Finished D60/D70 axle swap

[jeep94xj]

Nope! But I'm putting my 60 together this winter.

 

[XJoachim]

Time for some new rear leafs to go with the axles. I'd ditch the blocks and get leafs long enough to correct that shackle angle, especially the driver's side. What have you done in the front to correct the driveshaft angle with that much lift & a low pinion? Got Droop?

I will move the axle another 1" forward to provide enough clearance for the exhaust. The angles are "OK", i don't tilt the pinion up more because of said clearance issues.

For the rear most likely i will go coils or coilovers, these are RE 1462s which are quite new and not already broken in. I will have too much axle wrap with that low gearing (5.86) so i have to do something about that and i prefer to do a coilover. This, a winch bumper and a winch and a good cage (exo) will be next on my ToDo list

 

[vintagespeed]

Coilovers are nice, I've got 2.5" Racerunners in the front, but in the rear I'm not sure. My buddy Richard is running rear coilovers & this weekend we were out at JV playing in the CalRocs obstacles, the rear coilovers are just TOO flexible and cause the rear to unload & want to throw the rig off balance (or onto it's roof) when off camber. After following him around all day, I'm sticking with leaves.......maybe 1/4 elliptical, but leaves for sure.

As for axle wrap, I'm running 10" or so of lift, 38s and 5.13s. I made my rear perches 2.5" wide and 6.5" long to combat the wrap. It must've worked because I dont have any. But I've got a good set of springs too and hardly ever had wrap before with 35s.

-jb

 

[ashmanjeepxj]

Its like mine!

So why did you do cheby front, for that $750 extra you could have got a ford high pinnion, you'd be stuck with 5.13 gears but other then that i see more advantages with the ford... too hard to find?

What are you doing for steering upgrades?
I took mine out again on the weekend and My power steering kept over heating so it woudl reduce my turnign radius, in addition to having a front spool... many 8+ point turns...
ill try a tranny cooler line, while I save plan for the ram assist.

I still havent tackled the e-brake linkage d70 thing. It hooked up but liek you said jsut not enoguth throw in the cherokee handle to engauge. take pics of that when you get it made..

Ill post pics If I get to it first.

have fun.

 

[vintagespeed]

Ashman, I have had serious PS problems over the last year or so, even had to quit a trail early when I was running 35s because of overheating the box, and this weekend I never even heard a whine out of mine in the rocks with the front locked. I'm running a mid-size tranny cooler inline and I bumped up the pressure & bored the flow meter in the check valve cartridge of the PS pump. I got this tip from the guys at Redneck Ram (www.westtexasoffroad.com, I think). Turning 38s with 6psi in the rocks is like driveway wheeling now, even without the ram assist. The ram is sitting in my garage for now.

Also, you CAN get 5.38s for the HP D44. I couldn't find them when I was building my axles but I have several confirmed buddies that have bought them since.

 

[ashmanjeepxj]

I havent researched the power steering much yet, but know the tranny cooler line will help, I even have one in the garage off the f350 PS box...

So can the hard line just be hose clamped in line with the stock rubber hose?
I dont know how much pressure were talking...

Do you have pictures? I know it simple, pics would help.

cant do 5.38s, the RC d60 can take 5.38s but the d70 rear can only take 5.13s then skips to like 5.81s(?) but no 5.38s for the d70 and the RCd60 cant take any higher then the 5.38.
If I did the lowpinniond 60 front and re tubed it then I could do much deeper gears.

 

[XJoachim]

Yep, this is the reason why i didn't look for a high pinion axle. I want to run 5.86 gears (which i do now) and keep the choice to get lower than that if i ever go crzy with the tire size

I got a Chevy D60 with king pin knuckles, the big C's and upgraded to Dedenbear knuckles so the axle is as strong as it could get. I even reinforced the tubes with a additional pressed in tube. This should handle 44s and up

About the steering i did not have any opportunity to test it, but a cooler is in the plans as i'm looking for a hydr. milemarker winch too.

The e-brake lines are pretty long and i had to put them in circles (sorry for that, i don't know how to describe it) and am tightening down the e-brake connection thingy. It just shows reaction when pulling the handle so i will have to shorten the cable a bit and i'm sure it will work.

5.86 is great for the 37's on road and i don't regret getting this low. If i ever go over 40's i will go down to 7.17

For the coilovers - it seems to me the only choice i have. I want to keep road drivability and comfort as i want to have good flex off road. We don't have many off camber trails here and i never liked them. Too much risk for no fun Does anyone have coil recommendations for a 2 coil coilover suspension? I will have a winch and winch bumper in front. What coil and shock setups (valving) are you running?

 

[vintagespeed]

I spliced the cooler into the return line after the steering box, no problems with regular hose clamps (so far) even with the bumped up pressure & flow. I used standard 3/8 ID fuel line for the return hose to the pump.

Coils will be your biggest challenge to coilovers. I'm running a dual coils of 14" x 220 lb and 10" x 150 for a rate of about 185 lb/in (60/40 split in length). I wanted the coil rate to be slightly stiffer than my RE ZJ coils that used to run & they were 178 lb/in. The valving I haven't played with, I got these fronts used and they are valved for a pre-runner so they ARE a little stiff but not too bad. I'm going to be swapping the 12s for some 14" Fox coilovers in the next couple months with the correct valving.

 

[Fullsizexj]

Vintagespeed forgot to mention that I plan to fix the problem of unloading and such with a center limit strap and anti rock style swaybar in the rear, this should take care of the problems

 

[vintagespeed]

Vintagespeed forgot to mention that I plan to fix the problem of unloading and such with a center limit strap and anti rock style swaybar in the rear, this should take care of the problems

Yes I did neglect to mention the future fixes. The rear flex with coilovers is awesome, I'm very impressed with the way they work on the rear. I just dont think I'll be doing the same. I will probably copy your rear 3 link because that's the only way to fly with big meats but leafs just seem much more predictable.

After this weekend, what'd you think on leafs vs. coilovers?

 

[Fullsizexj]

Yes I did neglect to mention the future fixes. The rear flex with coilovers is awesome, I'm very impressed with the way they work on the rear. I just dont think I'll be doing the same. I will probably copy your rear 3 link because that's the only way to fly with big meats but leafs just seem much more predictable.

After this weekend, what'd you think on leafs vs. coilovers?

I love the coilovers, just gotta finish taking care of details

 

[XJoachim]

I currently run 14" travel Bilstein 5150s and want to go 14" FOX or SAWs. The center limiting strap for the front is currently in the works and the rear will get one too.

What coils do you run fullsizexj front and rear and what valving? I'm interested to get as much info on this as possible because shipping coils back because of try and error would be really expensive for me. :wave:

 

[Fullsizexj]

I currently run 14" travel Bilstein 5150s and want to go 14" FOX or SAWs. The center limiting strap for the front is currently in the works and the rear will get one too.

What coils do you run fullsizexj front and rear and what valving? I'm interested to get as much info on this as possible because shipping coils back because of try and error would be really expensive for me. :wave:

I am running 16" sway-away remote resevior shocks with 2" bodies, right now I have 200/250 coils front and rear and it seems to work well. I plan to run a rear swaybar in order to force a little more of the flex to the front and limit straps to prevent unloading, I am still playing with it and working out the kinks as I find them

 

[XJoachim]

Do you use stock valving on the SAWs?

 

[vintagespeed]

I love the coilovers, just gotta finish taking care of details

Yeah, you did go a little lower on that rock than I did......... :kissyou:

 

[Fullsizexj]

Do you use stock valving on the SAWs?

Yes, right now I am using the stock valveing they came with, once I get the main stuff dialed in, then I will start fine tuning them

 

[XJoachim]

I may get a good deal on Bilstein 9100 Rockcrawlers, what do you think about those for the coilover application?

 

[Fullsizexj]

I may get a good deal on Bilstein 9100 Rockcrawlers, what do you think about those for the coilover application?

I have no idea, never used them and I don't know of anyone that has

 

[Economos]

Vintage, do you happen to have a pic of your rear perches by any chance? I've got slight spring wrap right now, but I hope to cure it with a new shackle that doesn't have wasted bushings. All you did is make the perch super long?

 

[vintagespeed]

Pretty much. The longer perch gives the leaf a larger area to work against the axle's torque. I seriously haven't felt any wrap and I did have wrap before with my old setup, D44 & 35s.

They're 2" above the tube & 2.5 wide x 6.5 long. I dont have any pics avail. I'm a tard & didn't pay my hosting bill. :wave: