Ozarks Jeep Thing Club

Public Forums => Technical Forum => Topic started by: masterxela on 04/24/08 - 02:50PM

Title: Front End Rebuild
Post by: masterxela on 04/24/08 - 02:50PM
I went to All-American Alignment to have the squeal in my steering looked at, they did a great job, fixed the squeal in 1 day, and didn't even charge me :)

But, he said that I have lots of problems. Both tie rod ends are bad, it needs a dropped pitman arm, the track bar is homemade (not adjustable) and bad, the axle housing was at one time cracked and welded back together, but not square (my drivers side tire has an obvious camber? angle), and maybe something else....

So, while we're in there fixing everything, I was gonna look into an axle upgrade.

Any ideas on where to look, what fits, etc would be helpful, thanks guys.
Title: Re: Front End Rebuild
Post by: Fierogld on 04/24/08 - 03:44PM
if it were me id go with some new mopar rubicon axles from 4wheelparts...they are beefy, cheap, and have selectable lockers.  the only thing youd have to change is the axle mounts($250) and possibly different wheels.  if I werent going to do that, id build a junkyard d44 high pinion front and a d60 rear.
LATA
Ryan
Title: Re: Front End Rebuild
Post by: TJ Ken on 04/24/08 - 05:06PM
I went to All-American Alignment to have the squeal in my steering looked at, they did a great job, fixed the squeal in 1 day, and didn't even charge me :)

But, he said that I have lots of problems. Both tie rod ends are bad, it needs a dropped pitman arm, the track bar is homemade (not adjustable) and bad, the axle housing was at one time cracked and welded back together, but not square (my drivers side tire has an obvious camber? angle), and maybe something else....

So, while we're in there fixing everything, I was gonna look into an axle upgrade.

Any ideas on where to look, what fits, etc would be helpful, thanks guys.


  Is this for a YJ or TJ?

If TJ, we're currently building a Jeep for a customer & replacing his HP30 with TJ brackets & 8.8 with TJ brackets.
  They both have 4.56's.  Front has full case Detroit & rear has Detroit EZ-Locker...He's asking $2000 OBO.

  For a YJ on 36's or smaller, I'd suggest going with an 8.8 rear with disc brakes & a Detroit.  On the front end, you could stick some TJ shafts in your HP30 or a new housing (To get same size U-Joints as a D44) or you could just swap out the entire front axle for a D44 from a Ford 1/2 Ton.  Of course, then you'd have to worry about wheel adapters for the rear axle to make the bolt patterns match.

  We're also building a YJ here.  We're putting an 8.8 in the rear of it (Sprung Over) and a Chevy Dana 44 in the front.  Using a Chevy 44 b/c we've installed a 4.3L Vortec with a TH350 and a Dana 300 (Passenger side Drop).

 
  We build custom axles here to customer specs.
 Feel free to give me a call & we can discuss exactly what you need.

 Shop # 918-248-1034

-Kenneth
Title: Re: Front End Rebuild
Post by: TanYJ on 04/24/08 - 06:46PM
I've seen his YJ & he's running 39s with an 8.8 in the rear & a 30 up front.  A full width upgrade from a Ford would be a great choice.  John's 4x4 in Billings would be a good first stop. 
Title: Re: Front End Rebuild
Post by: YJ_Aaron on 04/25/08 - 12:41AM
Personally I'd be looking into a 44 front, something with serviceable bearings and lockouts.  Waggy would be appropriate width for your rear axle and then spacer on the rear to adjust bolt pattern or new shafts.  You can also do full width ford fronts.