I'm wearing front tires out early on my yj. Ive read that the turning weight/drag hurts tire life and fuel mileage. I'm going to be changing the gear soon. I'm debating doing the lock out hub conversion. I assume this will cost roughly 2100.00 by the time I am thru. I have read where people are putting 8.8s or other forms of axles from donor vehicles. I am descent with mechanics but not a fabricator. Is there a bolt in axle conversion that will be as good or better than the d30 I currently have.I'm not into rock crawling just mild trail or snow driving.
I have 31 inch tires probably never go bigger than 33's.
Thanks for any suggestions.
Brian
You can put a Dana 44 in the front end, but there isn't one out there that is a bolt-in. All will require fabrication. You don't need anything up front but the Dana 30. I run 35's on mine and it handles them just fine.
The hubs are nice to have, but that isn't the reason that you are wearing tires. I would say it needs aligned or you are running improper inflation in the tires. Aggressive driving can cause premature tire wear as well.
Each kind of tire is different and requires its own amount of inflation in order to wear evenly depending on which vehicle it is mounted on. You cant go by what is on the sidewall of the tire or in the manual of the Jeep. There is a way to check for proper inflation by using a piece of white chalk and chalking the tread then take it for a ride, if the center is gone and the sides still have chalk, its over inflated. There is a youtube video that shows you how to do it.
And you should rotate the tires often. This will also help the uneven tread wear if all the other factors are resolved. I rotate my 35's, 4 times a year. The front ones criss-crossed to the back (drivers front to passenger rear) and the back ones straight forward. And the sweet spot in the inflation for my 35's is 24psi.
East Coast Gear Supply in Raleigh, bolt in 8.8 for the rear. Looks like they offer an Dana 60 for the front but rather pricy. Don't know how that plays into your lock out hub issue.
That's what I figured.Had never heard of rotating the tires that way.I'll try it. The jeep drives great. It doesn't seem to be out of alignment. The tires are a very aggressive and soft tire. As for the axle I'm going to bite the bullet and do the conversion. At least I will know what I have.
Paul, I will check out east coast and see if they offer the conversion.I priced it with Randys ring and pinion for 1500.00.
Thanks a lot.
. The jeep drives great. It doesn't seem to be out of alignment. The tires are a very aggressive and soft tire. As for the axle I'm going to bite the bullet and do the conversion. At least I will know what I have.
Why don't you spend a few dollars and get the alignment checked. It can drive fine but wear the tires unnecessarily. You can buy a lot of new tires for the price of hub conversion. Unless you're bored and looking for a challenge...
I don't think there is anything inherently wrong with YJ Wrangler suspension to cause tire wear. If there was something wrong, every YJ owner with a stock vehicle would be experiencing the same wear.
I have 20K on 31X10.5X15 KOs and they hardly show any wear.
I would take the Jeep to a alignment specialty shop (not a tire store) and ask them to do a diagnostic analysis and alignment. It shouldn't cost more than a hunderd bucks. Good Luck, L.M.
Block lines on blocks with the entire jeep level and on jackstands. set your toe. do you have an open front diffential? Is your jeep jumpy when turning into parking spaceses??
Not jumpy with the all terrains but these tires absolutely ride like they are square when going slow.I'm pretty sure it is an open differential.The rear is open.The front is still stock.
Your tire wear has nothing to do with not having lock outs. However, if so inclined, I'm sure you could p/up a Dana 44 with lockouts and have it installed for $2100.00. Your on leaf springs, not linked suspension so, much easier to install, therefore, cheaper. That way you do have lock outs and can unlock them, like I do, when on the street. It keeps from driving the axle shafts all the time because the tires are rotating. You also end up having a much stronger axle also.
8.8 may be stronger but, he has 31" tires, never going over 33". He also stated he does mild wheeling, no rock crawling. Most in this position is looking for an easy solution, not swap parts on a particular axle.
Ok ok ok.I'm going to have an alignment done. My next question is while I have the front axle out to do the gear swap is it worth the money to do the conversion? More mpg, less drag?
Regearing the rear D35 axle is like feeding a pig a ribeye steak meal before going to the slaughterhouse in 5 minutes. Not the ideal thing to do IMO & I wouldn't suggest it to anybody except somebody I don't like.
Is the 35 that scrappy? I don't do rock crawling or anything that extreme. Is it not good enough for snow and a little trail riding? I only regeared for taller tires.
You can do whatever it is you wish & maybe be okay.
For the average guy - yeah, you *might* be okay. It partially depends on who does the work - the parts used - and it's use afterwards.
For me and almost everybody I wheel & turn wrenches with - we would not consider for even a second putting any $ whatsoever into a D35.
I suppose it depends on how much coin you want to put into an stock rear axle vs installing one that's far better & possibly much cheaper. Resources come into play as well as skills & tools & shop area. I'm lucky I guess in that department.
Personally I do all my own work until it comes to fab.and then there are only one or two people I trust with that.I built the 35 myself.Everything new except the housing and axles.I didn't see the use in doing a lot of modifications to install a 44 or 8.8 for a vehicle that rarely see the dirt.The only reason I have this jeep is because I built the engine, went through the tranny, new clutch, pressure plate release bearing the whole nine yards for a friend of mine.He got in a bind and had to sell it.If it had been mine I would have left it bone stock. I still have to build the front axle but I guess I will stay with the 30.In my opinion the Dana 60 and the nine inch ford were the best axles ever built.
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