94XJ2door5speed said:
So i was just wondering, not for my use or anything but if you could swap any axles under your XJ you could, except rockwells, dana 60' or 70's, or portal axles what would they be. I see a common trend between 9"/d44 or 8.8"/d44, but is that everyones ideal setup or do some crazy folk out there rather use toyota axles? Just curious?
It would depend on what you want to use the rig for. I'm partial to Dana 44s, but that's because they're the first axles I've built (under Corvettes, in fact.) I've seen the advantages to, say, the Ford 9" - but I still prefer Danas. I've built Ford 9's for bracket racers and the like tho - they like being able to swap carrier and/or gear ratios easily, and that can be a plus.
I'm not a "technical crawler," so I'd be happy with a 44/44 setup. Going 60/44 for me would be overcroakage - if I could get the parts easily, I wouldn't mind - but I just don't need it. Aftermarket for the 44 and 60 is plentiful (the D60 was used in high performance Chrysler, and both axles found their way under Big 3 trucks - but the Dana rears are a bit less common under Fords.)
Aftermarket support for the Toyota axles seems to be picking up, making them a viable option as well (aren't they "third member" removable carrier axles as well?)
Mainly, you'll see a common trend in the use of assemblies for which aftermarket parts are common - Ford 9", Dana 44, Dana 60, Ford 8.8" (useful with the addition of C-clip eliminators. As I recall, the 8.8 is a C-clip axle) and the GM 14-bolt BMF jobbie, as well as the Ford/Sterling 10.25" axle (which have aftermarket support from the 1-ton crowd.) Also, since I seem to recall that SRW/DRW hubs can be converted back and forth with a simple end swap, you can use 1-ton DRW axles under your rig - if you don't mind going wide, and can find SRW hubs (or want to build a DRW XJ...)