"Bruce" the 2014 Jeep JKUR Build Thread

[Captain Texas]

Oh and one more thing on the Ultimate Dana 44, if you see pictures online with the axle C's being small, those are the old style axles.

I have their newer 44 and the C's are full width, not the narrow C's like on the stock 44.

 

[KlausVanWinkle]

Same boat here in keeping the JK. Right now the JL, at least on the surface, doesn't seem like a big enough upgrade from the JK to justify the price.

I've got an Ultimate Dana 44 so just a word of advice, the axle has a stem Steering Stabilizer mount instead of the common loop-to-loop. Not sure if this will hinder running ram assist but just a heads up.

Good luck on the next phase of the build!

Oh and one more thing on the Ultimate Dana 44, if you see pictures online with the axle C's being small, those are the old style axles.

I have their newer 44 and the C's are full width, not the narrow C's like on the stock 44.

That's good to know about the C's! I wasn't too worried about the forum wisdom that they were weak but that'll help. I also didn't realize that the outer diameter is the same as the OEM axle. That means I cna probably just mount the AEV track bar mount to it instead of having to weld on a new bracket.

For the steering stabilizer, I might have to chop the mount off to make room to weld on the cylinder mounting tabs. But that doesn't seem like a huge deal.

 

[KlausVanWinkle]

You know, you could always get the JL and leave CA........ just saying. Shoot keep the JK and still leave CA. A lot of of already have..........

I wish. CA is a great state (geographically), but the laws and taxes are insane. Unfortunately, the other big markets for my job are NYC and London. So not much better or much wheeling.

 

[Captain Texas]

That's good to know about the C's! I wasn't too worried about the forum wisdom that they were weak but that'll help. I also didn't realize that the outer diameter is the same as the OEM axle. That means I cna probably just mount the AEV track bar mount to it instead of having to weld on a new bracket.

For the steering stabilizer, I might have to chop the mount off to make room to weld on the cylinder mounting tabs. But that doesn't seem like a huge deal.

Just be aware that the bracket for the trackbar is pretty much the same area where that new bracket would be welded. I'm sure you'll figure something out but yea the UD44 is kinda weird when it comes to the track bar bracket and the Steering stabilizer mount.

 

[KlausVanWinkle]

There doesn't seem to be much cost savings buying the complete axle vs buying everything separately. I wonder if it'd make more sense to just add LCA mount skids, 4.88 gears, HD ball joints and chomoly axle shafts to my current axle and swap to the J8 housing in the future (help spread out the cost, but also spreads out the labor).

Regearing, swapping to 37s, ram assist, and new axle housing or axle shafts gets expensive in a hurry. I'm also still not sure I actually need a new housing. Mine's been fine so far.

 

[KlausVanWinkle]

All these mods are a lot of money. Anyone have suggestion on order of operations? I'd love to just drop money once and end up with a new front axle, regear, bigger tires braced track bar mounts, and hydro assist. But I don't think my wife will be on board with that.

The two best options so far seem to be to order the Dana Ultimate 44 that already comes with upgraded axle shafts and 4.88 gears, have a local fab place weld on a taller track bar bracket (or use the one it comes with even though it's an inch lower). Then get a local shop to just regear the rear. And sell my whole oem front axle.

The other option is to upgrade my OEM front axle with chromoly axle shafts and HD ball joints. Install 37s later this summer. And then do all the preparation mods over time like power steering cooler, upper track bar mount braces, upgraded tie rod, etc. Then decide if I want/need a new axle housing, hydro assist and regear or not.

 

[theksmith]

do you already have a front truss and C-gussets? if not, don't forget the cost for those items (mostly labor) when comparing to crate axles. most aftermarket axles will be available with quite a bit thicker tube walls so you can get away without a truss or sleeves. several brand assemblies also come with better/larger brakes. one final consideration is that with an aftermarket axle, the pinion and caster angle are already set for a taller lift... with a stock axle you have to compromise between the 2 because it's really not worth the labor cost to have the knuckles cut and rotated, IMO. be sure to also check out the Dynatrac front & rear complete package axle deals, they look very competitive in price to the Dana/Spicer Ultimate assemblies at first glance.

i think the crate axles make the most sense, but most of us just can't drop all that coin at once. so we end up doing upgrades to the stock axles a little at a time. then we may one day end up with something 90% as good as the crate axle, but probably having spent 30% more in total.

 

[KlausVanWinkle]

No needing major maintenance has been great. But 36,000 miles of off roading and running 35s on OEM parts has taken its toll. I decided to start by refreshing the front end.

-Install HD ball joints
-Replacing unit bearings and wheel speed sensors (I keep getting random ABS errors, wondering if it's related to this)
-Replacing the front axle shafts with some chromoly Ten Factory ones
-Install some front outer axle seals. Not sure if they really do anything. But maybe they'll keep my shafts pretty.
-Replacing the rear axle shafts/bearings with some new OEM ones I have lying around.
-Replacing front bump stops with Timbren active off road bump stops (should improve the ride and help me avoid bending the factory housing)
-Replacing the tie rod with a new OEM take off I have (going to replace with a currylync before doing the hydro steering)
and I'm swapping my 35" KO2s for 37" KO2s.
-Replace OEM drive shafts with new take off OEM drive shafts. They've been flawless, but figure I might as well if I'm dropping the front axle to install the bump stops anyway.

I think all of that will fix my sloppy highway handling. And that should give me the extra strength I need to run these small/light 37s. I'm going to try to regear and install hydro assist steering, reinforce the track bar brackets before the running the Dusy Ershim in the fall.

I'm still considering replacing my UV damaged, and scratched fenders with some MCE flat fenders. That'll also give me the clearance I need in the rear without running taller bump stops. But I'm not sure how they'll look with a full width front bumper. And I don't want to run a stubby bumper all the time.

I'm still planning to install the AEV rear corner guards. I've almost crushed the rear corner 4 times. So I figure I'm living on borrowed time/luck.
I still haven't moved or armored my evap canister. I guess I should do that too.

 

[KlausVanWinkle]

do you already have a front truss and C-gussets? if not, don't forget the cost for those items (mostly labor) when comparing to crate axles. most aftermarket axles will be available with quite a bit thicker tube walls so you can get away without a truss or sleeves. several brand assemblies also come with better/larger brakes. one final consideration is that with an aftermarket axle, the pinion and caster angle are already set for a taller lift... with a stock axle you have to compromise between the 2 because it's really not worth the labor cost to have the knuckles cut and rotated, IMO. be sure to also check out the Dynatrac front & rear complete package axle deals, they look very competitive in price to the Dana/Spicer Ultimate assemblies at first glance.

i think the crate axles make the most sense, but most of us just can't drop all that coin at once. so we end up doing upgrades to the stock axles a little at a time. then we may one day end up with something 90% as good as the crate axle, but probably having spent 30% more in total.

Sleeves and C-gussets have kind of been disproven. Heating up the housing can cause it to bend or develop stress cracks. My front axle's been fine up until this point. So I think I'm just going to keep running it. Dana/Spicer is a pain in the ass about giving you any information about their products. So I'll look into the Dynatrac prorock 44 unlimited before I regear. The extra caster will probably help with highway stability. I'd like to avoid the insane labor a shop will charge to install it and swap over the internals. So i don't know how I'll do that yet. Maybe I'll install the housing without axle shafts or the differential and just drive it to the shop with the factory housing in the back.

 

[KlausVanWinkle]

Made the jump to 37s. I lucked out and found a guy locally who had 37s with the same wear as my 35s. So we just traded thanks to Steve's shop, RPM Garage, in Monrovia. I somehow got better gas mileage on the 45mi drive home. Averaged 21mpg.

Everyone thought the tires looked huge until we mounted them on the Jeep. It still looks like a stock size. Which is good news for my friends and family who worry that I'm building a monster truck.

 

[Oskipoo]

that looks good man real good, how in the world are you getting better mpg?

 

[locrwln]

Great proportions and looks very balanced.

Jack

 

[ratled]

21 mpg WOW!

 

[KlausVanWinkle]

that looks good man real good, how in the world are you getting better mpg?

Great proportions and looks very balanced.

Jack

21 mpg WOW!

Thanks guys. They look good. I'm hoping I don't regret going big!

I think the mpg is just the larger tires acting like a higher overdrive gear. I recalibrate the ECU for the new tire size. So it's not that. I also got slightly better highway mpg when I switched from the stock MT tires to the 35in KO2s.

To keep up with the new rubber, I installed 4340 chromoly axle shafts w/ full circle clips, HD ball joints, unit bearings, wheel speed sensors, and outer axle seals yesterday. The lower ball joints were both shot after 36,000 miles, and maybe about half of that with 35s. The steering's a lot tighter now and it seems to have stopped my minor death wobble. This was also the first wrenching I've been able to do inside. All the past mods on my trucks were completed while street parked on the curb. being able to close the garage door, walk to the autozone and rent a better ball joint press was a godsend.

I still need to install my new take off tie rod, front drive shaft and rear axle shafts. I also have a set of Timbren Off Road Bump Stops that I didn't get to yesterday. Are the OEM driveshaft U-joints greasable? I didn't see a zerk on them.

 

[KlausVanWinkle]

I'm still getting weird handling on the highway. It seems to always drift left or right, like the suspensions not settled when trying to go straight. Almost like it's swaying when driving straight. Requires a lot more driver input than it used to. Might partially need an alignment and a better tire balance. I'll do that after I install a new tie rod. I'm wondering if if the track bars are shot, or the upper track bar mountings holes have ovalized. The track bars are only 2 years old (15,000 mi). So I doubt it's them. I was going to install Synergy's upper track bar mount braces before doing the hydro steer. So I might as well see if those improve anything.

I'd be surprised if the control arms are shot. That's kind of the last suspension component that's still original.