Alright so i've got a disco D30 front in my 1990 xj. The vacuum system is going tits up (go figure) and I'm trying to figure out what way to go to get it operational in a reliable fashion. Here's what I'm thinking:
The idea of keeping the disco front axle is kind of appealing for a few reasons: for one I could convert to a cable posi-lock system and virtually not have to worry about the damn vac system anymore, doing this would effectively give me the option of having a pseudo 2Lo, which would be kind of cool. Also I could put a locker in the front and use the disco so it'd still drive ok on the street and not be locked up unless I want it to be. This is my daily driver. So I guess what I'm really wondering is how strong are the disco axles/shafts/etc. Can I upgrade to the later style 297? u joints to gain the strength of doing a solid shaft swap using newer axles? Is this just retarded?
At this point, with this being my daily driver, I don't plan on scaling rock walls and shit everyday, but when I take it out on the weekends i'll probably beat on it a little bit. But mainly it will be to get to a destination back in the woods. I'm running 33's, non-HO, ax15, np231. Mainly I'd like things to be stout enough that I won't be blowing shit up everytime i put it in 4wd and have a little fun. I'm no stranger to trail fixes and wrenching/whatever, but if its goint to be a major pain in the ass to fix broken shafts on the trail then I'm not to keen on that.
Down the road I'll be doing bigger/stronger axles, but there's alot left to build before then.
The idea of keeping the disco front axle is kind of appealing for a few reasons: for one I could convert to a cable posi-lock system and virtually not have to worry about the damn vac system anymore, doing this would effectively give me the option of having a pseudo 2Lo, which would be kind of cool. Also I could put a locker in the front and use the disco so it'd still drive ok on the street and not be locked up unless I want it to be. This is my daily driver. So I guess what I'm really wondering is how strong are the disco axles/shafts/etc. Can I upgrade to the later style 297? u joints to gain the strength of doing a solid shaft swap using newer axles? Is this just retarded?
At this point, with this being my daily driver, I don't plan on scaling rock walls and shit everyday, but when I take it out on the weekends i'll probably beat on it a little bit. But mainly it will be to get to a destination back in the woods. I'm running 33's, non-HO, ax15, np231. Mainly I'd like things to be stout enough that I won't be blowing shit up everytime i put it in 4wd and have a little fun. I'm no stranger to trail fixes and wrenching/whatever, but if its goint to be a major pain in the ass to fix broken shafts on the trail then I'm not to keen on that.
Down the road I'll be doing bigger/stronger axles, but there's alot left to build before then.