axle decisions (long)

ok, i finally have enough money to regear. right now i'm riding on 31" bfg km's with a 5sp. been driving around with the 3.07's for too long now. i have an 8.25 in the rear w/ 27 spline. i will definitely be going to 33's, maybe 33" or 34" truxus mt's(depending on further reviews of opinions) later this year. 35's may be in the future, but they seem to be the breaking point, more so than 33's. i have decided on going with 4.88's, detroit in the rear, and a true trac up front. don't have enough for selectables. i'm in indiana now, but will be moving to colorado in may. now keep in mind i have no fab skills, welding skills, etc.

for the rear, i was going to do a d44 with zj disks since it is a direct swap. what is the maximum tire size for a 44 with alloy shafts. 8.8 is another option, but no skills. i also contemplated, more like dreamed, about a currie 9", but they seem to run about $3k.

as for the front, is it worth putting money into the 30? seems many guys don't have much of a problem running 33's on the 30, but many say don't bother investing in it. so the next choice would be a 44, but again i have no fab skills. so, a few days ago there was a thread on a currie hp44, but someone said it is only marginally stronger than a 30 because it has a 44 housing and 30 outers. doing some more searching, i found someone had bought a currie 44 for around $1400, and got another $400 back with the 30 core return. so a $1000 for a finished hp44. after buying gears and a locker for the 30, if i cough up another $500, i could have hp44 up front instead of a 30.

what should i do?

D44's front and rear with alloy axles and you'd be stylin up to 37's.
Get 5.13's, you'll be happier. Especially with a 5spd.

What should you do?

Nothing. If you have this many possibilities in your head right now, then you need to sit on your hands and save a bit more, and narrow your possibilities down.

Figure out how you wheel, and exactly what you want from your Jeep, and then start thinking about how you wanna mod the XJ.

Fergie

After 6 months on 31's with 3.07's, I would say you are a contender for a HP60/14bolt combo.
Perhaps you and MuddinXJ can get a group buy on some Mog 404's.
Maybe 60's front and rear, with 7.17s, in case you want to go with 35's.
How about a set of hydrostatic motors from a field sprayer, eliminating the pesky drivelines altogether?

Kenny Rogers, your table is ready.

Currie is regearing an XJ 44 and a filling up a front 44 housing from a rubicon that I just bought new from Drivetrain Direct. The front housing cost $610 and I chose it over a built 30 because the 30 on my truck is a disco and it would cost too much to have it changed to a one piece long side axle and upgrade it to superior axles. All the upgrades can make the 44 stronger than the 30. I bought the rear 44 for $300 in great shape allready cleaned up so I could see that it was in great shape. It hasn't been cheep but because I allready had one set of gears and a front limited slip to go with it it wasn't much worse than picking up a non disco 30.

alright, from what YETI says, i'm pretty set on the 44 rear. I don't think i'll ever need stronger. as for the front, i just want a very reliable axle for 33's and 35's at most. by the time i would spend the money to upgrade the 30, how good of a 44 could i have built? is a 44 overkill? basically, i just want to do the axle build up and regear once and call it good.

oh yeah, bgcntry72, maybe when i can wheel like you i'll need a 60 f/r setup, but for now i'll stay on the newbie rung just to make you feel better. i'll put myself in for the wotm with this one, but i was just trying to get some input to gain some knowledge about different axle setups. a search helps yes, but only to an extent. each person's situation is always going to be different.

thanks anyways
hasta