JK Wrangler Locker Info
Nov/062
So you’re shopping for a JK and see that it has a factory Dana 30 hi-pinion front and Dana 44 rear. Sweet, that’s a respectable combination, with plenty of aftermarket support…..Right?
The truth is that Jeep pulled another one on us. These axles share few parts in common with the older Dana 30’s and Dana 44’s that we are all friends with. The new ones use different bearings, pinion shafts, ring gears and carriers. None of the old Dana 30 or Dana 44 gears, lockers, carriers, yokes, etc. will work with this new set up.
The Rubicon is another exception. It uses 32 spline Dana 44 chromoly axles front and rear. That should be a great set up. But again, there is a lacking of any aftermarket gears for them.
Within a couple months we expect to see some of the first aftermarket gears for various JK applications. Lockers on the other hand are usually slower to be released, so who knows. I would look to ARB for the first releases (they are usually the fastest to release new apps).
Jeep JK Wrangler Axles:
- Front (X and Sahara)
- High Pinion 27 Spline Dana 30
- Rear (X and Sahara)
- Standard Cut 30 Spline Dana 44
- Standard Cut 27 Spline Dana 35 (2 Door without towing package)
- Front (Rubicon)
- High Pinion 32 Spline Dana 44
- Electric locker (open when switched off)
- Rear (Rubicon)
- Low Pinion 32 Spline Dana 44
- Electic locker (open when switched off)
Finding the Right Gear Ratio
Nov/060
Regearing your JK will be beneficial once it is lifted with some bigger meats. Here are our recommendations for a ratio:
stock-33″ Tires: 4.10 (stock)
35″ Tires: 4.56
37-38″ Tires: 4.88
40″ Tires: 5.13
These ratios will keep you close to the same RPMs as a stock JK with 32 inch tires and 4.10 gears. We know that not all JKs come with that combination, but many do come with something close to that and it works well. Also, you will usually want to gear a little aggressive to help make up for the extra rotational mass of larger tires.
See the cart below (courtesy of Superlift):
Note: RPMs may not reflect your actual RPMs due to different transmission gearing.
First Complaint: Headrests
Nov/069
Our first complaint seems kind of cheesy. But if you ride in a JK, you will probably understand.
The headrests seem to have a rockwell hardness of about 75. Additionally, they are tilted forward to a point where they almost touch your head while sitting normal. The fact that you can lean your head back just a little and relax on the headrest is nice, until you hit a bump. As soon as you hit a bump and your head hits the headrest it sucks. I don’t think I have ever felt a headrest this hard.
We aren’t all complaints… There is a good thing about the headrests. In the back seat of the 4 door models, when you fold the seat forward the headrests fold back automatically when they hit the front seat. This works a lot better than the system on our WJ.
If you know why Jeep makes them like this, let us know in the comments.
It seems like a good aftermarket product would be better headrests.
New Features: Brakes
Nov/060
The 2007 Wranglers include ESP and electronic roll mitigation. The new systems allow the Jeep to sense when there are dangerous driving conditions and to correct for oversteer, understeer or conditions where the Jeep might roll. The Jeep does this by applying brakes to individual wheels to improve handling.
If you’re like me, this doesn’t matter a whole lot. I never had a problem with older Jeeps (that were made within the last 20 years). The one thing that does make a difference to people like me are the changes in brake hardware.
The rear uses individual brake hoses that come from the frame to the calipers on each side. In fact, these hoses are the same front to rear. The bad news is that when you buy extended brake hoses it will cost a little more. The good news is that one hose will cover the front or rear if you want to carry a trail spare.
Also, you can see in this picture that the bump stop has been moved outside of the coil spring.
2007 Jeep Wrangler Aquired!
Nov/0614
Welcome to the first post of our project.
We have just acquired a 2007 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited X. It’s a pretty base model with the S package, hard top, auto trans and SIRIUS radio. The goal is to make this Jeep more capable than a Rubicon package for less money.
So far, the plans are for:
- Superlift 4 inch lift kit
- 37×13.50×20 Pit Bull Rocker tires
Auburn ECTED electric lockers(We have since determined that these don’t applicate the JK…YET)
- Superior 4.88 gears — EDIT: Let’s make it 5.13 gears!
- Superior alloy axle shafts
- Tuffy center console insert
We are looking for suggestions for other mods including bumpers and wheels. Please leave your suggestions as a comment on this article.