For the longest time I wanted to lift the TJ and throw some 33's under the fenders. Why that size? That's another complete topic all together. However I knew the magic number for twisting the rear axles was 35-inch tires and well I didn't want anything bigger than 33's so I figured I was somewhat safe.

After the install of my lift and tires I came to the conclusion that stock gears simply are not cutting it. I went out a time or two and even made a long distance trip down to Baker City Oregon to hookup with the Kanyon Krawlers in Virtue Flats. The wheeling was great however running in 4lo, 3rd gear sometimes to keep up with the rest of the pack was horrid, but hey you have to do what you have to do.

I decided to upgrade my gears to 4.56's and was seriously considering locking the front with an aussie locker so I could at least have a locked front end. We had a little bit of Tax money coming this year and the wife said "Get some quote's on a regear and that locker you wanted." Of course I made a few calls and became very interested in a ARB setup for the front end opposed to an auto locker. Needless to say the interest of locking the front became an interest to lock the rear as well. I knew for the longest time that locking the rear of a Dana35 was a possible HUGE problem. I again did some research on the net and talked with a few shops and they all appeared to have the same conclusion. Replace the axles. Replace the axles with either a completely new rear end like a Dana44 or bigger or go with a Chromoly setup with either Superior or Alloy USA axles. Ok, I made up my mind lets replace the axles and go with an ARB setup.

Again I searched around on the net and made a few calls and wanted the best possible price I could find for the parts and labor. Why labor? Gears and ARB lockers are not a do it yourself project. The setup on a rear end can take hours not to mention the install of an ARB the double your efforts for the front end. So I looked for the best possible solution and that was Northridge4x4. Great price on parts and installation. Some of the other vendors offered a great price as well, but I really needed a local shop that could get the job done.

Tools:	Time:
Alot used by the shop	Few Days

Normally this is where I would give you some notes about the install. I drove my TJ down from the Seattle, WA area into Bremerton WA, which for me was a 30minute ferry ride and an hour drive. I arrived at Northridge4x4's shop and being the untrusting guy I am. "Reason being nobody has ever worked on my TJ, but myself." I met Dave and what a great guy. I told him what I was thinking and he introduced me to the mechanic that would be working on my TJ. I proceeded to question him on every possible thing I could come up with the task at hand. Heck I even asked him questions that was totally unrelated and he nailed every one of them. So feeling very comfortable I left my Jeep and was told it would take roughly 3days. Rear end, front-end arb install, axles and some test driving.

Being the impatient guy I am, I called every day to see how the progress of the install was going. Every day Dave let me know what was going on and what to expect the next day. Everything went smooth up until the day before pickup. I called Dave and asked him if it was safe to come and pick up my TJ tomorrow. He said well your Jeep would be done already however there was a defective part shipped to them from Superior. The pinion gear was splined wrong for my yoke and they had to completely tear down the front end and rebuilt all over again setting them back 5hours. A little bumbed, but still my Jeep was scheduled for pickup the next day.

Pickup day came and it was still early in the day. I called to see what the status of the install was. I was told to pickup my TJ around 5pm and they would wait for me to come down and pick it up. I met up with the mechanic and he informed me the job went smooth with no real issues. Of course I was like no issues? You built the front end, tore down the front end and rebuilt the front end all over again? I can honestly say without a doubt my complete experience with Northridge4x4 from start to finish was well worth the entire effort. If had a rating system in my write-ups I would say they are a 10 all the way.

If you have any questions or comments about this install visit