I was out for a little drive on sunday and i found the 4x4 place everyone is talking about around here!! I wen't in about a mile when my son started to get board, and i didn't have a wench and was alone(no other truck) so i turned around and came back out but man it was fun! I was ,I finnally got out there.It was the first REAL wheeling I have done!(though the woods) I am planning on getting back out there this next sunday if I can hopefully with another truck. I was going to get 1" spacers,droptcase,upper controlarms ,but now I think I'll just take that money and go to www.icelandoffroad.com and get their cutout flares! That should give me enough room for the 32's I want to run. On their sight they have a 3.5 lifted grand on 33's with those flares!! I also need some JKS discos for the front as I think my factory ones are too short now and are "poping" over bumps. I'm going to take some pics next time I'm out there wheeling and some video as well!!

........get a little mud on the tires.............LOL

sounds like a good time. Yea i usually go 4x4in alone. As in im the only one in the ZJ, no other trucks/jeeps with me. WHen i do that, i usually stick to loggin roads or places i know well. I have only taken my ZJ out once hard and that was a few weeks ago. I have upper and lower arms from Rustys. If i were you, i would go with adjustable ones rather then fixed ones. Im still runnin my stock disconects for now. A good friend of my GFs, he just moved back to this state, so him and I are gonna go 4x4in here soon i hope. Hes got a yota on 33's. so should be fun. Kinda sucks though as my job is goin down hill as in its slowin down, so i might be losin it, this there goes any more add ons for a while...sucks to be poor, but hey ya do what ya gotta do.  

just have to find abetter job, I wen't from makeing 10.62 an hour and working my ass off to making16.64 an hour and working not as hard!! But ya it all takes money, I want to put on 32's and get some kind of locker.......  

When't wheeling on sunday! It was fun! I think my stock endlinks are too short but the suspenion and tires did great in all types of stuff.  

Thats good your happy with yours. Im goin campin this weekend one last time before school starts back up for me. Been in the process of movin and also lost my job so yea, all my ZJ mods are on hold for a lil while till i get a new job. Im thinkin its gonna be spring time before i get any thing for mine. Motor right now is my biggest goal to deal with next. No point in havin a winch, bumpers, and rock sliders if i cant go any where with a dead motor.  

your motor bad??  

Motor, tranny and transfer are all on there way out, along with the axles. My rear axle pinion bearing i think it is, is shot, makes a lotta noise from the rear, but hasnt got any worse over the past 2 yrs so who knows what that is. I use about 1 quart of oil every 1,000 miles. I have about 241,000 miles on my motor as it is, and the valves are startin to make more noise then usual. Also its taken more right foot to make it move. Speeds over 70mph are outta question for me, even 70 is a streach for me some times. If i load it up and go campin with the girl friend, doing 60 is its happy zone. I figure its just time to put most the other stuff i want on hold for a bit, and start saving up for a new motor, trany and transfer case rebuild. Rather start saving for it now, rather then spend my $$ on other stuff, and then not have any thing for a motor and have to put my ZJ down for 6 months while i save up.  

I have alot of klms on my engine and it still works fine...so far.When I need to replace I may take it to a eng shop and just have it rebuilt with a ported and polished head and intake. The rearend can be a blessing in dis. Most jeepers beef up or swap them out anyways. I'm going to go with new axles, gears and a detroit  true trac locker. That should be plenty for the woods wheeling that I do.  

Yea for my axles im thinkin of either some D44s or maybe ill go all out and get some D60s or some thing big and burly like that...Yea D60s might be a little overkill for the planned 35s and my 4.0 i have, but at least they will be able to handle all that i can toss at them.  

I'm planning on keeping my D35 just beefing it up and adding 4.10 gears.  

Hey where are all the zj owners at anyways.......?  

the rear axles (D35) are known to make a roaring noise. it is common and i have never heard of any real explanation of it other than it was due to the way the axles were assembled at the factory. i have had a 96 XJ and my 98 ZJ, both with D35s, make the roaring. I currently have no roaring... but the gears are set up at the tightest tolerances.

pig

I think all the ZJ owners that actually USE there ZJs are all on NAGCA or mallcrawlin. I think JP here (and no offense to JP) is dedicated mainly to the TJ/YJ/CJ crowd. Its like ive started saying "Its a Grand Cherokee thing, they just dont understand"

As for the rear axle, mine howles at me like non other, especially on corners. I think mines the pinion bearings going out, but im not sure. all i do know is these things: 1) its got hella miles on that rear axle, 2) its leaking oil outta the rubber plug, and also the pinion yoke, and 3) i keep losing my hold down pins for my drivers side drum.  plan on runnin 35s to 37's and i dont think that D35 or the D30 can handle those big of tires, especially with my liberal right foot when it hits that go pedal. (dont worry, i plan on redoin my 4.0 and my tranny...)

ya I'd replace it too if I was running 35 or bigger. as for me max will be 33's I have never heard that d35's all make a noise? I donot hear any from mine and it too has alot of miles on it. So how are you going to fit those big ass tires on your zj? 8" lift? how you makin it legal? foe me I'm keeping my 3.5"lift and just doing the cutout fender flares from icelandoffroad.com have you seen them yet? They aren't cheap but nothing is for the zj! Hey I was wondering, I want to run 10" wide wheels to fit 12.5 inch wide tires, how much back spaceing would i need? more then 4.5??  

I've noticed that.

Hey, check out NAGCA after late this evening. I'm gonna post some gratuitous pics and vids of my trip to Moab on the 9th. I'll post a couple here... but considering how long this thread is, noone will see it but us. :-D