Rear Axle for TJ

After discussing it with the wife and looking at a few other things, my budget is $2500. The certified mechanic that I thought was going to help me with my work said he does not touch those gears because it has to be very precise (he is certified but joined the navy instead of working as a mechanic, so he doesn't have a lot of experience with regearing). My guess is that I am limited to the super35 route due to my budget (Super35, detroit locker, and re-gear). Re-gearing to 4.56. The Super35 kit I am looking at has a lifetime warranty and is made in the USA. Waiting to get an updated price quote from the 4x4 location near me. Any other advice for getting a complete axel for about $1500 rather than going the Super35 route?
 
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Look up info on a 8.8 from a Ford Explorer or ranger, no c clips and they are cheap at the junkyards. You can find them with disc brakes.
 
look at teh replies on page 1 and 2 of this thread? Honestly the super 35 is a piece of crap. If you are fine with using warranty after spending a grand on a an axle that will break again (and again), that is ok. I would address the issue and be done. The 35 is fine for stcok size tires and street driving and very light off-roading.

trust me you will be pissed after you break a "super-thurdy-five" axle and bakc on the same boat.

for way under $2500:

1- buy stock tj front 4 banger axle with 4.10 $200-300
2- Ford Explorer 1996 and up axle $200-300, plus another $1000 in brackets, driveshaft, etc (again look at pages 1 and 2 of this thread for more details)
3- sell your old junk - $200-300

that will leave $1000 to $1200 extra in the pocket. $200 for a spa for the wife (trust me this will open extra credits for future jeep parts!) and you saved teh extra grand and fixed the issue :D

My $2500 cents ;)
 
zip04 said:
What years should I be looking at for the Explorer?
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95+ on the explorer I believe is when they changed the body style. And 01+ on the ranger is when they started putting the 8.8's in. Some rangers have the 7.5 so look at the tag on the axle.
 
Thanks fellas. I looked at the replies on the first two pages, but didn't think about just buying an already geared front axel instead of regearing mine. If they are both already geared, I can do the labor.
 
Because I don't want to do an 8.8 conversion, I've been playing with different options with Dynatrac and Dana axles, and my wife started asking me why I'd want to spend such huge amounts of money on "an old jeep". LOL

Now, I'm truly experiencing first world problems, because she asked me if I'd consider buying a brand new Jeep of my choosing...

We'll see where this leads, but I'm actually torn about that. I love the TJ, but she hates riding in it because it's loud, rough and isn't a 4 door.
 
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herb04 said:
Weight reduction mod lol
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LOL

She goes where I go, and vice versa. It wouldn't be much of a weight savings, anyway.

And if she's trying to figure out how to buy a new JK, to keep us both happy, she's a keeper.
 
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I ended up spending the money and going with a new G2 Dana 44 with the 33 spline chromoly axle and detroit locker. It will take up to 2 months for them to build it and ship it though, so now we wait... Everywhere I looked, it was going to cost the same or more to go with an 8.8. And that is with me supplying the axle. Unfortunately, I can't weld.
 
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For a front axle you can also look for an xj front axle as it will be a high pinion version aswell. Stronger then the to one. Same bracket locations.
 
I did the 8.8 out of a 98 explorer. It's been awesome so far. A friend of mine used the artec brackets it's a really nice set up and most everything is pre cut and welded and in the correct spot. And it comes trussed so it's very strong.
 
For anyone that reads this and is still looking, I have to vote for the 8.8 as well. I picked up a junk yard 8.8 with 3.73s, a LSD, and disc brakes pretty cheap (few hundred?) which matched my stock gearing at the time. I used the Artec truss and picked up a 1310 / 1330 conversion u-joint and ECGS e-brake lines to tie it all up. I eventually installed 4.88's and run 35s and 37s with no problem so far. :)
 
ta219 said:
For anyone that reads this and is still looking, I have to vote for the 8.8 as well. I picked up a junk yard 8.8 with 3.73s, a LSD, and disc brakes pretty cheap (few hundred?) which matched my stock gearing at the time. I used the Artec truss and picked up a 1310 / 1330 conversion u-joint and ECGS e-brake lines to tie it all up. I eventually installed 4.88's and run 35s and 37s with no problem so far. :)
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That's great! Good luck and have fun!
 
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