Hey all. I am about to start building my LJ into something usable for on and off road. Much like most everyone, this is also my daily driver. Considerations for things like driving many miles each day/month are real for me but not be all end all limiting factors. I want the Jeep to run solid and dependable without having to continually change parts because of over stressing one component or another. With that all said, here is what I have so far and the direction I am thinking. Please give me input on these things. I value the massive amount of knowledge and experience on this forum.
Here is where I am starting from:
2004 LJ. For those that don't know, it comes with a Dana 44/30 setup with 3.73 gears, 42RLE 4 speed auto trans. When I bought it, Rocky came with 33' tires so it is currently dogged out pretty bad. The transmission is on its last leg. It had a rear main leak and both rear axle seals where leaking. Seems kind of crappy but it's an LJ and I got a great deal on it.
I started with fixing all of the leaks. After about $250 bucks and a few hours in the garage, leaks are all taken care of.
Transmission is about to die and refuses to shift into 4th gear without milking the throttle. Over drive is not really an option with the tire/gear setup currently. I ordered a new to me transmission and it will be installed this week. I stayed with the 42RLE after some bit of research showed a ton of work to re-train the computer etc etc.... So the transmission will be good sometime this week.
Gears are next. I know this is a can of worms as a lot of opinion exists about what gear and tire combo works best. I have not come full circle with this yet but what I do know is that I will be putting 35s on in the next 30 days. So opinion and facts are readily welcomed here. My goal once again is to daily drive this. I have heard that the transmission makes the gearing critical for running 35s and should be 5.13. I was originally going with 4.56 gears but am pulling back a bit now. I was going to use Randy's Ring and Pinion as the supplier and have them installed at a local gear shop. What do y'all think about the ratio???
Now for the fun stuff.......
I have lamented and researched etc etc for a while about the lift, how much, what depth, blah blah blah. Originally I was set on installing a BDS 4.5 inch short arm lift. Recently though, I discovered Metal Cloak. They really seem solid and I can't hardly find a bad review except the one off person that's pissed about some shipping issue etc. I hope they are as good as I have read about because I just gave up a crap load of $$$$. I have to say that I had that feeling of, "Oh man is my wife gonna be pissed" after I gave the credit card number over. Too late now though. Here is what I have coming......
Metal Cloak 3.5 inch ARB short arm lift.
Full MetalCloak tube fender and rocker protection
LED signals.
Also both diff covers from Metal Cloak
I know that doesn't seem like a lot but it is plenty.
After the lift is installed and I can measure the transfer case to pinion I am going to place an order with Tom Woods drive shaft for a SYE and double cardin shaft.
I think the only thing left is the steering. I would love input for this as well as I know it has to improve with the mods being done the stock stuff will never handle it.
What do y'all think?? I'd love the input on any and all of this.
I'll post some pics later tonight of Rocky as he sits right now. I think the transformation will be pretty dramatic.
Here is where I am starting from:
2004 LJ. For those that don't know, it comes with a Dana 44/30 setup with 3.73 gears, 42RLE 4 speed auto trans. When I bought it, Rocky came with 33' tires so it is currently dogged out pretty bad. The transmission is on its last leg. It had a rear main leak and both rear axle seals where leaking. Seems kind of crappy but it's an LJ and I got a great deal on it.
I started with fixing all of the leaks. After about $250 bucks and a few hours in the garage, leaks are all taken care of.
Transmission is about to die and refuses to shift into 4th gear without milking the throttle. Over drive is not really an option with the tire/gear setup currently. I ordered a new to me transmission and it will be installed this week. I stayed with the 42RLE after some bit of research showed a ton of work to re-train the computer etc etc.... So the transmission will be good sometime this week.
Gears are next. I know this is a can of worms as a lot of opinion exists about what gear and tire combo works best. I have not come full circle with this yet but what I do know is that I will be putting 35s on in the next 30 days. So opinion and facts are readily welcomed here. My goal once again is to daily drive this. I have heard that the transmission makes the gearing critical for running 35s and should be 5.13. I was originally going with 4.56 gears but am pulling back a bit now. I was going to use Randy's Ring and Pinion as the supplier and have them installed at a local gear shop. What do y'all think about the ratio???
Now for the fun stuff.......
I have lamented and researched etc etc for a while about the lift, how much, what depth, blah blah blah. Originally I was set on installing a BDS 4.5 inch short arm lift. Recently though, I discovered Metal Cloak. They really seem solid and I can't hardly find a bad review except the one off person that's pissed about some shipping issue etc. I hope they are as good as I have read about because I just gave up a crap load of $$$$. I have to say that I had that feeling of, "Oh man is my wife gonna be pissed" after I gave the credit card number over. Too late now though. Here is what I have coming......
Metal Cloak 3.5 inch ARB short arm lift.
Full MetalCloak tube fender and rocker protection
LED signals.
Also both diff covers from Metal Cloak
I know that doesn't seem like a lot but it is plenty.
After the lift is installed and I can measure the transfer case to pinion I am going to place an order with Tom Woods drive shaft for a SYE and double cardin shaft.
I think the only thing left is the steering. I would love input for this as well as I know it has to improve with the mods being done the stock stuff will never handle it.
What do y'all think?? I'd love the input on any and all of this.
I'll post some pics later tonight of Rocky as he sits right now. I think the transformation will be pretty dramatic.
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