Steering thoughts

[94sport]

i think a 44 is a great replacement for a dana 35 if you dont want to put in the time, or if your only in the rocks. but its just as much work as a 60, slightly cheaper. the 44 and a the 35 use the same size u joint. so im not sure that theres much for extra strength, unless you invest serious $$$ but then youll be at or near the cost of a 60. i can get a 05+ with 3.73 gears for 450, those things are beef.

since you regeared and you mostly snow wheel, id say roll roll with the d35, you dont really require flex, if you ever do then acquire some long arms and eb springs. the locker will take care of the rest.

as far as the aussie locker. i highly recommend one. seen tons of friends buy the spartan, or lockright only to get a few wheeling seasons out of it. ive had my aussie for 6 years without an issue. its made with american steel. idk if the new style is available for the dana 35, but its even more beef than before and guys are abusing the hell out of them

Yeah I was thinking the aussie, but I love my spartan in the rear I never notice it and I have had no issues. I have extended arms, I just haven't found the right EB springs, looking to keep around 4in of lift.

 

[swynx]

For what it’s worth I would highly recommend the 320 ppi eb springs I have. I can drop a 37” tire below the body line, and fully compress them to the stock bump stops. I have been running them without sway bars, front or rear. The body roll is manageable. With the front sway bar on it rides super well in town, like a Cadillac. They don’t flex as well as some of the lower weight coils but you honestly don’t need that much, when your locked up.

They were 3.5 eb springs, 320 ppi. 18.5 free length. I think from bronco graveyard. I had to raise my coil buckets 1 inch so I would only get 2 inches of lift. So they netted 3 inches. I would stack washers or something underneath them for 4 inches.

I can get you a part number if your interested.

 

[94sport]

For what it’s worth I would highly recommend the 320 ppi eb springs I have. I can drop a 37” tire below the body line, and fully compress them to the stock bump stops. I have been running them without sway bars, front or rear. The body roll is manageable. With the front sway bar on it rides super well in town, like a Cadillac. They don’t flex as well as some of the lower weight coils but you honestly don’t need that much, when your locked up.

They were 3.5 eb springs, 320 ppi. 18.5 free length. I think from bronco graveyard. I had to raise my coil buckets 1 inch so I would only get 2 inches of lift. So they netted 3 inches. I would stack washers or something underneath them for 4 inches.

I can get you a part number if your interested.

that would be awesome, might need a bit more washers depending because I have sagged my rough country springs about 1/2 inch and have some washers under them. I also recently count a new place for softer explorer springs. 2nd gen Isuzu trooper lift springs, they still have a pigtail like XJ springs and usually have about a 310-330ppi rating the only problem is that they are short, like usually 17/18 inches free length. but yeah anything would be helpful thinking about doing some more overlandy stuff with my explorer and run some less agressive tires for summer camping/ wheeling then getting some beadlocks and larger tires for winter.

 

[swynx]

https://shop.broncograveyard.com/mo...-Coil-Springs-3-3-1_2-Lift/productinfo/13202/

I’ve had these for 3 years and haven’t noticed any sagging.

 

[4x4junkie]

Sorry, been away from town (and the internet) for a bit... (it was actually quite pleasurable too BTW )


Anyway, I'm not familiar with the offset TREs you spoke of, but unless the actual pivoting point (position of the ball stud) is moved, they won't do anything to change the overall geometry (bumpsteer) of the frontend.

Reports abound of continued bumpsteer with the so-called "stonecrusher" setups too, I suggest you keep away from that junk and just keep what you have now.

IMO the only really decent steering setups for a TTB are a K-link style (correctly positioned, of course), or a crossover or swingset setup of some sort.
The K-link with it's straight tie-rods has the potential to be sturdiest of anything (I have DOM tube & 1-ton TREs on mine)... A crossover however will maintain the toe alignment better at full droop if you plan to jump the thing a lot (but it will need significant bends put in the tie rods for everything to clear the front differential properly).



I helped a friend with this setup on his 2-Dr last summer (along with Fox reservoir shocks and Jeep XJ springs)...

Thing handles awesome, better than mine even since it still has the stabilizer bar (he still hasn't stopped raving about it, though he also did have a 2" too-short drop pitman arm on the stock linkage before).

×2 on the steering gear, any slop or dead-spots (play in the steering) many times can be reduced or eliminated with the meshload adjustment screw on the top. Just be careful you don't overtighten it, or it could bind up while on-center.