my gearing situation

[konastinky1234]

i have to go deeper with my gears in some way. ive been thinking about this since oer and have come up with some schemes all of which wont be happening until next year.

1. new t case -i could go nuts and get an atlas and do that whole bit which would be downright awesome because i would get a dirty crawl ratio. this is the ultimate option but will not help me on the highway i dont think unless i get a custom ratio in there

2. dana 300 or some older t case? not sure about this one but throw out any suggestions or bright ideas that may come to mind

3. differential gears=deeper obviously to 4.88 or 5.13, i should be safe with even higher ratios with my pussyfoot and 4 squirrels

my thing is i want to have a 2lo option, go very deep with my low range gears and do the reducer kit for crawling with my manual. so i dont want to really put alot of money into an np231 when all the upgrades run up to the cost of an atlas 2. chances are id never break the 231 so maybe its worth it because then i can spend slowly and upgrade slowly. that may be what i end up doing just out of practicality.

so lets get some ideas together so i can plan what direction i wanna go with this whole thing

thanks guys

[1cleantj]

this is how i would do it if i were you.

Buy a hp30 axle out of a cherokee with 3.55/3.73 (just for carrier break).
buy a dana35 out of a TJ with same gearing.

Paint them all up, have them regeared to 4.88.

Sell your current axles that are 4.10's to recoup at least half your gearing cost. ( 4.10 axles for a tj sell at least $500 for the pair).

Then further down the road buy a atlas or t-case out of a rubicon (4:1). sell your np231 for like $100.

[Schickos881]

Are these your excuse's for not making it up tombstone at oer? lol just messin with you.

If it were me i would get a hp30 for the front throw your aussie in it, with all new seals and bearings, 4.88 gears, since thats as high as you can go with the gears.

And for the rear keep your 8.8 and aussie, and buy 4.88s.

That should help out a ton with your crawling with the standard. Best of luck

[Zullock Holmes]

i agree.

going with 4.88's in the diffs will not only improve your offroad performance but power on the highway as well with that 4 banger and some 33's.

atlas is a big expendature for a relatively mild build, depends on what your plans for the truck are.

A rubicon tcase will give you a 4:1 low range for a relatively good price. they can be found at junkyards here and there for the measly cost of anywhere from 700-900 bucks.

[tjramplebump]

measely 700-900? hahah the guy at chuck and eddies told me 650 for my TJ tcase...then the rubicon tcase was 1400...buy an atlas eventually

[ninetysix-ex-jay]

I would go deeper in the diff. You already have a good rear (8.8right?) If you want pull a HP 30. Take out the rear, gear it, throw it back in 2 days you'll be a happy guy

[customcreationsllc]

you should gear your axle for the road if you're driving it on the road. if not go as low as possible.

Low gearing isn't going to get you up any obstacle it just makes it easier to control when your going slow and easier on the clutch or the auto less heat.
You never told us do you have and auto or standard.

4:1 T-case is a lot more than 4.88 gears it's just math.

If you want to do digs I would look for a D300, you can also buy low gears 4:1 for the D300 around $600 if I remember correctly.
Only needs dome modifications.
And you don't need to buy a SYE D300 has a fixed yoke and the NP231 yoke fits on the D300 for a cheap CV yoke.

Next options buy a D300 keep that stock but buy a double kit for the NP231 about $500
then you will have dig capabilities along with 2.73 and 7.26 ratios. and it is about the same length as a stock 231.
Since you have a 4cly you would have room to move your engine forward that is if you have an auto you can only go so far with a stick until you cannot reach the stick.

You will not need a a SYE it comes with a clocking ring built in.
You will need custom shifters probably want cable shifters if you do a D300 because you need to flip the D300 upside down to get a driver side drop.


Basically anything you do will require new drive shafts and custom shifters, except the 241.

I wouldn't do the low range kit to the 231 if you do 231 low range and SYE you are almost to the price of an Atlas.

Atlas is the ultimate T-case if you can afford it then why not. I don't have the money or I would have one.


Let us know what you decide.

[clean4drxj]

measely 700-900? hahah the guy at chuck and eddies told me 650 for my TJ tcase...then the rubicon tcase was 1400...buy an atlas eventually

thats because they add their time into the price, if you could pull it yourself I bet it would be 1 to 200 cheap, also I've seen them for around what Zullo is talking about but that would be on NEOW or NAXJA.

[WAD357]

gear the axles its the best all around option

[konastinky1234]

ok, great input guys thanks a ton.

first of all cleantj, i cannot do you rplan cuz i got an 8.8 built up and will not part with that for a dana 35 obviously lol

but i will gear the axles first to 4.88 since i need the road capabilities as well as offroad crawling ability.

scott- great take on this since yes, the reason i could not get up tombstone is because my clutch did not have enough grab with that gear ratio. i bet if i had a lower ratio, the clutch wouldve had enough grab to pull me up that honestly. engine had enough power and everything was good, but it was like starting in the highest gear on a bicycle going up a big hill, just cant get going.

justin- i know your the master fab guy here so thanks for all the t case opinions. i looked at all 3 of those case (d300, atlas, and 241) all have their good sides. i am not willing to do the fab that is required for the d300 i have decided though. atlas is just too much i shouldnt be spending that kind of money on this. however the 241 seems like it may be a viable option in the future so i will keep that in the back of my mind.

for now i want to avoid building up my 231 but it is hard to avoid when i have a tcase drop currently and am in need of a SYE and cv shaft. however once built up i could sell it for a reasonable price i guess. AND if i like my crawl ratios enough i can always just keep the 231 forever and not spend anything. that is if the 4.88s get me low enough. and by my calculations online (could be horribly wrong but not sure lol) my crawl with 4.88s would be around 50:1 which is pretty good i think. currently it should be about 42:1. thats a sizeable increase and i can decide later down the road if i want a lower crawl ratio at which point i think in terms of money i would have to go with a 241. only thing with that is i dont know if i can get 2 lo which is something i want ultimately because i have a front autolocker and OER access trails were a bitch switching in and out of 4lo for certain hills since the squirrels and clutch didnt like going up hills slowly.

so thats where im at....

gear axles and re assess after performance with that next year.

thanks again guys, real helpful stuff

[konastinky1234]

and yes for gearing i will grab a HPD30 instead of using my LP. and no do not need dig capabilities as of now, maybe years from now i will want it but not now.

[customcreationsllc]

...
i am not willing to do the fab that is required for the d300
...

Figure out where you want your build to end up and shoot for that.

D300 cable shifters don't require too much fab just bolt down the shifter
A D300 will basically flip over just move the vent to the other side.
Flip kits are only needed to get normal style shifters
The Speedo should still work just swap over the 231 speedo.
Then swap the CV yoke from the 231 to the D300 and you're good to go.
A little more than just a SYE but you will save the money from not having to buy one.

D300 is not shift on the fly like the other NP t-case
Atlas also has syncros so will shift on the fly.

If your are doing a SYE then you need to buy drive shafts anyways so that is a wash. just figure it out before you get the drive shafts.

For ultra slow crawling you need a crawl box
As for the 231 crawl box only major fab is to weld the aluminum end plate one I can help you out with that the rest is nuts and bolts, again the cable shifter isn't much work and the 231 shifter is pretty simple just a lever.

If you need a SYE

But now you you know why so many people just SYE the 231 and call it a day.

lower low range is nice but how much ultra slow technical crawling do you do.

Just money.
~Justin

[Henchman]

4.88s. /thread

[Zullock Holmes]

4.88s. /thread

[clean4drxj]

gear it and go for the 241 down the road, The 241 has alont more going for it than 4.1 but I would most deff say if you gear your axles you will be ALOT happier.