Jewel in the Rough - The Cherokee was a great bargain and in quite good shape all around
WHETHER you’re looking for your first 4x4 or your tenth, finding the perfect rig to turn into a hardcore trail machine doesn’t have to be expensive. There are literally thousands of 4x4s out there that have had a life of pave- ment pounding and seen little if any use on trails or even in 4WD. Vehicles from the Southwest states are the most likely to be rust free. With a lit- tle luck and some perseverance, you can usual- ly find a 4x4 that is stock, in good running condition and above all CHEAP! You may ask why anyone would want to look for an older high mile rig. Well, consider that in building a dedicated, hardcore trail rig, you’ll likely be tossing stock axles and suspension into the scrap pile. So all you really need is a fair body, good motor and smooth transmis- sion.
Why buy a low mile, high dollar 4x4 just to scrap half of your in
vestment? This series follows the buildup of a 1988 Cherokee that was found in a California desert community, price, well under $1000. This left a lot of extra cash in the buildup fund for new axles, larger tires, lift and other modifica- tions for hardcore trail use. When building a trail 4x4 on a budget, you often have to do your buildup in steps. The two main expenses are “lift, tires and wheels” and “axles, gears and lockers.” Usually, the lift, tires and wheels are installed first. However, this author strongly encourages you to begin your build with the axles, gears and lockers. Why? Simple, the stock axles and gearing are just not up to handling larger tires, and other stresses, on and off the trail. Also, with a newly lifted 4x4 you’ll be chomping at the bit to hit the trail. With stock axles you may find just getting there difficult due to the poor overall gear ratio produced by larger tires and stock gears. Then the added strain of large tires on the old, tired and undersize axles. You could find yourself broken down on your first trail trip. Consider that with the axles upgraded, you’ll have the strongest and most capable stock height 4x4 on the trail. You may not tackle the toughest stuff with- out the bigger tires an
d lift. But, you will walk though the smaller obstacles what would have stopped you dead in stock trim. Your choice which upgrades get priority.Here we’ll cover the axles first, as they work for both already lift- The Cherokee was a great bargain and in quite good shape all around. ed and soon to be lifted rigs. For those of you worried about pinion angles, pre and post lift, the rear differential pinion angle for leaf sprung rigs can be set for the lift expected and then adjusted back down with pinion shims.
In the short time you run the axles without the lift this will be fine. This is sort of reverse of regular thinking, but it works. The coil spring axles are preset and not adjustable without aftermarket control arms. For the frontend, a G2 Dana 44 axle assembly was selected. This off-the-shelf housing is a direct fit for the Jeep TJ Wrangler, ZJ Grand Cherokee and of course, the ’85-up XJ Cherokee and Wagoneer. The G2 D44 assemblies can be ordered with virtually any gear ratio and differential type. The assembly comes with new HD inner and outer axles too. Your knuckles, and brake hardware (if in good shape) can be reused.
The rear axle is a different matter. The Cherokee is a leaf sprung rear setup. While off-the-shelf Dana 44 hous- ings are available from G2, Dana 60s are not. For this build, a Jeep J8 (Military JK) rear Dana 60 housing was modified to fit. Why a Dana 60? Well, the larger ring and pinion are much stronger, and the larger diameter axles are too. Both axle housings where fitted with ARB air lockers for maximum trail traction and street manners. In anticipa- tion of the soon to come 35x13.5R15 BFG Krawler tires, 5.13:1 gearing was installed in each axle.
As a final toughness touch, the rear stock t-case was upgraded with a slip-yoke eliminator kit. Here’s the high- lights in Part 1 of our Cheep Jeep buildup. Next we’ll lift this Jeep to take full advan- tage of the upgraded axles.
1.G2 Dana axles are setup with your gear ratio and differential of choice before shipment. All you need to do is install your stock outers, put them in the vehicle and fill with oil. Expert techs ensure the gears are installed perfectly before leaving the facility.
2.Here are just a few of the options for your G2 axles. Dana 44 gears are offered from 2.72:1 through 5.38:1 ratios. Dana 60 gears are available in 3.34:1 through 5.86:1 ratios. A wide range of differentials, from open, to limited slip to lockers are also available for both.
3.Discards from the stock Cherokee. These are good spare parts for friends who
have a stock rig. They’ll need them if they try to keep up with you after your buildup. 4.The G2 front Dana 44 axles come complete with the gear set and dif- ferential installed. The stock outers, knuckles, unit bearings, and brakes are reused from the old front axle. Now is a good time to replace those worn out brake parts, check the unit bearings and ball joints. Replacing worn parts now will save on your overall labor costs.
5.For the custom rear Dana 60, the 4WP store in Azusa, CA called in the Mobil Gear unit to setup the gears and assemble the housing. The ARB air locker was installed along with the new gear set. 6.A heavy duty G2 cover was installed on the rear Dana 60. One came with the front Dana 44. 7.35 spline G2 axles are used for the rear axle setup. The bearings, retainers and seal are pressed onto the axle and the assembly is ready to install.
8.The rear Dana 60 was setup with Dana 44 outers to work with a TeraFlex rear disc brake kit. This will provide much better stopping power.
9.Once the rear axle is completely assembled, the tires and wheels are mounted and used to roll the housing under the vehicle. Pinion angle set, and spring pads are tacked into place. At this time, if not lifting the rig now, you can estimate the pinion angle for the lift. The angle can be reduced for temporarily running the stock suspension by using standard
taper wedges. 10.The stock t-case slip yoke output shaft compared to the new fixed yoke unit. The new shaft is shorter and stronger than the original. The new output end housing is a little more than half as long as the orig- inal part. The shorter output shaft allows the use of a CV rear drive shaft that along with the extra length reduces rear driveshaft vibration prob- lems. 11.The final step in any axle, t-case or transmission service or upgrade is to fill with the proper fluids before test driving. We added ultra premi- um Royal Purple, synthetic for superior lubrication and longer component life.
