I just bought my first jeep, 2006 Unlimited.

6 speed
3.73's
Trac Lok rear
4 wheel discs
Soft top
29000 miles

It's pretty fun just as it sits and i'm really impressed at the places it's able to go in the form it's in.

Eventually i'd like some 35's just like everyone else does but for now i'll probably just run it like it is for awhile, maybe do a budget lift with some rubi takeoffs. When I do eventually get the 35's I will be keeping it low.

One question I do have is this...how stong is the rear 44?? I hear mixed reviews but from what I gather most say that under most conditions it will hold up fine with 35's as long as I don't get dumb with it.

Here's a couple poser pics..I was by myself so it was the best I could do.

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k231/Jtrux/IMG_1280.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k231/Jtrux/IMG_1277.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k231/Jtrux/IMG_1278.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k231/Jtrux/IMG_1274.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k231/Jtrux/IMG_1273.jpg

Welcome and nice Jeep. I hear those unlimiteds can be quite a bargin now... nice grab. They will do a lot stock and even more with a little lift and some Rubi wheels/tires.

I belive the stock rear 44 is pretty strong but other who know more will chime in. I think the newer front 44s are having some issues with the tubes being thin but I am CJ guy so I don't pay attention that much.

K

Yeah I got it for 14500 with only 29000 miles. They originally wanted like 17999 but apparently it had been at the lot for a while and they wanted it gone. A buddy of mine found it online and it had everything I wanted except the hard top but I can add that later.

you cant brake a 44 that easy with 35's. especially if your new to wheelin. unless you just are a crazy bastard. if your really worried bout it though and you got the money go get some yukon shafts..

35s on those axles, even with lockers should serve you well provided like everybody else already said, you don't wheel like a retard and actually have some driving skill.

I would also tell you that in terms of tire size vs. reliability that thats about as big as you are gonna be able to go unless you pour some cash into them. If you dramatically increase the horsepower or go with a granny tranny and a 4:1 kit in the t-case later on down the road you may find that they are not strong enough. Just food for thought..... Good Luck

Nice Jeep......

Welcome to Pirate 4x4 dot com

Welcome to the Jeep family.

Nice grab on the unlimited. They're a blast to wheel and the extra wheelbase makes feel very solid on the trail. As for the d44 and 35's, like everyone said, as long as you're not retarded on the trail, those will last you for a long time. I've got a friend on 35's, locked with his unlimited which he wheels the hell out of and has not had an issue. I've got ARBS front and rear and haven't had an issue at all with my unlimited. What you may want to do is with the limited amount of clearance you have you might want to invest in some skid plates that'll keep you going as you scrape and drag across obsticles.

Welcome to the sickness… Your 44 will be fine for now. If you are just going to run down a dirt road like in the pics the 44 will be fine with the 35’s… When you are ready to step up to the 35’s and go with deeper gears toss in some good shafts and call it a day!

Or poke around in hardcore a bit and let's build some 609s :smokin:

The only thing I'd be worry about changing if you went to 35s is the gearing. With 35s and 3.73s your going to feel like you have no low end power. I would recommend going to 4.56s if you wanted to run 35s. Other than that, unless your doing some serious rock crawling, the D44 should hold up fine.

Thanks for all the replies guys. It's alot of fun so far, i'll just wheel it and build it as I see fit and as money allows. Of course i'll include pics along the way.

Hey Guys,
Thought I'd do a little searching first, and didn't want to start a new thread and get flamed! Anywhoo, I've caught the Jeep bug. Currently I have a 99 Trooper, fun truck but just too big over here in Europe. I drove about 2hrs today to look at a 99 TJ 6cyl with 120k on the clock. Overall it was ok, but dude has done some ghetto stuff like putting screws in the rear door for his bike mount, popped a hole in the hard top and covered it with duck tape and broke the mounting tabs off the plastic radio/ac mount so its only being held in by a mystery screw, you can take the key out of the ignition once the motor is started too. Drove around for a while and definitely sounds like something on the exhaust side is leaking, sounds like an old v8 with that clangy sound plus it has a slow leak on the top of the motor he says is not a problem. For $5500 I was interested, even though its a bit of a fixer upper.

So I get home and see another ad for an 04 Unlimited soft top, 26k miles, asking 13k. Did some more searching and found that they only come with a slush box, which I'm not too fond of, I like to row. The wife seems to like that one better because of the extra room, all 5 inches of it, typical woman, always wanting something bigger.

This will be my DD while I'm in Europe and will hopefully stay in the family long enough to get built for moderate trail use later on. On that note, do the unlimiteds wheel as good as the regular TJ's? Is the price this guy is asking a decent price? Are the hard tops any quieter than the soft tops, should this be a deal breaker?

Lots of questions, I know. I'd love any feedback, pros/cons you guys could give me.
Thanks,
Tom