Episode 925 – Top 10 Jeeps!
Aluminum Knuckles
In episode 918 I spoke about the aluminum knuckles that the Jeep JL/JLU and JT come with. How the ball joint holes will woller out, good Larry word, and cause steering issues including death wobble.
On a recent Round Table Matt, from Altitude Performance, said that in all the Jeeps that he’s worked on he has yet to run across an aluminum knuckle that has had this problem.
I still believe the steel is going to be better than aluminum but this may mean you don’t need to rush out and spend $1000 + labor to have your knuckles replaced.
Top 10 Jeeps of ALL Time
According to Car Culture & Entertainment
- Wrangler YJ
Square headlights aside, how many vehicles can outrun an enraged tyrannosaurus rex?
- Jeep Wagoneer
In many ways, the full-size Wagoneer predicted the luxury SUV market decades before it went supernova.
- CJ-8 Scrambler
As a business move designed to steal market share from domestic light trucks, it was a dud.
- FSJ Gladiator Truck
While nowadays most folks think of the modern JT Gladiator when they hear the words “Jeep truck,” let’s not forget that the Gladiator name actually hearkens back to the Full Size Jeep lineup that began in the early 1960s.
- Wrangler TJ
Though they were glad to see round headlights return, many off-road enthusiasts were skeptical about the TJ Wrangler’s new coil springs front and rear.
- CJ-2A
This is the first-ever Civilian Jeep. The 1945 Willys. And we pay homage to its originality and all of the wonderful vehicles for which this classic paved the way. The O.G. CJ-2A is the reason why we’re still enjoying open-top off-roading to this very day.
- Wrangler JL
It will drive over anything you want. It’s comfortable driving in ice and snow. It’s comfortable driving without tops and doors on gorgeous spring, summer, or fall days. It can be the best-looking AND best-performing vehicle at your next mud and rock-crawling adventure. And it can be the best-looking AND best-performing vehicle during your daily commute to work.
- Cherokee XJ
Go to any off-road park, anywhere, at any time, and we bet—nay—guarantee that you’ll see an XJ Cherokee. That’s because the unibody XJ has a well-deserved reputation as a cheap, upgradeable, and practical alternative to more expensive off-roaders.
The CJ-5 enjoys the distinction of having the longest run of any Jeep, ever. It ushered in the familiar curved fenders and traditional grille/headlight arrangement that would be used on *almost* every other Jeep along the CJ lineage.
And the number 1 best all-time Jeep is…
- Willys MB/Ford GPW (What you talking about Willis?)
It can be argued that this isn’t a Jeep at all! As expected, the Number One spot on our list is reserved for the original Jeep, born from the battlefields of World War 2.
Fabrication Freezy, with Larry, JeepingMo
Semi or Full Float Axles
When you hear the term semi-float or Full float, what does that mean to you? What about splines?
How do these relate to your rig?
Let’s start with the semi-float rear axle.
To put the term Float onto relatable terms let’s ask, does your axle shaft drive and support the wheel?
Now if it both drives and supports, it semi floats. If your axle shaft breaks or comes out of the bearing, you no longer have the ability to drive or hold the wheel in place.
If you have a full float axle the drive and the support are separated.
The wheel is supported by the axle housing.
The axle shaft just transfers power through splines from the rear differential to the hub through bolts or splines.
The nice thing about a full float axle is, that your axle shaft can brake and you can still roll or be pulled.
On semi-float axles. Occasionally when the axle shaft brakes, the weight of the rig makes the unsupported shaft work its way out of the bearing, and you lose the wheel. The axle is only held in by the bearing that pressed onto the shaft, and the cover plate holds in the bearing.
In both cases, the axle shaft transfers power through splines from the rear differential to the wheel or hub.
Typically you need to move to a Dana 60 or bigger to get full floating axles.
But Jeep has come up with a Dana 44 full floating rear axle.
The outer hub is bolted to the housing, and the axle shaft is held with splines in the hub and rear differential.
So the axle can break and you won’t loose the wheel
Now what does it mean by 30, 32, 35 spline axles?
As the spines increase, so does your size in modern axle shafts, on some of the older axles that does not apply.
A factory JLU axle known as the M220 has a 32-spine rear axle.
What’s interesting if you go to an ARB rear air locker, you go to a 33 or 35 spine axle. This means you have to change axles when you change to the ARB locker, this is a common mistake when upgrading to an ARB locker.
In comparison, your Chevy 14 bolt rear end that everybody likes to use has a 30 or 35-spline rear axle shaft. But those are mostly full-float axles to carry the weight, and the axle shaft just transfers the torque.
Of course, when you get into racing equipment, some of the typical answers you would give for stock axles all go out the windows, a lot of that is custom-made to whatever somebody wants. I hope this helps answer any questions you might have on axles. Please reach out if you need more information.
Must-Have Stuff for your Jeep!
Unofficial Use Only
Replacement Door Pockets For All Variations of JL Wrangler (2018-Current) JL, JLU, JT Gladiator $112.50 – $152.50
This is for a set of four, front and doors (JLU and JT)
***toy ducks NOT included***