Eric Andersons 1994 Jeep Wrangler (Winter 2003 Featured Rig)

Eric (Ewander on RME) built his YJ to serve his needs, which are-
Run local Trails like AF Canyon and drive the 4+ Trails in Moab with ease. Also, Eric's YJ needs to get him to and from the Utah Army National Guard, where he works as a Russian Cryptologic Linguist.

The YJ was purchased in '94 and the first Mods were a 4" ProComp lift and a set of 31's, swearing he'd never need a bigger tire. After pushing the ProComp lift beyond it's limits for a couple years, a Rubicon Express 4.5" lift was installed. Eric ran the RE lift for awhile, but the itch for more wheel travel was getting to him. Currently, the YJ sports a Springover with Stock 6 Cyl. leafs inorder to relieve the wheel travel 'Itch.'


Engine- Stock 2.5L 4 Cylinder, K&N Air Filter with a Flowmaster Exhaust. 160K on rebuilt engine.

Transmission- Stock AX5, 5 Speed. 230K on the current transmission!!

Transfer Case- NP231 with a Teraflex Heavy Duty Slip Yoke Eliminator, Six States Driveline and 4 to 1 TeraLow gears. The final Crawl Ratio is 78:1.

Axles-

Front:
Dana 30, with the puny stock 260 U-Joints, Superior 4.88 gears and a lockright. Eric is always equipped with spare U-Joints!

Rear:
1999 Ford Explorer 8.8 with factory disc brakes, 31 spline shafts, Yukon 4.88 gears and a mini spool. MORE perches, yoke and emergency brake cable kit were also used to get the 8.8 to fit properly. Summit Racing's Trickflow diff cover replaced the stock cover, which was prone to giving in to Rock Rash.

Suspension- Stock YJ 6 Cylinder springs with a SOA, Currie Greasable tow shackles in front and Boomerang shackles in the rear. Skyjacker extended brake lines get the juice to the Binders.

Tires & Wheels- 35X12.5 Goodyear MT/R's on chrome steel 15X8's.

Steering- Drop pitman arm and Stock Box and Pump.... for now.

Protection- Extended rear Roll Cage, Currie Enterprises Rocker Guards.

Interesting Facts- 1.25" MORE body lift, MORE Extended Rear Shock mounts, TJ Extended Fender Flares front and rear, Sheetmetal trimmed from the fenders, and a nice Stereo with custom boxes. Soft Top and Hardtop, depending on the time of year. Eric has Flopped the YJ onto its Drivers side while attempting Rocker Knocker..... with the Hardtop on! :eek:

Whats Next?- More Power!! A 4.3L Vortec V6 and an Automatic Transmission are in the plans, as are On Board Air, a On Board Welder and a Winch. A front Dana 44 is waiting for it's chance to replace the Dana 30, and AGR Steering Components will soon guide the YJ where ever Eric points it.
 
Last edited:

Herzog

somewhat damaged
Admin
Location
Wyoming
Originally posted by Vonski
I guess I was wrong, Russian Cryptologic Linguists CAN wheel. Nice YJ man!

Yeah! What he said! Nice rig. Can't wait to go wheel'n with you again. :cool:
 

Moon

Active Member
Location
West Mtn, Utah
Originally posted by cruiseroutfit
Nice looking YJ...Where was the rollover at?:D

don't know for sure, but above it says "Eric has Flopped the YJ onto its Drivers side while attempting Rocker Knocker..... with the Hardtop on!" so that is my guess:)
 

GreenYJ

Registered User
Location
Marysville, CA
I am going the same direction with my YJ (4 banger). Was your ford 8.8 easy to install and isn't that 6 lug? If so is that sometimes a pain. I am looking to replace my weak rear. I would like to get a 44 back there but there like finding a needle in hay.
 

Caleb

Well-Known Member
Location
Riverton
GreenYJ said:
I am going the same direction with my YJ (4 banger). Was your ford 8.8 easy to install and isn't that 6 lug? If so is that sometimes a pain. I am looking to replace my weak rear. I would like to get a 44 back there but there like finding a needle in hay.

well the beauty of the 8.8 and the reason they are so popular is cause they are usually 5x4.5" bolt pattern which matches jeeps...AFAIK, ford never used a 6 lug pattern
 

GreenYJ

Registered User
Location
Marysville, CA
supergper said:
well the beauty of the 8.8 and the reason they are so popular is cause they are usually 5x4.5" bolt pattern which matches jeeps...AFAIK, ford never used a 6 lug pattern


Thank you. thats what I'm gonna do. What type of problems are forseen with swaping the 35 out with a ford 8.8?
 

Sterno

Registered User
Location
Price, UT
It is a five lug bolt pattern...the only problem is that his spool is leaking a little, but that should be fixed when he comes home from Quatar.
 

troutbum

cubi-kill
Location
SLC
Sterno said:
It is a five lug bolt pattern...the only problem is that his spool is leaking a little, but that should be fixed when he comes home from Quatar.

how exactly does a spool leak? :confused:
 

ewander

Registered User
Location
Lehi, UT
Putting the 8.8 in was very, very easy. I am not a very good mechanic, so if I can do it anyone can.

If you are planning on staying sprung under, you don't even have to move the spring perches. If you go to a spring over like I did, you will obviously need to weld new perches on (cutting or grinding the old ones off). You will also need a traction arm, especially if you keep the stock springs.

You will also need to move the emergency brake bracket (easy) and get an adapter that allows you to use the drivelines and u-joints. If you don't have a SYE, you might want to avoid this swap however, as the differential is offset a couple of inches. Not a big deal with the SYE.

Kevin, since you mentioned my leaking differential, why don't you fix it? Just kidding man, I will fix it when I get home....which is looking like the first week in March. 15 months is a long, long, long, long time.
 
Top