BeaterToyota

Ground clearance is definitely the Rubicon's biggest weak point. The tranny crossmember hangs down as low as the axles.

I wheel with a guy who has a stock Rubi and he is always getting hung up. I only have about 1" of lift and 32"s, but my junk consistently out-wheels his.

You can take stock height rigs on some of the blues at Paragon and Rausch Creek, you'll just have to expect some scraping. This is that Rubicon guy's lower control after our last trip to R.C.

BeaterToyota

No, but a bunch of us are going to Rausch Creek on Sept 17-19 if you want to go. Click here.

drabnor

first, yes it is prety easy to convert to a 4x4
i just did mine for about $1300

here is a parts breakdown and where to get em:

4wd transmission and t-case (yes, you have to swap trannys)(best to get from a junkyard or from someone who has totalled their rig) [hardest part to find] try and get one from the same year/generation as your rig, that way the speedos will sync(ie no mechanical speedo if you have an electric now) also get the shifters for the t-case and trans and if possible, the front part of the center console

front ifs including spindles,cv joints, differential and mounting bolts and front drive shaft(get from someone who has sasd)[if this is from an older pre-01 you will need to get the vacum canister and 4wd soleoids as well as the vac lines and the check valve]

you will also need to get a transmission mount from a 4wd(your prerunner mount will have the trans and t-case sitting up way too high)

also you will need to either have your rear driveshaft shortned or find one from a 4x4 (you only need the front half, from the trans to the carrier bearing. the rear half is exactly the same)

dont forget driveshaft bolts, you will need 8 for the front d-shaft

also plan on buying some atf in case the trans you buy is not completly full


here is some advice, do the transmission swap first, that way you still have a rollong rig once you are done. also it will make sure that your trans is in good shape. have like 3' worth of extensions and a wobble handy, the bellhousing bolts are a bitch to get to

once you get the trans and t-case in, swap your rear d-shaft since yours will now be way too long

once you have the trans and t-case in and your rig is rolling, do the frontend

swap spindles and slap the front diff in, then put your cvs in and connect up the front d-shaft

now you are ready to wire up your add(assuming you do not have manual hubs)
i have only done this with the older style vacum actuated stuff, not the newer electronic stuff

you will need to cut 2 pigtails that should be located underneath your fuse box, 1 should be blue, the other should be brown

these are for the 4wd solenoids

connect them to the corresponding color solenoid and you are going to want to ground 1 side of each connector and you are going to run a switch to the other side

you want a double pull/double throw switch if i remember correctly(you basically need one like this... on/off/on where the 2 "on"s are seperate)

wire up 1 solenoid to one "on" and the other to the other "on"
i opted to put in a single pull/single throw switch to turn on 12v+ power to the dp/dt switch so that i do not accidentally engage the add

you basically just need to get 12v to one solenoid when you want to engage 4wd and 12v to the other solnoid when you want to disengage 4wd

you are going to have to figure out which vac line engages and which one disengages on the diff. hook up the vac lines and you should be good to go



e-mail me if you have any questions drabnor @ gmail.com