New guy to the forum! quick questions...

[JeepNaked]

I just want some input from you guys on my plans to build up my 2006 TJ. This is what i have now; dana 30 front/ dana 44 rear with 3.73 gears and 32" bf goodrich km2's. What i plan to do is; 4" terraflex LCG long arm suspension lift, SYE kit, extended brakelines, super 30 front axle upgrade/ 44 rear upgrade to the chromoly axle shafts. (Im going to stick with the the 27 spline front shafts as its cheaper than replacing the hubs for the 30 spline) ARB lockers front and rear with 4.88 gears. Some protection as well, oil pan guard, maybe a steering box guard, diff cages possibly. Max tire i plan on running is a 33". Im in colorado and my main addiction is big freakin boulders. Rock crawlin all the way. It will be for daily driving as well, untill i get a cheap little car. What are you thoughts? Input? Ideas? Personal experience with any of said components? i have only a single buddy who is even remotely mechnically inclined, but alas has no personal experience with any specific components. Thanks for your ¢2!

Cody

 

[TerryMason]

Welcome to Jeepz.com.
I can't speak to most of those parts, other than the BFG KM2's - I've got some 33s on my 05 TJ and like them.

 

[JeepNaked]

Yea, i love em too. They are fairly quiet on the road, and grippy on the trails. Look good too. What about the setup in general? Any experience with air lockers or a four inch suspension lift?

 

[JeepNaked]

I just want to ad a thanks for the welcome! Ive come to have a great respect for jeep owners for their genuine interest in helping others (not just other jeep owners) and the loyalty they have to the limitless possibilities that 4 wheeling has to offer.

 

[Jason4x4]

I have a remarkably similar plan to yours - My '06 TJ just got the 4" lift treatment back in November. I have a short arm kit for now but will eventually upgrade to long arm. I also have 32" tires right now (BFG KM1s). I was originally going to go with 33s but am now seriously considering throwing on some tube fenders and running 35s (I have a 1" body lift which will help clear the tires as well). I was originally considering the Super 30 kit but I think I would rather swap out the 30 front for a 44 front if I'm going with 35s (and I want OX lockers). I also have the 44 rear.

You can check out my build here: http://www.jeepz.com/forum/jeep-builds/31221-jason4x4s-2006-tj-project.html

 

[tjlboise]

Well said my man, well said! I have noticed that too. A while back I started to wonder where in the world all of the good people went. Turns out I just needed to buy a jeep.

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

Sounds like a good plan, but you're likely to quickly find the limits of the front axle playing in the rocks. Consider an axle truss from TNT customs. Or for the kind of coin you're throwing at the jeep, consider a trail series d44 upgrade for the front.

 

[Turbogus]

X2 on the favorable remarks on the KM2's 'Betty' and I love 'em

 

[54cj3b]

welcome to jeepzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

I'm also in Colorado

 

[JeepNaked]

Sounds like a good plan, but you're likely to quickly find the limits of the front axle playing in the rocks. Consider an axle truss from TNT customs. Or for the kind of coin you're throwing at the jeep, consider a trail series d44 upgrade for the front.

I plan on eventually putting d 60's front and rear, but thats a whole nother beast of a chunk o cash. It will end up that way, but do you think that, without the trusses, the "super" front 30 will hold up for a bit? 5 years ish? Ive seen alot of your answers on here, and i do trust your opinion, so your thought on my d 30 scares me a bit lol. Im just glad i dont have a d35 in the rear.

 

[JeepNaked]

I have a remarkably similar plan to yours - My '06 TJ just got the 4" lift treatment back in November. I have a short arm kit for now but will eventually upgrade to long arm. I also have 32" tires right now (BFG KM1s). I was originally going to go with 33s but am now seriously considering throwing on some tube fenders and running 35s (I have a 1" body lift which will help clear the tires as well). I was originally considering the Super 30 kit but I think I would rather swap out the 30 front for a 44 front if I'm going with 35s (and I want OX lockers). I also have the 44 rear.

You can check out my build here: http://www.jeepz.com/forum/jeep-builds/31221-jason4x4s-2006-tj-project.html

Dude, looking at your jeep makes me want to sell my kidney to get this rolling lol. Well done, and i personally love the red. I am with you as far as phases go, lift, then axles and lockers. Im already running the tires without any problems, so i figure that can wait a bit. Ive got extra gears just in case though. You and i are very much on the same page! Did you have yours pro installed? How much? And what snags did you run into. And did you get your sye installed at the same time? If you did it yourself, again, what snags or hangups did you run into? Also, what kept you from the long arms to begin with?

 

[JeepNaked]

Well said my man, well said! I have noticed that too. A while back I started to wonder where in the world all of the good people went. Turns out I just needed to buy a jeep.

Agreed lol!

 

[jps4jeep]

couple things, that lift with tock fenders would be better suited for 35" tires, 33's will look a little silly.

If you are keeping the D30, retaining the 27 spline front carrier and investing some money into the axle because you plan on keeping it for a while, as mentioned, truss the axle and forget the alloy shafts, go straight to RCV shafts. I believe RCV will warranty the shafts for any failure in a D30, even if you are running 44" tires. yes you pay a premium up front, but it is the last shaft you will ever buy for a D30. A couple people in my club run them, one person has a fairly healthy 5.3L in his TJ with a D30 front, trussed, and 40" tires. he floggs the throttle plenty and has yet to break a shaft.

 

[Jason4x4]

Dude, looking at your jeep makes me want to sell my kidney to get this rolling lol. Well done, and i personally love the red. I am with you as far as phases go, lift, then axles and lockers. Im already running the tires without any problems, so i figure that can wait a bit. Ive got extra gears just in case though. You and i are very much on the same page! Did you have yours pro installed? How much? And what snags did you run into. And did you get your sye installed at the same time? If you did it yourself, again, what snags or hangups did you run into? Also, what kept you from the long arms to begin with?

What kept from going with the long arms to begin with? The quick answer is price. Long story (sort of) short, a couple years ago I snatched up a 4" Skyjacker 'economy' pallet lift (short arm) from 4WD hardware that was on sale for $480 with free shipping. Immediately after receiving the kit before I installed anything I regretted the decision. I found out that the control arms (it just comes with fixed lower links) are junk, and it takes a lot of shortcuts (i.e. no trackbars, no swaybar disconnects, just extended links, etc). So I decided to just put the Skyjacker kit into my storage shed for a couple years until I could piece together a decent suspension - so I picked up a full set of RC X flex arms, JKS rear/RC front trackbars, JKS quicker disconnects, etc. The shop I use (Mount Zion Offroad) quoted me $1800 to install the kit. I ended up doing part of it myself (as well as having everything custom powdercoated red by a friend for $400) but had the SYE/driveshaft done by the shop. While it was there we ended up deciding to put on extended brake lines and bump stops and ended actually adding about $600 to the price (including parts and labor and an alignment).

I'm very happy with it so far but I'm chomping at the bit to upgrade to 35's and lockers since I got stuck in the mud at Rausch last weekend . Everyone else was crawling through it slowly and didn't have any trouble, but everyone else was locked. I should have tried to carry more speed and I might have been ok...but anyway, it never ends. You can always find something to spend money on for the Jeep. I need upgraded tie rods too...

 

[Jason4x4]

I plan on eventually putting d 60's front and rear, but thats a whole nother beast of a chunk o cash. It will end up that way, but do you think that, without the trusses, the "super" front 30 will hold up for a bit? 5 years ish? Ive seen alot of your answers on here, and i do trust your opinion, so your thought on my d 30 scares me a bit lol. Im just glad i dont have a d35 in the rear.

By the way, if you don't run lockers you should be fine on 33's with a stock D30 front. If you're locked, it gets kind of iffy. You might be OK stock depending on how hard you flog it and what kind of wheeling you do. If you're all over the rocks like you said, you might want an upgrade. But if your diff is open you should be ok stock.

 

[JeepNaked]

couple things, that lift with tock fenders would be better suited for 35" tires, 33's will look a little silly.

If you are keeping the D30, retaining the 27 spline front carrier and investing some money into the axle because you plan on keeping it for a while, as mentioned, truss the axle and forget the alloy shafts, go straight to RCV shafts. I believe RCV will warranty the shafts for any failure in a D30, even if you are running 44" tires. yes you pay a premium up front, but it is the last shaft you will ever buy for a D30. A couple people in my club run them, one person has a fairly healthy 5.3L in his TJ with a D30 front, trussed, and 40" tires. he floggs the throttle plenty and has yet to break a shaft.

As far as the tires go, im running 32s lol, and ya, they will look funny, but i should be able to get alot o flex out of the suspension with em. I might go 33s after these are done. So i checked out the RCV shafts, kinda skimmed some stuff, and sounds like a part im going to use. I want the smallest chance of breakage available. That will be an eventual deal tho. You guys are awsome! Great info! Keep it coming. I definately wont be running 44in tires any time soon, and ill probably upgrade to dana 60s when that happens. I still want to lock the front...... so question, if i put an arb locker in the front, is it an open diff when its not engaged? Is steering affected with an unlocked arb? Im not familiar with lockers whatsoever. I chose arb because i like the idea of an air compressor on board for anything from airbrushing to pumping up my tires to running air tools. Pretty multi functional. Gosh, i could go on all day with questions about my jeep! Again, i really apreciate your input guys. Jeepz rules!

 

[JeepNaked]

And whats the point of new bump stops? Is it a speed thing?

 

[jps4jeep]

un-locked ARB will act just like a open dif. if you want to run air tools and such, you will need the heavy duty ARB compressor, the one that is designed strictly for the locker only will not put out enough volumn. the ARB only requires I think 30 psi to lock up.

 

[JeepNaked]

Ok, perfect. Then RCV shafts locked d30 front it is. And thats what i was llokin at was the heavy duty arb compressor. Sweet! And the list is set. Thanks every1

 

[Jason4x4]

And whats the point of new bump stops? Is it a speed thing?

It's to keep the tires from destroying the fenders when you have the suspension really flexed out.