33"s, what to consider

in general, what do you have to upgrade, besides the basic lift to encorporate the bigger tires? will i need bigger axles? new gearing? even the little things that need to be done, i cant seem to find this info anywhere, but i know alot of people run 33"s so... help me out! thanks.

Well alot of people say that your going to need to re-gear but if you dont want to, you dont have to. Its going to be slower but it'll still have decent power.

For axles, your d35 and 30 should hold up depending on what type of wheeling your going to do, but if you've got the time and money try to find an XJ44 for the rear. I've ran my 33's on my stock axles and they've held up fine through pretty rough trails, but all xj's are different.

And I assume your going to a different wheel with a different backspacing...right?

And depending on how much lift your getting you'll need to bumpstop your front and rear, or trim your fenders.

4.5" lift, extra bumpstops, SYE/driveshaft, a dremel or cut off wheel, 4.56s, atleast a rear locker, new wheels, if you have a 8.25 rear your fine if its a d35 you'll want a stronger rear axle.

What year XJ do you have? if its a 97+ goahead and plan on an SYE and new rear driveshaft. If you have a 231 (no fulltime option) go HD from PORC or AA, if 242 (fulltime option) just get an RE hack n tap SYE.

I'm sure next you'll ask which lift? Answer for me is RE, I've had Rustys and now RE.

How do you tell what rear axle you have? look at it from a distance (not the cover, put the entire chunk on the axle) if its rounded its a d35, if its flat at the very bottom its a 8.25. Or if you have ABS its a d35.

brand of gears? Superior or spicer for me.

Tires? I like Trxus, MTZs or even KMs for a DD.

What rear locker? depends on the $$ you got....I'd save for a detriot though.

I have a very very very hard time believing you can't find info on this subject.

Chero-King said:

Well alot of people say that your going to need to re-gear but if you dont want to, you dont have to. Its going to be slower but it'll still have decent power.
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More importantly, how long does he want his tranny to last? After going 4.56s and 33s, I can say it was worth every penny to regear.

alright my bad i should have made this more specific. ive got how imgoing to lift my heep up high enough. im planning 5 inches of lift, with bastard leaf pack in the rear and my 3" rough country coils + 2 inch RE spacers in the front. it's a 2000 Sport 4x4 how can i find out what type of axles im running?

im already running 15x8 steelies with 4.5" bs, is taht enough?

how much would i expect to pay for re-gearing?

what is a bump stop?

thanks for the responses.

jimcherokee said:

how can i find out what type of axles im running?

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Your front axle is a low-pinion Dana 30. Your rear axle could be either a Dana 35 or a Chrysler 8.25. Look at the differential from the rear. An oval cover that's rounded on the bottom is the D35. Flat on the bottom, with a noticeable 'lip', is an 8.25. If you've got a 4.0 auto, your gearing should be 3.55. 4.0 and a stick would be 3.07s.

jimcherokee said:

im already running 15x8 steelies with 4.5" bs, is taht enough?

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With that much backspacing, you'll probably rub on the lower control arms, especially if you run 33x12.5 tires. You may be okay with 9.5 or 10.5 inch wide tires though. On the plus side, a 33x10.5 should still tuck into the wheelwell, which means you could get away with less fender trimming.

jimcherokee said:

how much would i expect to pay for re-gearing?

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It varies. Expect parts to be about $150-200 per axle, and labor another $200 or so per axle unless you have a friend who can do it (this is not the sort of thing you want to try yourself).

jimcherokee said:

what is a bump stop?

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A piece of rubber that limits suspension uptravel so your tires won't come into contact with your fenders. In the front, they're located in the coil springs; in the rear, it's mounted to the frame above the axle tube. You can easily extend the front bumpstops by gluing some hockey pucks together inside the coil spring. In the rear, the easiest way is to put a spacer between the frame rail and the bumpstop.

Remember that questions like yours have been asked thousands of times; the search button will generally get you more answers than a new thread will.

"im already running 15x8 steelies with 4.5" bs, is taht enough?"

I have that combo with 33x12.50 and it works great for me.

"how much would i expect to pay for re-gearing?"

I would think from $1000 to $1400 depending on the shop (my area is not cheap). A lot of people will say to do it yourself, but for me, I'd rather go fishing while someone else does it RIGHT for me.

"what is a bump stop?"

It is a rubber (usually) stop that keeps the axle from moving too far upward. It's inside the spring in the front and mounted to the "frame" above the axle in the rear. If you add to these you can run a bigger tire without having to trim as much. It's all a balancing act of lifting/cutting/bumpstopping to get the best vehicle for you.

EDIT - Mambeu, you're quick.

4.56s or 4.88s, the latter if you plan on upgrading. the former if you have a 8.25. neither if you have a dana35, upgrade it.

excellent. i have the 8.25 in the rear. that saved me some cash haha. thanks alot for your help. sorry, im not sure why the search didnt work. i punched in just "33" and got absolutely no hits. maybe there's somethin' wrong with it? i dunno my bad. thanks for your help though!

jimcherokee said:

im not sure why the search didnt work. i punched in just "33" and got absolutely no hits. maybe there's somethin' wrong with it?

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A search string has to be at least four characters. You could try 33** or you could search the forums through Google, which lets you use a shorter search string. See the Guide to Searching for more details.