G wagen rear axle on my Wrangler tj

[ex m38a1er]

Hi fellow wheelers...
Just thinking out loud
My rear dana35 in notoriusly weak.Cannot be locked and loaded 33".
I can have a rear axle out of a GD240 coming out of service for the Greek army(real cheap).
Durability and locker in the same time.
Two problems:
#1.Lug pattern.Are there any aftermarket spacers that convert GD"s pattern into 5x4.5?
#2.The GD"s ratio is 5.13.Any aftermarket r/p set to match my 4.56 front?
Thank you for reading this?
(Brakets are not a problem...

[michaelgroves]

Hi fellow wheelers...
Just thinking out loud
My rear dana35 in notoriusly weak.Cannot be locked and loaded 33".
I can have a rear axle out of a GD240 coming out of service for the Greek army(real cheap).
Durability and locker in the same time.
Two problems:
#1.Lug pattern.Are there any aftermarket spacers that convert GD"s pattern into 5x4.5?
#2.The GD"s ratio is 5.13.Any aftermarket r/p set to match my 4.56 front?
Thank you for reading this?
(Brakets are not a problem...

It shouldn't be too hard to make up a pair of adapters, I'd have thought. They'll need to be at least as thick as the wheel-bolts though, so that's quite wide. How does the track of the G axle compare with that of the Jeep?

You could run 29.3 inch tyres up front and 33's in the rear... :)

[ex m38a1er]

Dana 35 WMS to WMS 60.5"

[Root Moose]

What's the WMS on the G axle?

If you can get the geometry right with the spacers it would be fine.

[cumminscruiser]

One problem I could think of is that the G-wagon axle would be driving in metric units and the jeep in english units. That the reason the Mars Explorer missed it's target on the planet and crashed. Just be careful.

[I Leak Oil]

What about drive shaft mods? Sounds like by the time you get this all done you might be better off to find a Dana 44 from another jeep and put it back there. But that depends on parts availability where you are.

[ex m38a1er]

What about drive shaft mods? Sounds like by the time you get this all done you might be better off to find a Dana 44 from another jeep and put it back there. But that depends on parts availability where you are.

For one end of the drive shaft(t/c) i'll keep the stock and fot the other(axle)
I'll keep the GD.Then to a special shop to balance it(150euros).
The adaptors have been done here before.It's the r/p 4.56 I am wondering...
to match the front...
A dana 44(import) here would cost me 3500euros+1000 for an ARB locker.
And it wouldn't be probably that strong.
I can get the GD for 500+150(adaptors)+300(bracketry)...

[getlost4x4]

why not just use the front axle as well. seems easier to me, and more common in your part of the world.

[ex m38a1er]

Soundws logicall,but i just got out of a "Death wooble"problem and
i just don't want to deal with a front axle again.Too tricky...
Plus i think that 5.13 with 33" for a daily driver wouldn;t be fuctionall
Please feel free to correct me if i'amwrong

[getlost4x4]

its up to you. i like to keep my parts similar. isn't the g-wagon front axle pretty strong compared with the stock jeep crap.

get some 35 inch tall tires. that'll compensate.

[ex m38a1er]

Thanks a lot for the reply but with 35":smiley_drive:cops here will pull me over all the time:victory:

[getlost4x4]

just say its a prototype military vehicle

[michaelgroves]

Soundws logicall,but i just got out of a "Death wooble"problem and
i just don't want to deal with a front axle again.Too tricky...
Plus i think that 5.13 with 33" for a daily driver wouldn;t be fuctionall
Please feel free to correct me if i'amwrong

What size tyres do you have on at the moment with the 4.56 ratio diffs? 33s matched with 5.13 diffs equates to a 29.3" tyre with 4.56 diffs (hence my flip comment about using different size tyres front and rear!)

[ex m38a1er]

Yeah... my t/c would explode the very moment i would depress the clutch.:Wow1:
I run 31x15x10.5 now.Pretty happy with it...

[michaelgroves]

Yeah... my t/c would explode the very moment i would depress the clutch.:Wow1:

No, if you ran 29.3's at the front, with the 4.56 diff, and 33's at the rear with the 5.13 diff, then there'd be no problem. Just means you'd have to carry two spare wheels!



I run 31x15x10.5 now.Pretty happy with it...
If you're running 31" tyres with your existing axles, then you'd need a 12.5% bigger tyre to get the same overall ratio if you changed your diffs to 5.13. This would be a tyre slightly less than 35".

[Root Moose]

It's a SWB - you are getting too excited about the gear ratios.

Match them front to rear (whether 4.56 or 5.12) and throw on some 33s or 35s.

Be happy.

:)

[4Rescue]

Grab BOTH front and rear axles... Now you've got F/R lockers and stronger axles and NO spacers to worry about. Better yet, why not just grab this G-Wagen that's coming to be a parts rig and build it??? If the body's shot, throw the YJ on top of the G-Wagens frame and go from there, that would be a sweet truck...

Cheers

Dave

[michaelgroves]

Grab BOTH front and rear axles... Now you've got F/R lockers and stronger axles and NO spacers to worry about. Better yet, why not just grab this G-Wagen that's coming to be a parts rig and build it??? If the body's shot, throw the YJ on top of the G-Wagens frame and go from there, that would be a sweet truck...

Cheers

Dave

Ooh, I like that idea! One of the best looking bodies on top of one of the best chassis ever...

[ex m38a1er]

Yes great idea if i was to start from zero,but wouldn't work for me.
I have a tj(coil springed) in excelent condition.
Is there any aftermarket 4.56 finally...
And if so would the locker be functional then?Is it hydraulic actuated?
Thanks...:victory:

[4Rescue]

Yes great idea if i was to start from zero,but wouldn't work for me.
I have a tj(coil springed) in excelent condition.
Is there any aftermarket 4.56 finally...
And if so would the locker be functional then?Is it hydraulic actuated?
Thanks...:victory:

Ahh, I see I don't know why I thought it was a YJ. Well, I still say grab both...

Gears... i have no idea, but if the G-Wagen comes with stock 5.13 gears... HOLY COW are they meant to run a 35-36in tire??? That is awesome that they make those stock. Find some of those great skinny expo tires that you always see on Rover's for it. I think they're like 35-36" by like 9.00" they wouldn't LOOK like a standard 35" mud tire, but it'd be a beast for sure... I've got some great images dancing through my head...

And as for the Lockers. They're both Hydraulic... or pneumatic or whatever, but if you;re going to make the rear locker work you can definatly make the front work right??? Is there some sort of cable conversion for them? How do you plan to make the rear locker work? Can you take the control module for the loakers wand the hydraulic pump etc.

MY main thought here is WMS front to rear... I doubt you're going to be lucky and have the 2 axles have the same widths. In that case, it sure seems like you're goign to have a hard time getting the track to be equal front to back. To me, having it as close as possible is important but that's just me. If you want to use the rear G-Wagen axle... you can. People use all kinds of axles under all types of things, it just requires stripping the axle then re-fabbing the bracketry for the springs and track-bar's etc... But I suspect you know that already eh ;)

As for your width: If the G-Wagen axle is narrower, yeah you could make a spacer, but as has been said, the spacer will need to be thick enough to "hide" the studs it's replacing, meaning: if the wheel studs are 1.75" (in)(I'm just using this as a refrence number, I have no idea how long they really are) long the spacer willl need to be at least 1.75" if not a few 1/16'ths more to ensure a flat mounting surface for your wheels. That's IF it's narrower. And IMO wheel spacers lead to added stress on the wheel bearings or unit bearings of your afront axle and cause premature failure espescialy if you run wide rims with large off-set's (think deep dish'ed rim). I'm all about tall skinny tires and rims. Wide stance's help with side to side stability, ut, then you've got to cover it...

If it's wider then it's a bit easier as you can probably easily find a wheel spacer for the same bolt patter on both sides. They make them for nearly every axle I know of (I'm refering to a spacer that stays with the same bolt patern both on the axle and the wheels, as in NO conversion just a wheel spacer if that makes sence)

So in the end I think it's just easier to run a matching set of axles f/r isn't it??? Torch off the old bracketry, transfer and or makeTJ bracketry on the G's axles... This is sounding awesome.

Did any of that make sence??? How about some pictures of said TJ for us to you know, get a feeling for what you're workign with... :D

Cheers

Dave

[Root Moose]

Ideally you want the front axle to be a few inches wider than the rear. This helps with high speed stability and turning radius. That said, it is not a big deal if they are not configured that way (within reason).

[ex m38a1er]

Thanks alot for your time...
This all idea started when i found companies providing pre-made braketry
for both f/r axles to be welded on almost any kind of axles to fit my TJ.
Present WMS is 60.5"(An inch os two wouldn;t really be a problem.
For half the money i would have to pay for a rear dana44,i could have both
f/r out of a GD.And that pulled the trigger...:drool:
I don't know....
Right now i have 4.56 and 31"s.Happy as it is.
Here is my TJ to get an idea
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11148&page=64
Post#635

[G-force]

I just saw this thread, and i do think this would lead to disaster. Why, you say? Because the drivetrain on a G runs the "wrong" way. So just swapping out an axle in the rear, would have the rear wheels running backwards as the front wheels run forward.

I am about 99 % sure about this. Anyone to comment?

If this i true, stick to a improved Dana 44. Sweet axle for your rig.

[michaelgroves]

I just saw this thread, and i do think this would lead to disaster. Why, you say? Because the drivetrain on a G runs the "wrong" way. So just swapping out an axle in the rear, would have the rear wheels running backwards as the front wheels run forward.

I am about 99 % sure about this. Anyone to comment?

If this i true, stick to a improved Dana 44. Sweet axle for your rig.

If that's the case, nice catch! Mind you, you could do both axles, and have several reverse gears... :)

[G-force]

If you still want to do this, the only way is to grab the whole line. Axles and transfer case together. This should be no problem.

Regarding the gear ratio, the most common ratio here in Norway is 4,88. This ratio came with both the 300GD, 230GE and the 280GE. I think the 240GD have 5,33 and the 250 runs 6,17

Make sure you get the right ratio by looking at the little metal plate, on the diff housing. There is another difference between the different model years. Up to -82, the drive shafts only have six lugs to the flanges. From 82 and onwards, they have eight. Some differences internal as well, but just keep the metal plates for parts aquiring. No problem regarding strenght, but nice to know.
I would even write down the registration number from the donor vehicle. Saves you a lot of trouble when parts is needed.

[ex m38a1er]

I just saw this thread, and i do think this would lead to disaster. Why, you say? Because the drivetrain on a G runs the "wrong" way. So just swapping out an axle in the rear, would have the rear wheels running backwards as the front wheels run forward.

I am about 99 % sure about this. Anyone to comment?

If this i true, stick to a improved Dana 44. Sweet axle for your rig.

I should have made sure this kind of things...Thanks you saved me....
Nice talking to you guys anyway.Learned lot of things.
We'll be in touch if you wish ,through this thread http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=22846
which i plan to bring back from the dead:victory: