, not quite done with the tube job yet, when I am I'll post better pics of that.
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=165135&stc=1
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=165136&stc=1
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=165138&stc=1

now before you all try and give me a bunch of crap, unless you've wheeled Fordyce and Rubicon you have no place to speak.
(on my dads name)
I disagree
The rubicon was done in a stock H2 and a Unlimited
personally i think alot of the stuff up here is harder (northeast)
because the rocks aint dry
u slide all over the place
nice rig
i wanna do the same to my MJ
except i would never convert to leafs in the front
and once i get it lifted i am deff adding a roll bar
i dont wanna chance it

I am gonna add a roll-bar, just not a full cage.

don't be so scared of the leafs up front :) they work and ride great. the stability, simplicity, cost, etc are all great.

So what are the plans for the rearend Brett? Got any ideas on paper yet? I thought about tubing my MJ but I love the space the bed gives ya. I have a fullsize 38" spare, my highlift, and a 3'x3' toolbox full of essentials in mine, lets seem some pics dood!!! :D

well here is what I've got so far. a big tub from Walmart, it's pretty heavy duty, Optima moved as low as possible, tool box (rocket box from Surplus Center) moved to the very back and sunk in. I'm trying to move as much weight back and low as possible, so far so good.

Damn Brett, lookin good. Looks like you've been busy! I step away from PBB and NAXJA for a few weeks and look what happens. Good stuff. I think you've got 'yota envy syndrome though.....leafs on all 4 corners, 'yota rear axle, tube bed.....yup, 'yota envy syndrome :D

Peace bro,

Ary

Damn Brett, lookin good. Looks like you've been busy! I step away from PBB and NAXJA for a few weeks and look what happens. Good stuff. I think you've got 'yota envy syndrome though.....leafs on all 4 corners, 'yota rear axle, tube bed.....yup, 'yota envy syndrome :D

Peace bro,

Ary
naw, no Yota envy, I'm gonna show those guys how much better a Jeep is :D I think mine is lighter, better COG, and more power than your typical Yota, but I guess that's all in theory. I really need to cut the JEEP logo out of my old tail-gate though and incorporate it into the tube-work somehow, gotta make sure people still know it's a JEEP!

Looks great brett. Funny that you said that about the tailgate, I too had thought about cutting my old gate up and using the jeep name on it for something on the jeep. Looks good man. later, Judd

[QUOTE=BrettM]
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=165136&stc=1

Can that cause over heating :D :laughing:

sweet truck man.

Do you have any pics of how you mounted the rear of the front spring?

here is a decent pic of the hangar, it's just a bunch of 1/4" plate. make sure you use LOTS of weld area to the thin uni-body, at least 18 linear inches of weld onto the uni-body (per side) would be my recommendation.

this is an old pic, I have the leafs in the bottom most hole now.

I got the hydro-assist finished!! It is amazing!

There is an excellent writeup for tapping the box done here: http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?p=347318

I used a 1" solid Chevy tie-rod, and sleeved it with 1" schd. 40 pipe, so my tie-rod is 1.31" SOLID :D I used a 1.5x8x.75 ram from SurplusCenter(.com), I cut and rotated the crosstube on one side so the fittings would point up. I used 90* fittings on the ram and 45* fittings on the box, and 36" lines. Since the ram doesn't use rod-ends, I had to match the angle of the bolts to the caster angle. I mounted the ram to the diff cover, which is pretty well reinforced. Also, I used 3/4 to 1/2 bronze reducer bushings in the crosstubes, so I'm using 1/2" bolts to mount the ram.

The one thing left is I think I'm going to get a Waggy 4" drop pitman arm (longer), so that the pitman arm has more travel than the ram when the axle is really articulated.

Pics:

and the box:

Looks great, just thought i would add another place to get rams, more local for anyone in northren california, is a place called ITF, they carry eaton rams, 2x8 for $65 plus tax, it is located in willows, anyone know if these are pretty good rams.
joe

Just wanted to question strength of mounting the ram to the diff cover, has anyone else ran a set up like that, does it hold up well.

Looks great, just thought i would add another place to get rams, more local for anyone in northren california, is a place called ITF, they carry eaton rams, 2x8 for $65 plus tax, it is located in willows, anyone know if these are pretty good rams.
joe

Just wanted to question strength of mounting the ram to the diff cover, has anyone else ran a set up like that, does it hold up well.
I've already driven about 600 miles on this setup and it's doing great!

86XJ, 2x8 rams are frequently very cheap, under $60, but the bore is too large for most applications, they will be too slow. many people mount off the diff cover, but don't just weld 2 tabs to it, a stock cover will rip. if you use a stock cover you need to reinforce it.

I'm bored and I miss my truck (I'm at school 2000 miles away)

but I got good news :evil: I've got a DD honda now, so the MJ can now get fully molested. I've decided the doors will never be going on again, I'm gonna weld the door bar on and do a little more tube work that will prevent their use. I'll make some little canvas half doors. oh, and I'll ditch the rear window too. One step closer to buggifying :D

Whaddya think? should I link the rear and shorten the wheelbase 8"? I think the main thing stopping me at this point is I don't feel like messing with the gas tank.

and a few pictures just for fun:

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=176236
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=176235

link it up, man! I need to get some ideas. Dont loose too much wheelbase, though.

link it up, man! I need to get some ideas. Dont loose too much wheelbase, though.
it's sittin at 115" right now, 107 sounds nice... maybe I'll use an XJ tank...

Lookin good Brett, I was thinking about linking mine but I didn't really want to go under about 110 or 112" so not sure if it's worth the hassle. But maybe I should since you know leaf springs don't flex.

looking sweet

hate to ask, but doing some research for a swap - do you know what your 8" came out of?

looking sweet

hate to ask, but doing some research for a swap - do you know what your 8" came out of?
mine is from an '88 pickup, the axle is commonly known as the "IFS rear" because it started in 86 with the introduction of the IFS front end. I see that your signature says you have a ZJ, if that's what you're thinking about putting it it, you should probably look for one of the Toy axles that are 60" wide, found in Tacomas and later 4runners.

Brett!

Looking killer man! I may be getting a XJ and chopping it down MJ style :) It is a 2 door with a rear 44 :) I have a bunch of spare crap stuff from my old D30, so would make a nice trail rig for my GF for milder traills :) If you have more pics on the leaf mounts in the front I am interested. Also I might have missed, did u keep your stock MJ power steering box when you did the Ram assist?

Great job :beer:

Gui

everytime this thread gets updated i wish more and more that i didnt sell my 1991 comanche with the H.O 4.0 and d44 rear for $100 CANADIAN to the wrecker :(

geberhard if you look thru the tech writeups Billavista did a good writeup on putting leafs up front. Of if you search something like front leafs I'm sure you'll find some more posts and pictures of setups and how tos.

Brett!

Looking killer man! I may be getting a XJ and chopping it down MJ style :) It is a 2 door with a rear 44 :) I have a bunch of spare crap stuff from my old D30, so would make a nice trail rig for my GF for milder traills :) If you have more pics on the leaf mounts in the front I am interested. Also I might have missed, did u keep your stock MJ power steering box when you did the Ram assist?

Great job :beer:

Gui
I'm using the stock pump and the stock box I tapped. 1.5" bore ram. I think this thread already has the best of my pics of the leaf mounts.

so you want to link the rear and keep the "new" leaf front? ha ha

jsut find that kinda funny...

-Ranger

so you want to link the rear and keep the "new" leaf front? ha ha

jsut find that kinda funny...

-Ranger
yeah, bass ackwards of stock :D oh well, I doubt Jeep was considering 7" of lift and 35s when they designed the stock suspension.

It is FAR easier to do a great link setup in the rear. Most axle wrap comes from the rear, so deal with it with links. If you look at rigs that come with leafs at all corners (CJs, YJs, Toyotas), the first thing that usually gets linked is the rear. Both for ease, axle wrap, and the handling characteristics of a flexier rear that will follow the front wherever you take it.


that said, I'm still fighting the urge to link it; i'll go at least another season with 4 leafs.

link it up, man! I need to get some ideas. Dont loose too much wheelbase, though.

you sound like someone I know. Oh yea 'yota. (mobil1syn)

they say copying is the highest form of flattery....
thanks for the ideas brett



joe- i learn from the best

that said, I'm still fighting the urge to link it; i'll go at least another season with 4 leafs.
:rolleyes: :flipoff2: :D

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=179264&stc=1

Its gonna be difficult changing an sort of flat. LOL. :laughing:
I sweet the rig. It makes me want to tube my xj. If you have access to a video camera, you could produce some excellent movies. Keep up the work.

why did you go with the leaves up front anyways? would you have been set back if you stayed with the coils? how much did all of this cost you? i plan on buying an mj and lifting it some... not to your extent becasue that rig would get bored in connecticut.

very very awesome comanche brettm i love how aggresive it looks, right now i have an 86 xj with 5" lift and 33" LTBs its fun but in a few days iam getting a COMANCHE!! i cant wait ive wanted one for so long, i plan on guting my xj for the comanche, the mj has a 4cly 4spd, my xj has a 2.8v6 5spd, and iam gonna take your advice and ditch the 30 and 35 axles iam gonna try to find some dana 44s somewhere i have big plans for this comanche!

i almost forgot about this thread... things have been changing...

better pictures in 2 weeks after my first trip to JV :D

what a poopy teaser

i almost forgot about this thread... things have been changing...

better pictures in 2 weeks after my first trip to JV :D


Damn dude, that thing sure has changed:eek: :laughing:

hopefully getting down there early friday, staying through sunday. it's a big NAXJA run.

Lookin good man, props on gettin it done. seems like your always a step or two ahead of me. have any pics of how you mounted the links to the "frame"?

What are you going to run in JV?

hopefully getting down there early friday, staying through sunday. it's a big NAXJA run.


Will you be at JV for Thanksgiving or are you talking about this week? I'll be driving down on Wednesday before T-day, staying at least till Sunday.

Will you be at JV for Thanksgiving or are you talking about this week? I'll be driving down on Wednesday before T-day, staying at least till Sunday.
week before T-day, oh well, maybe some other time

JV is AWESOME.

http://img517.echo.cx/img517/5868/becca0199fs7uw.md.jpg

more pics here: http://img517.imageshack.us/gal.php?g=bypassclawhammer37yz.jpg

the 3 link worked absolutely great. havin some tube on the outside sure opens up some fun lines too.

Impressive mod. You have to fill good what you've accomplished!
What year of Wagonner front are you using?

sweet comanchie, im starting a front leaf conversion on my xj soon and going waggy d44s front and back.

It's a 1980. From '80 until they stopped making the full-size Waggys (91?) they are driver's side drop, though be careful for the 83-84 ones with the weird vacuum disconnect on the diff cover.

hey brett i was just wondering how you managed to get your doors off...for the life of me i cant unbolt them and dont know how to get that little pin out..to just pop them off....

and how can i make them able to go on and off?

feeling generous myself tonight-----------www.projectxj.com ------------It has all the taking off doors and making them quick on off in there somewhere so look it up =-==========Kyle

awesome ill give that a shot ........thanks man :D

awesome vids man..your white cherokee is pretty cool..

well i still cant get the 6 torx bolts off to get the door off to even start the mod...how did you get them unbolted?...

It's fairly easy if you can pull your fenders. A torx bit on a long extension will break 2 of the 3 bolts loose (don't back them out too far) on each hinge. Then you'll just have to get at the one left over on each hinge (closest to the inside edge of the door, I think) and thread the already loose bolts out. Then replace all of the fasteners with regular bolts.

well ive gotten the doors off...now iam moving on to the axles...i currently have a d30 and d35..4.10s..
i found a guy today with a toyota 8" he would sell me with 4.10s and a welded carrier.. he wants $250 is it worth it? is the toyota 8 good iam only going to be running 33s then 35s later on...how hard will it be to swap it out to?

well ive gotten the doors off...now iam moving on to the axles...i currently have a d30 and d35..4.10s..
i found a guy today with a toyota 8" he would sell me with 4.10s and a welded carrier.. he wants $250 is it worth it? is the toyota 8 good iam only going to be running 33s then 35s later on...how hard will it be to swap it out to?


brett explained what he did to put the toy 8" in :shaking:

just remeber its also 6 bolt.

well iam going to hold out and get an 8.8 since i have a d30 front id like to have the same bolt pattern front and rear... heres what ive done to the comanche so far..

got the front lifted 5inches and put my 33" LTBs on to see how it looks..
tommorow iam doing spring over in the rear...

http://x4a.xanga.com/aa9b8b706803249289186/z33123381.jpg

well iam going to hold out and get an 8.8 since i have a d30 front id like to have the same bolt pattern front and rear... heres what ive done to the comanche so far..

got the front lifted 5inches and put my 33" LTBs on to see how it looks..
tommorow iam doing spring over in the rear...

http://x4a.xanga.com/aa9b8b706803249289186/z33123381.jpg
start your own thread :flipoff2:

yeah deff start your own thread. i was gonna do the exact same thing you are but i cant afford racing dirtbikes and lifting my mj at once. you might get flamed for making a thread on lifting an mj to 33s in hardcore tho

is this thread just a chat session now?

is this thread just a chat session now?


its a better thread that way anyway now :D

just for kicks, here's a little video from JV in november, it's the last section of Outer Limits:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESvlfuYzeO8

and yes, my steering pump is crying for dear life.

awesome vid man..i saw it on comancheclub.com and came here and sure enough it was here to...iam pretty much modeling my mj after yours...soon i hope to have 35s and better axles... until then... :flipoff2: the guys who said start your own thread...

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c260/88swampedmj/04-22-06_1342.jpg

poor little ps pump, what did it ever do to you?

hey brett have you seen this? you should check it out or get on it

http://www.myjeepspace.com

any updates? are you still happy with the toy rear? I am considering using one in the rear of my truck to match the waggy front.

Kevin

I know this is an old thread, but I recently purchased an 86 MJ long bed, & have been running Ideas through my head. This thread has helped out alot. I also have a couple late 80's grand wagoneers, with good D44's. Would a rear dana 44 work in the back of an MJ or should I keep my eye out for something different...?