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Uh yeah, no excuses Captain Slacker haha! I built a YJ from a rusted out hulk in eight days so get it done buddy!

RocKZJ



 
Discussion starter · #82 ·
k- so both front axle seals are officially toast. And since the front end is sloppy anyways...and I am still running 3.73's with 35 inch tires, it is time for an upgrade. I am taking it in to Six States next Thursday for 4.56's front and rear. I am also having the rear clutches in the diff replaced, they have been clicking and are toast.

So, $1580 and I will have new gears next week. This is one thing I don't have the tools or experience to do myself, yet.
 
Good deal! Youll like the new gear sets, its nice having that driveability again. Will they let you sit in on the gear setting? Ive watched a few in the past and thats how I learned how to do them

RockZJ



 
Discussion starter · #84 ·
I was going to ask, but I want to get this done next week, and thursday is the only day they had open. I have to be at work for our audit, so it's a no go.

This is something I am really going to need to learn for the future. I might start practicing on my Camaro first. I am on my third rear end. It sounds like this one is about to blow up, I have a heavy foot in that car. I need to upgrade to a stronger axle, and want to do most of the work myself. I guess it will be better for me to learn on the weekend car rather than a DD anyways...
 
Discussion starter · #85 ·
k-just received a call from six states. They said the spider gears in my hydro lock are chipped pretty bad, and need to replace the whole unit. I wish I knew how to work on the diffs by myself.
Anyways, they are putting the covers back on and I am picking the Jeep up in a few. They have to order the Hydro lock in and can't do the work until next week some time.

Does anyone know anything about the Hydro Lock, how is it different from the Track Lock?
 
Nice jeep! where do you live north of salt lake? Im always looking for someone to wheel with, Im in Eden, anyways let me know how you like the 4.56's I havent made up my mind on what gears I want to put in mine yet, have 3.73's right now and 35's was thinking either 4.56 or 4.88's, its still my DD though
 
k-just received a call from six states. They said the spider gears in my hydro lock are chipped pretty bad, and need to replace the whole unit. I wish I knew how to work on the diffs by myself.
Anyways, they are putting the covers back on and I am picking the Jeep up in a few. They have to order the Hydro lock in and can't do the work until next week some time.

Does anyone know anything about the Hydro Lock, how is it different from the Track Lock?

Hydro Lock??

Are you talking about the factory Vari-lok differential that came with the Quadra-Drive system? Last I heard there was no fixing them, they cost about $1000 for the replacement, and anything 33"+ will destroy them quickly.

The only other traction device for the d44a that I'm aware of is the Aussie Locker.

It's time to seriously think about an axle swap. You're thinking about trussing the aluminum d44 and re-gearing it, and getting a new differential for it... you'd be IMHO, a little bit foolish to spend all that money on an axle that'll grenade again within a couple of years, if not sooner.

I recently bought a 78 Ford f150 with a high pinion d44 front and 9" rear end for all of $300, and I sold the engine for $100 and transmission/tcase for $200, and so far I've recycled about 1/2 of the steel for another $50. The axles will need to be cleaned up, re-geared, and locked up, but basically I got them free, plus my d30/44a combo can be resold to offset the cost of figuring out the brakes, gearing, and lockers.

edit:

http://saltlakecity.craigslist.org/cto/1434878290.html

There's a good donor bronco, it's a bit on the expensive side though.
 
Never heard of hydro lock.

I would get an Aussie and not worry about it. I think you will need a new carrier, but those aren't too expensive.

The D44a is plenty strong, the only weak part is the housing and if you truss it then you will be god to go.
 
To go with an Aussie he'll need to get a carrier and axle shafts from a non-Quadra Drive Jeep.

I've got an Aussie, and while it does work, it's definitely not a great design for street use. I'm sure I'm going to snap mine one of these days, and with 35s the problem just compounds more. They're a quick-fix for cheap as far as lockers go. The 44a is plenty strong, but the lack of decent traction adders really makes them somewhat of a boat anchor.


So to recap -

option 1) rebuild what he's got. $~1000 for a new varilok, $250ish for gears and install kit, $250-500 for labor, $?? for truss work. Differential prone to failure with 33"+ tires.

option 2) swap out for aussie locker. $200-400ish for aussie locker, if he can find one, $?? for an open carrier, $?? for new axle shafts, $?? for truss work, $250ish for gears and install kit, $250-500ish for labor. Differential prone to failure with abuse, noisy around town, towing becomes suspect, etc.

option 3) swap out different axle. $free to $300ish for a decent axle - 8.8 or 9", $?? for a limited slip/locker, $?? for fabbing up bracketry, $250ish for gears/install kit, $250-500ish for install (9" I've heard is STUPID easy to set up). Good strong axle not prone to failure, plenty of traction devices to choose from, gain strength and reliability.

Run the numbers. The aussie locker is probably the cheapest bet, but towing with an automatic locker can put undue stress on it and cause you to blow it up. A friend of mine blew up his lock-rite twice in his 318 powered pickup with 32" tires before he just threw a limited slip in.
 
Why would he need new shafts?

I had an Aussie in my last ZJ and still had the same shafts. I was on 33's and it was my DD, never had any sort of problems with it, and when I hit the desert up it worked like a charm.

Towed with it, went through DEEP mud, sand, rocks, snow everything, and did I mention it was my dd for a 50+ miles a day for work...


I beat it up as much as I could and it never gave me any trouble.
 
Discussion starter · #91 ·
Thanks for the comments everyone. I have been researching this over the last day. The axle shafts are different. So if I go to an open carrier and am able to find an Aussie, I have to replace my axle shafts. Yeah, it sucks.

I already have access to two sets of 44/9" combos, we have swapped them out of many vehicles. I would NEVER do this to my WJ. I have a friend that did this swap. It is AWESOME for a wheeling rig, but sucks for a DD. The braking systems need to be completely upgraded or else they suck. In addition, I NEED abs as this is now my wifes DD/my weekend warrior. Also, the speedo runs off of the rear ABS sensor. Everyone that I have seen who tries to use an aftermarket unit and a t-case sensor never gets it right on anyways.

Keeping the 44HD and trussing it is what I want to do. It looks like I can get the new Varilock (What they are calling the HydroLock) for about $500. It is the least expensive option right now, and will be great for the winter driving we do here in Utah.

I know that I may shred the unit again in the future, so what I may plan on doing is finding a donor axle with an open carrier. I will build that in the future and find an Aussie. I just don't know of any other options that will let me keep the ABS and speedo and work well in the Utah winters.
 
Discussion starter · #92 · (Edited)
Nice jeep! where do you live north of salt lake? Im always looking for someone to wheel with, Im in Eden, anyways let me know how you like the 4.56's I havent made up my mind on what gears I want to put in mine yet, have 3.73's right now and 35's was thinking either 4.56 or 4.88's, its still my DD though
I live in West Bountiful. I want to go to 4.56 because this is still a DD. If it were a wheeling rig only, it would have been 4.88's. Going from the factory tire to a 315x75x16, and calculating an equivalent ratio would be 4.37. So the 4.56 should be pretty good for a DD.
 
Hey bud, check out my thread as I did an dana 44hd swap in my 93 zj. I think it may be the same direction you looking to go with.
 
Discussion starter · #94 ·
Yeah, I may head down that road in the future, but am going to get it back together with the varilock for now.

Is anyone else running the varilocks with 35's?
 
Your speedo is still going to be off though. ABS is overrated - yeah, it's nice on some situations, but advanced driver training is better. Even on glare ice I'd rather be able to turn the wheel, stab the brakes, get it sliding, and then gas it through. Plus when wheeling ABS is a nightmare. Besides that, everyone touts them as being a godsend, when in reality instead of simply slamming into the car in front of you, the statistics show you're much more likely to roll your rig with ABS.

But whatever, it's your choice, and if you can get the varilok differential for $500, plus another ~$500 or so for gears and install, plus another couple hundred for a truss I'm guessing, it'll be a little cheaper than any other option.

Have you had your transmission reflashed? I've been contemplating running 5.13 with my 33" tires to get a better crawl ratio for idling down hills, but then getting the tranny reflashed to keep decent freeway rpms.
 
5.13s with 33s is completely beyond overkill, 4.56 is 33s is even overkill...just get a low case, not low gearing.
 
blah blah blah.

I guess what I should really do is forget about re-gearing and just get a manual tranny out of an old truck with a granny first gear, right?

At 60mph I'm currently turning about 1700 rpm.
At 75mph I'm currently turning about 2100 rpm.

These are too low, and it's basically bogging.

After picking up the 2nd overdrive, those numbers drop to:
60mph = 1527
75mph = 1900

While awesome on the flats, they're useless where I live. Far too many hills.

With a re-gear to 5.13, those numbers change to:
60mph = 2100 rpm
75mph = 2600 rpm

Stock tires and gearing (45 RFE) is:
60mph = 1900
75mph = 2350

and (545 RFE):
60mph = 1700
75mph = 2100


Interestingly enough, with stock gearing and the 545RFE with 30" tires the engine RPMs are similar to my 33" tires on stock gearing with the 45RFE. The major difference is that my Jeep weighs a good 4800 pounds, and those 33" tires on steel wheels are SIGNIFICANTLY heavier than the stock wheels.


Ok, you suggest I go with 4.56 gears and 4:1 low t-case. Fine and dandy, except not only am I buying gears, but a t-case too. And then down the road if/when I decide to go with 37" tires? The 4.56 gearing is going to leave me wanting more. I'd much rather pay less now, and not have to do it over again in the future. It's already going to be stupidly expensive - gears, bearings, seals, brackets, trusses, brakes, lockers, I just don't want to add another $1-4k on top of that for a new transfer case.
 
Discussion starter · #98 ·
I haven't re-flashed the trans yet, but might see if there is a programmer that I can use to do this and change the timing a little bit as well.

I know the speedo will be off, but not nearly as much as it has been with 35's and stock gears.
 
Discussion starter · #100 ·
We must be alike. If I find anything, I will post it up. I am hoping to find a tuner that will allow me to change my tire/gear settings to re-calibrate the speedo and change the shift points. I know they make them for trucks, so we will see.
 
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