What spring brand is know for quality? I'm assuming that if I replace the springs, the other hardware isn't going to fail on me or are you saying rough country quality is such that I should consider swapping out the whole setup?
Help identifying front axle
- Thread starter DaveL
- Start date
I recommend Currie 4" springs.they have the most potential for flex and are as good a quality as you will get.There are a few versions to account for the weight of your jeep. Hopefully someone can chime in there.
I used johnnie joints in place of my rough country joints.and I'm replacing each rough country part with currie as i go. Hopefully culminating with a savvy mid arm lift some day
I used johnnie joints in place of my rough country joints.and I'm replacing each rough country part with currie as i go. Hopefully culminating with a savvy mid arm lift some day
Some quick googling would suggest that currie doesn't go more than 4 inches. Is that right? I am about a 4 inch lift now and I rub. I see a couple 5 or 5.5 inch offerings by Taraflex and Rock Krawler. Are there quality 5 + springs available or do I need to go with quality 4 in springs and maybe a 1.25 body lift?
You only have a 3" lift. So you don't need a dropped pitman arm.
You should check drag link and trackbar for parallel.
You only have a 3" lift. So 37" tires are going to rub.
Axles are centered in the wheel wheel at full compression or with springs removed.
No,he is using the stock trackbar mount. So its as simple as using a stock pitman arm. Any drop needs to be even between the two with stock style steering. Not guessing at parallel
Do they all drive JK/JLs?
No, but I am new to the group and we discussed through email. I told them I had a 6 in lift because that is what the seller told me. they wern't actually looking at my jeep at the time. But based on the info here, I think we have established that is is a 4 inch lift with some tired springs so I am not even getting a full 4 inches.
3” lift with 37’s? Yeah, that will rub. Get some HiLines or a 4” RockJock and 1.25” body lift and drop to 35’s.
Well, I have a long arm kit that will accommodate 6 inches of lift. my question is how much do I need. I am looking for a doner V8 at the moment and most of what I am reading says a 1 inch body lift makes that easier. so I am going to go that route, and contrary to the suggestion above, I will NOT be dropping to 35s... I just bought new tires that have > 200 miles on them.
My final question is, how much suspension lift do I need. If I replace the aging 4 inch lift springs that are giving me more like 3.5 right now with 4 inch curry as suggested above with 1.25 of body lift, should I expect that to work, Or do I need to go 4.5 or 5 inches? Also several mentioned fenders, I am fine up front - except that at full right turn I rub on the passenger upper control arm. I do have flat fenders so I am sure that helps. My issue is rubbing in the rear.
My final question is, how much suspension lift do I need. If I replace the aging 4 inch lift springs that are giving me more like 3.5 right now with 4 inch curry as suggested above with 1.25 of body lift, should I expect that to work, Or do I need to go 4.5 or 5 inches? Also several mentioned fenders, I am fine up front - except that at full right turn I rub on the passenger upper control arm. I do have flat fenders so I am sure that helps. My issue is rubbing in the rear.
@toximus has a really good write-up on 37s and 4in lift, I would strongly recommend you check it out. The reason people are suggesting you consider dropping down to 35s is because that axle is known to not be up to the task of supporting 37s, especially since the ball joints are known to not support 37s, so plan that as a maintenance cost. As for lift height, that at the end of the day comes down to where you wheel and what you're using it for. I have around a 3-4in lift with 35s and highline fenders and I am more than happy with the performance, some would say more or less but that all depends on where you wheel. I think Highlines will be a must if you don't intend to bump up lift height, (metal cloak fenders don't count), I would also strongly recommend that you buy aluminum ones over steel, they are way more expensive but at the end of the day, they are worth it. Keep doing research and ask questions, these guys here are some of the most knowledgeable guys when it comes to Jeeps.
An important thing to understand about Tox's build is that he worked very hard at making all the various components and assemblies work together as a larger system.
Step one in that endeavor would be wider axles. Meaning it would be more cost and time effective to simply use a 35" tire. 😉
You need more bumpstop to keep the 37s from rubbing,more height will be a good thing but won't keep it from bottoming out.
I agree with the other advise you're getting. Those axles are too weak and/or too narrow for 37s.Adding a v8 is just going to compound issues.
Its never a good idea to run something just because you have it.learning as you go can be fun,but it can also be expensive and frustrating breaking on the trail or having a rig that doesn't work well.
Please take all our advise with good intent.we want you to succeed and be part of the community here.
I agree with the other advise you're getting. Those axles are too weak and/or too narrow for 37s.Adding a v8 is just going to compound issues.
Its never a good idea to run something just because you have it.learning as you go can be fun,but it can also be expensive and frustrating breaking on the trail or having a rig that doesn't work well.
Please take all our advise with good intent.we want you to succeed and be part of the community here.
Your front Dana 44's ball joints will not hold up long to 37's. If they were I'd be running 37's.
Your HP Dana 30's ball joints are not up to/strong enough for 37's if you plan to offroad it.
Oh yea, I was just being kind and sending him to a really good reference to what it really takes to run 37s. I went through the same puzzle trying to decide if I should do 35s or 37s and although currently my world would probably be fine as most of my trails are essentially just dirt roads.
It is probably worth noting that this is a trail rig only, yes I drive to and from the trail or sometimes flat tow it, but I logged less than 3K miles last year. I’m not really worried about Items that will wear out over time. I’m only worried about items that are so stressed that they are going to break all at once.
My real reason for the 37s is that in my area (Arizona) I get a lot of washes with large river rock kind of situations. I have smacked my differentials a number of times, the last time I created a leak. I’m really going for more differential clearance.
Blake I appreciate the direction to a write up, but the link is to the member, how do I find his write up? I did quite a bit of searching and did find other discussions about curry saying that their dana 44 is good up to 37, and referenced dana ball joints… then there was a debate about if they are stock ball joints. Can I simply upgrade the ball joints? I see several versions for sale between 200 and 350, which is a lot less than abandoning new tires.
Most everything I have read indicates that the dana 44 is good for 37s, though perhaps they are expecting a ball joint upgrade? Based on the fact that there is no build number on the axle tube, I believe that this is a 44 ordered from an aftermarket shop. Might they have already done the upgrade?
I don’t understand the width comments. I don’t seem to have a width issue at all except that at full right turn I get a little bit of rubbing on the upper control arm. I really don’t seem to have a front end clearance issue at all, only the back rubs. I do have flat fenders so I have a lot of added clearance over stock.
My real reason for the 37s is that in my area (Arizona) I get a lot of washes with large river rock kind of situations. I have smacked my differentials a number of times, the last time I created a leak. I’m really going for more differential clearance.
Blake I appreciate the direction to a write up, but the link is to the member, how do I find his write up? I did quite a bit of searching and did find other discussions about curry saying that their dana 44 is good up to 37, and referenced dana ball joints… then there was a debate about if they are stock ball joints. Can I simply upgrade the ball joints? I see several versions for sale between 200 and 350, which is a lot less than abandoning new tires.
Most everything I have read indicates that the dana 44 is good for 37s, though perhaps they are expecting a ball joint upgrade? Based on the fact that there is no build number on the axle tube, I believe that this is a 44 ordered from an aftermarket shop. Might they have already done the upgrade?
I don’t understand the width comments. I don’t seem to have a width issue at all except that at full right turn I get a little bit of rubbing on the upper control arm. I really don’t seem to have a front end clearance issue at all, only the back rubs. I do have flat fenders so I have a lot of added clearance over stock.
If it's a TJ front Dana 44, there are no stronger ball joints available than the OEM Spicers it came with. That's why I'm still running 35's and why knowledgeable TJ owners who actually wheel their rigs on trails tough enough to need 35's and/or 37's recommend against 37's on any front axle the factory ever installed into a Wrangler TJ.
From what I understand there is much more that plays into it than just tire clearance, I believe it also has to do with stability and scrub radius aswell. There are a good bit of people in this group that run in Arizona, @starkey480 has a super capable Jeep, I don't think I've ever heard him complain about the clearance under his diff, from my understanding, the Rubicon dana 44 is not even a proper 44, its more of a hybrid between a 30 and a 44, im not telling you to just strip them out and throw dana 60s under there (which is the typical advice for running 37s or bigger tires) what I do suggest is if you do start breaking on the trail, then I would highly suggest just dropping down to a 35. If you do some more reading here, you will see that no one suggests that tire and axle setup for anything more than mall crawling. As for Tox's build thread, https://wranglertjforum.com/threads...-octane-a-streetable-adventure-lj-story.9956/. I'll also provide a link for Starkey's Jeep because that thing is more capable than most any other Jeep I've seen. https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/arizona-rock-crawling-daily-driver.26000/. I hope all of this helps!
