XPLORx4

First, let me ask the obvious: do you have oversized/wide tires, heavily offset wheels? Are they rubbing anywhere at full lock? I know that on my 97 R50, at full right steering, my right front tire's shoulder lugs may rub on the fuel line cover and it sometimes feels as if it shudders. Check for potential rubbing. Do you have strut spacers? If so, how tall are they? Are the CV axles at very high angles? Boots and joints in good condition? If you have a rear limited slip, how tight is it? The wheel hop could be due to that. Since you have the part-time lever-operated transfer case, it has no center diff. It's either engaged (in 4H/4H) or disengaged (2H). Assuming your transfer case is not still stuck in 4H even when the lever is all the way forward, any scrubbing or wheel hopping in the front wheels could be due to potential damage in the front diff or something else that is disallowing the front diff gears to rotate freely. Here are some things you can try to better isolate the potential causes: 1) Test rear driveline. Transfer case in 2H. Raise one rear tire off the ground by less than 20mm. Start engine, release parking brake, press brake, and shift transmission from Park to First gear. Release brake slowly. Do NOT apply throttle. Does the wheel in the air spin or does the truck seem to want to lurch forward? Lurching indicates a tight rear limited slip which could contribute to shuddering during tight turns. Consider this normal. 2) Test transfer case, front differential, front driveshaft, and left CV axle. Transfer case in 2H. Engine off, trans in Park, parking brake on. Lift left front wheel of the ground. Spin left tire. It should spin freely without binding, and front driveshaft should spin. Turn steering both left and right full lock and feel for any binding at inner and outer CV joints, front driveshaft u-joints. Any binding will contribute to the issue. 3) Test front differential and right CV axle. Transfer case in 4H. Engine off, trans in Park, parking brake on. Lift both front wheels off the ground. Spin right tire. Left tire should spin in the opposite direction without binding. Front driveshaft should not spin. Turn steering both left and right full lock and feel for any binding at inner and outer CV joints of right tire (since you already checked the left in part 2). Any binding will contribute to the issue. *For tests 2 and 3, be sure manual hubs, if equipped, are locked.

Do you want steel or alloy? It may be very difficult to find 16" or 17" steel wheels that look halfway decent, but you could always try googling: 16" steel wheels 17" steel wheels

If the diff is already installed, to check your ratio, chock the front wheels, lift one rear tire, shift transmission to neutral. Put a piece of tape on the top of the pinion yoke. Spin the tire one full revolution and count the pinion rotations. Just over 2-1/4 rotations is 4.63. A smidge under 2.5 rotations is 4.9

If they are different ratios, you’ll have to swap the diff carrier onto your ring gear.

Count the teeth on the ring gear. More teeth = higher numerically ratio.

Is that part number indicated on their website catalog yet?

Mag shank lug nuts are usually used for hub-centric wheels. Acorn-style nuts are typically used for lug-centric wheels. Unless you have wheels that are hub-centric, I would stick to acorn nuts. Also, I'm curious why you want to use 15" wheels instead of 16". The tire selection for 15" wheels is quite a bit more limited on 15's. It seems that many newer AT tires are only available for wheels as small as 16 and/or 17, but not 15.

The plastic splash guard attaches between the radiator support and the steering rack crossbeam. Check this and related parts https://sfcreation.com/product/r50-mid-skid-plate-1-4-aluminium-96-04/

Limited slip differentials are a more affordable way to get better rear end traction on most surfaces and in most driving conditions. However, in extreme cases such as rock-crawling or climbing very uneven and steep obstacles which could result in a rear tire having little to no traction, a locking differential provides the best solution in order to overcome the obstacle with the least potential for damage. Damage could be caused either by excessive wheel speed which could result in drivetrain damage, or excessive vehicle speed, which could result in loss of control, leading to undercarriage damage, body damage, and/or drivetrain damage. A very tight LSD could potentially cause some handling/cornering issues on pavement. If you do little to no rock-crawling, the LSD could be a satisfactory option. In my case, the effort/expense of pulling the third member, repacking the clutch pack to increase the breakaway torque, then reassembling it, was not worth the risk of discovering that it still might still not provide enough performance benefit for my style of 4-wheeling. It is for this reason that I opted to just go all-in with an ARB air locker. My R50 is air-lockable both rear and front, but it took a decade of wheeling for me to get to that point. Every driver's situation is different, so the approach to mods I would recommend is to run the trails you enjoy, get lots of seat time to learn how to drive within the vehicle capabilities, learn to choose good lines, and plan your vehicle upgrade path accordingly. Tires are probably one of the most important things to start with, with a lift being next. I would prioritize recovery equipment above drivetrain mods. A locking diff or tight LSD may only give you the ability to get you stuck further down the trail.

LeakyQX4- the Bilstein bushings are the same dimensions on top and bottom. I have a 97, with a larger top shock post and a smaller bolt on the bottom mount. On the top, the bushing is the correct diameter for the post. On the bottom, the bushing is larger than the bolt, but I have sleeves/collars for the bushings that fit the ID of the bushing and the OD of the bolt. I believe the later model R50s have a larger lower shock post with the correct OD for the bushing, and a smaller upper bolt which needs a similar sleeve or collar.

FYI, Bilstein 33-185569 are a slightly less expensive alternative to the recommendation above with similar performance. I have these on my 6" lifted R50.

You can only reliably lift the front about 2” with only coil springs. You can also use strut spacers, which can potentially risk cv joint breakage on extreme terrain. For a higher lift, you need to install drop brackets/spacers between the main chassis and the IFS subframe/engine cradle, along with appropriately fabricated strut spacers which complement the drop brackets. This type of IFS lift for the R50 platform is referred to as a subframe drop or SFD. Other mods needed for a SFD lift are longer brake lines and a steering shaft extension. A reinforcement bar sometimes referred to as a “missing link” is also recommended. This bar installs between the left and right front lower control arms’ rear mounts to enhance the strength of the suspension system. A full SFD front lift can easily exceed $1000 The most reliable suspension lift that fits 32” diameter tires and doesn’t require sheet metal trimming is a 2” coil spring lift, using stock front struts such as KYB excel-G (or even your current ones if they’re still in good condition), and longer rear shocks such as Bilstein 33-185552.

You can remove the part of the intake that hangs below if it becomes an issue after you install an aftermarket bumper. The large size of the intake is mainly to reduce resonance. You can fabricate your own intake piping behind the fender if you want. To get better off road performance with your current lift, you can remove the rear sway bar and install longer rear shocks if you haven’t already done that. Depending on how much clearance there is between your strut and the tire shoulder with your current wheels, you should be able to fit 265/75R16 tires without issue. (If there’s insufficient clearance you can install wheel spacers or different wheels) You might need to do some minor trimming or heat gun re-forming of the plastic wheel well liner.

Ok, so I just looked more closely at your photos. You can run 265/75s easily with little to no modifications, especially after you install a steel bumper. Remove your side steps and install proper rock sliders.

What kinds of trails do you enjoy running? I have done some pretty significant rock crawling with only 32s or 265-75-16s and a 2” AC lift, which I had for over 15 years. I’ve got a steel bumper, winch, rock sliders, low range 3.7 crawler gears in the TX10 part time transfer case, and dual air lockers. All that served me very well until I finally got a 4” subframe drop to add to the 2” lift, and 6” rear springs, along with 285-75-16s. To be honest, I don’t think it made as much difference in capability on extreme terrain as lockers and crawler gears. Sure, I can fit 33s instead of 32s, but that’s only 1/2” more ground clearance. The extra 4” of clearance from adding the SFD only means I can be lazier and sloppier about picking a line than before. I personally don’t think a SFD gets you as much bang for your buck as decent tires, armor, winch, lockers, or crawler gears. If you have a green light to spend money on your rig, get crawler gears if you have the TX10 case. It’ll be a night and day difference, especially with a 5 speed manual.