IMHO a steel front housing isnt needed unless your running 3 plus inchs of suspension lift with a locker and larger tires.I made the mistake of putn one in and then i found out that newer year alum housings have more strengthening ribs.the one i traded out has 5 ,two short & three longer ones running lengthwise. (my rig is a '98 2dr.,softop)unlike the older year alum housings which have less if any ,depending on what year your lookn at but as a rule the older it is the "weaker" it could be without these ribs.plus,if you make sure your housing mounts are bullet proof it will take a beating.LOL i was less than impressed when my steel housing showed up and i looked it over.its just afew pounds heaver than the alum one,but it IS steel.Like you and many others i believed the alum frontend HAD to go when i first got into these lil buggies.but it isnt so and i could have used the funds spent on the steel frontend else where.lol IMHO.goodluck friend.
