So lots has been happening with the old girl of late.
First things first, I finally figured out the overheating and fuse issues. 30amp fuse for PCM kept blowing because the post-catalytic converter O2 sensor wiring had worn through on the tailshaft and was shorting out the PCM. I mustn't have tied it out of the way when doing the drivetrain swap from one to the other. Overheating was caused by a partially blocked radiator which made it difficult to diagnose. Would overheat on the highway only, but at random. Never overheated around town. Now has an 85* thermostat, new clutch fan (old one was incorrect) and radiator, and it barely goes above 90 when climbing a hill while towing half a tonne.
Now for the current project - JK Wrangler Axles.
I picked up a set of complete disc to disc axles from a mate who had upgraded to Ultimate Dana 60's. It's a D30/D44 combo from an Overland, and had been recently regeared to 4.56:1 ratios. I'll be running the original 18" Overland wheels with road tyres as day-to-day driving wheels, and will pick up a set of 16" or 17" base tyres to throw some 33's on for offroad.
Basically, the JK Axles are 120mm wider from wheel mounting face to mounting face compared to the XJ axles. I've already spoken to an Engineer about the swap, and as long as I maintain the ABS and get the proportioning correct for the brakes (will see about fitting a JK Master, otherwise a larger master and ZJ Proportioning valve) there should be no issues with getting the wheel track increase, tyre increase and ratio change engineered. I should also be able to raise the GVM a little bit given that the JK Axles are rated higher than the XJ's. If not, it's no biggie.
Anyway, started the rear axle today. Removed all the old control arm mounts from the D44, cleaned up the housing and welded the new spring perches to the axle tubes after a LOT of measuring. Will also be fitting a Uneek4x4 Weld-on Truss (sitting on the diff in the final photo) to the rear axle before it's fitted to the car.
Dana 35 from my old black sport for reference and shock mounts
Unboxing the JK Axles
Checking the Pinion angle relative to the spring perches on the Dana 35
The Dana44 axle before bracket removal
Mid bracket removal
Just the LCA mounts to go
Leaf Spring perch welded to axle tube
Soon to be Finished Product
I've left part of the bump-stop bracket from the original JK mounts as it holds the handbrake cable. I'll need to get custom handbrake cables made up, as well as hard lines for the rear brakes. I'll also need to drill and tap a hole for the rear brake line to bolt to, as the original breather now sits under the truss on the left side of the photo.
Now just to play the waiting game for the Artec JK2TJ Front truss setup to arrive, then I can start getting the front mocked up. Hopefully I'll have the rear finished by then so I can get it all into the car in one go. We shall see...