Most helpful 4 wheeling mods you've done?

[olecow]

I recently bought a 82 4x4. I think it has the h190, right? 4.11 gearing? I'm not all too sure at the moment. Anyway, I'm wondering what your best modifications were that got your truck wheeling better! Lockers (Ox, Detroit)? Tire sizes? Winches? Furry dice from the mirror? Whatever helped you, I wanna know! I'm in Northern California.. so I deal with a lot of dry rocky trails and heat. 110 is a regular summer day. I do like finding mud too :) thanks!

[Ruano1987]

What's up bud I myself have a 82 720 and I've opened the torsion bars all the way and also purchased rancho shocks who's maybe gave me 1.5 inches the best lift will be a body. As for winches go I just purchased a smittybilt xrc 9.5 and I love it. As for your gears when you pop the hood son the passenger side on the fender close to the firewall there will be a silver tag on it will have your truck info as in Vin color what engine you have and towards the bottom you'll see HF then a number that is your gears. For me mine says HF43 so I then have 4.375 gears

[]2eDeYe]

Your rear should be a H190. Ruano1987 is spot n with the gear ratio information. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of locker options for the H190...ok there's only one, welding. I had 35"s and went through breaking the stock rear, welding it up and then breaking it again. I swapped in a Toyota rear with a factory e-locker, that was after swapping a Dana 44 front from a Jeep Wagoneer in the front. 

 

 

As far as best upgrades. Newer axles with more gearing and locker options, bigger tires, lockers and low gears. Minimal lift to keep the COG low and a flat belly. 

 

 

You should be able to run up to 33"s on the stock axles, but I wouldn't expect them to last long if your doing a lot of wheelin. 

[Lockleaf]

The biggest question is how hardcore do you want to go? There was a pretty in depth discussion about the available options on here pretty recently. Try reading through this and see if it answers some of your questions.

 

 

http://community.ratsun.net/topic/63633-720-4x4-suspension-swap/

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

 I had 35"s and went through breaking the stock rear, welding it up and then breaking it again.

There is a right way to weld a carrier and there is the way most people weld them.

 

Most people just weld the spider gears to the side gears. The best way to weld it up is the weld the spiders to the side gears and then weld all of those to the case. This method takes a long time and you have to constantly turn and weld on opposite side so you don't warp the carrier. If you do warp the carrier (which is common) you now have to chuck it up in a lathe and cut it to true.

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

The biggest question is how hardcore do you want to go?

Yes, best question. What are you trying to achieve? What are your expectations? What is your budget? The answers to these three questions will decide for you what type of mods you do.

[84720FourWheel]

Get a good set of tires, take it out on the trail and see what you need. 

 

I would recommend against welding if you want to drive on road. Or maybe just weld the front diff to maintain road manners. ARB makes an air locker for the C200 rear end, but that is probably more than you spent on the truck, around 1000 bucks. But the C200 only came with 4.11s as far as I know. So if you happen to have the 4.375 you'd have to swap the front diff gears and the rear final drive from a later 720 (83+).  

 

Onboard air is a great mod, so you can air down for more traction on the rocks, and re-inflate to drive home. Maybe electric fans for slow speed crawling to keep the engine cool. I would check all your differential/transmission breathers and lines. Raise them up to a higher location if you plan to do water crossings or deep mud. 

 

Recovery gear is a must. Not chains, not a tow strap with hooks. Kinetic snatch straps are good for yanking, tow straps are good for a slow, controlled pull. Bring a basic set of tools, with some mechanic's wire, steel zipties, plastic zipties, duct tape, some spare parts (hoses, vacuum and fuel lines, various fluids, distilled water, and belts) and a full size shovel. Maybe some ether to re-seat a bead, but some onboard air is necessary for that. 

 

The ARB locker for the C200 is the only locker I know of for 720's. It may not fit, due to it being for the Hardbody C200 axle. I'm not sure if they are different.

Edited February 6, 2015 by 84720FourWheel

[Greased monkey]

Put an oba system in the truck. Find a York compressor in the junkyard ;) it's a Life saver, you can air up and down in the trail, run air tools for trail fixes and run your lockers if you got them or plan to have get some. Winch and don't forget snatch blocks :)

[olecow]

Thanks for all the responses! It has like new offroad tires (more like all terrains). I will run them down and get something more aggressive then. I suppose you'd call me a "weekend warrior". It is a daily driver and on the street a lot, however I live on the edge of the Trinity Alps Wilderness, so in 5 minutes I could be out wheelin'. There are a lot of deep rutted trails that are full of water and mud in winter, but bone dry in summer.

 

Raising the breathers? That sounds interesting. Is it common for mud/water to get in there?

With the winch, did you have to fab your own winch plate?

On board air sounds awesome! I could see that being really useful. Along with a variety of tools. Would 30 or 31 in tires fit the stock height?

[Lockleaf]

30s clear fine usually. 31s will rub just driving on the street, so I would expect them to rub more under aggressive driving. So 31s would be a judgment call for you, but you'll be hard pressed to fit anything bigger without some kind of lift.

[84720FourWheel]

It's mostly precautionary as most the lines vent along the frame. I would just inspect the lines and make sure that they are not cracked, broke, or chewed through.

 

A diff heats up when you are moving, which causes the air and oil to expand, forcing air out of the breather vent. Then you drive through the water and it cools the diff, causing a small vacuum that sucks through the breather.

 

If the breather line is underwater, you get water in your diff and it emulsifies the oil and turns it into differential mayonnaise.

 

If the line vents above water, it sucks in air, and you go about your day.

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Breathers are definitely a good idea. I have replaced gears before that had premature wear from rust pitting.  $3 worht of hose could have saved that customer $500.

 

In the back of the truck, where it's difficult to get the vent very high, I make a curly-q or pigtail at the top forming a pee trap at the top of the vent hose. 3 or 4 turns and zip tie it together.

[84720FourWheel]

The front diff breather lines join the transmission breather, so I think with a T connection you could run all of them together and vent to the firewall with the curly-q. Maybe put a sealant on the connections. I'm not sure where the transfer case vents to, but I imagine you could tee it in with the line from the rear diff. 

 

It'd still be important to check your diff oil after water crossings, since the (most likely) 30ish year old axle seals will probably let water in. 

[cereal_killer]

new to this forum but not to wheeling. im 32 and have been doing it for 33 years my parents would go out in my dads flat fender willys before i was born and i grew up around wheeling. 

 

the best mods that someone can make to there first 4x4 is saftey and recovery gear. good 1st aid kit,tow strap with loop ends not the kind with hooks on it. adding proper tow points to the front and rear of the vehicle if not already on it from the factory,couple decent clevis,high lift jack.good heavy gloves,basic set of "trail tools",some method of commcunation (cb,frs/gmrs,ham radio). the more extreme level of wheeling you do the more prepared you need to be.

 

i know these things are not as cool as a lift or tires but they are more important and should be at the top of the list for someone getting started in wheeling

 

Justin 

[olecow]

Thanks guys! I definitely want to get recovery gear and tools in order first. I never thought about a radio.. that's a good idea! I find when I'm in rocky terrain... Like mine tailing piles, one wheel spins due to an open diff. I though about putting sandbags in the bed (or something heavy) have any of you done this? Any improvement?

[84720FourWheel]

Gently use your left foot to apply the brakes. This will help shift the power to the side with traction.

[OneFreakyMF]

My 81 was given to me years ago and it was bone stock. Gathered a bunch of recovery gear, cranked torsion bars, longer leaf spring shackles, and hand-me-down 33" boggers got me on the trails. Heavy fender trimming and still rubbed. Broke a lot of parts over the years but still tried to keep it somewhat stock. That is until I ran out of spare parts. That's where things really got fun! Ugg is now sitting on 37" PBRs, locked up one tons, and a twin-stick'd divorced np205! It really is a slippery slope once major modifications start happening!

 

My two cents for ya?? Leave the torsion bars alone! The 1.5 inches of lift is not worth the horrible ride quality! Stuff the biggest, most aggressive tire you can in there and go play but never alone. Always have another rig with ya.

 

It should go without saying but it's really hard to have too much safety and recovery gear. Cargo space is at a premium in our lil trucks but safety/recovery gear shouldn't be overlooked.

 

[wayno]

My 81 was given to me years ago and it was bone stock. Gathered a bunch of recovery gear, cranked torsion bars, longer leaf spring shackles, and hand-me-down 33" boggers got me on the trails. Heavy fender trimming and still rubbed. Broke a lot of parts over the years but still tried to keep it somewhat stock. That is until I ran out of spare parts. That's where things really got fun! Ugg is now sitting on 37" PBRs, locked up one tons, and a twin-stick'd divorced np205! It really is a slippery slope once major modifications start happening!

 

My two cents for ya?? Leave the torsion bars alone! The 1.5 inches of lift is not worth the horrible ride quality! Stuff the biggest, most aggressive tire you can in there and go play but never alone. Always have another rig with ya.

 

It should go without saying but it's really hard to have too much safety and recovery gear. Cargo space is at a premium in our lil trucks but safety/recovery gear shouldn't be overlooked.

 

Looks like that one has been on it's side a couple times, having to much fun are you? :lol:

[OneFreakyMF]

No, never flopped it. Before the full size axles I would rub trees a lot and the dent in the door was from a buddy sliding off my front/driver tire...

[]2eDeYe]

My two cents for ya?? Leave the torsion bars alone! The 1.5 inches of lift is not worth the horrible ride quality! Stuff the biggest, most aggressive tire you can in there and go play but never alone. Always have another rig with ya.

 

It should go without saying but it's really hard to have too much safety and recovery gear. Cargo space is at a premium in our lil trucks but safety/recovery gear shouldn't be overlooked.

 

 

This is the #1 thing IMHO. :)

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

One of the most liberating things in life is to head out into the wilderness alone. Yes, alone. I am an experienced wheeler, I have a powerful winch, I always carry tools and spare parts, water, food, clothing for bad weather, so I am prepared. I'm also prepared to hike out if the shit hits the fan.

 

Where's your sense of adventure boys?

 

Having another rig along sure makes life easy, but sometimes we don't want easy. That's why we go camping and call it "roughing it".

 

 

If I had to name the best mods to a stock truck to make it a good wheeling rig, I would say, in order of importance:

 

Good, strong axles, driveshafts and gears

Large tires

Recovery gear (winch, jack, shovel)

 

Really, the tire size dictates the rest of the build. If you want to run 35's, that's one build. If you want 42's, that's an entirely different build.