breakagee

[tylerd13]

I have a 72 wagg. its going to have dana 44 front and rear.. from a cherokee (couldn;t pass smog and dotn wanna bother with it) the tires are 35x12.5 I'm not sure what gears are in the d44s but they are stock. I was wonderin if i should attempt to do the 2.46 low range ratio on my dana 20.. seems like a lot of work. BUt I dont want to get differnt gears (highway use too) but I also dont want to break stuff.. I like the idea of havin real low ratio on the fly. and having high way ratio 1:1. I plan on ruinng front and rear locked diffs. do you think the stock dana 20 will hold up.. or should I not even give it a chance and just do the 2.46 conversion (and if needed a little lower gears)
any information is greatly apperciated. I'm just gettin into 4x4.. I'm learning a lot and just trying to build a strong rig off the bat instead of breakin a bunch of stuff and havin to upgrade later.
thanks ,
tyler....

[tylerd13]

oh and the rear locker will be selectable, and front might be lincoln lock
depending on my pay check. but I will have lock out hubs so its not a big deal on the the streets.

[babywag]

Couple things to consider for fitting 35" tires on a '72 wag.

How do you plan on lifting it?
The BJ's 6" lift your asking about (on other threads) is only for '76-'91

You do realize to fit tires that large w/o rubbing will require cutting sheetmetal?
The widetrack axles you plan to use are also wider than your current ones.

You're going to have a couple issues w/ the axles, steering, and brakes.
1. The front spring perches are slightly narrower
2. You have drums all the way around currently...adding a disc brake axle will require a different master cylinder, lines, and proportioning valve.
You may also need to modify/change the power booster and brake pedal.
3. You may have steering linkage clearance issues w/ the pitman arm and tie rod end.

I have swapped later model axles/brakes under my '73, and it was not just a bolt-in.

I'm not trying to discourage you, just passing along some info from someone who has done the swap.

I'd lift the Cherokee, and smog it....but that's just me.

[tylerd13]

Ya i realize this. I have everything for the brakes.. off of the 77, as for lift I think I'm going to use the 77's shackles in the rear(or tads stuff). I will line everything up at my disired height and burn them into place. As for the front I still have to come up with a plan for lift.. my stock wag springs sag a lot. i only got 4" off my soa. I started maskin up the fenders for cutting, trying some differnt deisgns so it will look the best but still work. I'm thinkin about moving the rear back axle a couple inchs (by movin the springs). that would help solve the problem of hittin the door when I trim. as for the dana 20 qustions. I ask a lot of questions about differnt things so I can just store stuff in my brain hah. obivously I'm not going to be doing all this in one day.. or weekend.. or month I'm just askin questions so I can kind of get an idea of what kind of problems I'm going to face. thanks for your input though.

[tylerd13]

I would love to go with the cherokee... but i just dont think its gunna pass smog.. what are some tips for gettin it to pass.

[babywag]

I would love to go with the cherokee... but i just dont think its gunna pass smog.. what are some tips for gettin it to pass.
Good tune-up, fresh oil change, check EGR valve and cat for proper operation.

Most people make the mistake of not doing the above, or bringing it in w/o the cat being fully heated up.
(Myself included, last time I brought mine in w/ a bad EGR valve, failed miserably)

It passed on 2/2006, so it'll probably pass w/ a good tune-up.
VILLA AUTOMOTIVE /
SAN LUIS OBISPO
5CJC297 J7A17MP014713 JEEP CHEROKEE 1977 02/22/2006 02:05 p.m. P GA818184C

[tylerd13]

wow I had no idea you could check that..
thanks so muchhh I'm pickin it up tomorow morning at 8 am I'm stokedd

[osok]

Make sure you go in with the cat HOT, not just warmed up. And you've got a good smog shop in Templeton that I'd try first. As far as the 2.46 gears go in the 20, I've been very satisfied with mine after 6 years of abuse (35's behind a built 304)