C825 to D44 swap questions

my jeep already has a lift from last owner, i have the donor xj but id like to completly swap n have 2 running cherokees. my 99 has the c825 and my 87 has the dana 44

i have a few questions... what all hardware will i need to make the swap, do i need to have the gear ratios in the front swapped too because i believe my 99 has 3.07s and the 87 has the tow package with who knows what ratios.

anyone who has already done this swap i would kill for a person just to bounce a few questions off

not sure about the rear end swap, but if I remember correctly you may benefit from swapping the front in too. you 99 has the low pinion d30 I think, and the 87 will have the hi pinion. swap in your 99 axle shafts for the bigger u-joints and you'll have a dang good set up with matching gears to your d44.
someone will chime in here soon enough with better info for you, but this may help your gearing problem if its true.

I put a dana 44 from a 87 under my 92 xj. Only two thing I came across. One is you need the U bolts that fit the Dana 44. Two 92 has ABS sensors witch the 87 does not. No big deal I cut the wiring and slapped the dana 44 under there. Check ABS light is on but who cares.

99 4.0 beast said:

my jeep already has a lift from last owner, i have the donor xj but id like to completly swap n have 2 running cherokees. my 99 has the c825 and my 87 has the dana 44

i have a few questions... what all hardware will i need to make the swap, do i need to have the gear ratios in the front swapped too because i believe my 99 has 3.07s and the 87 has the tow package with who knows what ratios.

anyone who has already done this swap i would kill for a person just to bounce a few questions off

Click to expand...

1 question: If you don't end up keeping the 87 model can I have the 8.25?

You would have a 5 speed and a 4.0 to have 3.07 gears. You will need to have the front gears match the rears, the 1987 probably has something like 3.55 or 3.73 the advantage of a somewhat lower gear and assuming you are satisfied with the gear ratio of the D44 you would only have pay for one axle regearing instead of 2. You could also take the front end off the 1987 and not do any regearing but you will wind up with a somewhat different axle. It may be in your advantage to go that route. You will also need to take into consideration that the 1987 front D30 will have some differences out towards the hubs and I think it would be a vacuum disconnect type axle unlike the newer Jeep but you can work around this and end up with an axle usable in the newer model.

Also as far as I know the C8.25 were used on non-ABS models.

I swapped from an 8.25 to a 44 in the rear of mine. As mentioned above, u-bolts are different. It's cake. Do you have specific questions? I already had a short shaft kit on my 231 and my driveshaft worked just fine for either axle, 8.25 or 44. Feel free to PM me with questions.

Another thing is that the e-brake cables will need to be swapped off of your 8.25 axle and on to your new D44. After 97 the e-brake cables were both mounted on the driver side frame rail instead of the tranny tunnel and will need the two different size cables from the axle that came with the jeep which in your case is the 8.25. You will need the U-bolts and I would also recomend using the upper u bolt plates as well from the D44. Make sure your gears are going to match front and rear. Also, you may want new bearings in the D44 due to the age of the axle unless they have been recently replaced.