NEED OPNION'S PON AXLE UPGRADE

Hello everyone : So I am currently in the market for new axles upgrades , Currently driving 01 xj with d30 and chry 8.25 and wanting to upgrade all around . This is my DD and weekend warrior visiting Rausch Creek offroad park in pa and other local areas where I live , I've seen majority of us xj ppl move towards 8.8 swap and keeping the d30 but after reading tons and tons of forum posts and asking around on facebook I've come to a dead end on what I want to do lol . I am able to get my hands on a old waggy 44 set or a wide track 44 set for $400 , some say do it some say dont or go with d30 and 8.8 and its frustrating as hell lol so many decisions on what to do and I really cant choose. So since to me this forum has the most knowledgeable ppl I've meet and know i am hoping you all can help me . I want a nice stance that the wide track 44s will give me along with being my warrior at what ever i throw at it on the weekends , so what are the pros and cons going with the wide track 44 set ? or should I just stick with my d30 and 8.8 and built it that way ? or if i want I can do a 44 in the front and 60 rear as a friend has his setup that way and i love how it rides looks and rides on the trails he is a master mechanic who has his own shop and works on nothing but jeeps daily for anything anyone needs , He has explained to me and offered to build anything i want but i cant DECIDE =( . So i am asking my family here for all of your great input =)

Plan on running 35's after the build currently on 33's right now with stock axles

forgot to mention I am running metalcloaks duroflex arb 3.5" short arm lift

Well, you won't get a consensus here either my friend, and you'll still have to be the one to decide. In my opinion, it's a lot more work to swap out the front axle, and they tend to snowball. There's a lot more bracketry to add to a front axle, and you'll probably end up with a new track bar and steering too, so it's a big project. The rear is more readily doable. I'm suggesting that you do an 8.8 in the rear first, then see if you still have the drive to do the front. You won't ever regret having the 8.8 in there, and for 35's, it's plenty. I like the 8.8 because it has 31 spline shafts, comes with disc brakes and matches your existing lug pattern. People will point out that's it's a c-clip axle, but I think few will have ever seen one break. Unless you're already snapping axles in your 30, I'd just upgrade it some (chromo shafts) and make life easy.

X2 in the D30. Add the C gussets and the inner sleeve kit from Synergy along with that axle shaft upgrade and you'll be fine. You're going to get a hundred answers regarding the rear. I don't necessarily know if there's hard facts one way or the other. It's just what people have done and it has worked for them. Personally, I built up my 8.25 because I have a late model 96 with 29 spline shafts. I run 33's so I went with Yukon's and a Powertrax locker. I haven't had any problems yet and my rear diff oil changes look fine. Pick a buddy you trust and go with that. Wanna open the box about running a 44/60 on 35's setup with a 3.5 short arm lift? LOL...better get good with a chop saw.

Since you're in an 01, you have a low pinion 30 up front.

Finding a high pinion 30 from an older XJ (91-99) would be a bolt in upgrade that would have a stronger ring an pinion. Depending on the year you find you'd want to retain your stock axle shafts to have the bigger u-joints.

xjblue01 said:

Hello everyone : So I am currently in the market for new axles upgrades , Currently driving 01 xj with d30 and chry 8.25 and wanting to upgrade all around . This is my DD and weekend warrior visiting Rausch Creek offroad park in pa and other local areas where I live ,

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I too wheel Rausch along with The Cove, Chaos and sadly the old Crozet park. I have been on a D44 (stock shafts) and a HP D30 (chromo) for years and found that the only two trails I cant run are Rock Creek at Rausch and Pennsyltuckian at The Cove. I have been on 31's for ever with a lot of skids. Everything else at Rausch and the Cove (other than Bunny) are doable with Corum Special being my favorite trail at The Cove (I can clear it in 45 minutes). 3.54 gears, NP231.

Grab a Dana 30 HP form a pick an pull, about $150. Slap in some chromo shafts. Keep the 8.25. Stay at 33's or 31's and armor the under body (Rustys eng-trans skid, stock xfer case skid is fine) and have a good time. Polishing the turd or going to a front 44 is huge pain:

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1015773&highlight=nosigma
http://novajeepers.net/index.php?topic=19484.0

When you find your getting rejected on anything other than the biggest trails in this area (Rock Creek) then consider the huge upgrade. You need at least 37's on a front 44 to have the same clearance a D30 on 31's. Skids and skinny pedal can do wonders on a chromo D30 on 31's

John

I wouldn't be worried about the 8.25, throw some chromo's in it, gear it, and if you want to put disc brakes on it.

The front is a grey area, and is gonna depend on your right foot/driving style. If your level headed and take it easy a full case locker and chromo's will probably get ya by. HP would be better than LP. If your a rock bouncer, you should be looking at 44's....

You all have most deffinately gave me some great info and i certainly appreciate it . Now i just have to choose which way i want to go and start a build sheet and how much it should all run me lol . Now on to the fun part of how and which way i am gonna go lol