44, 8.25 or bigger for towing?

I have two cherokees... one for my DD (01) and one for my strickly offroad (98). I want to tow the 98 with my 01. I have the 8.25 on the 01 with 33 inch tires. Now I have a dana 44 axle out of a 87 cherokee that I was going to clean up/build up.

Is it safe to tow with the 8.25, should I go with 44, or should I get an even bigger axle?

Thanks

Flat tow or trailer tow? Flat towing would be ok, with a trailer, you might be pushing it. My .02.

With a flat tow 8.25 or a 44 will be fine?

go4wheeling said:

With a flat tow 8.25 or a 44 will be fine?

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Yes, as long as the gearing in the tow rig is up to the task of hauling its own weight and towing another XJ around.

If you have an auto, think about adding a second tranny cooler, if you already havent.

Sounds like a good idea...

I know I could prob just search this next question but what is the max tire size you would run on the 44 and the 8.25?

go4wheeling said:

Sounds like a good idea...

I know I could prob just search this next question but what is the max tire size you would run on the 44 and the 8.25?

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Depends on what you stuff inside of them.

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=80708

Thanks... very helpfull!

CanMan said:

Yes, as long as the gearing in the tow rig is up to the task of hauling its own weight and towing another XJ around.

If you have an auto, think about adding a second tranny cooler, if you already havent.

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I would like to upgrade to a second tranny cooler... do you have any info on that?

go4wheeling said:

I would like to upgrade to a second tranny cooler... do you have any info on that?

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Add it before the radiator. So it would go: Tranny>Extra cooler>Radiator>back to tranny.

Get a good quality brand like B&M, TCI, or PermaCool from places like www.jegs.com or www.summitracing.com

Here's my $.02..... for what that's worth...

If you plan to regularly tow the XJ, you should look into an actual truck. Now if it's only an occasional local trip you should be fine.

I have pulled an XJ with my XJ once on a tow dolly (my jeep was stock at the time). It did it, but I felt like it was really putting a strain on it, even on level ground. I wouldn't want to do it regularly!

The most overlooked part of towing is usually the brakes! The XJs brakes aren't the best to begin with, so you have to be REAL careful towing that much weight. A trailer with brakes is real nice, but it would put you way over the weight limit.

I currently pull my XJ with my F-150 ('97 4.6 SC 4x4) when I need to. It does okay, but once I get a couple loans paid off, I will be looking for a 3/4 ton Diesel.

I've found the 8.25 29 spline to be extremely tough, although I do not run that large of a tire even on my trail rig! I've towed a 3500# bass boat thousands of miles on my 8.25 4.10 geared yukon shafted rear end with absolutly no issues. I have the same rear ends and set up on both myDD and my trail rig.