Xterraminator's Build (SAS)

Kuzmovka

Kuzmovka

Bought an X
Location
Colorado
hey so some more food for thought on the axles. My buddy has an 87 Cherokee and he just decided to build his d30. chrome shafts and a new carrier, also some gears. By the way, any Cherokee from that era with a factory tow package has a d44 rear, as per the owners manual. I can tell you that anything less than 5.13s in those axles is going to cause some serious problems for you in the hills. keeping the stock ratio is pretty critical in these things as they're hideously under powered from the factory. Find a gear ratio calculator on the internet somewhere and use your stock ratio and tire size and then input the new size to find the new optimal ratio. The great thing about jeeps is that there are a lot of axle pieces that drop right in or bolt on. That would address your bolt pattern issue. Check out a knuckle swap on the front or a hub swap on the rear to achieve your desired pattern. if both axles are from the same Cherokee they should both be 5x5.5, as opposed to 6x5.5. All I can tell you is that jeep parts are like legos, just play until you get it right. While your cutting up the back, consider 4 linking the rear axle so it can keep up with the front.
 
xterraminator

xterraminator

Wheeling
Location
Maple Ridge,BC
Kuzmovka said:
hey so some more food for thought on the axles. My buddy has an 87 Cherokee and he just decided to build his d30. chrome shafts and a new carrier, also some gears. By the way, any Cherokee from that era with a factory tow package has a d44 rear, as per the owners manual. I can tell you that anything less than 5.13s in those axles is going to cause some serious problems for you in the hills. keeping the stock ratio is pretty critical in these things as they're hideously under powered from the factory. Find a gear ratio calculator on the internet somewhere and use your stock ratio and tire size and then input the new size to find the new optimal ratio. The great thing about jeeps is that there are a lot of axle pieces that drop right in or bolt on. That would address your bolt pattern issue. Check out a knuckle swap on the front or a hub swap on the rear to achieve your desired pattern. if both axles are from the same Cherokee they should both be 5x5.5, as opposed to 6x5.5. All I can tell you is that jeep parts are like legos, just play until you get it right. While your cutting up the back, consider 4 linking the rear axle so it can keep up with the front.
Click to expand...

Not sure if you have read up above, staying with the stock 4.6 in the back and replacing the 3.55 to a 4.56 in the front D30. Lots of jeep guys run this, not problem even with 35's and big ass lifts. Does not create a problem. Problems are created by bad drivers.

Regarding the back its staying leaf for now, then in a year or two then it will be converted to something to a 4 link. Actually a leaf setup is bulletproof, that is why guys like to stay with it.

Good feedback.
 
SASXA

SASXA

First Fill-Up (of many)
Location
Ormond Beach Florida
More food for thought, 5.38's and 37's offroad in 1 lo sucks, double low I'm hoping to be good on hill climbs, also, when building that dana 30, don't cheap out on axle shafts, u joints and don't go above 5.13 gears ever. I've watched r&p's blow up, and my buddy that I'm building a buggy for blew up his axle shafts every trip. Dana 30 with cheap u joints, spun the splines once also, Another thing, use an aftermarket full carrier locker, broke one of those in half at the center pin also, fun trip, This was under a smoking i6 and 5 speed trans with stock 2.73:1 t case ratio on 35" bfg a/t's that measured to 33". I would of personally gone to a 44 front because of strength but it's all up to you.
 
xterraminator

xterraminator

Wheeling
Location
Maple Ridge,BC
Funny thing when we all talk about D30 vs D44 they actually use the same size of U joint! When upgrading to a chromolly shafts in a D30 its comparable to a D44. So unless you want to give me some money to upgrade to a D44 at this time please do so. I would be glad to take it. I'm on a budget, just need to get the build done and trust me I have had a lot of discussions with jeep guys. 60-70% of the jeep guys here ride some sweet jk's and Cherokee's with D30's, ride them hard and the D30's work great. If you on a hill and your climbing up a rock face with the wheels turned and then put the pedal to the metal that when things break. For the last 2 years I have beaten the **** out of my IFS and never had a problem. I find it hard to believe that a D30 all fixed up is weaker than a stock xterra IFS. I'm not convinced sorry. When I have the money then yes I will upgrade.
 
Roadwarrior

Roadwarrior

Titan Swapped / SAS'd
Founding Member
Location
Probably in class..
I think people are just curious why you are putting money into a D30 when the standard switch is to the d44.

I say let people talk and if you believe in your system. Prove us all wrong and build a badass wrecking machine. When you go against convention you tend to stand out, so just rock it and try it.
 
Kuzmovka

Kuzmovka

Bought an X
Location
Colorado
x2 on Casper. The man is right about gears. going higher (4.56) than the stock ratio isn't the best of plans if you plan on this being anything but a trail truck, that's just my .02 though, and currently I'm running 4.10's and 32's on a 1st gen 4Runner... my X got totalled. needless to say, I can't really start because my ratios are messed up.
 
xterraminator

xterraminator

Wheeling
Location
Maple Ridge,BC
In the end I will be using the stock rear 4.6, gear the front to 4.56 and I believe I will be good to go. Can't make the both 4.6 but an allowance of 2% is allowed. More updates on the build soon. Enough talk on the gears for now. Eh? Thanks for all the constructive criticism.
 
xterraminator

xterraminator

Wheeling
Location
Maple Ridge,BC
Was looking on the local craigslist managed to buy this sweet little Dana 20 transfer case 2.03:1 gear ratio. Has a dual shift so you can go into any of the following, Neutral, 2HI, 2LO, 4HI, 4LO. Paid $130. Next years project.
 
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xterraminator

xterraminator

Wheeling
Location
Maple Ridge,BC
lJVWbU8.jpg

jXI2EMm.jpg
 
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G

Grandpa X

First Fill-Up (of many)
Location
Luverne Mn
An SAS is project that requires deep pockets. I get it that you are trying to save cash here and there. This has been discused more times on forums that I care to think about. All I ask is that you don't cut a corner that puts other folks on the road at risk because you started a project you can't afford. This is not worth killing someone over....

Be careful when you say "JEEP" guys. You will come out of this project knowing quite a bit more about your rig and how to fix it than most "Jeep" guys would ever imagine. So give yourself credit and don't look at them like they "Know their stuff". Just like in this forum... there is plenty of "crap" knowledge and no "Actual" knowledge. Take your time with the build, enjoy learning the process, and chill...

With that said... Dana 30! WTF is wrong with you! LOL! Just kiddin.. looking forward to more pics!
 
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G

Grandpa X

First Fill-Up (of many)
Location
Luverne Mn
Most of the fellas I wheel with running Dana 30's have bent the housings/knuckles. However the one thing that most folks wouldn't think of is if the driveshaft lines up with the eventual tcase output. Jeep folks have a 30 from factory... so guess what.. they line up correctly.

The Dana 44's we use do not line up. However they have locking hubs that can be undone on the road at higher speeds (2wd). So a driveshaft that is not lined up correctly can be turned off if it is vibrating like a dog humping a paint shaker...

The Dana 30's from these later Jeeps all run unit bearings without a locking hub mechanism. You get what you get on the road being it is always turning. Honestly I have never checked.. the outputs may line up just fine.

There may be a way to use the outers from a Ford Ranger... not sure how strong it is though.

Steevo and I are the only two that have really tried to build something that lines up. His Diamond Axle is totally made for our rigs. The later axles I have built (HAxles), have been cut down and rebuilt to line things up. The axle under my X is 2 inches longer on the short side and 4 inches shorter long side (rounded off), from a 70's HP Ford. Making a 63 wide HP44 that lines up well..
 
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CaptainMorgan_SOS

CaptainMorgan_SOS

Need Bigger Tires
Location
Alamogordo, NM
Grandpa X said:
Steevo and I are the only two that have really tried to build something that lines up. His Diamond Axle is totally made for our rigs.
Click to expand...

This right here is the line he used and got me hooked on doing the Diamond Axle.

And also, what Gramps said: looking forward to seeing more pics. Especially the body chop up and rebuild!
 
xterraminator

xterraminator

Wheeling
Location
Maple Ridge,BC
Closing in the chopped up back is going well. I should have updated pictures in a week. All I can say is that it looks awesome, was easy to do(kind of) and close to starting the body filler work. With my work, home business, family, truck project and house renos trying to do all at the same time. Best to keep you all in suspense!!
 
xterraminator

xterraminator

Wheeling
Location
Maple Ridge,BC
So I finally got it all closed back up. Used the rear door hatch as the back with some slight mods. Gutted all the internals links and handles of the door. A friend of mine gave me the idea so I went with it. Gives me a nice window and the support of it is strong.
One thing I can tell you is that I will NEVER do this again. Its been a 2 week project. Next weekend I will start to sand all the metal down and start on the body work. The key is to go slow and take time with the welding. Overall its nice and strong. I think this will be harder than the actual SAS build.

cfW2sHC.jpg


l2kgWCp.jpg
 
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CaptainMorgan_SOS

CaptainMorgan_SOS

Need Bigger Tires
Location
Alamogordo, NM
That looks great! What are you thinking about for the bed? are you going to do a low tube bed? If so, are you going to go ahead and add a roll bar that goes up to the top of the cab?
 
G

Grandpa X

First Fill-Up (of many)
Location
Luverne Mn
How much headroom does the rear passenger have before they smack their head on that rear glass? I love originality! Looking forward to seeing the results...
 
xterraminator

xterraminator

Wheeling
Location
Maple Ridge,BC
Thanks for the compliments. Chopping it out was fun, trying to figure it out was not. Took about a week of actually just looking at it, thinking how exactly am I going to do this? After some rest and relaxation and not fretting about it, I just went with the idea. Once one side was done, the other half was easy. Its not done, a lot of body work to get the corner lines to look nice and straight. I have an idea for the back, thinking about this as a start.
Instead of the tire being down in the bed it will be near the top bars at an angle. Kind of baha look.

XATQrCu.jpg
 
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xterraminator

xterraminator

Wheeling
Location
Maple Ridge,BC
Jackel said:
Which part exactly are you referring to? He said earlier he got the idea of using the back hatch from steeze who got the idea from a 4runner guy a few years ago.
Click to expand...

I got the idea to use the back hatch from KBC on this forum. So far nobody had ever done this before. Try googling xterra truggy. Slim to find.

Sent from Samsung Note 2 using Tapatalk
 
Jackel

Jackel

Bought an X
Location
Marianna, FL
xterraminator said:
I got the idea to use the back hatch from KBC on this forum. So far nobody had ever done this before. Try googling xterra truggy. Slim to find. Sent from Samsung Note 2 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Steeze did it on clubxterra a few years ago. KBC or someone mentioned it earlier. Look up his X. It looks good, but they're right. He didn't cut his all the way to the frame. It looks great man, love the idea for the bed

Google image search steeze Xterra. Or I can find the link to his thread for you when I get to achool
 
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