also, a small status update for those wondering... installed some fresh hoses, tensioner and idler... dug through some wiring the previous owner/s added... found out my truck came with 3.55 lsd. my cad is shot. the wiring for the switch on the cad that runs the 4x4 dash light had been damaged and "fixed" then damaged again from installing a lift and not extending those wires. the worn out tires in the front are 33's and the less worn tires in the rear are 35's XD . i got some of the parts i need to put it back together... new factory cover for the drivers seat, new taillights, lens and sunglass holder for the overhead, one of those supports for the steering box, tie rod, steering box. going to order a vinyl/rubber floor to replace the old carpet, new dash top, lockrite to replace the vacuum cad, flow matched injectors, ditch the tb spacer and try to find a factory airbox so i can get rid of the pos cai. couple of weeks i'll tear into the rear end and see what i can do for that. i'm probly going to have to take a burr and cut out all the welds so i can get the spiders and c clips out. i'm hoping they only welded the spiders and didn't weld the carrier. don't know why he didn't just rebuild the lsd. not that hard or expensive is it?

 

A C-Clamp?
Tell me more, are those blocks made of Pressure treated 4x4's ?
HOLY MOTHER OF GOD !!!!! JUST PUT SOME ELMERS GLUE ON THAT AND YOU SHOULD BE GOOD....

All puns aside... Take that to a shop before you kill yourself or worst, someone else. if you cant afford a new lift for now at least just get it corrected with proper parts.
I will get some pics of mine for you to see shortly, just so you have an idea of whats supposed to be there
( and be ready as mechanics love this stuff ) lol

 

Heres some pics

 

So the rear end has a poor mans locker (welded spider gears), the gear ratio is 3.55 and the front tires are two inches shorter that the back tires. I wonder why he had to get the transmission and transfer case rebuilt...

If it were me I would put 33" tires on it along with buying a 4.10 ring/pinion kit for both axles and some Detroit TrueTracs then toss those old axle innards in the trash.

 

Holy crap lol

 

lol, yeah it's ****ed.

i haven't been to a shop since i was 19, bought a rig and while changing the plugs i couldn't get the last one to come out. took a closer look and someone had jb welded the plug in. tried pulling it again, broke the plug in the head. took it to a shop up the road, very first time going to a mechanic. they helicoil it... about a minute down the road with my professional repair and i hear what was left of the sparkplug that fell in the cylinder rattle it's way past the exhaust valve and seize my turbo... that would be my last trip to a "professional".

fast forward 20 years and we have the internet... even better, YOUTUBE and vehicle specific forums! i also have a house, garage and nice assortment of tools now that would have saved 19yr old me a wasted trip to a "pro".

still trying to figure out what kit the kid i bought it from used. i'm convinced at this point it's some kind of spacer on the front that has the added benefit of dual shocks and just a 6" block in the rear. i have looked at other lift kits and i just dont think 4 shocks, front springs, an add a leaf and/or block are worth $800. the only kit i have seen that actually changes anything is almost 3k. i could buy a damn nice miller and steel/fittings/beer and still have some money left toward new tires for 3k. so at this point i'm still thinking about the lift. i didn't realise rams had the jeep markup on their parts.

thank you for the pictures, it does help to see things unmolested

 

that's the direction i'm heading. i like 4x4's, but i also need to actually use my truck to haul things. accessing the bed right now is awkward at best. i love the look, but i need it to do more than look cool. right now i am actually considering 33's and stock height, then adjusting that as needed.

 

Only thing you can do is start unravelling that mess of tie down straps and see whats going on under that. To me it seemed he drove it hard and the blocks popped out or something ( I think there are notches in the blocks and nipples they set in on that bracket and the springs ) could be upside down or who knows

 

he actually told me what the deal was. after he locked it, the forces from turning on pavement started tearing the springs apart. he actually had it come apart on him going down the road, it broke the center bolt on one of the springs. he got the bolt replaced and did all the straps/clamps trying to keep it from happening again. scared him pretty good. that was also when he decided to sell it.

i think he realized i didn't care and it was safe to just tell me. he also had the hoses wrapped in rubber gloves, zip ties, para cord and duct tape where they had sprung a leak. it actually held... i have seen some rigged up stuff in my life, but this kid was a master. it looks horrible, but it takes alot of effort to unravel his fixes. i do proper repairs, but without a parts store i would hand the wrench to him. of course he would drop the wrench and head for the zip ties, but whatever lol

 

Yeah, you cant afford to fix stuff when you need a hit....lol