Maddawg's Madness /starting a make-over.

[Ldub]

Thanks very much for the help!!

No worries...I'll take any opportunity to say: "mine is too big"..

[Maddawg]

No worries...I'll take any opportunity to say: "mine is too big"..

Wait, are we still talking about your car here??

[Ldub]

Wait, are we still talking about your car here??

might be...

[Triathlete]

No worries...I'll take any opportunity to say: "mine is too big"..

Yes, you do have a rather large head on your shoulders!

[Etfren]

I have to agree with Jo that 35's with stock gearing is just fine. Yes its a good bit slower accelerating and the speedo is off, but that's easy to get used to. In 4-low it creeps along plenty slow for most stuff and I actually like the effectively longer gearing for normal street driving.

[Maddawg]

I have to agree with Jo that 35's with stock gearing is just fine. Yes its a good bit slower accelerating and the speedo is off, but that's easy to get used to. In 4-low it creeps along plenty slow for most stuff and I actually like the effectively longer gearing for normal street driving.

Yeah, I was wondering how it would affect 4-low. Thats a good thing!

[Maddawg]

I think I may have located a 4.77 front from a Trooper, are there any specific questions I should ask about it, besides condition and price. Like does 12 bolt enter into the equation for a front diff?

[VXorado]

I think I may have located a 4.77 front from a Trooper, are there any specific questions I should ask about it, besides condition and price. Like does 12 bolt enter into the equation for a front diff?

The front (10 bolt) gears can be easier to find because they where used in late 90's Rodeos. Rodeos use a Dana 44 rear axle, so people will pull the front gears and sell them without matching gears to fit the 12 bolt rear axle. You would be better off finding a pair because finding a 12 bolt individually might be difficult. Of course, it never hurts to have spare gears for the front axle.

[JoFotoz]

WOW...that was quick...

I think I may have located a 4.77 front from a Trooper, are there any specific questions I should ask about it, besides condition and price. Like does 12 bolt enter into the equation for a front diff?

The front diff housing on the VX is a 10 bolt ...the rear is a 12 bolt.

Obviously you'll still need to source a rear 12 bolt 4.77... to match gearing.

Make sure the ring has 43 teeth, pinion 9 ...43/9 = 4.77777777
Look for even wear on the teeth, this shows it was set up properly.

It may well be hard to find a single 12 bolt 4.77 rear...but even so,
you should grab this front one if its in good shape and a reasonable price.

You can then souce a front/rear pair of 4.77's...
...and you'll have a spare ( as already stated) for the front, which is very nice to have....
....and the one more prone to getting blown up.

Or....you may get lucky and find a lone 12 bolt 4.77 rear to go with it.



Jo

PS...
Worst case scenario is you end up with a lone front 4.77....

...that one of these days someone here will REALLY NEED!

(edited to correct 10 bolt front..12 bolt rear..My bad! )

[VXorado]

I believe Etfrans (ex bigmeats) fits that description. It has major wheel well trimming to clear.

Yeah, I think he used a sawzall to trim all of the wheel well.

Yup Tom, exactly that...

I run Calmini coils with a 1 inch spacer for a lift of about 3.5 inches......on 35 inch Nitto Mud Grapplers

Yes...I had to do some surgery to the back of the front wheel wells for clearance...

...and some cladding trimming at the front.

I'd rather cut out, cut off wheel well bits that are NROV ( not required on voyage!)..
...than lift the body any higher.

jo

That's good to know. I thought 4" lift was minimum but 3.5" must be fine for offroading if that's your lift.

The front diff housing on the VX is a 12 bolt ...the rear is a 10 bolt.

Jo...

The front is the 10 bolt IFS.

[JoFotoz]

DOHHH...

Jo...

The front is the 10 bolt IFS.

...you are of course 100% correct.

And I am ( of course)...a twit!

I fixed it in the post.

Jon!

jo

[VXorado]

no worries Jo, I've got your back.

[Maddawg]

Hey! Remember me? LOL! Lotsa good stuff going on in here, now I don't dare turn my back and there's two more pages. Good going guys, there were some questions I was going to ask but you already have and answered. Yiiippppe!

I have narrowed down my tire selection to one of the three: BFG MT, Geolander MT or Toyo Open Country MT. I thought AT would be my choice but seeing the MT on a friends jeep....... gotta have it. So the size I'm going for is LT285/75R16 (33"). Waiting now for final pricing on the Toyo's.

[VXorado]

Nice, I ran the Toyos on my Tundra. It's a good tire especially if you plan on driving pavement most of the time. Smooth and quiet for an MT.

[Maddawg]

And the winner is: TAADAAAA!!