Opinions on proposed XJ mods

[XJSteve]

Hi guys,

I attended Jeep 101 last weekend and was very impressed my both the level of camaraderie and experience/knowledge of the members. Many thanks to Aaron and the crew for an excellent experience. My 14 yr old boy who attended with me has decided he's going to buys Dad's jeep when he turns 16.

I have a '99 XJ with a 5.5" Rubicon Express long arm lift running 33" all terrain tires. Dana 30 stock open diff on front, Chrysler 8.25 limited slip rear and stock 3.55 gears. I need to re-gear to 4.56. I will upgrade to chromoly half shafts. I already have Rusty's Dana 30 welded axle tube bracing and diff guards on both. In terms of lockers, my thoughts right now are on an Ox locker in front and perhaps a detroit locker in rear. This is a daily driver that hits the dirt/rocks not often enough. I want to be realistic in terms of the livability of the lockers on the street. I presently own a pick-up with a full airbag suspension and although it works really well when it's not leaking, it tends  to spring leaks all too often. So this has caused me to re-think the ARB air locker option. Perhaps the ARB's don't leak often...let me know. Finally, if I want to pursue winter wheeling, how the locker works in the cold is also important. I know  you guys have the experience to provide the opinions. Let em flow, good and bad and the advice would be appreciated.

Steve 

[cLAY]

I would research the electrac trac lockers. I prefer them over the ARBs and run one in the front of my rig. Comparable in price when you factor in the cost of a compressor for an arb.

[fug]

Or you could by a completely setup set of axles with 4.88's and arb's say maybe a D44 front and 8.8 rear which I just happen to be selling

[JackstandJohnny]

steve your XJ is one nice lookin rig

swapping in a set of axles that Fug has isn't a terrible idea.

i run ARBs. they're great for daily driven rigs.  can be finnicky in the winter and sometimes not lock but they usually work just fine.

its definitely something to consider IMO  get the bigger axles gears/lockers installed......... not a bad way to go.

[JENSSEN]

I would research the electrac trac lockers. I prefer them over the ARBs and run one in the front of my rig. Comparable in price when you factor in the cost of a compressor for an arb.

I have an E-locker from the gear centre and LOVE IT!!!

[XJSteve]

Hey Fug,

What are you asking for the axles? Do they have 1310 U-joints, are they same width as standard Cherokee axles and what kind of half shafts do they have? Why are you getting rid of them? Thanks, Steve

[fug]

I am asking 4K for the axles, arb air pump, switches, lines.  They are standard 1310 Ujoints as far as I know.   Not exactly sure what the axles are I'd have to look at the bill from National (the guy i bought the jeep from had all his work done there). 

I am selling as I bought this jeep to wheel while I worked on my TJ... but after doing a tranny swap and then having the motor go out on me i decided to shelf the XJ and concentrate on the TJ. 

[tubby]

You would be ahead of the game if you purchased Fug's axles.  All the major work has been done to it, and you get the D-44's bigger ring and pinion. I've had ARB's in my FJ-40 and now my Jeep Cherokee. I find them to be a wee bit finicky in really cold weather. Do some research on the Ox Locker. I was interested in that route last year when I was in Colorado. An Ox-Locker rep told me that the company was going through some changes. He didn't sound too optimistic, and you don't hear about them any more.

Good luck with your decision.

[XJSteve]

Hey everyone,

Thanks for all the excellent advice. I purchased the axles from Fug and now it's a matter of seeing what kind of rpm on the highway I'm going to be running with 33" tires. Maybe too high and then the decision to try to fit larger tires under the Cherokee. I understand I will be undertaking a larger project if trying to fit 35" tires under the XJ even if I add 2" blocks to the RE 5.5 inch lift. I suspect the front to rear clearance of the wheel wells (even with the Bushwacker flares) will not be sufficient to burry the tires with full articulation. I'll take it one step at a time. The other option of course is to re-gear the new/old axles to 4.56.

Steve