Front driveshaft for rear

I have a 97 2dr 4.0 auto with 8.25 rear. 5 inch lift. I did the t case drop with original lift to get rid of vibes but now i want to get rid of the drop. motor mounts are toast and dont want the stress of tcase drop on new ones. So what front shaft can i use on the rear and what will i have to do to bolt it in. Seen the IRO for $200 but if i can get the shaft at the local JY for $25 or $50 then what else do i need? I did search but didnt find a direct answer.

I don't know what shaft will fit yours as we don't have the 2 door models here, but I know that Iron Rock Offroad have the yoke to enable a front shaft to be used in the rear as does Tom Woods....

i have a 4 door 1990. i recently threw my front d/s on the rear when i put the 8.25 in and a SYE.

works good now. i plan on getting a Grand cherokee Front D/s and putting mine back in the front.

how large of a lift can you use a front driveshaft with? im just too lazy to go search lol

I have one on a 6" lift

the ujoints in my DS from my SYE are giving up so i may go grab a front DS while i replace the ujoints and re paint my DS

As for other stuff you need - you need the CV yoke that fits the rear output shaft on the 231, I believe the part number from PTI is 3103-27CV. It'll run you around 70-80 dollars from most sellers.

You'll also need shims to set your pinion angle 1-2 degrees below the driveshaft after installing the front driveshaft + hack-n-tap SYE, but figuring out the angle on those is up to you.

So i do have to cut the tail shaft on my t case for the different yoke or is it still a slip yoke?

You will have to cut the shaft - else you'd have a total of 3 U-joints and the slip yoke as well as the splined sleeve section in the middle of the driveshaft, which is a recipe for disaster.

EDIT: really you cut the shaft shorter to get a better (lower) angle in each half of the double cardan due to the longer driveshaft resulting from the shorter TC shaft. As long as you tap the end of the TC shaft and bolt the new yoke to it I guess you could leave it stock length, but there really is no reason to (except longer spline engagement I guess) and you'll have a hell of a time drilling and tapping the hardened outside end of the TC shaft.

What won't work is JB SYE, (it's about 1+" shorter then the others) and a front XJ DS at 30.66" long. Maybe 1/2" MAX out travel remaining. It sounded like a great idea. Front to rear and always have a spare with you. Maybe a front DS, driving slowly, not very far and avoiding speed bumps, but that's it. We are in the boonies and no other longer stock front DSs around here. The Tom Wood's DS will be here next WED.