Topic: 1989 wrangler

[vprsrul]

description, 89 wrangler 2.5 5 speed manual(210k on odo too!) sitting on 3 inches of suspension and 3 inches of body lift.  Tires are 33/12.50R15s.  motor and drivetrain are bone stock.  5th gear is basiclly never used and acceleration is well you all know.... Anyhow I have been tossing around swapping motors (4.3GM) and NV4500 tranny but was wondering how 4.88 gears would do with the 4 banger?  As far as power what can I do with the little motor?  Seems every mod I can find is for 91 and up.... The tranny that is in it now will be replaced regardless when it quits with an NV4500 possibly. on edit I am not looking for a lot of power just enough to maintain 65mph.

[chardrc]

4.88 gears will help alot.. you can do the electric fan swap on yours also.. its good for some power but your best bet is gears...

[vprsrul]

4.88 gears will help alot.. you can do the electric fan swap on yours also.. its good for some power but your best bet is gears...

Thankyou,  I like the elec fan swap idea.  Any special points of interest on that swap I should look out for?

[jfrabat]

Thankyou,  I like the elec fan swap idea.  Any special points of interest on that swap I should look out for?

Do a search here; there are lots of info on the fan (also look in the FAQ).

[vprsrul]

after doing some reading I really like the S30/S35 axle kits with lockers.  This may be a part of my 4.88 upgrade down the road.  Seems a lot easier than swapping out axles considering my grandfather is able to help too. 

[sharpxmen]

after doing some reading I really like the S30/S35 axle kits with lockers.  This may be a part of my 4.88 upgrade down the road.  Seems a lot easier than swapping out axles considering my grandfather is able to help too. 

if you decide to go this route buy the axles and lockers separate, it is cheaper that way (don't know why, but it is). The front 30 splines cromoly are $600+ everywhere but i got mine off ebay brand new for $300 shipped, so keep an eye open for that. Look for cromoly axles, not the high strength steel ones - difference in price is not that much and they are stronger (the superior Super 35s are made of that). Get either superior or alloy usa, I had a bad experience with the G2 axles, i ordered a kit and sent it back as one of the axles was out of specs - i ordered Alloy USA as replacement and they were right on the money.

[sharpxmen]

my motor is a 2.5 mod. basicaly its an GM iron duke punched 20 over and i detor the timing. the jeep hits 60-90mph with stock wheels pretty quick. when it was my one friend has a 95yj 2.5 and another has a 99 2.5l and they turn 31's like there was nothing really changed. the 95 yj we did a 3 1/2 inch lift with a 1 inch body lift and installed  35 inch tires and it never seen 5thgear since he never changed the R & P. though it did hold 60-65 very well in 4th.acceleration was greatly reduced. 4.88 ratio would be a perfect setup for a stock 2.5 running on 33's as long as they arent 12.5 inches wide. the wider the tires will cutback on some speed due to so much more surface is hitting the road.  i was planning on 33X10.50. i dont have powersteering nor care enough to need it so ill stick with the narrower sneakers.

doing a motorswap is an option but the 2.5l are overall better for offroad because its very light and the jeep is so much more centered in weight. being that i sponsor race jeeps with transmissions and seeing what  the v8s can do offroad, i thing ill stick with a 4banger.

what mods do you have? when you say 20 over do you mean the first reman stage? what does "detor timing" mean and what does it give you?

[vprsrul]

Great info guys,  I will definatly look on ebay when the time comes.  the tires are 33/12.50r50... so they are pretty wide.  No power steering either but that really does not bother me other than the steering wheel is WAY off center.  It steers funny too, at speed (40-50mph) in mid turn it feel like even though the wheel is turned the tires are going back straight causing you to have to turn the wheel even more....   Anyhow I think I am set with the 4 banger, there are plenty of resources on here to keep her up and running but I will be upgrading the axles and tranny when the time comes even if I dont offroad "hardcore".  On the locker subject do you guys like detroit all the way around?  I have read the other thread on the lockers as well...

[dwtaylorpdx]

Jeeps in general and anything with a solid front axle understeer (the Its not turning enough feeling) .
Bigger/taller tires don't make it better. Once you get used to
it you wont even think about it... Detroit's usually make this even
more evident, its why many of us (at least me) went ARB
instead of Detroit. The true trac actually reduces understeer and makes the
jeep more neutral as it puts power to the outside wheel, nice in the ice and snow...

To me its driver preference, if you can get someone to let you drive theirs
around a bit to feel the impact of the locker before you buy.

Dave

[vprsrul]

I have driven many wranglers before that were lifted anded had a 95 4banger on 31's and none of them behaved this way.  It literally feels like the worm gear in the steering box is worn and slipping under load I guess.... but we couldn't find any play in anything so you may very well be right. 

[dwtaylorpdx]

My 85 Toyota 4x4 Pickup had the same manners, short bed std cab...
And several local guys in our club talk about it...
The spooky part is it seems worse in 2wd than 4wd on mine..
So when the jeep did it I was ok with it... :)

I have also found the track bars make this worse if your on rough roads.
Seems to destabilize the front end grip and it wants to wash out to the outside.

I've done a fair amount of messing around with my suspension,
Swapping spring setups etc trying to make it corner better.

So far the shocks helped the most, the Jeep just does not need
the shock rates we get in most vendor setups.

Dave

[vprsrul]

i have searched to see if i can find out if i have the axles with the c clips... any quick way to tell?

[Jeffy]

i have searched to see if i can find out if i have the axles with the c clips... any quick way to tell?

One way to tell is to look at the drum brakes.  Yours should be 10"x1.75" and the drums should have ribs.  C-clips came about in 1991 with MPFI although '1991' usually means they were coming off the line back in 1990.

[chardrc]

i have searched to see if i can find out if i have the axles with the c clips... any quick way to tell?

i ant to say your d35 should be none c-clip and that the c-clips apeired mid 1990 (my 1990 has c-clips).. but i can't say for sure... id think if you got the numbers stamped on the tag on the diff cover you/ someone else could look it up...

[vprsrul]

Thankyou for the info guys!  I will climb under there and look tomorrow.  Got her all detailed today, I have to say for an old jeep she cleans up nice.  I'll search my numbers tomorrow too.