Awhile back I purchased the Axial SCX10.3 Standard Axle Conversion Kit and wasn't really sure which rig to put them on. I decided to try them out on my GCM J2 Skeleton build that has been on and off the bench for the last couple years and still has not been completed yet. The rear axle went on and fit like a glove, but the front axle not so much. I was struggling with getting the panhard bar installed correctly and decided to scrap that idea.
So today, I installed the conversion kit on my JLU. All went well with the help of RC Driver on YT. The supplied instructions weren't exactly that easy to follow. I knew what needed to be done, but there were a few steps I wasn't quite sure about.
The kit is nice and comes with complete axles (pre-built), replacement shocks with shock fluid, gears to replace the stock transmission gears and straight panhard bar. I opened up both axles and replaced the stock grease with marine grease and checked to make sure all screws were tightened properly.
There was one issue I ran into when installing the new panhard bar that is supplied with the kit. I am currently running the Samix alum shock towers and the panhard mount matches the stock shock tower profile that is made for the portal axles. The conversion kit comes with a replacement panhard mount that moves the panhard bar farther forward. With the Samix shock tower, I wasn't able to move the panhard forward without grinding down the alum mount, so I decided to run the stock "bent" panhard bar instead. The slight bend in the stock bar allows it to mount to the Samix shock towers without it binding up when the suspension is fully compressed. Pic of the underneath below.
Before I took the trans out, I noticed that the front lower links at the skid plate were in a bind when I would try to move the links by hand. I noticed that the rod ends were wedged in right up against the trans oil pan. While I had the trans out, I lightly Dremeled a spot out on the bottom of the trans to give a little more space for the rod ends to move around. This little bit of was just enough to let the rod ends move freely.
And here are a few shots with the new straight axles installed.
Edit: I forgot to mention that I used the stock 90mm shocks instead of using the 100mm shocks supplied in the kit. The 90mm's work just fine and I wanted to keep the JLU sitting low.