1. Beadlocks - I want them. What brands would you recommend or avoid?
-Trailready are nice beadlocks.

2. I will probably go to the 1 ton knuckles on the front axle which will change my bolt pattern to 5 on 5.5.
-Good choice.

a. Can I use spacers on the rear?
-you can use wheel spacers/adapters in the rear but they are notorious for coming loose, I don't trust them even with the locktite on so I don't drive it on the road more than a few miles anymore. adapters are like $99 a pair.

If so, I assume that will affect the width that the front axle needs to be built to - yes?
-Front width should be increased anyway to allow room for the spring plates. Mine is 2" wider than stock and still didn't have much room for the drivers side hardware. My drivers side axle tube is like 2" long because the 9" center is much wider than the stock one. You might ask Dave Kemner about what he would recommend for a width for the front end.

b. If not...can I get bolts put onto my existing axles in the 5 on 5.5 pattern? I ask because not only do I have the Dutchman shafts that are on the Jeep but I have a set of Currie spares too.
-you might want to check but on my rear 9" the axle shaft has the bolts on it and that cannot be changed without getting new shafts, and drilling new holes in the rotors to match.

3. I'm still deciding between the Currie axle and the Spidertrax axle. I know Erik Miller had had some issues with his Currie axle. Suggestions/opinions?
-Erik beats the hell out of his jeep in ways we will never truly understand. I personally would go with spidertrax but you might want to check prices too.

4. I was considering the Tru High 9 but Bill said there are some issues with them now.
-clarification: the issues are with the 9" high pinion setup in the rear of a vehicle due to poor lubrication with the pinion pointing up. there are also issues with the ARB RD99 locker that goes in both the currie and tru hi 9 differentials. due to it's unique design it is notorious for blowing seals and clutch gear failure (just ask the red bull team at the comps or look it up on pirate) tru hi 9 is much stronger than currie hands down but is very expensive. Now having said that I've beat the snot out of my front axle that has the currie 3rd member and has the RD99 ARB that is problematic and it works great. the rear one is having the problems.

I plan on having Dave at Full Circle do the work and once I have some input from you guys I will talk to him and see if he has any other ideas.
-Dave has a wealth of knowledge so ask him what he would do and get ready to pay out the wazoo. a good custom built axle like mine in the front will cost about $6000

You do have another option. just buy a D60 and call it done.

A D60 is strong out of the box. you can buy one for about $1200 and install gears and a locker, high steer setup, and have it cut down to the width you need. New shafts cut down and you are still ahead of the game. just some food for thought. Again ask Dave Kemner, he will not steer you wrong.

Then Spend the money where you will need it. I would pick a 4 to 1 instead of the bead locks. The bead locks before the gears is kinda like skipping a step. I know that your thinking that bead locks will look cool and save a head ache of blown beads. I think gears and locker in the front will change what you call wheeling in great ways. You will have to bump and launch much less than you do now.

i agree you should prob. get a low range case first and that in itself will keep you from blowing beeds. and when you need new tires i would go with something that has a beed protector molded into it. you will be supprised on how they stick on the rim. look at nicks tires i allways thought they were flat and he does not even run beedlocks with his krawlers

Actually now that I read the rest of the post it won't work for you. Joe just posted about it and it won't work for his without taking it apart.

your better off with something new. You already have the sye and the kits new can be found for 700-1000 bucks depending on how good of a shopper you are.

Just a idea but have you thought of selling your jeep and just buying that is built? 7K is alot to invest in a rig and very easy to spend on a Jeep.

Just a to say it again I know your stuck on the custom 9" front but thats alot of money that could be spent on other things that you need. Nick, Rob, Matt, Chuck, Chris, Greg, Bobbi, Myself and others that I know I haven't listed Run Dana 44's and with little to no issues ever. Even a cut down dana 60 will save you money on not needing special parts. Now I know its your money and you have the right to do what you want. There are just a number of other things you could invest the money in. The first item that comes to mind would be to get a Atlas II or a stak transfer case.

If I had your jeep, and I was going to stick with 37s or 36s. I would build a 44 front with cromos, put a 4 to 1 kit in (or atlas/stak but I can't swing that). some DIY bead locks and grove the tires. I am very happy with my 44 and you know that I beat on it. The three years nick has had his, he has only broken one stock axle shaft. Now he has cromo shafts. Now if you plan on jumping tire size that is a different story.

i had the high pinion 44 on my front with 38.5 boggers and when i blew my shafts i went to the chrome moly with ctm joints. never broke a yukon shaft. i blew an off brand chromo, but i reused my ctm joint and got another yukon axle. had no problems since.

Ok so building a 60 or a 609 is expensive. ARB has the locker you need for any D60 you buy depending on spline count and gear ratio. Clearance for a 60 vs 9" isn't that much difference and both can be shaved. The ARB for the 9" is notoriously problematic, just type in RD99(that is the ARB for the 9") on Pirate and read the threads. lockers for the 9" are small due to limited room compared to a D60. So where to spend the money. I think Nester and and Von have the answer.
1. Buy a D44 and build with chromoly shafts, locker and keep the width near stock. axle replacement is easy so you don't need to take it anywhere for repairs. At this stage you should know how to fix it anyway short of replacing gears, it really isn't that hard and you are a logical person. (I will never buy another 9" arb locker ever)
2. invest in an atlas transfer case. makes a huge difference when you have more time to pick your line and can walk the jeep where you want it instead of using the skinnny pedal.
3. Keep your rims and do the cheap beadlock with screws or buy some Staun Beadlocks to keep your wheels.

you were the one that didn't want the D60 because of clearance. The D44 I think they are trying to point out is strong enough for the type of wheeling done by Von so it should be strong enough for you as well. A D44 can be kept stock width and replacement parts cheap. if you cut down a D60 you will still need to be 6-8" wider than stock to make room for the housing and leaf pads. Also it is widely argued that you don't run a D60 unless you are running tires bigger than 37" due to the pumpkin clearance issue.