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full-hydraulic steering is it right for you southeast slop rock action ring pinion basic tech your first locker install massive buyer s guide ultimate dana 60 suspension build for stock or mud fun buggy race prep basic intake tips june 2009 $5.99 usa $6.99can www.4wheeloffroad.com

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from up here we see that new wrangler tires can help you go way out there and more importantly make it back ©2009 the goodyear tire rubber company al rights reserved m any an rwan gl er duponttm kevlar® reinforced sidewalls help increase puncture resistance by 35 introducing goodyear wrangler mt/r® with kevlar® bring on the r r canyons the riverbeds and the deep mud pits these new wrangler tires are ready for a challenge are you e goodyeartires.com compari on to t wrangler mt/r in sidewall penetration tests duponttm and kevlar® rison the l mt tion o kev are trademarks or registered tra ks or rademarks of e.i du pont de nemours and company u pon an www.fantamag.com f

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june 2009 vol 32 no 6 50 cover section bargain axles gears 22 the dana super 60 front axle inside the strongest 60 ever 26 differential lowdown how to swap lower gears 28 improved 44 axle tech bettering the industry standard 32 basic locker install an ox locker gets loaded 36 the great axle buyer s guide 50 top parts and pieces you need technical 56 easy-breathing intakes simple intake install for power 60 ali s smokehouse cool differential cover tech i 62 project super equator part 4 our wrapup of the suzuki build 64 tough country control t 6 inches for your dodge 66 full hydraulic steering is this right for your rig 70 fun buggy done the never-ending project preps for the races 78 heavy-metal mudder 52 28 part 3 suspension buildup 82 back to basics electrics t light and switch install features 50 family iron pickup a stout chevy cheyenne 52 barnwell blasting great texas trail action 58 sierra steed bronco our cover boy shows us his axle 74 departments 5 4xforward 6 in box 10 readers rides 14 drivelines 84 new products 86 nuts bolts 91 marketplace 98 whoops on the cover tech editor fred williams snapped the 66 bronco in the sierras while the bruiser of shelby gilstrap was caught by feature editor ali mansour at the barnwell mountain ohv area in texas 74 johnson valley wheeling where the hammers are copyright 2009 by source interlink magazines llc all rights reserved www.fantamag.com

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trail rig www.4wheeloffroad.com editorial editor-in-chief rick péwé executive editor kevin mcnulty technical editor fred williams feature editor ali mansour managing editor craig johnson senior web producer edward a sanchez web producer jason gonderman advertising publisher jeff nasi assoc publisher jason bukolt group sales dir jeff dahlin 714.939.2512 advertising sales nick bennett nick green david hamilton dvin keshish tare waunch barry young ad ops coordinator camille williams administrative assistant glenda mack art direction and design art director alan huber · los angeles sales office · new york sales office · detroit sales office 6420 wilshire boulevard los angeles ca 90048-5515 323.782.2000 261 madison avenue new york ny 10016 212.915.4000 333 west fort street building suite 1350 detroit mi 48226 313.964.6680 500 north dearborn suite 1100 chicago il 60610 312.396.0600 9036 brittany way tampa fl 33619 813.675.3500 truck group 1-3/4 lift 1 body lift with 35 tires svp group publisher doug evans vp group publisher howard lim vp sales and marketing ira gabriel editorial director douglas mccolloch group operations director amy diamond sr operations director pauline atwood · chicago sales office · tampa sales office truck group on the web or tow rig www.4wheeloffroad.com www.4wdandsportutility.com www.dieselpowermag.com www.fourwheeler.com www.jpmagazine.com www.minitruckinweb.com www.off-roadweb.com www.sporttruck.com www.truckinweb.com officers of source interlink companies inc chairman and chief executive officer gregory mays president and chief operating officer james r gillis subscriber services 4wheelandoffroad@emailcustomerservice .com or write to 4-wheel off-road p.o box president source interlink distribution alan tuchman president source interlink media steve parr 420235 palm coast fl 32142-0235 or call 800.800.4294 international 386.447.6385 please include name address and phone number on any inquiries chief admininstrative officer william d bailey chief financial officer marc fierman general counsel douglas bates 2 leveling kit with 35 tires daystar delivers occasionally our subscriber list is made available to reputable firms offering goods and services we believe would be of interest to our readers if you prefer to be excluded please send your current address label and a note requesting to be excluded from these promotions to source interlink media llc 261 madison ave new york ny 10016 attn privacy coordinator source interlink media llc president steve parr president digital media greg goff chief financial officer judy anzalone svp chief creative officer alan alpanian svp manufacturing prod kevin mullan svp integrated marketing brad gerber maximum performance for advertising information please call the 4-wheel off-road advertising department at 323.782.2649 related publications car craft chevy high performance circle track corvette fever eurotuner 5.0 mustang super fords four wheeler hot rod jp mopar muscle modified mustangs fords mustang monthly rod custom and super street back issues visit www.primediabackissues com or write to 4-wheel off-road back issues 2900 amber ln corona ca 92882 cost is $6 each plus $3 shipping and handling please specify the magazine and issue date otherwise your check/money order will be returned please allow 3-4 weeks for delivery reprints contact wrights reprints to purchase quality custom reprints or e-prints of articles appearing in this publication at 877.652.5295 281.419.5725 outside the u.s and canada consumer marketing source interlink media llc svp single copy rich baron vp circ planning ops arlene perez minimum cash lift leveling kits dash panels off road accessories since 1977 consumer marketing enthusiast media subscription company vp consumer marketing tom slater 888-889-4210 copyright 2009 by source interlink magazines,llc all rights reserved printed in the usa 4wheeloffroad.com daystarweb.com www.fantamag.com

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the blame game by rick péwé n o doubt about it our country is in a mess the doom-and gloomers pound us daily on the radio and tv about how bad the economy is while newspapers and magazines reinforce those dire predictions of everything getting worse it may very well be true but i m the proverbial pollyanna whose outlook is for a better tomorrow not just whining about where we were who caused it and throwing blame around just like wheeling it is what it is and the idea is to pick a line to most effectively overcome an obstacle instead some wheelers whine about the rocks somebody else stacked in their way or the mud hole someone went through and splashed all the mud out of well do something about it move the rocks if you don t like where they are go to a different mud hole if someone is broken down in front of you on the trail why not be part of the solution and help him out while teaching him the best way to prevent a breakdown in the future now there s an idea learn from the past so as to make a better future what a concept not only for our economy as a whole but for your own ride our magazine shows you both sides of wheeling from the super-exotic and expensive to the bargain basement duct-tape fixes we all know and love going forward you ll see a lot more of those budget builds ideas tips and tricks in these pages it s our way of being part of the solution instead of whining about the problem since most of our readers have started out at the lower rungs of the sport we know that there is a wealth of knowledge to be garnered from you guys and gals in fact years ago we had a section called homegrown how-tos where the reader submitted an idea and if we liked it we published it so in the spirit of being positive we are bringing that section back no we won t send you a check see the economy affects us all but we will send you a 4-wheel off-road license plate for your troubles make sure you include your name address phone number and of course your tip with a quality photo of the tip in action you can upload all this at www.4wheeloffroad.com techarticles/hght another option is mailing to 4-wheel off-road hght 6420 wilshire blvd los angeles ca 90048 we used to commission an illustration of the how-tos but that luxury in our budget is long gone so your photos will have to do so instead of playing the blame game you can do something about and help your wheeling brothers by sending in your easy ideas 4wheeloffroad.com you can do something about it www.fantamag.com

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by rick péwé new reader can t wait for my next issue already this is one of many car/truck magazines i get but one of the few i read cover to cover the day i get it i do wish you would have more articles and tech info for the ih crowd though one thing i have to know where can i get a set of the retro white wheels on the cream retro tacoma on page 18 of the mar 09 issue i have to have some for my 00 tacoma i thanks for the kudos it s nice to hear the good side as well the windshield banner shouldn t have been on the vehicle at all considering we were testing the three different tires in the end it doesn t make a difference and didn t influence our decision but nice catch tech tip of the day i happy readers rock h patrick ray starkville ms thanks we don t have the info you need on the wheels but give toyota a call and tell them how much you liked that solidaxle truck and see what they say hankook tire test f irst off i would just like to say that you guys have the best off-road magazine out there i just got my mar 09 issue and while going through and reading the articles something caught my eye i don t mean to be picky but on page 28 in the all-terrain tire shootout the green land rover on the left has a hankook sticker across the top of the windshield wouldn t it have made sense to put the hankook tires on that vehicle besides that i loved the test since i am considering the bfgs for my 01 zr-2 thanks for putting out such a great magazine and keep up the good work i will be a subscriber for life brandon baldwin ey guys just wanted to let you all know that i think you all do a great job putting out a first-rate magazine i have read your magazine for years and i now subscribe it seems like every issue has someone bitching about the prices of your projects and the parts to build them well from someone that never will be able to afford the kind of vehicles you all build i still think they are awesome the main reason i get your mag is to see what a properly built rig will do and how they look i have done more splice jobs on vehicles than anyone could imagine and am proud of every one of them there have been some real lookers too but they all have been a lot of fun anyway i personally think you all do a great job keep up the good work brady alcorn n the article getting tanked feb 09 which i got in december which still irks me you say that fuel pump replacement is challenging at best without a second pair of hands to insert the pushrod smallblock chevys have a bolt on the front of the block that can be removed and replaced with a longer one that will hold the pushrod in place it makes fuel pump installation a breeze just remember to take the longer bolt out and replace it with the shorter one when finished i once blew up an engine because i left the bolt out and blew all the oil out the bolt hole also you had asked for editorial errors the appendix has gas tank swapping and bombproof ball joints in the wrong order or maybe they are in the wrong order in the magazine one more thing people often write in threatening to cancel their subscription because of one thing or another have you ever had time to follow up on those threats and see if they actually cancel it would be great to help these readers out and cancel for them even better would be to ban them from future subscriptions mark myers-russo eminence mo p.s if l fox previous in box letter writer thinks the subscription cost is too high tell him to let me know and i will sell some old jeep parts or something to make the 18 dollars so he can enjoy your all-premium mag for another two years thanks for the compliments temecula ca thanks for the info it s been a while since we replaced a mechanical pump on a small-block what with the advent of fuel-injected engines yes we had swapped story position at the last moment which is why the table of contents is wrong and as for following up on who subscribes and who cancels that s one more thing we don t have time for we ll concentrate on those we have not those we don t gate city va question of the month q to our a responsesmanualan last question is automatic or i which do you like better rockcrawling trailriding or mud wheeling this was the first response we received to our last question about which is better auto or stick trannys we had so many responses that we have to give the letters their own section next month after we get done organizing them we ll tally the votes as well as go into the reasoning behind your votes which as this response shows can be quite enlightening questionable photos i transmission better for four-wheeling and why have owned more 4x4s with automatics besides as you get older and your joints start protesting the constant movement you find that you tend to start picking automatics john moore buffalo mo m new to off-roading and love your magazine your articles are well written and the photos are excellent but i have a small gripe i m no tree hugger but i noticed a few photos jan 09 that i m sure the sierra club would love to use to shut down more trails the first photo is of the s-10 axle swap on page 64 that s an awesome truck really posing on crushed grasses and wildflowers covering the beautiful hillside i thought responsible wheelers stuck to the trail the next photo is the super-cool commando on page 74 with its front tire planted squarely on a desert plant i expected the caption to say got it 4wheeloffroad.com 6 june 2009 4-wheel off-road www.fantamag.com

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for tips and tricks visit aa-ownercenter.com www.fantamag.com ©2009 armor all/stp products company.

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in box surely the spotter/dude holding the camera could have guided the yellow 4x4 around this finally had i not seen the first two photos i wouldn t have paid attention to this one fred williams alternate adventure shows a photo of him power-washing the inch-thick coating of grease oil and dirt off the tranny he plucked out of the old chevy i can t see little blue dolphin prints around it so maybe the drain he has the transmission sitting on captures all the grease and oil and doesn t lead to a local spring creek or river but i have my doubts i ve seen enough nimrods on the trails doing plenty to give our passion a black eye i hope that 4-wheel off-road will continue to lead by example in keeping trails open and our environment safe rob bukacek final 4x4 of the year rant oy oh boy where do i start your 4x4 of the year test would be first i guess i have driven almost all of your trucks in the 4x4 of year test the h3 has no use for me so i didn t drive it but i did drive the rest of them i m shocked how far down the f150 scored but what really blew me away was how the ram was beat by a rebadged nissan i did not think it was even close the nissan suzuki was not a bad truck but felt like a rebadged small truck the ram to me was so much more comfortable with power steering and mostly the ride not to mention the interiors though ford s was top-notch after reading your review it just made me feel better that i had canceled my subscription to your magazine good luck when future 4x4 contributions come from china or maybe mars i m sure you ll have no problem explaining that too b ·replace your stock front housing or order a complete assembly ·ideal front axle for jeep 97/06 tj and 07/09 jk wranglers ·us pat.pend more ground clearance than your dana 30 ·add strength and say good-bye to bent front housings riverside ca good point the fact of the matter is that both photos are ok as they were taken on private land and had as much potential for damage as mowing the lawn but you make a good point for us all to think about how we act drive and care for our environment as for the blue dolphin prints around the drain those are a california program that identifies drains that lead to the ocean williams was pressure-washing the gunk off in south dakota into an approved grease and oil trap for later recovery brad wright via 4wheeloffroad.com well where do i start you said you had driven all of the vehicles except the h3 so you did drive the h3t what did you think of that just wait until we have the mahindra diesel pickup from india you ll think we ve lost our minds when we receive that one oh wait you won t be able to read about it because you canceled your subscription sorry brad we can t please everyone ·fully assembled and ready to install in your jeep yj tj and jk ·high-pinion 44 front and heavy-duty rear housing ·new generation dana 44 gears and larger axle shafts ·extra-big front and rear disc brakes included ·fully selectable electric locking differential included jeep j8 insanity i ·ultimate confidence and performance for your 4x4 ·highest ground clearance of any dana 60 axle ·best strength for big torque big tires and low gears ·fully customized to fit any vehicle ·exclusive dynatrac no-fault warranty included read with great enthusiasm and frustration in the apr 09 issue that the jeep j8 production has begun i was blown away with the fact that a vehicle many of us would buy is being manufactured in egypt i have owned a highly modified flatfender since 1968 and own an 80 unimog i just don t understand why this vehicle is not being made in the usa they would sell fast for plowing snow off-roading and being just a great vehicle please don t give me a bs line about emissions and safety i am a mechanical engineer you and i know it s just not true so can you tell us what s up with this continued insanity william turner how to start a club reetings i am the recently new owner of an 84 chevy k30 four-door 1-ton the reason for the email is actually not for the truck i need some tips and advice on starting a 4x4 club in my area the closest one to where i live is two hours away i advertised last summer for taking people on off-road excursions and with over 1,200 views the good majority of responses that i received went something like where do you go wheeling or can you tell me where the trails are i can t really tell them where the trails are without actually showing them that s where the idea for the club comes from we ve already had an arterial trail closed last summer and i want to help stop that from happening again organize the wheelers here and do what you guys are doing down there any help will definitely be appreciated g harrison me yeah we would buy one too but sorry there is no way that the vehicle would be economically capable of passing safety and emissions requirements almost anything can be done if money were no object but chrysler still needs to make a profit which is a little dicey right now 7392 count circle huntington beach ca 92647 714-596-4461 · www.dynatrac.com info@dynatrac.com rick jeffries kingston and area 4x4 club hopefully p.s if this club flies you guys are the 4wheeloffroad.com www.fantamag.com

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first to get an invite to our first event imagine canadian shield rocks we forwarded this letter to our associate in wheeling del albright for a response hi rick and thanks for writing 4-wheel off-road about starting a club i ll be happy to help first off it s always a good idea to double-check local listings and any regional listings on the internet to make sure there are no other clubs in your area then we begin the fairly simple process of starting a new club start by collecting the emails of your friends and local wheelers compile a simple email list of potential club members next hold some simple runs organized by email that include a meet-and-greet breakfast gathering meet someplace you can have coffee and exchange quick howdies and then go on a good run tell everyone to bring a friend don t worry about formalities or club names and stuff like that yet just get something going all that stuff can come later make some simple business cards with a contact email and phone have all your current members pass them out put them on 4x4 windshields found in the local area and build your list of potential members that way build a simple website so folks can find you have a good contact page and of course link to good 4x4 sites like 4wheeloffroad.com i have an entire section of my website devoted to this check it out and get back to me with your questions www.delalbright.com/articles/club.htm del albright submission information 4-wheel off-road welcomes letters to the editor letters must include an address or a telephone number so the sender can be verified once verified your name may be withheld at your request letters published in this magazine reflect the opinions of the writers and we reserve the right to edit letters for clarity brevity or other purposes due to the large volume of mail we receive we regret that we cannot reply to unpublished letters or return photos digital photos must measure no less than 1600 x 1200 pixels or two megapixels and be saved as a tiff an eps or a maximum-quality jpeg file write to editor 4-wheel off-road 6420 wilshire blvd los angeles ca 900485515 fax 323.782.2704 email to 4wor@sorc.com 4wheeloffroad.com www.fantamag.com

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hot shot hi layover vehicle 81 jeep cj-8 owner jason carson honolulu hi tires 33x12.50 pro comp mud-terrains suspension 4.5-inch rubicon express drivetrain tf999 dana 300 dana 30 front with an aussie locker model 20 rear with a detroit locker and one-piece shaft conversion performance mods weber carburetor custom exhaust and radiator other doodads rock hard cage custom bumpers superwinch ps sliders dual batteries funniest wheeling incident crazy ram no bert vehicle 96 gmc jimmy owner ernie schwalm tires wheels 33x12.50 pro comp all-terrains on 15x8 suspension custom 6-inch via a solid-axle conversion drivetrain dana 44 front 9-inch rear 3.73 gears performance mods cold-air intake does everything work the way you want yes anything you would change v-8 swap vehicle 01 dodge ram 1500 owner tom stack stevens point wi tires wheels 315x75-16 bfg a-ts on 16-inch american racing outlaw iis suspension daystar 2-inch spacers rancho shocks drivetrain stock performance mods hypertech programmer k&n intake other doodads optima yellowtop does everything work the way you want pretty much anything you would change beef up the steering add a front locker and a winch anything to add most jeepers think i m crazy for taking it wheeling 4wheeloffroad.com flopping it on its side 10 feet from the road after taking this picture does everything work the way you want yes anything you would change axles gears and 35-inch tires anything to add thanks for a great magazine and wide variety of topics 10 june 2009 4-wheel off-road www.fantamag.com

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compiled by ali mansour con s path dog tired vehicle 74 ford f-250 owner tyson nielsen huntington ut tires wheels 35x12.50 bfg a-ts on 16-inch suspension custom drivetrain dana 60 axles performance mods 390ci funniest wheeling incident while running my puppy for the first vehicle 94 nissan pathfinder se owner mike conard bonney lake wa tires wheels 31x12.50 pro comp mud-terrains on 15-inch american racing suspension sway time i paid more attention to him in my rearview mirror than i did the road and ended up driving into a ditch does everything work the way you want sure does anything you would change swap in a 460ci anything to add somehow i manage to keep it running barely i guess that s something me and mr.péwé have in common a-way torsion bars rough country control arms rancho shocks in the front stock 96 jeep grand cherokee v-8 front coil springs with gabriel hi-jacker air shocks in the rear drivetrain rear lock-right performance mods k&n filter flowmaster 40-series muffler other doodads 3-inch body lift does everything work the way you want yes anything you would change bigger tires bumper and winch tomball tom vehicle 01 jeep cherokee owner jay tompkins tomball tx tires wheels 36x13.50 iroks on 16.5 recentered h1 suspension rock krawler long-arm kit with rubicon express springs teraflex shocks drivetrain aw4 atlas four-speed dana 44 front with chromoly shafts ford 8.8 rear arb air lockers 4.88 gears performance mods i-6 cold-air intake other doodads tnt sliders and bumpers milemarker winch psc hydraulic assist tom woods drive shafts does everything work the way you want absolutely anything you would change not a thing elbe season vehicle 81 toyota longbed owner chad averill yelm wa tires wheels 37-inch pit bull rockers on bobby long beadlocks suspension 4-inch front springs 63-inch chevy ½-ton rear springs drivetrain 4.7:1 transfer-case setup 30-spline axles arb air locker front spooled rear 5.29 gears performance mods 22re other doodads custom bodywork does everything work the way you want yes anything you would change getting ready to swap in a new 3.4l anything to add i d like to see next year s ultimate adventure pass through the elbe ohv trails 4wheeloffroad.com 4-wheel off-road june 2009 11 www.fantamag.com

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readers rides good green vehicle 77 ford f-150 owner ed sue knight ann arbor mi tires wheels 33x12.50 bfg a-ts on 15x10 xtreme alloy suspension 3-inch rancho bilstein shocks drivetrain c6 dana 44 front with a detroit locker 9-inch rear with a spool 4.10 gears performance mods 466ci msd ignition 200hp shot of nitrous funniest wheeling incident getting stuck in what i thought was a small water hole which turned out to be the deep abyss does everything work the way you want yes pickup lines vehicle 03 chevy trailblazer owner ryan vohs south bend in tires wheels 285/75/16 mtzs suspension 2-inch bds drivetrain stock performance mods cold-air intake and a custom exhaust other doodads 2-inch body lift funniest wheeling incident i got stuck in two-wheel drive after my frontend didn t engage and then i got pulled out by a hot chick in a wrangler twice does everything work the way you want all the time anything you would change needs more lift and 4.56 gears 4xdose vehicle 98 dodge ram 1500 owner stefan brownell ithaca ny tires wheels 35-inch mt/rs on 16x8 bbs suspension 5-inch drivetrain dana 44 front 9¼ rear performance mods 5.9l hypertech pro grammer turbo city intake custom exhaust other doodads arb front bumper milemarker 12k winch dual batteries diff guards onboard air funniest wheeling incident winching out a stuck backhoe while strapped to a tree does everything work the way you want 98 percent of the time anything you would change lockers and a diesel anything to add this build was inspired by the 4xquad dodge dakota built by you guys so many years ago submission information send us a picture of your ride if you ve never done so we keep a surplus of readers rides submissions but only one submission per person and we love all off-road vehicles so send in your entries whether your rig is stock or not make sure each digital image is at least 1600 x 1200 pixels or two megapixels and saved as a tiff eps or maximum-quality jpeg file write to readers rides 4-wheel off-road 6420 wilshire blvd los angeles ca 900485515 fax 323.782.2704 email to readersrides@4wheeloffroad.com extra fuel vehicle 01 ford excursion owner ron lisa beatty farmington hills mi tires wheels 35-inch toyo mud-terrains on mb razor suspension 6-inch superlift bilstein shocks custom track-bar setup drivetrain stock performance mods 6.8l hypertech vehicle year make model owner name city state tires wheels size make model suspension lift springs shocks drivetrain tranny transfer case axles performance engine mods other mods does it work the way you want anything you would change funniest wheeling incident anything to add programmer k&n intake custom throttlebody spacer flowmaster exhaust other doodads custom fold-down spare-tire carrier rhino-lined doors 135-db airhorns does everything work the way you want yes anything you would change lockers more lift and a whipple supercharger anything to add need more money for gas 4wheeloffroad.com 12 june 2009 4-wheel off-road www.fantamag.com

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drive by will vehicle 01 chevy 1500 owner kirk williams douglasville ga tires wheels 39.5x13.50 iroks on stock 16-inch wheels suspension 6-inch rough country drivetrain nv3500 nv261 5.13 gears performance mods 4.3l k&n intake flowmaster exhaust other doodads 3-inch body lift does everything work the way you want pretty much anything you would change currently collecting parts for a solid-axle swap using a dana 60 and 14-bolt axle combo anything to add i ve done all the work myself in my driveway brooklyn san vehicle 01 nissan xterra owner thomas kurahara brooklyn ny tires wheels 33x12.50 bfg m-ts on 15x8 steel wheels suspension 3-inch spencer low racing front bandit 4x4 rear springs bilstein shocks drivetrain rear arb air locker performance mods volant intake safari snorkel other doodads 2-inch body lift slr steering skid row skidplates shrockworks sliders and bumpers warn winch hi-lift does everything work the way you want so far so good anything you would change get the right bumper brackets to match my body lift shock and a half buy 2 get a rebate by mail equal to half the cost of the second unit rancho® rs5000,tm rsx,tm rs9000xl,tm rs9000xl pro seriestm or quicklift tm shock absorber offer open hood vehicle 03 jeep liberty owner taylor hood orange beach al tires 265/75/16 green diamond icelanders suspension 3-inch old man emu jeepin by al upper a-arms rancho shocks drivetrain rear detroit locker performance mods air intake other doodads arb front bumper custom sliders spidertrax wheel spacers skid row skidplates onboard air warn winch does everything work the way you want yes anything you would change straight-axle swap and a 4:1 transfer case anything to add this is how jeep should build them from the factory visit www.gorancho.com for details price and qualifying products may vary by participating locations rebate amount based on the lowest cost unit installation extra promotion valid april 1st may 31st 2009 © 2009 tenneco 4wheeloffroad.com www.fantamag.com

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by drew hardin 2010 hd rams revealed a t the chicago auto show dodge unveiled the latest arrows in its truck quiver revised versions of the 2500 and 3500 ram heavy duty pickups the new hd trucks share some of the styling changes first seen on the light-duties including the addition of a crew cab model to replace the mega cab/shortbed but the hd s bigger grilles and taller hoods set them apart from the half-tons ing of 5,500 pounds for diesel 4x4s allows for more front-weight carrying capacities snowplow anyone hd powertrain choices continue to be the 6.7l high-output cummins turbodiesel 350 hp 650 lb-ft and the 5.7l hemi v-8 383 hp 400 lb-ft the diesel is available with either a six-speed manual or a six-speed automatic the hemi comes with a fivespeed automatic only the new model year also sees the return of the power wagon with electric-locking front and rear diffs 4.56 gears a disconnecting sway bar 32-inch bfg tires and a 12,000-pound warn winch look for the 10 ram hds this fall suspensions have been tuned to improve the trucks handling when fully loaded and working capacities have increased for several models the gvwr for the 2500 4x4 crew cab diesel goes up from 9,000 pounds to 9,600 the gcwr for 3500 dualies with diesel automatic transmission and 4.10 gears goes from 24,000 pounds to 25,400 and an increased front gross axle weight rat14 june 2009 4-wheel off-road 4wheeloffroad.com www.fantamag.com

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a rubi-crawler objective bolt in with no driveshaft mods rubi-crawler on the way dvanced adaptors has run into a few little setbacks while designing its rubi-crawler reduction housing for jeeps but the unit should be available by the time you read this the rubi-crawler is a six-pinion planetary assembly with a i 2.72:1 low-range that s built in a housing that mimics the empty tailhousing of the production 42rle transmission this would give jeep owners the option of multiple low-range gearing without having to make any driveshaft modifications said the folks at aa from the get-go one of our main objectives was the whole theory of `bolt in with no driveshaft mods which is why a few things had to change when late in the project we found out that t the 42rle had multiple tailhousings with different lengths we knew that a change at this point would definitely put this product behind schedule but ultimately knew it t had to be done so now instead of having one design for the rubi-crawler we have two one for the tjs and one for the jks this just in · barely a week after his third place overall in dakar robby gordon drove his chevy silverado trophy truck to an overall win at the 15th annual score laughlin desert c challenge in nevada raptor keeps racing the raptor r of course is a modified version of ford s production f-150 svt raptor a highperformance off-roader that will go on sale this summer initially powered by a 320hp 5.4l v-8 the raptor will be available early next year with a 6.2l v-8 that has power targets of 400 hp and 400 lb-ft of torque says ford this is a great opportunity for everyone involved in the raptor program to get more real-time data on how the truck performs in the most extreme conditions said cliff irey manager of truck motorsports for ford racing technology we need to push the truck harder than we d ever expect our customers would to ensure that the production raptor is the ultimate factory-available high-speed off-road truck ended their long-standing feud reaching in the careful words of the pr statement an agreement to restructure their ongoing business relationship and settle all existing litigation between the companies the companies were suing each other over warranty claims having to do with the diesel engines navistar supplied to ford additionally navistar sued ford over the proposed light-duty diesel engines to be installed in f-150s the agreement terminates the diesel engine supply deal between them at the end of the year though navistar will continue to supply parts for powerstroke engines the two companies will continue to work together in the south american market · ford and navistar have · mahindra is taking its show on the road global vehicles the u.s distributor for the indian trucks and suvs is planning a series of displays and events to introduce mahindra to america this fall so far more than 300 dealers have been signed to sell the vehicles and plans call for the diesel-powered pickup to go on sale later this year the mahindra suvs will come in 2010 in its fight to stay out · f resh from a third-in-class finish at the baja 1000 ford s svt raptor r will continue its high-intensity r&d by competing in all five points races in the .09 best in the desert race series the truck will be driven by veteran racers and former rough riders rob maccachren and steve olliges of bankruptcy gm has dissolved its high performance vehicle operations unit which built lots of the fun stuff like the v-8 colorado and ss versions of the hhr and cobalt those engineers have been reassigned to more mundane projects we hope this is temporary 4wheeloffroad.com 4-wheel off-road june 2009 15 www.fantamag.com

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