Nice vehicle and nice write-ups. I have an '04 (silver) Sport. Couldn't get 32" replacement 'Mud Terrains' so am running the same 33" K02's as yours.
Have the stock 30/35 diff's with 3.73 gearing, The 35 is a OEM Trac-Loc unit.
Yours appears to have the wider Rubicon wheel flares ?? Do you run wheel spacers also ?
Where in BC did your TJ come from? I live on Vancouver Island and was out in the bush to-day. No snow!
You probably went with 4.56s?…got my regear and axles done 2 years ago and really enjoy the change.
You probably went with 4.56s?
That’s a nice setup, I’d totally go with BMB but I think they’d just be too costly to get up here. Just a good set of pads is sufficient for me, and I have no plans on going to 35s.I’ve got a Rubi Dana 44 with factory lockers and alloys in the rear and a high pinion Dana 30 in the front with a ARB locker and Yukon alloys with big u-joints. And I’m running 4:10’s because I’ve got an automatic. And I’m very happy with the gearing.
Went with Black Magic brakes in the front, and I can’t recommend them enough!!!
Ultimately yes that is my preferred swap. Unfortunately I have yet to come across even just a rear non-Rubi Dana 44 for sale around here, let alone a full Rubi set. But until I get to that phase of my plans I will certainly continue keeping my eyes open. In reality a Dana 35 will handle any wheeling I’d be doing though.If you’re lucky enough to find a set of Rubi axles, that would make an easy swap for sure, but they’re kinda hard to come by. But keep looking, I found one!
Don’t worry I’ve probably read every thread on here about gearing for my setup, I think Jerry even responded to me mentioning I plan 4.10s once haha. I’ve gone through the gear ratio calculators and I think I’d be happy enough with 4.10’s, at this point anyways I can’t justify the cost to myself of a regear. Swapping in a 4cyl Dana 30/35 is a cheap route to get me by and be able to use 5th (while staying on 33s btw, don’t reeeeally wanna drop in size).And I’d recommend looking at some of Jerry Bransford’s posts on gearing for the manual transmission. 4:10’s might not be enough to get your RPM’s back close to factory with those 33’s. It makes a difference, not just for road speed vs RPM’s, but for gas mileage too!
Happy wheeling!