4Wheel & Off-Road Homepage

December 2007 4x4 Tech Questions - Nuts & Bolts

Send us your tech questions

By Fred Williams

Submission Information

Confused? E-mail your questions about trucks, 4x4's, and off-roading tech using "Nuts, I'm confused" as the subject and include a picture (if it's applicable). Digital photos must measure no less than 1600 x 1200 pixels (or two megapixels) and be saved as a TIFF, an EPS, or a maximum-quality JPEG file. Also, I'll be checking the forums on our Web site (www.4wheeloffroad.com), and if I see a question that I think more of you might want to have answered, I'll print that as well. Otherwise drop it old-school style with the envelope addressed to the address below. Letters published in this magazine reflect the opinions of the writers, and we reserve the right to edit letters for clarity, brevity, or other purposes.

Write to:
Nuts & Bolts
4-Wheel & Off-Road
6420 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048-5515
fax 323.782.2704

E-mail to:
nuts@4wheeloffroad.com

Wagoneer Rebuild


Question: I have been planning a build for some time, and recently took some advice from your segment "Junk Hunter" (July '07), and purchased an '80 Jeep Grand Wagoneer. I plan to take some time and build this up right. Mostly this will be used off road (mud and moderate trails), although occasionally it will see pavement. I am looking for some advice on how to build this Jeep.
Chris L.
Blue Springs, NE

Answer: Up in South Dakota there is an underground group of wheelers who go by the name Wagoneers. They all drive Jeep Wagoneers and they all beat the living snot out of them. I asked them for a few different recipes for building your truck:

Cheap plan: Being an '80, it should have a front diff 44 and a centered rear AMC 20. The rear spiders will need to be welded. A simple spring-over axle conversion on the front, and a full length add-a-leaf in the rear with a smaller steel lift block, will work for the suspension. If the wagon is a narrow-trac (no fender flares) and you add the block to the back, you will need a set of wheel spacers or 2-inch backspacing wheels to keep the tires from rubbing the leaf springs. Throw any old set of 33- or 35-inch mud tires on an 8-inch-wide wheel and cut the rear fenders up to the bottom of the rear door. The front might also need to be cut.

Not so cheap plan: Find an early '90s Ford front 60 (driver side) and a Chevy 14-bolt rear. Build both axles with 5.38s and Detroits. Leave them full width. Do a spring-over in the front with the stock Ford perches, and add a good J.C. Whitney HD double-wrap spring pack. In the rear get a custom-built 5-inch-lift spring. For the drivetrain, add a Chevy-based TBI EFI to a rebuilt 360 or 401. Put a new Advance Adapters four-speed Atlas in also. This will give you really low gears and it will stretch out the front driveline. Throw on a set of 38-inch Swamper SXs on eight-lug bead-lock wheels of your choice. You will have to do a lot of trimming to get the 38s to fit, but it is probably rusty anyways.

The Street Wagon plan: Find a good early, nonrusty Wagoneer. Sell the front axle to a CJ guy and replace with a two-wheel-drive axle, lower the wagon on bags 6-7 inches, add white walls on steel wheels, and cool paint. Huge stereo...done.

Y That Side?

Question: Why are all the front axle differentials now located on the driver side? Is there an advantage to this?
Tom P.
Oak Ridge,TN

Answer: I believe it is due to convenience of packaging and the fact that many manufacturers are going to a driver-side fuel filler for safer maneuvering at gas stations, and thus it's easier to put the fuel tank on that side as well. Then with the fuel lines running up to the engine on the driver side, it makes sense that the exhaust runs down the passenger side to keep the heat and fuel separate. With all the exhaust pipes, catalytic converters, and mufflers on the passenger side, there may not be room for a transfer case to protrude and a front driveshaft to spin, thus it gets relegated to the driver side. Plus some transmissions have more room on the driver side for a driveshaft. Another thing is many manufacturers push the engine slightly towards the passenger side for more foot and pedal room for the driver as well as more engine bay room for the steering shaft, and this also opens up room for the front driveshaft.


1  | 2  | 3  | 4  | Next
Why Pay MSRP? Get free new car and truck invoice pricing quotes today

Related Photos

Related Articles

 
Outdoor Adventure Guide
RainGear For When Conditions Get Wet And SloppyYou know that old '70s song "It Never Rains in... more
 
Jeep, Toyota, Chevrolet 4x4 Truck- 3 New Yurkers
When we met Dan Shepley, Will Landesman, and John Lyons at the Bloomsburg Jamboree last summer,... more
 
2005 4x4 & Off Road Truck Tire Test - Lugfest
Cooper Tire builds tires for the replacement market, and they are now entering the off-road arena.... more
 
Race Ace International Louvers - Louvering For Heat Loss
Heat is the number one drivetrain killer, right? This includes your engine, and the same can be... more

Off Road Forum

 
89 yota
i want to put 35" tires on my 89 yota. how many inches of lift would i need to do this? its mostly... more
 
clutch
i have a 350 swamp in my 94 toyota with the 5 speed yota trans what type of clutch does this take... more
 
dana 44?
i have a dana 44 out of 79 f-250 for my sas conversion on my 96 chevy i orignally was gonna go with... more
 
6+6=?
i am going to run the 300 6cyl. i have mentioned before. But i haven't decided on the tranny yet.... more

Off Road Blog

 
project search
I'm back from Ultimate Adventure and that was an unusual trip for me.  The buggy had... more
 
W.E.Rock Western series season finale
We attended the last event of the season for the W.E.Rock Western series rock crawling... more
 
Hushed Power
By: Ali Mansour Photography by: Ali Mansour ... more
 
Ultimate Adventure 2008
I finally made it home from the Ultimate Adventure after driving all day yesterday, I left Denver... more