My dilemma

[cmk1970]

1997 Jeep Wrangler Sahara
4.0 with auto trans
3.5 inch lift RC
33 inch tires

I am leaning towards 5.13 gears and locker's front and rear also a SYE kit. Looks like around 3 to 4 k for these parts and I will be doing the work myself. I live in Michigan, and we do not have any hard trails so wheeling would be mild unless I would head out of state to do anything beyond that which may be in the future. I have the Dana 30 front and the Dana 44 rear. Should I buy all new and upgrade these axle's or I have found a few Rubicon's rotted out that I can buy for 4 to 5k. Would it be worth it to buy the Rubicon for the axles and the transfer case or just rebuild what I have? I'm sure I am forgetting something any suggestions would be greatly appreciated? Thanks

 

[cmk1970]

 

[bbaldwin237]

5.13 is very deep for a 32RH on 33's. Are you intending to go to 35's? Even still, 5.13 is pretty deep. I just went to 4.56 on mine recently and it's nice.

The 30 and 44 are plenty durable for 33-35" tires, especially when upgraded. That price seems a little low for parts, what type of lockers are you looking at? And if your wheeling is mild, do you need the lockers or would a regear and rear LSD be plenty?

 

[jjvw]

1997 Jeep Wrangler Sahara
4.0 with auto trans
3.5 inch lift RC
33 inch tires

I am leaning towards 5.13 gears and locker's front and rear also a SYE kit. Looks like around 3 to 4 k for these parts and I will be doing the work myself. I live in Michigan, and we do not have any hard trails so wheeling would be mild unless I would head out of state to do anything beyond that which may be in the future. I have the Dana 30 front and the Dana 44 rear. Should I buy all new and upgrade these axle's or I have found a few Rubicon's rotted out that I can buy for 4 to 5k. Would it be worth it to buy the Rubicon for the axles and the transfer case or just rebuild what I have? I'm sure I am forgetting something any suggestions would be greatly appreciated? Thanks

33s result in about a 31.5" effective rolling diameter. You want to end up with about 3k rpm at 75mph.

32rh/31.5”/3.73=2984rpm @ 75mph
32rh/31.5”/4.10=3280rpm @ 75mph
32rh/31.5”/5.13=4104rpm @ 75mph

 

[cmk1970]

I was looking at the yukon dura grip possibly front and rear and also may go to 35s after these tires. I would like to go out west again and do some wheeling out there

 

[jjvw]

I was looking at the yukon dura grip possibly front and rear and also may go to 35s after these tires. I would like to go out west again and do some wheeling out there

35s result in about a 33.875" effective rolling diameter.

32rh/33.875"/3.73=2775rpm @ 75mph
32rh/33.875"/4.10=3050rpm @ 75mph
32rh/33.875"/4.56=3392rpm @ 75mph
32rh/33.875"/5.13=3816rpm @ 75mph

 

[cmk1970]

35s result in about a 33.875" effective rolling diameter.

32rh/33.875"/3.73=2775rpm @ 75mph
32rh/33.875"/4.10=3050rpm @ 75mph
32rh/33.875"/4.56=3392rpm @ 75mph
32rh/33.875"/5.13=3816rpm @ 75mph

 

[cmk1970]

5.13 is very deep for a 32RH on 33's. Are you intending to go to 35's? Even still, 5.13 is pretty deep. I just went to 4.56 on mine recently and it's nice.

The 30 and 44 are plenty durable for 33-35" tires, especially when upgraded. That price seems a little low for parts, what type of lockers are you looking at? And if your wheeling is mild, do you need the lockers or would a regear and rear LSD be plenty?

 

[Ashim]

Since you're planning on doing gears and lockers yourself, don't bother getting Rubicon axles. You'll end up with a more robust locker that won't grenade on you and has no aftermarket support.

 

[Rickyd]

You may not like the 4:1 transfer case if you aren't doing rocks and technical stuff.

 

[macleanflood]

I'd suggest a super 30 kit for the front axle. That'll up the spline count. I sleeved and trussed my 30...which is probably completely unnecessary since the true weakness of all front 30s and 44s are the outer ears.

If you go with 35s then I'd definitely suggest a big brake kit from Black Magic Brakes...they've got a kit that stuffs into my 15" rims and really helps with stopping power.

-Mac

 

[cmk1970]

Thanks everyone for the replies I will be rethinking how I’m going forward now. Thanks again its helps a lot