Sterling 10.5 OX Locker & 5.38 Gear Install - One Ton Jeep Cherokee XJ

One of the last pieces to the axle puzzle, regearing and locking the Sterling 10.5!
Today we are installing 5.38s from Revolution Gear & Axle along with an OX Locker!
For those of you watching the series real time, I apologize for posting this a day late....Let me just say, I'm going to need a new computer soon...
We used these products in this video! (Ordered all through OXUSA. Thank you to OXUSA for helping me out a TON on getting all the parts I needed to do this in a timely fashion!)
Sterling 10.5 OX Locker:
ox-usa.com/product/f10-5-all-35/
Revolution Overhaul Kit - Sterling 10.5:
revolutiongear.com/revolution...
Revolution 5.38 Gears - Sterling 10.5:
revolutiongear.com/revolution...
**WEEKLY UPDATE: I am currently going on my last week (week 9), traveling for work. It has been a LONG 9 weeks but I am extremely excited to soon have more time to work on the Cherokee. As of this video going live I have begun the mid stiffeners. Expect that next video, see y'all soon! **
As always be sure to follow us on Instagram for real time updates, if you're watching the series in real time I'm about 2 weeks ahead of each video I post on here, so head over to Instagram for sneak peaks!
/ backcountrybeagles
Thank you all so much for watching, We'll see you out on the trail and we'll see you next time!
- The Backcountry Beagles
Ash, Ron, Bella, Natalie, Lilli

[@shopyoutube-ni2qy]

IT"S BEARING!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@backcountrybeagles]

Is my BOSTAN showing ? 🤔😉

[@TDirtysanchez60]

Boston? My guess was Canadian haha. I can hear it now that I'm typing this and you keep saying bearing!

[@00silverxj]

You may have already caught this, but the spacer that comes with the crush sleeve eliminator kit has a sharp inner edge that causes it not to sit all the way down on the pinion. The pinion is rounded where the flat shim surface transitions to the inner bearing race surface (if that description makes any sense). I had to spend some time with a Dremel and round out 1 of the inside edges for this reason after chasing some pinion drag inconsistency between assemblies. Keep up the good work, I am in the middle of doing almost the same swap on my XJ and it has been fun to follow along with your videos!

[@backcountrybeagles]

Missed this comment somehow, sorry about that! I did read about that possibly being an issue but my spacer seemed to be machined to account for that...lucky i guess haha. Glad you're enjoying the series!

[@milesneimeyer7584]

If you haven't done the unibody kit yet I have a little advice. It was my first time and every single video showed guys mocking up the kit, marking where to grind, taking them off, and then grinding where they marked to bare metal. Super wasteful IMO. I just hit the whole unibody section with a stripping disc to start and took it all to bare metal, sprayed with some weld thru primer, and only had to mock it up one time. It was messy, but way less frustrating. Anyway, thanks for the videos. I have almost the exact same build going on.

[@backcountrybeagles]

That’s funny you bring that up. Started the stiffener video this weekend. Started marking where I had to grind, then decided to just clean everything, not just the edges haha…..it was VERY messy

[@cpthillbilly]

Even though this Cherokee is an overlander I sure hope we get to see it on the rocks!

[@backcountrybeagles]

“Overlander” 😉 she will deff see her fair share of rocks!

[@explore_off_road]

I totally dig the OX Lockers, I want to get some for my XJ and that drive away lock is a major part of it .... And I'll go cable.

[@backcountrybeagles]

If you have the room for it deff try the cables out. I would have loved to….next build? 🤔

[@forreststrong797]

I think you made a good choice on the air ox lockers. I think i mentioned before in a comment that i have the cables front and rear. The little shifters are neat but it sure does take some thinking for a clean install. I got a longer cable for the front and i didnt take the recommended rear length either now thinking about it. But I wanted my ox shifters to go the same direction instead of butted back to back like i see in photos and i spent a long time with the cable routing and fastening I'm very happy with it but boy it was a chore and i am picky so im always rethinking things to be more serviceable and look nice im pretty good at it but that was an ordeal lol. My cherokee is also an overlander style build i drive on road a lot but its also pretty extreme built i have dana 60 crate axles front and rear and im on 37s but i built it so I could do 40s if need be later but i think I like 37s. I have a lot of crap inside the car i have a full interior cage i also have many accessories and a complete interior minus headliner my roof inside is covered in stickers from the past 10 years or so. i very much wanted to leave my center console as intact as possible i really love Cherokee interiors i wanted to keep a comfy and clean somewhat original look while having a ton of crap fit nicely inside the car. I have a ton of stuff going on in my center console area to start i have a VX transmission shifter from rad designs for my trans that is set up with a nifty shifter for auto and manual shifting i mostly like the gauge it has and true 1st gear lock out but typically i stay in automatic mode but you should look up the nifty shifter if you haven't heard of it you can keep your stock shifter or do other options it is helpful to be able to lock the torque converter via the switch as well. I have a friend who owns a transmission shop and i had him help me build my aw4 I've messed with aw4s for a long time i like them a lot but we installed the reprogramming shift kit on this one which is nice i would recommend it but it really doesn't hold 1st gear how you'd want only the nifty shifter really truly holds 1st or if you mess with wiring it will hold first. But anyways i really got lost on a tangent there. Back to the center console ridiculousness i have the VX transmission shifter. Then i have 3 shift levers for the atlas 4 speed transfer case. I have the 2 ox shifters. Then i have 2 cutting brake handles, the handles are one unit but each handle works one back brake both handles work both. But thats 8 levers lol. The console still looks very much like it should but it does have modifications i still have my arm rest and the storage inside and i have cup holders. Really the outer main console has like zero modifications almost, its mostly the black insert piece. This is the early style console i have a 92 model in fact both the wife and I daily drive 92 models i like the earlier style specifically 91-95 and even more specific 91-92 for my stupid little reasons ive had older and newer ones and just narrowed what i like over the years. i have a nice white 93 that is in line for fixing up. But my next bigger build is going to be a truck ive been contemplating a truck build for a few years or so and i like Chrysler products mopar stuff but i really like jeeps i bought a 1985 dodge 4x4 pickup to build but I decided to wait for a jeep truck and recently I picked up a 1967 jeep j2000 truck i actually helped swap axles and chevy running gear into that truck back in 2007ish it definitely needs work but I'm really excited for the build its going to be so cool. I cant for the life of me figure out the axles that are in the thing though like what they were from i cant remember. The rear is a dana 70 and the front is a 60 i believe but a ball joint 60 originally sprung under on leaf springs in whatever it came from and its passenger side drop diff. I was just staring at it a few days ago trying to figure out what the hell those axles were from i really cant remember its been so long and a half hour of googling hasn't helped haha. This comment is long as hell i tend to go on a bit sometimes. But I really enjoy your build videos and the series its looking great. For a product recommendation i think something with a picture of a beagle or one of your dogs maybe an outline of a beagle or multiple dogs if you wanted something more simple the outline style is nice. I like dogs and beagle stickers would be cool maybe a beagle in a cherokee? I like the brown dog off-road logo and their sticker for example its one of my favorite stickers and its just real simple.

[@backcountrybeagles]

Really wish I could have gone with the cables....but at this point in the build I knew it would be a chore, like you said, to route them cleanly. I guess in the future I could always get the cables and install them. Wow man, do you have an Instagram? I'd love to check out your build, sounds very clean and well done, I'm not ready to touch the trans yet....maybe when I do an engine swap later next year, after Rubicon. I looked into the nifty shifter, I'll be saving that. I'm a sucker for 98/99s, hoping to get into a Comanche one of these days though. Appreciate the feedback and the sticker recommendation and the long comment! lol, sorry it took me awhile to reply!

[@forreststrong797]

@@backcountrybeagles I don't have any social media I'm not really into that I just like watching KZbin. But I plan on posting a walk around video and a couple other specific things on it once I have it back together I have the interior out at the moment and I am doing some stuff to it. But I will comment on your newest video with a link whenever I do post a video. I really struggled choosing cable accuated versus air. I also considered electric but that uses a short cable and a little electric box so I kinda figured I might as well do the manual cable if there's a cable involved. I actually have plenty of air. I have a dual viair system onboard and I also have a power tank I also planned out how I would run air using braided hose I'm a bit of a nerd when it comes to hose and fittings and such I build all my own hoses for brakes and fuels trans cooler steering etc.. even my vacuum lines are AN hose and fittings. The front ox locker in my dana 60 has a fabricated cover east coast gear supply built my axles they are crate axles made to order just like you'd get from curry or dynatrac but I like ECGS because they really work with you and customize a lot further than the others are willing. Anyways I guess they had to build a diff cover to make the ox locker work in their front 60 so my front ox locker has a fabricated cover it's pretty neat. I did find photos of another fabricated cover for an ox locker when looking around. My rear 60 has the standard ox cover. I have very little room between bracketry and where the accuater screws into the diff cover on the front axle I had to modify and build around it and looking at photos and things that was one deciding factor when choosing cables because I would need more clearance for the air I think, I saw some photos with a large air accuater and some with a small one but in the end I chose cables and built around the cable which still was tough. I was unhappy with how ox says to route the front cable and the photos I saw so I routed my front cable through the axles brackets it's completely protected then I used these billet clamps that are used to hold brake lines to tubing but I modified them a little and used those to run the cable along the upper control arm. I seriously am still nearly 50-50 on cable versus air accuated. I would have also ran the air using electric switches. If or when you get a Comanche I have a couple recommendations for you to think about. The first thing I'd recommend is to buy a 91 or 92 Comanche those are the last 2 years and those have the high output 4.0 but mainly they have the Chrysler OBD1 electrical system instead of the renix system and you also have 23 spline transmission output like all newer Cherokees. There's nothing wrong with the renix era jeeps but if you go with one of the years I recommended you'll have the newer style cooling system better electronics in my opinion better brake system and the list goes on it's much easier to modify and work with those years when it comes to upgrades and stuff. Of course you can convert and swap to the newer cooling system and everything but in my opinion it's a better start with the 91-92. But if you really like your 98-99 you could take any Comanche and swap in all the newer electronics and running gear and have your OBD2 systems. I've seen Comanches built that way and they even use the 97+ dash and front clip it looks pretty neat. Also another big recommendation is don't be afraid to get a 2 wheel drive Comanche still of the same years 91-92 swapping it to 4 wheel drive is literally all bolt on with a cherokee donor. I have a 91 Comanche out front right now that I made 4 wheel drive it's all bolt on you need the 4x4 trans and t-case plus front axle and driveshaft and everything from a Cherokee. Then the floor will have provisions for your shifter and everything and you can even get the 4 wheel drive light working. When it comes to Cherokees or Comanches I try to find the nicest body possible and when you consider 2 wheel drives that opens up a lot of options and the 2 wheel drives are cheaper. Unless you want to swap everything from a newer OBD2 Cherokee I would only consider the 91-92 Comanche. I could argue many details that are just better for what we do. It just so happens my favorite year for Cherokees is 91-92 but that isn't why I recommend those year Comanches it just happens that those 2 years were the only years with the Chrysler OBD1 and some other things that is just less trouble. I do have things I like about the renix era rigs but I can guarantee you'd rather want the newer Comanche unless your doing a complete swap to newer stuff or you have a thing for renix Cherokees. The Comanche I swapped to 4 wheel drive had a column shift transmission which you can still leave that way but I like the floor shifter. Also if your swapping the transmission and t-case to 4 wheel drive it's easier to try and use the same year stuff from a Cherokee because electronics did change a little for certain things over the years. I used a front axle from a 98 and trans and t-case from a 92 for the 91 Comanche that way the original TCM and electronics all are plug and play without any messing around.

[@kn6etbkellengraves]

You should have picked up a 10.25 bearing setup for the 5.38. There's a shift in bearings once you go so high in gear sets. I had to order the other setup and for it all to work

[@backcountrybeagles]

Hm I wasn’t aware of that. I got a revolution overhaul kit. I believe it’s the only one they have and works with the 10.25/.5.

[@kn6etbkellengraves]

The only difference is pinion bearings

[@Blcfabrication]

Love the progress man, jeep is going to be a beast once you get it done! I’d buy a tshirt to show some support 🤙🏻

[@backcountrybeagles]

Thanks for the kind words man! Hoping to get some shirts out there soon!

[@Blcfabrication]

@backcountrybeagles heck yeah of course! I'll be on the lookout for them for sure!

[@funhut8269]

Been waiting for this!

[@backcountrybeagles]

Happy to hear! This upload fought me 🤦🏽‍♂️ Failed 3 times…hence the day late.

[@maxrogers762]

Great job man! Those crush sleeve eliminators can be a bear lol. Its coming along tho, 1 piece at a time😎

[@backcountrybeagles]

Much better than using a crush sleeve! I’m excited, any progress is progress!

[@MobileGarage-gp6vj]

She is coming along

[@backcountrybeagles]

For sure, alittle closer each week.

[@danhambrick6331]

What the heck is a barron??😁😁

[@backcountrybeagles]

Red Barron? 😉🤔

[@dannym3078]

You are the one KZbinr that doesn’t have mic problems. Literally sounds like you’re yelling at me. I just got a headache. Let’s say cut yourself 25%. Ty

[@backcountrybeagles]

Appreciate the feedback.

[@JamisonOutdoorAdventures]

I like extremeoutbackair. I have their serpentine belt driven air compressor. It is 11cfm at 1100rpms. It works amazing

[@backcountrybeagles]

I’ll take a look into that 🤔