Lemme get your thoughts. JL build

[AZJLguy]

Hey guys, so im curious. If you were building a JL for a combination of rock crawling/daily driving on 40” tires. What would your build consist of? Rock krawler long arm? Metal cloak mid arm? 1 tons? Coilovers front/rear? Front only? What would your ideal setup be and why? I’m currently on a metal cloak 3.5” with 37s but sort of want to take it to the next level. Pic of my rig for attention

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[Aonarch]

Dana 60/80.

Long arms with 3.5" Springs.

Hydro steering.

Hydro bumps.

Driveshafts.

 

[AZJLguy]

Dana 60/80.

Long arms with 3.5" Springs.

Hydro steering.

Hydro bumps.

Driveshafts.

That is what I’m leaning towards. Although undecided on the dynatrac 60/80 or 60/60 combo. Or going the diy junkyard route with a 60/14b combo. Why do you suggest 3.5” springs instead of 4.5”? Just to maintain somewhat low center of gravity? I am height limited for now as I’d still like to be able to pull into my garage so sticking with 3.5” springs would be ideal.

 

[Aonarch]

That is what I’m leaning towards. Although undecided on the dynatrac 60/80 or 60/60 combo. Or going the diy junkyard route with a 60/14b combo. Why do you suggest 3.5” springs instead of 4.5”? Just to maintain somewhat low center of gravity? I am height limited for now as I’d still like to be able to pull into my garage so sticking with 3.5” springs would be ideal.

Yeah I like the lower CoG, but 1 tons do add weight down low...

Would you add any power mods or just gearing?

 

[3TV]

If you have an XR model you may get buy for a while with your current axles that would have the 10 mm thick axle tubes, cast-iron knuckles, and 4.56 gears. Mine has those axles and is on 40s now, and 4 years in nothing has broken yet. I do have my eyes on either a set of UD 60s or Currie 70s for "someday". Jeeps are a work in progress; you don't need to do everything at once.

I have a 4 1/2" Metalcloak lift on mine. I had a 2 1/2" Metalcloak lift on it with 37s, so when choosing taller springs, I checked the part numbers of my 2 1/2" springs and found out that Metalcloak had sent me 3 1/2" springs to lift my XR Jeep 2 1/2". So, I went with 4 1/2" springs, which are more than I need in conjunction with high clearance fenders. But I like the look and the extra up travel and overall flex. You already have a Metalcloak 3 1/2" lift and high clearance fenders, so you may just want to throw on a set of 40s.

The single best improvement to my Jeep though was steering upgrades. I did Dynatrac ball joints, Metalcloak drag link and tie rod, with a Metacloak sector shaft brace and track bar brace, while also changing to a PSC ram steering set up. I did the whole shebang with PSCs new steering box, belt driven pump, and hydraulic ram. Steering is super precise, effortless, and doesn't overheat. It greatly improved both on road and off-road drivability. I had used an Apex steering boost kit with 37s, but when I changed to 40s the assist wasn't enough for the toughest trails and I blew an o-ring and had to fix a power steering fluid leak.

 

[AZJLguy]

Yeah I like the lower CoG, but 1 tons do add weight down low...

Would you add any power mods or just gearing?

re-gear to 5.13s or 5.38 for sure. I’ll save the power mods for when the 3.6 kicks the bucket and do a hemi swap

 

[AZJLguy]

If you have an XR model you may get buy for a while with your current axles that would have the 10 mm thick axle tubes, cast-iron knuckles, and 4.56 gears. Mine has those axles and is on 40s now, and 4 years in nothing has broken yet. I do have my eyes on either a set of UD 60s or Currie 70s for "someday". Jeeps are a work in progress; you don't need to do everything at once.

I have a 4 1/2" Metalcloak lift on mine. I had a 2 1/2" Metalcloak lift on it with 37s, so when choosing taller springs, I checked the part numbers of my 2 1/2" springs and found out that Metalcloak had sent me 3 1/2" springs to lift my XR Jeep 2 1/2". So, I went with 4 1/2" springs, which are more than I need in conjunction with high clearance fenders. But I like the look and the extra up travel and overall flex. You already have a Metalcloak 3 1/2" lift and high clearance fenders, so you may just want to throw on a set of 40s.

The single best improvement to my Jeep though was steering upgrades. I did Dynatrac ball joints, Metalcloak drag link and tie rod, with a Metacloak sector shaft brace and track bar brace, while also changing to a PSC ram steering set up. I did the whole shebang with PSCs new steering box, belt driven pump, and hydraulic ram. Steering is super precise, effortless, and doesn't overheat. It greatly improved both on road and off-road drivability. I had used an Apex steering boost kit with 37s, but when I changed to 40s the assist wasn't enough for the toughest trails and I blew an o-ring and had to fix a power steering fluid leak.

Here is what a 4 1/2" Metalcloak lift looks like with high clearance fenders and 40s. Have fun with yours, and do what you want to do with it.
View attachment 1051107

I have definitely contemplated building up the original axles as I do have the x package and I feel like I would more than likely be okay going to 40s as I’m pretty smart with the skinny pedal when I’m out on the rocks.

My front axle is already trussed and would just need to upgrade to some chromoly shafts and RCVs and truss the rear. I’m slightly worried about going to 5.38s and worrying about the small pinion size though which is where upgrading axles would be nice

I currently have the apex boost kit which has been fine for the 37s but I did start to overheat the steering last time I was out and got into some nasty stuff, so the full PSC kit might be in my future.

 

[Aonarch]

I have definitely contemplated building up the original axles as I do have the x package and I feel like I would more than likely be okay going to 40s as I’m pretty smart with the skinny pedal when I’m out on the rocks.

My front axle is already trussed and would just need to upgrade to some chromoly shafts and RCVs and truss the rear. I’m slightly worried about going to 5.38s and worrying about the small pinion size though which is where upgrading axles would be nice

I currently have the apex boost kit which has been fine for the 37s but I did start to overheat the steering last time I was out and got into some nasty stuff, so the full PSC kit might be in my future.

I'd do that first if you are already trussed.

Some people don't like the idea of throwing money at the stock axles, versus just buying a bigger axle to begin with.

The 10mm D44 are pretty strong. Upgrade the ball joints and some RCVs, they should be ok on 40s as long as you aren't rock bouncing!

Just be careful with the front locker and RPMs.

 

[WillysMeow]

Dana 60/80.

Long arms with 3.5" Springs.

Hydro steering.

Hydro bumps.

Driveshafts.

This but with Dynatrac 60s front and rear for better ground clearance. Dana 70 and larger eat up even more ground clearance. Or as @Aonarch said finish building your 392 axles and try it out, cheaper, you're almost there already and might be fine. No matter what axles you have, bouncing and hopping too much under heavy throttle can cost you in trail repair/recovery and then the repair/upgrades. Keep us posted what you do.

 

[SherpaJLU]

I am kinda in the exact same spot as you. Trying to figure out "whats next" as I move towards 40's. From talking to others in the industry the built out D44 seems like a viable option. I think I am gonna go with RCV's, Truss, Dynatrac Ball Joints and Chromo shafts in the rear. After that I kinda wanna get the rear working better so maybe a long arm.

 

[AZJLguy]

I am kinda in the exact same spot as you. Trying to figure out "whats next" as I move towards 40's. From talking to others in the industry the built out D44 seems like a viable option. I think I am gonna go with RCV's, Truss, Dynatrac Ball Joints and Chromo shafts in the rear. After that I kinda wanna get the rear working better so maybe a long arm.

Sounds exactly like what I’m thinking about doing. I’m really not thrilled about the idea of dropping 20k into a set of built crate axles at the moment so I think my best option would be to beef up the 44s and wheel it that way for the time being.

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