I will preface my comments by saying I am not an expert. I have asked
's own Mark Hinkley for much of this detailed information. I am however curently finishing the WJ steering-knuckle-brake conversion. I'm happy to answer any questions that I can as there is little information on the net and some of it is not correct. JKS has the best write up by Mr. Hinkley in the "fab" section.
We obviously have some confusion over the WJ steering-knuckle-brake conversion. This should not be mixed up with a ZJ V8 steering conversion that is a steering swap only. If you just want slightly stronger tie/drag links then the ZJ V8 swap may work for you.
The WJ setup makes for a very nice polished D30. For myself I do not see running any tire over 32's and am very happy with 31's right now. Unfortunately I do not wheel near enough so my 2000 is mainly drivin on road. With these parameters and money issues I decided to stay away from an expensive custom 44. Yes, my D30 is custom, but the parts are not hard to find. Trust me I love to overkill build, but the 44 buy the time it's shipped to Kansas is alot more expensive.
The start of this whole project started with buying a '92 HP D30. I needed to build over time, wanted to drive my XJ till the weekend of the swap, and wanted the improved strength and shaft angle of the high pinion. The knuckles were purchased from a yard for a '99 WJ for $100. The 1/4" spacers are needed for proper axle joint alignment. I used The JKS's because of the full circle and strength. Several people have used washers, but I'm not! I made an additional spacer to fit inside the knuckle and outside the unit bearing to keep the press fit contact close to stock. The rotors are WJ's and unit bearings are XJ, all Advance auto. I bought new ball-joints and tie rod/drag ends from Jeep. The steering links are from JKS. The swaybar axle end location will need to be modified, but that will be done once mounted. I also will use my 297 axles from my 2000 Jeep. The swaybar has to be change due to the much improved drag link angle. I used JKS's relocator and will redo my exsisting JKS tracbar to fit.
I have yet to decide wether I will go full out high steer since I'm only at a 4" lift. The WJ links are actualy lower than the axle tube and that just seems wrong. On the flip side at 4"s a high steer may be too much and hit the motor when flexing.
OK, ask away as I'm sure I left something out.
Angus