I have a 2.5l with the ax5 that I love dearly. The tub and frame have no rust and this being my first and only car since the age 16 (couldn’t afford a 4.0 from cutting grass money growing up) and have taken it to 38 states, I want to keep it and the 4cyl motor. I have 33s with 30/44 with 4.56 gears and I enjoy driving it. I can do 70 on the highway here in Idaho and get around 20 mpg doing so. It’s slow as crap every where else but it’s tolerable.
The goal is 35s (regear to 5.13) and outboard with Currie 4in springs as a fun around town Jeep but also a very capable rig. I don’t plan on doing trails like starky does but I would like outboards mostly for the better shock rather than just travel and the stock rear location is a pos. I would also like a deeper crawling gear as I often have to bump things, burn my clutch some, or end up stalling on steeper very technical spots but would hope the larger tire diameter would help a little.
What’s the best plan of attack to achieve a capable but daily rig that I can also do it in steps as this is still my daily and likely will still be for another few years. Am I crazy to want to ax15 and atlas 2 with a 5 to 1 low range? If that needs a body lift and a new skid to fit why wouldn’t I also mid arm rather than trying to rebuild my re arms I have now or spend money on all savvy arms just for them to be swapped out. How easy would I be able to install it in a drive way? Would the 5 to 1 help with the AS hops enough for me to not need the mid arm?
I feel like I’d have to swap everything for even a low hp ls swap and a 4.0 swap is just as much work so I might as well just start all new but I really like the 4cyl. I know this is kinda blabbering but still curious to see what others would do or have done in this situation as my suspension is getting worn and I’d like to replace it with what ever I’ll actually keep.
The goal is 35s (regear to 5.13) and outboard with Currie 4in springs as a fun around town Jeep but also a very capable rig. I don’t plan on doing trails like starky does but I would like outboards mostly for the better shock rather than just travel and the stock rear location is a pos. I would also like a deeper crawling gear as I often have to bump things, burn my clutch some, or end up stalling on steeper very technical spots but would hope the larger tire diameter would help a little.
What’s the best plan of attack to achieve a capable but daily rig that I can also do it in steps as this is still my daily and likely will still be for another few years. Am I crazy to want to ax15 and atlas 2 with a 5 to 1 low range? If that needs a body lift and a new skid to fit why wouldn’t I also mid arm rather than trying to rebuild my re arms I have now or spend money on all savvy arms just for them to be swapped out. How easy would I be able to install it in a drive way? Would the 5 to 1 help with the AS hops enough for me to not need the mid arm?
I feel like I’d have to swap everything for even a low hp ls swap and a 4.0 swap is just as much work so I might as well just start all new but I really like the 4cyl. I know this is kinda blabbering but still curious to see what others would do or have done in this situation as my suspension is getting worn and I’d like to replace it with what ever I’ll actually keep.