I decided to upgrade my offroad Jeep to 1Ton axles.. and so it begins. I found a good deal on a set of 1Ton axles on Facebook marketplace, so I quickly snapped them up, grabbed my trailer, and drove to Columbus OH to bring them back.
Dana 60 front, Sterling 10.25 rear, disc brakes front and rear, new-in-box Artec JK one ton swap kits with tone rings. All for $1000 — each of the Artec kits was worth over $500, and each axle was worth $1000. So I figure I got $3k of stuff for $1k. I am pretty sure it's from a '97 Ford.
/ Getting Started
First step was to pay a friend (who is wayyyy more auto mechanic than I am) to help. Ok, actually I sat on the axles for 9 months before starting, but really just because of Covid... ok, back to the story.
He removed my old axles, and I got them listed on eBay.. not that I'll get near enough for them, but every bit is going to add up.. this project is already getting expensive....
/ Yokes, Drive Shafts, and Doing It Right
Gonna need a new yoke, so got it ordered. Old yoke wouldn't clear a bunch, and the new yoke would be much smarter.. do it right Rich.. do it right. And eventually new (stronger) drive shafts, once we know how long to order them.
/ The Fuel Tank Surprise
The JK tank is gonna have to go — apparently the drive shaft is likely not going to clear... didn't count on that. OK, figured out a way to swap to a TJ tank and put it under the trunk. Found a TJ tank on eBay and ordered it — it's so much smaller than the JK tank but holds about the same amount of fuel. Nice. Also needed a skid plate and pump extension kit.. ordered those too. Lots more clearance under the Jeep now that the HUGE gas tank is gone.
/ Tires, Rims, Gears, and Lockers
Back to the stuff I need to order... yeah, gonna need new tires. So I ordered a set of 37" Maxxis tires — damn they have some traction. And new rims for the new axles.. of course, duh. Found a set on Marketplace as well — I NEED beadlocks in my life. The new tires are gonna mean body mods to get them to fit well — that's a todo after we get the axles in and working.
I was also going to need new gears and lockers, so I ordered air lockers, a compressor, and 5.38 gears.. man that pile is expensive and heavy, but it's going to have some serious power!
I'll keep posting as we go along... more to come.