The 2Grand Cherokee

[rightpedal]

Yea you need to load in some pics! I haven't seen the new bumper setup.....and it was done in my driveway! btw mom was really worried about you working out in the heat. I got a ear full about letting you do that. Dude the tent is right there....or even better dads driveway has full shade.

Steve

[rightpedal]

My buddy George has some 35s on 5bolt jeep rims for sale....just saying

[Deaf Bob]

My buddy George has some 35s on 5bolt jeep rims for sale....just saying

Got a Sawzall to help with fitment?

[98ciHemi]

OK, no pictures yet, and generally sucky news. Got clipped pretty well yesterday turning into base. Airbags popped, right rear door got pushed in, front of the rear wheel arch is caved in. Right rear wheel is broken, tire's hashed, at least some kind of hub or stud damage. I haven't seen under the wheel yet. The rear axle is offset to the left, but it just looks like the upper control arm broke pretty cleanly, so just a new UCA/ball joint from the yard. Engine/driveline is good. I drove it off the road after the accident, and onto the trailer at the yard today.

At the moment, my hands are tied till the insurance assessment is done. I only carried liability on this, so if I'm ruled at fault, I'll be off to the yard and out around $5-600 and towing (Let's not talk about the F!#$Y#*@ towing company). If I'm NOT at fault, I imagine they'll total it. Which sucks, as I kind of need a vehicle in less time than I can handle getting this out of a salvage situation. On the positive side, if I'm ruled not at fault, his insurance should cover my bills pretty well.

So, here's the shining light in this. Rightpedal immediately hooked me up with a truck, winch, and trailer to use to move the Jeep and get my stuff back home, is letting me stash the Jeep at his place till we know what's happening, and already got the bent up wheel off and the spare on it so we can roll it. He is good people of the highest order.

[98ciHemi]

Oh, and I'm fine. You should see the other guy. And his car. I can't really say that there is a winner in a car accident, but he sure lost. Size (and speed/angle of impact) matter.
Edit-
In retrospect, this statement is a bit low- I really am sorry for his injuries and concerned for his health.

[rightpedal]

So he let me beat on his Jeep with a sledge hammer......It was.... productive. I will make Walt take pictures later today.
steve

[Deaf Bob]

If your jeep is worth less than it costs to fix... They will total it.. When they total it, you need to give up your title for a salvage one.

[STINEY]

Or you can request the adjuster not total it. Tell them you want to "buy it back" for $50 and let the adjuster work their magic.

[Deaf Bob]

Or you can request the adjuster not total it. Tell them you want to "buy it back" for $50 and let the adjuster work their magic.

Didn't work for me.. He insisted on totaling it..

[JeepSpark]

Great to see someone else going over a WJ. I have a 2001 Laredo that had its front end smashed, which is a good excuse as any for the chopping block. Bought for $2300 a year ago and it lasted 74K miles before it rammed into an unsuspecting Mercedes.

Wheel clearance may be an issue with your 265's, I've been looking into a 4.5" RC long-arm lift and even then the highest size before things start rubbing is 32x10.5 (according to RC) which is about a 265 - and that's with a long arm lift. Articulation is considered with that size though... nothing a little cutting won't solve.

The 42RE is junk, this WJ is on trans #3. Thankfully junkyard replacements were cheap. That 46RE gutswap sounds like a good idea. Called the local transmission wizard when 42RE #2 was on it's way out, asked about a (5)45RFE swap from one of the V8 GC's, verdict is basically impossible unless you are an electronics god.

Have any pictures of the winch and progress? Neat build!

[98ciHemi]

Trail reports! So, I've got access to some Jeep trails, so I've been out getting some trail time in. Still haven't bought a winch. I've been getting by with a 8k hand crank cable winch, which has the added benefit of giving me a work out. The AT2s seem to do well. I can roll 2wd through anything except mud. But in the mud, well, they are an A/T tire. It's pretty heavy mud here, so they pack up quickly. I've gotten it really stuck twice, both of which required the hand winch.

Otherwise, it's shown itself to be a capable off road rig. Nice, tight turning, adequate clearance and traction to get over the steep embankments and logs. On dry I've only really used 4wd for climbing sandy hills and 4lo for speed control on descents. No real rocks to speak of here, so mostly just sand, mud, logs, two tracks, and hills.

Oh, insurance never looked at the Jeep- so no title issues, and I got in on the road in short order.

I'm not deducting this from the TCI for the project, since it's all repair-

Caliper bracket bent- $10
Axle bent- $20
Wheel/tire broken- $200 (New tire)
UCA/balljoint and mount all broken- $20
Shocks bent- $50 (New)
Rotor bent- $45- (New pads and rotor)

Rightpedal taking a sledgehammer to my door- priceless

Still think the axle is a bit messed up. I think it's just time for a D44a/LSD/3.73s out a V8 WJ with quadra track. Hopefullythe 3.73s will help the anemic 4.0 anyway.

Added pictures of the tire aired down. It's not the most flexible I've seen, but it is a Load range E tire.

[rightpedal]

Ooooohh thats cool your jeep took a souvenir from the crap box it totaled. I assume the white thing impeded in the tire is a bumper??

[STINEY]

Thanks for the air down picture Walt. You rock!

[SuperBuickGuy]

chains are cheaper then a winch - best part is they usually make a winch unnecessary. That said, bring a shovel - you'll need it along with the come-along to get it out if you get stuck.

I swear, though, that chains make any vehicle superman .... chains, of course, not cables

as for the axle - you do know that Exploder 8.8s have LSDs stock, most are 4.11 the rest are 3.73, they are the same width as your current set up and about 200% stronger? Oh yeah, and same wheel-bolt-pattern... and disk brakes. Outside of all of that, can't think of a reason you'd swap.... requires welding pads in that you steal off your current set up.

[98ciHemi]

I want the 8.8, but my third link physically bolts to the center section and will require a lot of fab work on the 8.8. The d44a isn't my first choice for strength, but everything but the driveshaft bolts up, I retain ABS and my speedo sensor, and I found two donors at the junkyard with the 3.73 lsd front and rear diffs. Driveshaft just needs a few inches lopped off. Also, I think I'll be upgrading to a different platform in a few years, so I don't want to go overkill in this project.