After the untimely death of my (sniff) beloved beer fridge I needed something to get my spirits back up.  Working on the Jeep usually does that for me.  Not to mention, after tropical storm Fay, getting to the boat has become a bit more work than I like, as a twelve foot section of dock is still missing.  The weather has finally changed and the garage is a comfortable 70 something rather than a sweltering 90+.

I've had all summer to think about the next step, I considered a spring over lift, lockers, and all the other goodies.  When I rolled the Jeep into the garage the lights mounted on the light bar above the windshield just touched the garage door.  So I did some measurements.  I rolled him into the garage with 4.5 inches of lift and the light bar sitting on 33 inch tires.  I want to park it in the garage when it's done, so I have to make sure not to go too crazy with the lift.  I'm planning on rolling it out on 35 33 inch tires, a six four inch suspension lift and the 1 1/2 inch shackle lift that was already there.  Even with the light bar gone that will be close, so the spring over is out.  Notice I didn't spend a lot of time worried about ground clearance, approach or departure angles and performance, it's a beach buggy not rock crawler.  The second consideration was lockers.  I've decided to go with a limited slip differential (D'oh!) Lock-Right locker. (got a hell of a deal on a Lock-Right locker, can't go bigger than 33 inch tires with it, so went with a shorter suspension lift to make it look proportional)  Price is about the only real thought that went into that decision.  As much fun as it would be to hook up on board air and all that cool stuff... I have to keep talking my self down and remembering that I live in Florida and I don't suspect there will be any mountains sprouting up around here anytime soon; no need to over engineer it.  I also have a buddy that used to run a Jeep around Iceland, he said he had excellent results with this set up in snow ice and rock, all of which are much more challenging than anything I'll likely face on a logging trail or beach here in Florida. 

Another consideration is the two part axle installed by the factory in the AMC 20 rear end.  If you're going to run big tires and hit them with some horse power a  single piece axle replacement kit is smart.  I'll be hitting the tubes with the welder as well, bigger tires and more horse power could lead to the pressed tubes moving in their sockets.  Wouldn't have even thought of this if it weren't for this tech article:  Link

The last consideration I had was the brakes.  I hate drum brakes and considered installing disc brakes on the rear axle, but I hate the cost of the conversion more than I hate drum brakes.  The drum brakes stay.

And without further adieu... here are some pictures:

Link to front axle:  LINK

 The rear axle work is complete.  It's shiny as new and more capable than when it was produced 24 years ago.  The only seal not replaced was the yolk seal.  It required some special tools, which I don't have, and was replaced a couple of years ago any way.  It should be good for years to come. 

Now on to the front axle, but not until after Christmas.