How bad am I going to be hating life with this setup (keep in mind that my CJ is no longer my daily driver). 84 CJ-7 with 258, 999 auto, 3.31 gears in stock Dana 30, AMC 20 axles...and 32 or 33" tires? Is it going to be unbearable with that gear ratio? I can't afford to upgrade it all at once, so it goes: lift/tires...then gears/axles later on down the road...or trail...
Thanks for any input.
I don't think it will be that bad. I did the same thing. Lift, Tires, then Gears. I had 2.73's with 32" tires. It was a little hard on my clutch but not unbearable. It did suck off-road. I had to be in 4low most of the time. The Automatic's torque converter will be an asset with that setup. It should be driveable but obviously you won't have the best performance. I recently installed 4.10's and my CJ is much happier, no more burning clutch smell.
Tom is right, your auto is your saving grace on this. I did have 3.31 gears and a manual tranny with my 32's and the street and trail performance sucked. Life will be much better with 4.10 gears. If you plan to do a lot of trail driving then make solid axles or a full floater one of your priorities. Spinning an axle is not fun. And if you want the low down on which is better, solid axles or full floater...go back about 9 months in this BBS and you will find a couple of hundred posts on the subject.
I am going to agree to a point,I have(had) 33" tires with a t5,258 and 3.31 gears,I still maintained highway speeds good acceleration
and managed pritchett canyon in Moab no troubles,while your in your build-up that set up will work every day until you choose to address
it.
I also did mods one at a time as money allowed. I lifted the Scrambler first, 4" and added 33" Swampers. Had to run it that way for over a year (bought a house). The tranny was toast, so that came next, and to save money I swapped in the transfer that was attached. To fit the tranny and transfer I had to add the body lift. Then, since I needed new driveshafts, I put the new axles, and when rebuilding them, the lockers... You get the idea, it's the snowball factor. Your setup should be fine.
I have had 33" tires with 3:31 for two years now. No Problems. Originally, with the T-5, the off highway speed was a little high, but I have since swapped in a T-19 with a much lower 1st gear, I don't even need first in high range. I am in the process of swapping in some 3:73 right now with lockers front and rear. Enjoy what you have, it should work pretty good.
Enjoying Montana's Big Sky (& rocks & rivers & mountians etc, You get the picture.)
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