xj research

my wife and I are planning on having a family soon so I thought it might be time to upgrade the TJ for and XJ. I can't afford a JK unlimited so and XJ will have to do.


let me know on my possible build what you think for a 97 or 98 xj 4.0lt auto .

Desire is to run my 33 swampers on the xj or 35x10.5 boggers. I already have the swampers on bead-locked rims

From my research so far:


D44 out of a Tj or maybe a MJ for the rear diff?
ARB air lockers front and rear with 4.56 ratios
SYE and drive shaft
Chassis/body stiffeners ($ ???)
Suspension RE 3.5 lift I'm not affraid to attack the fenders with a grinder.
Bushwarker cut out fender flares



I'll make the front bar, tyre carrier, rear bar and rockers, and snorkel, for next to nothing at work.

I've already got a high mount winch M8274 and light force spotties

I'm confident in the D30 high pinion with these tyres as my current TJ runs them no worries.

Am i missing anything?
Does this sound reasonable?

Would i need more hieght even though i'm cutting flares?

Eventually i'd be doing a long arm kit, but i want to keep the COG low

up to 33's the 8.25 rear should hold up without to much trouble. un less all you can get down there is the D-35

AussieDave said:

D44 out of a Tj or maybe a MJ for the rear diff?
ARB air lockers front and rear with 4.56 ratios
SYE and drive shaft
Chassis/body stiffeners ($ ???)
Suspension RE 3.5 lift I'm not affraid to attack the fenders with a grinder.
Bushwarker cut out fender flares

Click to expand...

You can run the tires with this list you'll just have to increase your bumpstops.

I don't suggest the TJ rear dana 44. It's not bolt up and it's a low pinion.

Buy body stiffeners it's worth the money (from what I hear).

Everything else sounds nice.

I ran my first XJ on 35's as a dd for a new family. I used TRXUS's and was happy with on and off road performance. But, Boggers might help rock a baby to sleep... Daily driven XJ with unibody (no frame like the TJ) and Boggers will be harsh to say the least. Get too sets of tires if you have to have boggers off road.

The other thing about dding a cross trained rig with family is vigilance. You will need to take care of maint. like a freak. What I mean is you need to be aware of all the stresses put on a rig off road that is run at 70 or 80 MPH on the road with your family inside, and other families on the road as well.

For example, I was driving my rig home on the interstate last night, and noticed the front right acting, feeling a little funny. New vibe there. Then I heard something hit the wheel well. I slowed down, hit the exit and turned off to the shoulder. When I turned I felt the tell-tale signs of a failing u-joint. Got the big lite out and sure enough, cap was gone. I drove home at 55 MPH (a risk, but was by myself). By the time I got home the second cap was falling off with the needle bearings visible.

After years of driving dual purpose rigs, I've become very sensitive to any changes in the truck. So keep you eyes and ears open with that new family of yours.

Lift, go with 6"es if your going to run 35's. The '97 plus models look pretty good with trimmed fenders. Although BW's do look good on the XJ. 6"es will require a CV rear d-shaft and SYE. ADJ CA's and Trackbar will help get it all lined up. LA's or SA's with DB's. Tereflex, BDS, and RE have great spring rates for dual purpose, and Rancho 9000 shocks make the rig very nice in any driving situation.

Plenty of info on this board, try a few searches for moe specific info. The XJ is a different beast from the TJ.

P.S. An 8.25 is what you want. Found in the newer models without the ABS. Pics on here of what they look like (has the long flat edge on the bottom of the diff, and the big axle tubes.. The front Dana 30 is an HP which is stronger than the LP 30 in the TJ. I ran 35's with the '97 plus 29 spline 8.25 and HP 30 without any problems for many years. With an auto (by the way the AW-4 in the XJ is one of the best auto trannies ever built imop), less stress on the d-trane too. Later, maybe you could find a Dana 44 out of an older XJ or MJ. You will love the XJ. Best years for the XJ were '97-'99 before they really started restricting the emissions on the 'ol I-6.

If you're going to go through all of the trouble regearing an axle and welding perches on it just stick an 8.8 under it.
The disc brakes are worth it.

You'll not find a D44 from an MJ/XJ that's not really expensive, and it would need to be regeared anyway.

I've only recently started doing stuff to my XJ (1998). But from what I have learned, if you are going to do the SYE I would go with a higher lift. 6.5"

I went with 4.5 because I didn't want to do the SYE right now. I was able to get 32x11.5 on mine, but I have rubbing. I am considering cutting out and the bushwacker flares.

33" would be tight.

How tall is your wife? Mine is 5' 2" and she complaines about getting in and out when the XJ is wet. lol

She never complains when she drives it though.

Oh "nerf bars" are part of the future plans.

I've run modified rigs for ages now.

I started out with a Nissan patrol with 37's ( i cut the roof off and added a cage)



then a wrangler with 33's (mine is on the right)


I always have a second set of tyres, keeping the bias tyres for weekends only, and run mud terrains for the road and summer wheeling.

All XJ's in australia come with a D35 rear. So my choices are import an xj/mj d44 from the states or the 8.8. Or get a locally supplied TJ D44 and weld new brackets on. I could brace the diff at the same time

Which car's come with a suitable 8.8?

My wife is 5'6" and is fine hopping into most lifted 4wds

AussieDave said:

Which car's come with a suitable 8.8?

My wife is 5'6" and is fine hopping into most lifted 4wds

Click to expand...

The earlier Explorers and Rangers come to mind - and the Explorer 8.8 tends to come with rear disc brakes as well.

The 8.8 is a C-clip axle, however, so think about getting a C-clip eliminator kit as well...

The 8.8 was a no brainer for me. Couldn't find a D44 in a junkyard, well I could but they wanted no less than $350. I was able to pickup an 8.8 from a 2001 Explorer WITH disk brakes for $100! I'm reusing the spring perches, and buying new shock mounts and will relocate them from underneath. Aside from some simple brake line work, that's it. Plus, the gears seem to be cheaper for it than the 8.25. I'll have about $500-600 in the rear axle... locked with 4.56 gears, disk brakes, and relocated shock mounts.