Wrecked 05 Rubicon for $950....Need to know what will bolt in my 98 XJ

[ktm racer 419]

The TJ trannies do just fine. Not as robust as the AW4 or even the 46RE I put in mine (I'm a "TJ guy" BTW) but for a light duty trans like the AX15, the 42RE is a tough little bastard.

i saw a 42re split in half from highway driving, kinda turned me off of them lol. then i read up on it all and saw lotsa negative things.

im kinda a tj guytoo , but i like 3 pedals in my tj's

 

[Gaius]

i saw a 42re split in half from highway driving, kinda turned me off of them lol. then i read up on it all and saw lotsa negative things.

im kinda a tj guytoo , but i like 3 pedals in my tj's

I've seen busted 231s, busted AX15s, inop AW4s, etc. Doesn't mean they're junk. Means someone was hard on it. To say all TJ autos are junk is ignorant.

I've seen cracked unibodies from too much wheeling. Are all Cherokees junk? :laugh2:

 

[bjoehandley]

they use an similar trans to the minivans= garbage!

Is that right? :roflmao:

I would like to see how that works:roflmao::roflmao:






BTW, I thought the 2wd AW4 could be converted to 4wd by replacing the tailshaft and related components off a parts donor trans?

 

[fasteddieyj]

Just a heads up on the Rubi axles. While they are called D44s they are far from great. The front is a 44 center section with D30 parts for the rest of it. The rear is all 44 but has pretty thin axle tubes. Also the rear lockers are known to be a little weak. It's actually not the locker but the limited slip portion of it that goes out and takes the rest of it with it. They're good for maybe up to 35s but even then you need to be easy on the skinny pedal and run front chromoly shafts.

 

[dellstopjeep]

Its not very often but I have to agree with master-pull on this one. Buy a new tub and hide damage caused to total it out. Then sell cherokee and bam you just broke even, plus have a bad ass 05 rubicon. I wish this deal had fell in my lap!

 

[ktm racer 419]

I've seen busted 231s, busted AX15s, inop AW4s, etc. Doesn't mean they're junk. Means someone was hard on it. To say all TJ autos are junk is ignorant.

I've seen cracked unibodies from too much wheeling. Are all Cherokees junk? :laugh2:

ok, how about "they are not a very desirable transmission"

and yes

 

[usmc97hd]

Well my friend stopped by my shop tonight with bad news. The adjuster who came out and looked at the Rubicon was a moron! He was using a base TJ as his basis for the $950. The insurance company called him today to finalize the claim. He will come out fine but Im screwed! They now want $3200 to keep it! I cant see spending that kind of coin on 2 axels, a transfer case and some wiring. So there went that idea. My friend was pretty pissed that he got me all worked up over getting it and is hooking me up with the wheels. He took a set of crappy steel 98 Cherokee wheels I had sitting at the shop and will be putting them on the Rubicon in the morning before they pick it up. So Ill have Rubicon wheels on my XJ tomorrow night. I guess its better than nothing.

Thanks for all the info. Sorry to have wasted everyones time.

 

[great-white]

take the tcase an axles an thrown on some junk rollin axles???


can be done by morning

 

[NW-ZJ-SCOTT]

take the tcase an axles an thrown on some junk rollin axles???


can be done by morning

big ole fatty X2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Cascade Carl]

Well my friend stopped by my shop tonight with bad news. The adjuster who came out and looked at the Rubicon was a moron! He was using a base TJ as his basis for the $950. The insurance company called him today to finalize the claim. He will come out fine but Im screwed! They now want $3200 to keep it! I cant see spending that kind of coin on 2 axels, a transfer case and some wiring. So there went that idea. My friend was pretty pissed that he got me all worked up over getting it and is hooking me up with the wheels. He took a set of crappy steel 98 Cherokee wheels I had sitting at the shop and will be putting them on the Rubicon in the morning before they pick it up. So Ill have Rubicon wheels on my XJ tomorrow night. I guess its better than nothing.

Thanks for all the info. Sorry to have wasted everyones time.

Bummer. The adjuster must have read post #19 in this thread.

 

[bails85]

even for 3200 i would buy the rubicon. you can fix whats busted and still make serious coin off of it. then you can just buy the rubicon parts you wanted off of c.l. or go atlas and 60's. a rubicon with 12k on it is still worth 10,000 or better. and most jeep guys dont care about a salvaged title. hell a salvaged title can be obtained from one mild roll over. its up to you but i think you could still make out on it. wrangler guys are wrangler guys and they will spend the money if the price is right. good luck on whatever way you decide to go.

 

[usmc97hd]

I know its a good deal money wise but I just dont have the cash right know. They are picking it up this morning. Good news is the wheels will be at my shop around lunch time! I guess Ill be doing a basic 2X to 4X swap using a donor XJ. No Rubicon Cherokee for me.

 

[bails85]

that sucks man. sorry it didnt work out for you.