Axle Upgrade

So, I have 1990 Jeep cherokee it has 4.5 inch lift and running 33's on it fro tires.

I have a rear dana 35 axle with 3.55 gear ratio,
i need to replace the the whole rear axle.

My question is what axle should i upgrade to? heavy strudy axle to drive hwy distance? Do i only look for jeep axles?

I checked my local U-pull it wrecking yard, they have 7 different cherokee's their and i have to count gears on most of them because the diff covers are un readable, and im not to famailiar with doing that, so any help would be fully apperciated.

Thanks!

Do you want to regear?
for determining ratio divide the # of teeth on the ring gear by the # of teeth on the pinion gear.
a 29 spl 8.25 or dana 44 would be a good bolt in replacement.

Are you planning on staying with 3.55 gears and the 33"s?
If not, no need to check the junk yard axles for the ratios. A 44 or 29-spline 8.25 is the easy choice.
IMO, both axles should be regeared. You need a minimum of 4.10s, 4.56s preferred.

Ford 8.8s come with discs brakes and can be found with 4.10s and limited-slips. They require new spring and shock mounts, as well as a drive shaft.
At your lift height, it might be time anyway for an SYE, which requires a new CV drive shaft. It all depends on you mechanical skills and pocketbook.



It took eight years to get to a 1000 posts, let's go for another 1000.

Xj 44's are often found with 4.10's as well, and are obviously bolt in. If you find an xj geared 4.10, pull the front axle while your at it and you're good to go.

I have found in the web many 8.25 that come with 4.10 and says are from XJ with 2.5 engine. I guess there could be used in a 4.0.

I'm in the same process (things would be a lot more easy if they weren't used the D35 after some years. Rear disk brakes would be nice also).

yes, i want to keep the 3.55 gears and same size tires for now, i just need to get an axle in there to get it back n running..... and later down the road, change up the gears..... but for now i just need a good axle to keep me for drving back in fourth in snow hwy distance.....

thanks fro the replies! =)

8.25 is the cheapest easiest swap

8.8 cheap to build, disc brakes and strong.

sallys xj said:

8.8 cheap to build, disc brakes and strong.

Click to expand...

They CAN be, but if you cant do it yourself it gets to be not so cheap.

Aim for an 8.25 out of an automatic 4.0L 97 or later, count the teeth to make sure but there's little chance an auto 4.0 late model isn't going to be 3.55.

edit: unless you have an SYE, see if you can find a 91-95 4.0 auto 4x4 with an 8.25 (or an 87-90 4.0 auto 4x4 with a d44, but in that case you should be pulling the 44 not an 8.25!) as well and pull the rear driveshaft from it. You will probably need that driveshaft to do the swap since the 8.25 has a longer pinion to centerline than the d35 so your old driveshaft will probably be a bit too long.