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4 Bangers and 33s

2K views 41 replies 14 participants last post by  joe_jeep 
#1 ·
A little over a year ago I bought my 97 TJ, with the 2.5, manual transmission sagging on one side unknown 3 in lift and 33's. Its been a project but I think I finally have it in decent enough running shape.

Now that most of my issues are sorted, I was just wondering who else is running 33's with the 2.5, what your set up is like and if you are happy. Did you re-gear, did it make a difference, did you upgrade axles, did you think it was worth it, how drivable is your rig at highway speeds etc?

Thanks in advance for your inputs.
 
#2 ·
Greetings from the YJ forum! I run a total of 6" lift (4" suspension and 2" body) with 35's and a 2.5L. I had factory 4.10 gears, and those were fine for putting around town, but on the interstate they were a burden. Got passed by 18 wheelers all the time. However, regearing to 4.88 made a huge difference. Still can't go over the speed limit, but the Jeep is much happier. When I regeared, I also swapped in a Ford 8.8 limited slip, and that thing is tough so far.

As for you, since you're asking about 33's and a 2.5L, I would regear to 4.56 if you find the 4.10's too tall of a ratio. That should provide a very similar result to 4.88 and 35's. Hope this helps!
 
#3 ·
33's are size commonly installed on TJs with the 2.5L engine. However, you'll need to regear your axles to 4.88 to restore the performance loss caused by the larger diameter tires, that is the most commonly installed and by far favorite ratio for 33" tires with the 2.5L engine. Regearing your axles to 4.88 will make it very driveable on the highway.

So long as you don't install a locker into your rear Dana 35 and use finesse when wheeling, your Dana 35 will hold up to most common needs. If you ever get to the point where you want to install a locker, install it into the front axle so long as the rear axle remains as a stock Dana 35.

And avoid installing 35" tires with a stock rear Dana 35 too, its OE carbon steel 27 spline axle shafts are just not strong enough to survive trails that require 35" tires.
 
#4 ·
33's are size commonly installed on TJs with the 2.5L engine. However, you'll need to regear your axles to 4.88 to restore the performance loss caused by the larger diameter tires, that is the most commonly installed and by far favorite ratio for 33" tires with the 2.5L engine. Regearing your axles to 4.88 will make it very driveable on the highway.

So long as you don't install a locker into your rear Dana 35 and use finesse when wheeling, your Dana 35 will hold up to most common needs. If you ever get to the point where you want to install a locker, install it into the front axle so long as the rear axle remains as a stock Dana 35.

And avoid installing 35" tires with a stock rear Dana 35 too, its OE carbon steel 27 spline axle shafts are just not strong enough to survive trails that require 35" tires.
Thanks for the info. Glad to hear that I won't need new axles unless I decide to go for a locker. A locker would be cool but I don't need it, my TJ is not a rock crawler. Heck there is probably not a rock to crawl within a 2 hour drive.

Doing the math 4.88 with 33's would be darn close to the stock final ratio 4.10's with stock tires, which should make driving around town easier with a more reasonable gear spacing.

My rig maintains 65 with the pedal to floor in 4th on the highway. I would assume this would be close to what I should expect with a regear in 5th gear.
 
#15 ·
A little over a year ago I bought my 97 TJ, with the 2.5, manual transmission sagging on one side unknown 3 in lift and 33's. Its been a project but I think I finally have it in decent enough running shape.

Now that most of my issues are sorted, I was just wondering who else is running 33's with the 2.5, what your set up is like and if you are happy. Did you re-gear, did it make a difference, did you upgrade axles, did you think it was worth it, how drivable is your rig at highway speeds etc?

Thanks in advance for your inputs.
I have a 2.5 with 33s. I initially ran them with the stock D30/D35 axles with 4.10 gear ratio and a 2" lift, which kinda sucked. I was rarely able to use 5th gear. The abuse from being so undergeared may or may not have been what killed my AX5. The braking also sucked with stock brakes. With a 2" lift there wasn't much room for articulation, however I never rubbed with the swaybar connected.

I have since installed a 4" Savvy/Currie suspension lift and a 1.25" JKS body lift (in hindsight a 3" suspension lift would have worked better with the body lift, I'm currently a little higher than I need to be). I replaced the D35 with a Ford 8.8 and regeared to 4.88, which is a night and day difference from the 4.10s. I also installed Black Magic pads and centric rotors on the front axle, which did a lot to improve my stopping. That is is a lot more work than just slapping 33's on, however the end results are worth it. If I had to do it all over again I would have geared to 5.13 so I could run 35's (33's don't get you where the used to when wheeling in the Sierra Nevada). Other than that, I'm pretty happy with how my rig performs for it only having a lethargic 2.5L.

As for highway speed, I can do 70-75 on flatish highway easily enough (I think things would start to get sketch if I got going faster than that anyways), however I usually have to drop down to 3rd gear and run high (4-4.5k) rpms to climb long/steep grades at freeway speeds.
 
#20 ·
Thanks for the comments everyone.

We live in a beach town so this jeep is great for running around town with the top down, bouncing along some dirt roads to go fishing or camping, and driving out on the beach occasionally. However, that is really the extent of my offloading. I was half debating that when these tires see their day, to go down to 31's, to make it more drivable on road. However, it sounds like 33's can give reasonable performance with the right gearing, I don't need to worry about my axles, and I can keep that "cool" factor.

Be on the look out for threads asking for help on a DIY reggae, and suggestions for new 3" springs.

Also I'm also accepting donations. $500 donated will get a quality review of the performance of my rig with a regear, $1000 will get a reappear and springs, $1,500 will get you all of the above and a SYE, $2000 all of the above and winch, $3500 all of the above and new control arms, $6500 all of the above super 30/35 with lockers. :)
 
#22 ·
Yup wider is better, and here AT or wide street tires are the most popular as they do "float" better than MTs. Also a shovel never hurts, and portable air compressor or a pocket full of quarters for air at the gas station 20ft off of the beach entrance. I've gotten all sorts of vehicles stuck in the sand especially when I was younger and dumber. 2wd Ranger, a 4wd Explorer, AWD Hyundai Santa Fe, 4wd XJ, just to name a few. Some digging and pushing gets you out almost every time.

However, a light weight vehicle with true 4wd rarely has issues. The biggest problem on the beaches here are the F250 guys running 35" and larger tires, digging down and making 8-12" ruts. Its easy to fall into and get hung up. The beaches here aren't all that wide, so it can be hard to avoid it.
 
#23 ·
You won't regret going 33's and 4.88 on the old 4 banger. I've had 33's on for almost 2 years now, I can't imagine running a numerically lower gear ratio. I'm not burning rubber taking off from stop lights, but its great for cruising around town. It does well on the highway too, although I try to avoid the freeway as much as possible. To be fair, my Jeep never liked to freeway before the big tires/lift. Offroad its perfect (although if a 4:1 t-case dropped in my lap I wouldn't say no lol), I may not be able to brute force it up long hill climbs, but I chug along just fine on most trails. There's tons of threads on which springs, control arms, etc give the best performance, however my advice is to do what you can and then get out and enjoy your Jeep :grin2:

Here's a couple pics of how mine turned out
 

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#24 ·
Awesome. Here is how mine looks right now. I think I'll be lugging around on 4.10's though for a good bit longer. I've spent a lot of money on redoing this old jeep. It was a bargain when I purchased it, but it has all added up now.
 

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