ORV Build: What would you do diff?

[Maniak]

I did mean to change the tire. Because I'm up in the air on whether to go all the way to 33 I decided to run the calculation with 32 for the 4.10 or 33 for the 4.56.
Thought it would keep it all relative, make it a fair"er" fight.

But that's the difference I was trying to point out; if I go just 1" smaller on tire I can get about the same performance as 4.56 with 33s.

Just an idea I was throwing around. I just wondered since I'm shooting for a "best I can do" build if I compromised and went with 32s instead of 33s if I would be happy.
I'm not sure the extra 1" of ground clearance is worth needing to go to a 4.56 or higher.
Like I said before, for around the price of getting 4.56 set up I could swing the 4.10s, and a winch, and a rear locker...It's tempting considering I'm going for a primarily D/D and I'll have to highway travel anytime I want to go off-road.

Thats one of the harder decisions, go 32" now and get the other goodies, or spend the money, get the gears you really want (and tires), then add the goodies later..

As for the difference in height question... The biggest issues we run into when wheeling is that we are still too short (with 33" tires). Its nowhere near as bad as when we ran 32's, but we still run into it.

~Mark

 

[gmanpaint]

33" + 4.10 + 5.0=good to go.

33" + 4.56 + 4.0=good to go.

It's about staying in the power band. 4.10 + 33" + 4.0= low end of the power band. It will struggle, and heat up faster if your not careful. Assuming your using the A4LD.

You want to be in the higher end of the power band, and 4.56 + 33" + 4.0= perfect.

There are some things that you just shouldn't be cheap on, and this is one of them. Play=pay $$.

Wait on the winch, use tow hooks & straps, and wheel with someone for now. You wont be the 1st one to have to do this, and you will be out there having fun in the meantime.

A used open carrier can be had cheap (I paid $50) for the lunchbox locker.

Okay, my regrets and wishes of doing it different......

Not gearing lower when it was done. Went 4.56, and wish it was 4.88.

Spending as much money on the front IFS as it would have taken to do a SAS.

Making the sliders too long, and not removing the rocker trim, hammering the pinch fold flat to get the sliders up higher.

Not swapping in a 1354 manual before going thru 3 electric/clutch t-cases(4405).

Spending $$ on re-arched, and add a leafs multiple times instead of getting a good set of lift springs in the 1st place.

Not installing a front locker when it was torn down for the gear swap.


Best things done and wouldn't change......

Gear swap, hardened pinion shaft, & rear locker.

M5OD & Manual 1354.

Sliders.

Rear U-bolt skids that raised the shock mounts 3" to clear them from getting hit.

Spare tire carrier inside the cargo area.

3" body lift. I love it for ease of wrenching, and clearance of many things.

Going all Synthetic fluids.

Probably more, since I have a ton of mods, but these are the ones that stand out the most in my head.

 

[FROADER]

Get the 4.56 with 33s and wait on the winch. Like gman said, you can get a locker for cheap. Not having enough gear is the worst...

 

[Baddecision93]

You guys are killing me here....next you'll tell me that you get what you pay for and I should spending the extra $100/axle on quality name-brand gears

I really do appreciate the honesty from people who've been there, done that. Think I will just be patient and do it right. I know people say buy the best and only cry once. No sense in doing it to just re-do it.

I am getting a new (used) 4.0 for sure anyway, and I have a crap-ton of body panels sitting ready to be welded on so I have other things I could be doing. I'm just being an impatient little 5 year old cause my 3.27s suck so bad . Patience is a virtue, eh?

Ok, so 4.56s at least, rear locker (at least), and winch seem to all be overwhelmingly on the DO THIS list.

More suggestions? I really am appreciating all the info.

 

[FROADER]

The reason I said wait on the winch is if you're using this as a DD, you probably won't (or at least shouldn't [smart driving decisions]) get into situations that require one.

Sounds like you're on the right track now, though. Good luck!

 

[Baddecision93]

The reason I said wait on the winch is if you're using this as a DD, you probably won't (or at least shouldn't [smart driving decisions]) get into situations that require one.

Sounds like you're on the right track now, though. Good luck!

You know I never thought of it that way, but makes sense. There's less temptation to behave foolishly if I don't have the safety net of a winch.
There, now I have justification to wait See, it's all semantics, right?

I guess with this truck it's just going to be like dealing with a pretty girl...a lot of waiting, a lot of money spent, a lot of time spent but the payoff will be well worth it.
I hope so at least. I really can't wait to drive something better than these 3.27s....

 

[4x4junkie]

You guys are killing me here....next you'll tell me that you get what you pay for and I should spending the extra $100/axle on quality name-brand gears

Yup. Don't want all the teeth shearing off the ring when you start up that first big rock or other obstacle, right? (cheap gears tend to be a lot noisier too)

From what I've seen, Yukon and Nitro both seem to be good as far as quality goes (I have Yukons in mine). Others to consider might be Motive and Superior, though I don't know what all they have available for the HP D35 (used to be Precision Gear was the one to get, but they went downhill after they got bought out a few years back).

 

[SVO42]

Locker and gears again!

While there are some that make a big deal about having a rear locker in bad weather I was much happier to have it. When there was any significant snow on the ground, I really felt there were times I would have gone NOWHERE if it hadn't been for the Lock Right. Ice? No one's going anywhere--moot point. I will have to say that the times when it would start bucking with the locker it was easy for me to regain control and stop it since I have a manual transmission--just push the clutch in and coast a bit and it was OK. Can't say what it would be like with an automatic. Again, the Powertrax No-Slip might have been a better option since I was street driving it daily then.

I also had 3.27 gears and I HATED it!!! That was with 33s and the stick. On some of our high-altitude trips to Ouray, CO I almost couldn't get the truck moving in 2WD or 4HI. The truck couldn't crawl any obstacles at all (I still get ribbed from some guys in my club about HEARING me doing an intermediate trail since I had to go "fast"). I also blame the lack of low-speed control to breaking a quarter window and various other scars. I would strongly recommend either 4.56s for 33s and/or a doubler for wheeling.

Winch? I spent a lot of cash on my SAS and I still don't have one. Wheeling buddies and tow straps are much cheaper! Learning to drive counts for a lot.

One more tidbit: best bang-for-the-buck mod I ever did was paying $25 for my rear shock mount skid plates before my SAS. Best mod 'til then!

 

[mounty71]

Not sure if this applies to the OP, but to anyone who has ABS, install a switch to disable it. Best thing I ever did!

 

[gmanpaint]

One more tidbit: best bang-for-the-buck mod I ever did was paying $25 for my rear shock mount skid plates before my SAS. Best mod 'til then!

Heres mine. Gotta say, these things are awesome

 

[FIND]

Not sure if this applies to the OP, but to anyone who has ABS, install a switch to disable it. Best thing I ever did!

Why would you ever want to do that?

 

[Baddecision93]

Heres mine. Gotta say, these things are awesome

I did SOA and have my shocks mounted on top of the axle. In fact my U-Bolts are pointed up...Figured I would get rid of any rock catchers from the get-go. I haven't seen any other pics of what I did so I'm a little worried that there's something wrong with it, but it seems to work.

I just took the factory mounts, flipped them, and swapped sides (driver to passenger side, vice-versa). I was even able to keep stock length shocks. Idk, worked well for me.


Well, looks like 4.56 and a locker are in my future. Patience, patience, patience huh?
I can't feel too bad cause aside from a couple guys most everyone has a multi-year build registry. Just gotta keep chipping at it.

Any other good ideas? And I'm curious, why disable ABS?

 

[mounty71]

When driving on a loose surface at any kind of speed, if you have to stop short, ABS will kick in and you will not stop. Without ABS, dirt, gravel, sand, or mud will build up in front of the locked tires and stop you much quicker. As far as rock crawling goes, I would still prefer the predictability of not having ABS.

 

[FIND]

When driving on a loose surface at any kind of speed, if you have to stop short, ABS will kick in and you will not stop. Without ABS, dirt, gravel, sand, or mud will build up in front of the locked tires and stop you much quicker. As far as rock crawling goes, I would still prefer the predictability of not having ABS.

..... predictability of not having ABS?

On gravel, mud and sand, sure I can understand... as long as the surface is loose enough to dig into (not like hard packed dirt or gravel roads). But on rocks.... ABS is going to give you more stopping power and prevent sliding any direction you don't want to go if you are moving fast enough for ABS to engage. If you are just crawling, your ABS won't modulate your brakes anyways, no reason to disable it.

No offense, I just don't see the point is all.

 

[mounty71]

..... predictability of not having ABS?

On gravel, mud and sand, sure I can understand... as long as the surface is loose enough to dig into (not like hard packed dirt or gravel roads). But on rocks.... ABS is going to give you more stopping power if you are moving fast enough for ABS to engage. If you are just crawling, your ABS won't modulate your brakes anyways, no reason to disable it.

Maybe you're right about that, but i'm never in a situation where i'm just on solid rock, and of all the pictures i've seen on this site of people offroading, the majority are on dirt trails, mud, gravel roads, etc. Bottom line is, a lot of people don't consider the effects of ABS until they're in a situation where it should or shouldn't be there. So at least now having brought it up, they can determine whether they should worry about it or not. And this thread is about modifications that people feel have significant value, so that is my opinion on ABS.

And no offense taken. I realize that my world of offroading is very different than most. But some modifications can be applied across the board.

 

[gmanpaint]

..... predictability of not having ABS?

On gravel, mud and sand, sure I can understand... as long as the surface is loose enough to dig into (not like hard packed dirt or gravel roads). But on rocks.... ABS is going to give you more stopping power and prevent sliding any direction you don't want to go if you are moving fast enough for ABS to engage. If you are just crawling, your ABS won't modulate your brakes anyways, no reason to disable it.

No offense, I just don't see the point is all.

It's a matter of preference, no wrongs, no rights, just what makes you feel better.

I hate the ABS when wheeling myself. It dont matter what the speed is on both rigs, they screw me up. I take the fuse out when I remember too. I can be going 1/2 mph down a slippery hill, and they will kick in. I would rather pump the brakes with my own foot any day in this situation.

For street driving, they do what they were made for and they will help maintain control, I'm all for them on the roads.

 

[FIND]

Gotcha guys. I aint gonna complain as long as no one is advocating not using ABS on hard surfaces. Heck I almost find myself wishing I had bought a 94 so I could have had 4 wheel ABS. I guess the type of off-roading I generally do is a bit different though, so I rarely find myself in a situation where killing the ABS would be necessary.... probably helps I only have rear ABS.

IDK why I asked in the first place honestly, I almost forgot this was an off-road vehicle thread.

 

[4x4junkie]

Not sure if this applies to the OP, but to anyone who has ABS, install a switch to disable it. Best thing I ever did!

I've been meaning to do this to mine, but for a very different reason.

I was messing around on a hill in 2WD one time (2WD Ranger)... Going up the hill I was spinning the rear tires... Right at the moment I lost momentum up the hill I jammed on the brakes.
All of a sudden I found myself rolling backwards down the hill with no steering whatsoever I released the brakes and stomped down on them again and the truck then stopped.

What happened, the stupid rear ABS kicked in disabling the rear brakes and letting the truck roll down the hill with the front tires skidding.

I've had the brakes on both my BII and Ranger get weird on hills even in 4WD, which I suspect was the same thing happening (in 4WD the front & rear axles are locked together however). I could see disaster happening if say, the rear driveshaft broke or something and this same thing happened (in 4WD you tend to be on much steeper hills too lol).

I'd have it disabled when shifted in 4-LO. There's just no reason at all to have ABS active in 4-LO

 

[Baddecision93]

Abs

I was doing some reading and I only have rear ABS and only in 2 HI. Evidently that changed in 93, when it went to 4 wheel ABS and engaged in 2 and 4 wheel drive.

So, in theory, I shouldn't need to worry, cause any harrowing situations should render me in 4x4, thus disabling the ABS!

Yea for having an ancient truck!!!

 

[ghosttrain2]

Hmmm...I use mine for trail running here in Nevada now,and don't do rock crawling. My '94 came with factory limited slip(still working) and 3:73's.I'm still using 31's on it,and plan no changes there.The 3" body lift does make access for repairs on various components easier as Gman pointed out.Mine is not a DD either, but does get used on occasion to keep the battery charged and fluids circulating.I love having dual tanks-which gives me alot of wheeling time out here without worrying about fuel.(can be long distances between fuel stops)
I am also planning on buying/building a rear spare carrier bumper.There is paint work to also finish when the funds finally permit that.(job transfer before it could be done)
I am very happy with how it performs here,as it has gone everywhere I wanted it to go.

How you are going to use your rig should determine what needs to be done to it.