is my jeep really trail ready?

first off id like to know what years are about the same. mine is a '55 cj5 (stock), and what years are MOSTLY compatable?

ok, i was at lil moab yesterday and say a few jeep kicking butt there. now im not wanting my jeep to be a "rocker" but i would like to modify it so that i can wheel all day long, and not worry about breaking stuff. my main concerns are: plumbing the diffs, trans, and transfer case, so that i wont have to worry about water/ mud contamination. is this nessary?

breaking axle shafts (binding)/ bump steer? IS this when your pinned up againts something, and cannot turn the wheels the way you want to go?

is stock drivetrain really that strong? (axles, trans, tranny?)

SO IN OTHER WORDS, WHO ELSE HAS A '55, that has modified thers (or a latter, compatible year) to wheel all day and not have to fix stuff.

i know that was a mouthful, but i figured it was a general question, with alot of conferming questions.

thanks for anyhelp or PICTURES, thanks josh

 

Yes. Don't listen to the mags that say you have to do all this stuff just to be able to enjoy 4low.

 

stock or modified, the Jeep really doesn't matter..
it's how you drive it that matters

 

well, my first time at tellico i had a bit of difficulty with the gas pedal and spent to whole day hopping off, on, and around rocks (relatively small rocks though) and didn't break anything stock... just the power steering box mount, but that's completely my fault.

take it out and see what it'll do. you'll find what you want to know. i know i've got a few things to improve upon, but my friend finally saw the cj for what it was meant to be, and it still looks at home cruising around downtown atlanta. the best of both worlds.

 

only broken clutch cable while wheelin' @ Attica. rest 'should' have been fixed before leaving the house. wheel it 1st, then see what breaks or needs replaced before it breaks.

 

X2. I started wheeling mine when it was completely stock in '81 when I got my license. It took me everywhere I needed to go and brought me back in one piece. I started modding when I moved to CA and decided I wanted to do more Rubicon type terrain. Even now, I consider mine to be mildly modded; but it's proven to be VERY reliable on various terrains. My keys to minimal breakage: preventive maintenance, slow and steady, looking before commiting. Just my .02...

 

Chris is correct.
some garage time spent at home is a lot easier than out on the trail
and I have nothing to prove to anyone, I know what my capabilities are and that of my Jeep; it's easy to get caught up in the spotlight when other guys are hill climbing and maybe showing off avoid the temptation if you can. Let someone else be the guy that grenades his front axle and/or transfer case; avoid any hillclimbing in reverse, the trans can't take that.

the stock drivetrain is very adequate for "normal" wheeling.
I would avoid any and all "airborne" positions and the temptations to participate in such; the higher you go the more $$ it costs to repair.
Judicious use of the throttle is always a good thing, sometimes it just can't be avoided; experience will teach you this.
oh yea, and my drivetrain is mostly circa 1947, so don't let the year bother you.
maybe a mild lift and some slightly taller tires for the rocks would be a place to start.
most importantly, get the experience behind the wheel; nothing better or more important than seat time.
Ride along with someone you trust; wheel with someone you trust; stop and watch other folks attempting hills or water crossings; learn from their successes or their mistakes.

 

Stuff is gonna break eventually whether your built or stock. No way around it. Carry tools and as many spare parts as you can.

 

If it will wheel the way it is, check it over good and then wheel it. alot of jeepers get caught up in the upgrades and find themselves on a slippery slope. unfortunately, trying to make the perfect jeep has led many to eventually selling off as parts when interest is lost. you can always upgrade, nothing beats the experience of knowing what your jeep was capable of stock. $.02


oh... and bump steer is when the jeep hits a bump and because of the condition of front end components, the jeep steers one way or the other suddenly in response to the bump. can be quite exciting

 

thanks everyone for the responces. i totally have the mind set of wheeling it first just to see what i can do with it, but i was under the impression that if its not aftermarket, it aint s%#t. my plans are to add a roll bar, soft top, or hard half cab, locker in the rear to start, 2.5 inch lift, havent decided if i want body or suspension lift, tall, skinny, agressive tires, and maybe a winch...does anyone have pictures of there jeep, so i can get an idea of what is my taste? thanks for so much for the input, i just love the idea of learning from others mistakes, before i dump money into something i wont need later on.

 

x2. I didn't have much in the way of padding between the frame and body when I did mine, so I replaced what was left with the 1" neoprene donuts that were *supposed* to be for *stock* replacement. My pedals barely clear the tub now, so no troubles, but no way your gonna get much more than that.

FWIW, My Jeep is a '57, mostly stock except for some "hidden" upgrades like Pertronix ignition. Next on my list is the knuckle stud upgrade. That's a good way to beef up the front end without obvious mods. And sometime in the future, some lockers or limited slips in the diffs.

 

I have a '56, It's stock except for lockers and full rollbar. It'll wheel all day and not break ( hope I didn't jinx myself). Oh yeah last time out my battery hold down bolts broke and left me with a non starting jeep, but a bungee chord saved the day after I reconected the cable to the battery. Just wheel it and have fun, remember it's a '55 the first year a Cj5 was offered to the public. Happy wheelin :hurrican: :hurrican:

 

Consider for a moment all the work that was done with CJ5s before we knew we "Needed," all those high performance gizmos.

Power lines and roads laid out, benchmarks surveyed for USGS maps means a good deal of America's infrastructure was pioneered by engineers in Jeeps who didn't know they needed all those upgrades. And then there is the military family of Jeeps who've been everywhere.

It's like at the range, I see lots of guys throwing money into guns assuming they can buy competence. I get a great deal of satisfaction in out performing people who have thousands of dollars in high tech gotta-have-its while I use guns that qualify for social security. Soon I'll be doing it with a 45 year old stock jeep and that's a kind of cool you can't buy, and that really burns them.

 

#1 Your jeep was built trail ready.
#2 You can never be completly free from "mishaps".
#3 Go back and read jpflat2a's post.
#4 Read jpflat2a's post again, carefully, 'cause he is wise.
#5 Wisdom only comes from experience.

 

Everything written in this thread is true. Upgrade the saftey concerns first. Add a cage, update the brake system to 11" drums and dual chamber master cylinder. After that, it's all about your style or taste.

Here is a shot of my '56 with a 2 1/2" spring lift and 33's on 10" wheels.

 

Now THAT is a great quote.