Power Trax in Front end?

[BarFlyFisherman]

Is anyone out there running a Power Trax in their Dana 30 front differential? I'm running one in the rear and I am looking for a "locking" option for the front.

I'm also getting ready to increase the tires to 35" (from stock). What other mod's should I look at?:

Gearing? 4.88 or 5.xx ??
Complete axle swap? or just HD upgrades?
Other mods?
Install new Power Trax's in both front & rear ends?

Drivetrain/use:
4.0L w/AT, 4" lift, driving slow while acquiring targets

Any Thoughts??





(Know the difference between an a Civil Engineer & a A.F. Pilot? A Civil Engineer designs targets...)

 

[PhotographerMike]

Just my opinion . . . If you have a 242 transfer case and ever want to use the "full time" option on the street, probably not in front. If you're sticking to the sand, you should be fine.

 

[XJ&CHZ4ME]

I am running a Powertrax in my D30 w/ upgraded shafts on 35's and get by fine, have been wheeling it that way for 2 years, and before that I was rnning 33's for 3 years....just know the capabilities of your rig and its equipment and you will be fine, if your a heavy footed tire spinner, then you dont need a locked D30 w/ 35's

 

[tayman]

I have a lock right in my d30. I also just re-geared to 4.88's with 35's. All I have to say, is AT LEAST get the bigger U-joints... I've already popped an axle U-joint just playing around flexing on some logs... if not alloys, get the shafts with bigger joints. Front alloys are next on my list. Other than that, the damn thing works great!

 

[tayman]

Just noticed you're in Pebble Beach. Give me a holler if you want to go wheeling

 

[DeftwillP]

What axle do you have in the rear? That'll limit your gearing options for up front if you're running a 8.25 in the rear.

 

[tayman]

Either way, if you're going 35's you want to swap in either a Dana 44 or a ford 8.8". the Dana 35 will not cut it.

 

[BarFlyFisherman]

After reading everyone's responses, I'll probably go no higher than 33's and swap out the rear end. I currently have a dropped 231HD with a SYE and new rear shaft with beefed up u-joints.

I usually drive slow, primarily trolling for targets (hunting). I usually tow it to my off-road site, but occasionally drive it. I'd like to keep the ABS if possible...

What do you guys do about the ABS if you swap the rear end out to a Ford 8.8? What mods (to the ABS, computers, braking system) need to be done to render it so that the damn lights & error codes do not flash? Is it possible to keep the ABS on the Ford axle?

How about the Dana 44 axle???
What ratio... 4:10 or higher???
I still want highway driveability, for those 4-6 road trips per year.

I was thinking about beefing up the stock front end Dana 30 axle (shafts, bearings, gears, etc.), changing the ratio to match the new rear axle (DUH - how many dummies have done that??), and adding a locker (Detroit or Power Trax).

Been through the electric/air locker gig... I'm looking for something smarter than me.

Any practical knowledge (experience) pros/cons on lockers will also be appreciated.

I'm not a lead foot and rarely (if never) am in the sand - unless I'm lost! (I have spent too much of my adult life in sandy places... I want trees & animals!)

 

[tayman]

not sure about the ABS part of it, but the 8.8 has disc brakes standard between 96-04 years? I believe? I'll bet you can adapt the ABS. I think it's been done.

the 8.8 will require fabbing, where a XJ dana 44 will not.

I'm not aware of any dana 44 rears with ABS.

if you're going to run 33's, it really depends on what you want... 4.56 is the norm (some even go 4.88, but that's a lot of rpms on the highway) for 33's when it's built to wheel a lot. Since it sounds like you don't wheel all that much, you may even want 4.10's...

easiest way to beef up the 30 is to just get alloys with U-joints. Though the newer axles come stock with bigger U-joints, which is a cheaper (but not as strong) upgrade.

I have an OX (cable actuated) locker in my rear axle, and I kinda wish I had one up front, but the Lock right works great. I'm still on stock shafts, but I've already broken a axleshaft U-joint because of it. (I've already said that)

 

[Goatman]

After reading everyone's responses, I'll probably go no higher than 33's and swap out the rear end. I currently have a dropped 231HD with a SYE and new rear shaft with beefed up u-joints.

I usually drive slow, primarily trolling for targets (hunting). I usually tow it to my off-road site, but occasionally drive it. I'd like to keep the ABS if possible...

What do you guys do about the ABS if you swap the rear end out to a Ford 8.8? What mods (to the ABS, computers, braking system) need to be done to render it so that the damn lights & error codes do not flash? Is it possible to keep the ABS on the Ford axle?

How about the Dana 44 axle???
What ratio... 4:10 or higher???
I still want highway driveability, for those 4-6 road trips per year.

I was thinking about beefing up the stock front end Dana 30 axle (shafts, bearings, gears, etc.), changing the ratio to match the new rear axle (DUH - how many dummies have done that??), and adding a locker (Detroit or Power Trax).

Been through the electric/air locker gig... I'm looking for something smarter than me.

Any practical knowledge (experience) pros/cons on lockers will also be appreciated.

I'm not a lead foot and rarely (if never) am in the sand - unless I'm lost! (I have spent too much of my adult life in sandy places... I want trees & animals!)

You're in the same boat that I'm in with my new one ('98). I'm going to run 33's, no need for 35's since all my wheeling trips in this XJ will be moderate trails in the Sierra's, and this XJ is my DD. I have a buggy for the other stuff. I also have ABS, but I hate mine. I hate the ABS kicking in almost everytime I hit the brakes in the dirt, I want the control of doing it myself plus I don't like the feel of pedal modulation when I'm only going 10-15 mph. Plus, here in CA where we don't get that much rain, ABS on the street is rarely useful. On dry pavement a non-ABS car will stop faster, and maintaining steerage (the main benefit of ABS) isn't an issue.

If you want to run 35's, you'll need chromo shafts and chromo axle joints in the front axle. If you have a very light foot and good drivers feel, you might get away with chromo shafts and snap ringed Spicer 760x axle joints but realize you could break an axle joint. You'd also need to get rid of the D35 (that's what we both have, since we have ABS) for running 35's. Either an XJ D44 or an 8.8 is a good swap.

If you want to stick to 33's, then chromo front shafts with snap ringed Spicer 760x axle joints is a good way to go. You can still break a front axle joint, but it's not likely and won't happen if you're reasonably careful. In the rear you can either put in a Super 35 kit with 30 spline axles, or do the D44 or 8.8 swap. You could risk making the locked D35 live (stock shafts) with 33" tires, but it's pretty easy to break a shaft, and there's just no reason to spend good money re-gearing and locking a D35.

My plan to run 33's is to get some Ten Factory front chromo shafts and 760x joints, they sell them as a complete set, and put a D44 in the rear. I'm not going to try to keep the ABS. I'm going to have a Powertrax No-Slip in the front, and either a PowerLok limited slip or a No-Slip in the rear.

 

[cal]

Don't lock your dana 30! It will make your rig fold like a taco!

 

[kastein]

not sure about the ABS part of it, but the 8.8 has disc brakes standard between 96-04 years? I believe? I'll bet you can adapt the ABS. I think it's been done.

the 8.8 will require fabbing, where a XJ dana 44 will not.

I'm not aware of any dana 44 rears with ABS.

For D44 ABS, search for "naxja dana 44 abs fyrfytr1717" on Google. First result is great. You're correct on the 8.8 disc brake info, I *think* it may go as early as 95 but I'm not sure, and honestly I wasn't looking at the year on the vehicle when I pulled mine at the JY, just the diff tag, bearings, and brake hardware.

I saw a post about getting XJ ABS working on an 8.8 today, don't know where it was. Problem is that the 8.8 uses a tone ring on the ring gear instead of one on each wheel, so you'll need to grind out mounting spots for the sensors on the brake brackets, and I believe the poster mentioned something about the 8.8 axle shafts at the hub being too small to press a normal XJ ABS tone ring on, but not small enough to fit a sleeve in, so you have to turn them down slightly and then make a sleeve that fits. I'm not sure I would bother.

You're in the same boat that I'm in with my new one ('98). I'm going to run 33's, no need for 35's since all my wheeling trips in this XJ will be moderate trails in the Sierra's, and this XJ is my DD. I have a buggy for the other stuff. I also have ABS, but I hate mine. I hate the ABS kicking in almost everytime I hit the brakes in the dirt, I want the control of doing it myself plus I don't like the feel of pedal modulation when I'm only going 10-15 mph. Plus, here in CA where we don't get that much rain, ABS on the street is rarely useful. On dry pavement a non-ABS car will stop faster, and maintaining steerage (the main benefit of ABS) isn't an issue.

Why not just disable it? Pull a couple fuses and relays and it's as good as gone, though I'm sure you already know this - just wondering why you haven't done it yet.

 

[Goatman]

'Cause I'm not wheeling it yet, and I'll pull the ABS when I install the D44.