any advice? (a little lengthy sorry)

OK here is the deal, im in the middle of a buildup on my 89 xj and cant decide which rear axle to run. I have a FF D60, a big bearing 9inch and a dually 14 bolt sitting at the shop. I only have one front and that is a hp 44 out of a 79 bronco with the cast radius arm mounts so that is what ill be running up front.( of coarse with some mods to the stock arms) I plan on running 36 inch rubbers for now but plan on 38.5's when i can afford them. I am leaning toward the D60 or the 9inch for the clearance issues. Whichever one i pick will be completly locked. Any suggestions would be appreciated, just keep in mind i want to keep it as cheap as possible i have a family of three and im on a tight budget. thanks ahead of time for any advice. :dunno:

i would go FF D60 if it was me. that should handle the 38.5s

i plan on converting to disc brakes with whatever rear i choose, if i go with the 60 i think it will probally break and eventually ill need chromo's or bore out for 35 spline. i realize whatever i put in i will have to put some money into to it sometime. i guess the real ? is what is the best overall axle considering the following: cost, weight, clearance, and strength.

Okay, I guess that you are converting the HP 44 to eight lug. That would make the WMS about 67" or something like that I think. Your Dually 14B is probably really wide - like 72"; but don't take my word for it, measure it. I know that there is some hub/axle swapping options for 14 bolts to change the WMS-WMS with van, cab & chassis, SRW, etc.

What is the WMS and spline count on the 60? What did it come out of?

yes im converting to 8 lug unless i go with the 9 inch. the d60 came out of a dodge not sure what year or model but it appears to be around 67" wms-wms i have a set of hummer beadlocks i will recenter for whatever situation i have. spline count on the 60 is only 30 so its basically a 44 with a bigger ring gear.

If you're already thinking about running 35s in the 60, you may as well do it now, 'cause I think it'll be more of a PITA later. 1 vote for shaving the 14 bolt.
Billy

I thought you already had the D60 to 35spline in that case I would probably run the 14bolt like ronco says "set it and forget it"