Well, today I did some minor things. I re-checked the diffs and the t-case fluid levels. All is well there!
I pulled the tire carrier off. It preps the way to put on the Morryde tailgate reinforcement kit, and I didn't see the point of running the carrier without a spare, so I will be cruising like this for a few weeks until I order tires and wheels.
I tweaked the toe and centering of the steering wheel. They were both a little off.
Took another cruise and got it on a highway. Man, the new gears are awesome. I can actually pass cars now! Revs in 4th and passing were a little high for my liking, about 3500 rpm at 65. I think 35 inch tires will get me in the sweet spot for the AX-15 and 4.88's.
I noticed a whine coming from the front of the jeep under mlid acceleration. Unsure if coming from front diff, driveshaft, or something else. The axle I swapped in had the 4.88 gears already installed, and they were a bit shallow. The driveshaft is a brand new TW.
Front Pinion angle is 9.1* and Front DS angle is 8.2*.I'm wondering if it could be pinion angle? I could have sworn when I set it up my pinion was a degree below my DS angle but when I re checked, it was 1 degree above the DS angle. Again, I'm getting no vibes, but if changing that could fix the whine, I'm happy to crawl around under there for a half hour and fix it.
Or is it possibly the way the gears are meshing? There are zero vibes, and like I said, it only happens when my foot is barely on the gas. As soon as I let off the pedal or give it half the pedal the whine goes away.
Also, the tires are pretty clapped out. I'm definitely replacing them soon, but you can hear the tires roaring all the time, and the whine sound only happens under mild acceleration, so I don't *think* it's tire related but I could be wrong.
Any suggestions, I'm glad to hear em. Video link below. Sound starts about 4 seconds in.
Video
also FYI, rear driveshaft, no vibes, and no noise. DS angle is 15.0* and pinion is 13.2* so with no vibes or noise I feel like it's about perfect.