[Bluebyou]

I have acouple Wrangler questions..
1. Will a D35 hold up too 35in tires and be wheeled fairly hard?
2. What is the best Long arm lift that will clear 35s? Money is no factor
3. How hard is it too swap a D44 out front?
4. Anything else that i need besides a Lift Kit, Tires and rims to get it out on the road?
5. Anyone have pics of there wrangler with 35s?
6. What size gears for a 4liter and 35s?
7. I kind of want a 97 or up jeep, But i see some of the older ones have Leaf springs, Do they flex any better or worse than the newer ones? thanks!

 

[4Jeepn]

I have acouple Wrangler questions..
1. Will a D35 hold up too 35in tires and be wheeled fairly hard?
2. What is the best Long arm lift that will clear 35s? Money is no factor
3. How hard is it too swap a D44 out front?
4. Anything else that i need besides a Lift Kit, Tires and rims to get it out on the road?
5. Anyone have pics of there wrangler with 35s?
6. What size gears for a 4liter and 35s?
7. I kind of want a 97 or up jeep, But i see some of the older ones have Leaf springs, Do they flex any better or worse than the newer ones? thanks!

Before you go and spend a lot of money why don't you give us an idea of what type of wheeling you plan to do or not do, and we can point you in the correct direction with your mods.

 

[khenderson]

i'll agree with 4Jeepn that we need to know the type of wheeling you will be doing, but here's some quick answers:

1. a D35 will break running 35's. some guys get away with running 37's for a while, but the axle just isn't strong enough for it. you can upgrade with a super 35 kit that will help, but if money's no object, swap in some pro rock 60's.

2. i've always been partial to full traction's setup, but i don't have it, so i can't answer that question based upon experience.

3. someone who's done this will have to answer this as well.

4. body protection is a must if you plannin on doing rock crawling. rocker guards, skids(gas, tranny, etc). a stock jeep with 31's can do almost as much one running 33's or 35's. alot depends on driving skill.

5. still running 30's. so others can post pics here.

6. if it were me, i'd run 4.56 with a 4.0, probly. maybe 4.88.

7. pre 97 jeeps are easier to get more lift out of and can flex well, but i'm partial to coil sprung jeeps, personally.

hth.

 

[Bluebyou]

I will be doing all kinds of trail riding, From mud to rocks. But it will also be my daily driver. So i think i am going to pick one up with a D44 in the rear already, And swap one in the front.

 

[khenderson]

bah!!! pick up a 97 se and gut it!! drop in a 5.7 hemi and a pair of 60's with arb lockers, add a long arm kit, some trail armor and a winch and you're good to go!!

 

[4Jeepn]

#3 a front dana 44 swap is not that big a deal. You can purchase a new housing from folks like jeepsareus.com. but this is a low pinion 44 so not that much stronger than your 30 and about the same as a high pinion 30 from a XJ, the shaft would be 30spline vs 27 for the inside but the outer would be 27 and it will reuse your dana 30 ball joints and outer compoents. Thus think that one over.

4. Anything else you need. I would get a heavy duty steering setup, I run a Currie system and its much better than stock. You many also want to look into upgrading your steering pump and box with the larger tires. also don't for get about an Slip yoke eliminator(SYE), for the t-case and a new rear drive shaft, as this will help with after lift vibrations.
well that's all I got for now.... have fun.

 

[jeeperman]

I have acouple Wrangler questions..
1. Will a D35 hold up too 35in tires and be wheeled fairly hard?
2. What is the best Long arm lift that will clear 35s? Money is no factor
3. How hard is it too swap a D44 out front?
4. Anything else that i need besides a Lift Kit, Tires and rims to get it out on the road?
5. Anyone have pics of there wrangler with 35s?
6. What size gears for a 4liter and 35s?
7. I kind of want a 97 or up jeep, But i see some of the older ones have Leaf springs, Do they flex any better or worse than the newer ones? thanks!

1.) See above, I have seen Dana 35's break on level ground with 35" swampers... On the first run!
2.) I absolutely LOVE my Full Traction kit. I have only had it out for 3 serious runs, but it works better than anything else I have seen (that you can buy in kit form). And that does include a couple of R.E. kits that guys I run with use.
3.) If you are buying a full axle from somewhere like Dynatrac or Currie, you can make it just a matter of disconnecting the old one, bolting in the new one and bleeding the brakes. If you are looking at a junkyard swap, you will have some fabrication to do, but if you are handy with a welder, shouldn't be an issue.
4.) For the road, you will just need gears, (at least 4.56 to put you back at ~ stock gearing), but for the trails, you should have some body armor (unless you are into body damage).
5.) Will be posting mine later this week (they are in the mail from my last run).
6.) I am going to be swapping 4.56's in mine next year (have 4.10's now), but I may change my mind and go to 4.88's instead if I don't have to drive it on the freeway much...
7.) I used to drive a 1991 with a SOA setup and ARB 's front and rear and it worked pretty good on the trails, but my 2003 Rubicon will put it to shame. It flexes better and is a much softer ride... If I were starting another build (hopefully in a couple of years) it will be either a full tube buggy or another TJ ('97 or later Wrangler).

Good luck with your build! Make sure you post pics as it grows up!

 

[Sandhara]

bah!!! pick up a 97 se and gut it!! drop in a 5.7 hemi and a pair of 60's with arb lockers, add a long arm kit, some trail armor and a winch and you're good to go!!

DARN RIGHT!

 

[1BLKJP]

Well here's a random poser shot on 35's. For some reason photobucket isn't letting me load new picks up right now.

 

[khenderson]

just a question....aren't mt claws supposed to be mounted with them pointing downwards?

 

[1BLKJP]

just a question....aren't mt claws supposed to be mounted with them pointing downwards?

Nice catch. Yeah, normally people run them in the forward direction. At the time of that pick it was still my DD and I had them on backwards as part of my rotation schedule. Rotating front/back and side/side helped keep the cupping down and a great wear pattern. It also helps in the rocks for lateral stability. Now that it's no longer a DD I am running them backwards constantly.

 

[jeeperman]

just a question....aren't mt claws supposed to be mounted with them pointing downwards?

If you mount them "backwards" as you see in the pic, obstacles are forced to the center of the tire, instead of to the outside. The road noise is much worse and the wear is horrible, but the traction is better in everything but mud. (At least that is what I have been told by the guys that are doing it) You can do the same thing with any directional tire, Boggers can be run this way too, it gives more lateral stability on the rocks and more floatation on the sand...

 

[Bluebyou]

What are the specs on that jeep?

 

[1BLKJP]

What are the specs on that jeep?

You mean mine in the pic above?

 

[Bluebyou]

Yes

 

[1BLKJP]

Yes

99 Wrangler Sahara

LP30/D44 (still 3.73 gearing because of HP30 housing in the garage)
Lock Rites
Toys By Troy Alumiflex LA w/ 5.5" RE Coils
Rancho 9000's
1" Daystar BL/1" M.O.R.E Bombproof MML
Currie Anti-Rock
35" MT Baja Claws
RK Steering (tie rod over the knuckle)

And currently a second busted up tranny.

But it helps boys to have a girlfriend that loves wheelin. We were trying to flop her on this one. But she didn't want to be the first one to flop it.

 

[jeeptales]

Good idea, if your are made of money!

bah!!! pick up a 97 se and gut it!! drop in a 5.7 hemi and a pair of 60's with arb lockers, add a long arm kit, some trail armor and a winch and you're good to go!!

Or for about 2/3 that price you could pick up a New Rubicon and do just about anything right out of the box.

Or for 1/2 that price you could pick up a used Rubi and do a few upgrades.

 

[Bluebyou]

Does anyone know of any write ups about how to swap D44 axles? And i seen a Super 35 kit, How stong do the D35s get with that kit? Also, Steering Where can i find that? And Driveshaft, Do i need a complete new one, Or can i just lengthen the stock one? Thanks!

 

[1BLKJP]

Does anyone know of any write ups about how to swap D44 axles? And i seen a Super 35 kit, How stong do the D35s get with that kit? Also, Steering Where can i find that? And Driveshaft, Do i need a complete new one, Or can i just lengthen the stock one? Thanks!

As far as the D44 goes are you looking to swap one from a TJ? If so then everything will bolt right up. The drums are the same the brake lines are the same. All of the mounts are the same. Only mod is the driveshaft. But if you are lifting your rig enough to get 35's then you need to swap out a CV shaft anyway.

Super 35's have their fans, but I am not one of them. The Dana 35 is a weak axle there are no to ways about it. The S35 is just makeup on an ugly girl.

 

[4Jeepn]

Does anyone know of any write ups about how to swap D44 axles? And i seen a Super 35 kit, How stong do the D35s get with that kit? Also, Steering Where can i find that? And Driveshaft, Do i need a complete new one, Or can i just lengthen the stock one? Thanks!

The Super 35 kit does a nice job making a bad axle a bit nicer to live with, and if you run 33's go easy on the gas you would most likey be fine. Cost is about $900 for this kit as I recall, then install figure $250-300 or so.. So lets say $1200 as a ball park figure. This is not counting if you regear. vs. TJ dana 44 housing: 600 new, alloy shafts 350, gears/install kit $250 brakes..reuse dana 35 FREE. 300 for install add a locker $500ish So about 2k ish when all is said and done. But you end up with a far better rear axle. Go with the super 44 kit and your close to dana 60 spec's. As for steering look at the currie setup very nice.