New member with a lot of questions I didnt know I needed to ask...

[gwbmcse]

For $1,500 or less I would do wheels & tires (33's x your preference width) & sell the ones you have for a little extra cash & regear both axles when you can.

There should also be a metal tag on diff cover that shows your gear ratio, although someone could have always swapped stuff without retagging but doesn't sound like it.

This picture shows a 3.73 ratio for example

View attachment 256964

Looked up my VIN online and it came with 4.11 ratio.

 

[DuPont]

Looked up my VIN online and it came with 4.11 ratio.

Yup....I figured it would. Now the other thing you need to consider once you change the tires and wheels, if you do, is the speedometer gear. You may have to change it, unless PO did, due to the size of the tires and wheels. There are several charts on line that can help you determine the correct gear size. They are available from numerous aftermarket sellers including Amazon and Quadratec. BTW not much difference in 4.10 or 4.11.....Jeep calls it a 4.11 so I go with that.

 

[DEValken]

4.10 and 4.11 are both right if you have the Dana 30/Dana 35 combo, Dana 30 had the 4.10 and the 35 had 4.11.

I think I have that right, and I'm sure someone here will correct which is which. I'm just too lazy to Google.

 

[DuPont]

4.10 and 4.11 are both right if you have the Dana 30/Dana 35 combo, Dana 30 had the 4.10 and the 35 had 4.11.

I think I have that right, and I'm sure someone here will correct which is which. I'm just too lazy to Google.

You are correct the Dana 30 is 4.10 and the Dana 35 is 4.11. Jeep only lists the gear ratio on the build sheet as 4.11. Not much difference, just easier and cheaper to go this route for Jeep with a slightly miss match of gear ratios.

 

[WFD 19]

I was in a similar situation as you. 4 cyl. with 33x10.50 and a 3" lift. I had the gears changed from the 4.11 to 4.88 and it was night and day difference. I can use 5th gear all the time. I would use what you got now and save up to change the gears. My gear swap was right around $2,300.

 

[gwbmcse]

Just to follow up, I ended up dropping the 4" kit to a 2.5" lift and chucked the 35x12 20inch wheels for 31x9.5 18" wheels. I did have to replace the control rod, pitman arm and sway links to factory. The wheels were from a modern jeep so I used 1.25 wheel extender/adapter to five the 5x5 bolt pattern. The old shocks were shot btw. The tires are all terrain rather than mud.

All in all, This thing drives 200 percent better with the steering wheel slop and horrendous road noise. The shocks are the reason i was losing a kidney with each pot hole. As far as the 4 cylinder...it still sucks...but it sucks a LOT less . I am now able to get to 4 gear "normally" and not have it bottom out the RPMs and can get to 5th gear around 70MPH. Much improved.

It looks a little wonky with 31's but my next project for this is to find an inline 6 to drop in it with the matching computer and up and increase the tires to 33". I think I will be good to go then.

 

[F Troop]

First, those wheels.... woof. Second, those tires will wear fast and are overly expensive, which might work in your favor. I would pick up cheap (factory?) 15" wheels with between 3.75-4.5" of backspace. Then get a nice set of 31" tires to go on your 15" rims. Then sell that huge chrome tire/wheel package for as much as you can. Then we can direct you to a shorter lift that fits your tires nicely while still looking like its ready for adventure.

some things to note, no matter what the 4 banger will never feel like anything but just that. For your described use it can still be peppy and fun, just gotta shrink it and put it on a diet.

just my 2 cents.

Edit: just to add, I only say get "cheap" wheels because of the budget. If you'd rather get it over with, Just get whatever 15x8" wheels you like that are aluminum and the 31" tire of your choice. That would at least get it moving around a lot easier, even if it looks silly while you sell off the old one's.
If you do like the wheels and tire size, etc. then your only option is to re-gear.

I agree 100%. That’s exactly what I did. I sold the wheels and tires and paid for the lower 2” lift kit and had money let over. I put the old Steelies on with 31’s and she’s a hell of a lot funnier to drive.

 

[707kevin]

If you do the 4.0 swap, make sure you have the extra connectors & wiring for the fuel injectors. At least on the YJ, I had to add pins to the ECU harness also. I might have a few laying around still with 6-8" of wire.

The motor mounts get cut and moved. You don't need to buy new ones, just carefully cut the welds off the old.

You'll need a new transmission also (AX-15). And transmission mount. The AX-5 won't mate to the 4.0 and you don't want it to anyways...

You'll need to cut the fan shroud shorter.

You'll need various coolant lines, heater hoses.

Power Steering lines might give you trouble, I was able to re-use mine, but it was hokey. I had to zip tie the reservoir to something.

You may need some exhaust / downpipe work for it to mate up.

Front / rear driveshaft may not be the correct length any longer. But I may have positioned my mote back 2" further than stock when I did mine, can't remember.

In the end - it's not worth the hassle unless someone gave you a jeep and you want a project. Next time I'd just sell 2.5 jeep -> buy 4.0 jeep.

 

[LONGJP2]

Save some more weight (and make some money) by selling that heavy bumper and winch.

Sometimes you can find 17" JK Moab wheels for free. You've already got the adapters.

 

[Don Ashcraft]

Personally I’d drive it as is and stay away from the highway until you can gather what you need to get to accomplish your goal. Everything is going to be somewhat expensive (depending on what that means to you)
I would plan to take it down to 2” lift with 31” tires. That will let you get some power and handling back and let it do well on forest roads and the city streets alike.
2” BDS coil springs will run you about $200
Ranch shocks for 2” about $200
Wheels and tires will be the most expensive part, but 31” tires are going to cost less than 33” probably starting at $750 and up for a set of 5.
Wheels about $75-$100 apiece for low end.
So that’s around $1650 on the low side.
but it sounds like it’d be a good idea to replacing the tie rod ends and anything that has a joint/bushing in the front to really tighten up the steering and handling.
if it isn’t a daily driver I would just start park it and do the work as you can afford.

 

[Don Ashcraft]

Just saw the update lol. Cheers!