Axel help please

Ok I have been looking and reading and looking til my eyes hurt and I really don't know what to do here.
I have a 89XJ and its as stock as it gets when it comes to anything besides the music. So I'm going from what I have heard and read and thinking it has a d35 in the rear and a I don't know what in the front. I'm not good with all the gear number talks and all that yet but so you know I'm a fast learner.
I have been told that the d35 is week by a few people so thinking I want to go with something better. Have been told before that you can put other rear ends in them besides the ones jeep makes, but can't understand why would want to do something like that. I would rather keep it jeep products in it and just want to know what would be good.
If I change the rear would I or should I change the front as well?
What should go with what?
I'm going to put a 3.5" lift on it I think don't want to go to high YET.
Going to run either 31" or 32" tires.
Please any help in this would be great
Thank you in advance.

you will not have any problems from a d35 with 3'' lift and 31's WITH open differentials. do not lock the rear.

as far as axel swaps, find an chrysler 8.25 rear from a 97-01 cherokee and it will bolt right up, just be sure to grab the driveshaft with the axle. you can tell them apart from a d35 because the 8.25 has an extension on the bottom of the pumpkin with a flat bottom to it.

dont be afraid of the d35, just respect its limits. and its limits to me are 33's and too much skinny pedal.

the front will be just fine up 35's with open diffs, or without a locker.

R_jeep said:

you will not have any problems from a d35 with 3'' lift and 31's WITH open differentials. do not lock the rear.

as far as axel swaps, find an chrysler 8.25 rear from a 97-01 cherokee and it will bolt right up, just be sure to grab the driveshaft with the axle. you can tell them apart from a d35 because the 8.25 has an extension on the bottom of the pumpkin with a flat bottom to it.

dont be afraid of the d35, just respect its limits. and its limits to me are 33's and too much skinny pedal.

the front will be just fine up 35's with open diffs, or without a locker.

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Ok like I said I'm new what is a skinny pedal are we talking tires here lol I know that is going to sound dum but never know if you don't ask.
Should I keep the gearing the same in the d35 then. So should I stay with the d35 or find the 8.25? Man I'm feeling dum here

does your XJ have anti lock brakes? if so, then you have a Dana 35 rear axle. if you dont, then its the chrysler 8.25 rear end. the 8.25 is a good axle and is bolt in for any year xj. the d35, as you have heard, is a turd of an axle.

many people run their 35 axle lifted and with larger tires. even more people have swapped out their 35. there are few axles that are commonly swapped in. a 29 spline 8.25 from a 97+ xj and a Dana 44 from an 87-89 xj are bolt in upgrades. their availablity is somewhat limited though. for that reason some people swap in other rear ends with a little more work.

a ford 8.8 rear end with disk brakes off of a ford exploder is the most common non jeep axle to swap in. it is a tiny bit more narrow than our rear axles, but it doesnt hurt anything. this axle has a few advantages- way beefier than a 35, strenghth comperable to a 44 and disk brakes. in order to swap it in you would need to cut off the old spring perches and weld new ones on. you would need shock mounts as well. some people have swapped in front/rear d44s off of a scout.

the only front axle offered on the xj was the Dana 30. it is available as a vacuum disconnect, non-disconnect, high and low pinions.

Ok had to go look and see I don't have anti lock breaks but I got i got under and looked at the rear and and it has the 35c stamped on it now corect me if I'm wrong but doesn't that mean it's a d35 at least thats what I have heard.
Nlow if it is the 35d would it be better to switch to the 8.25 or should I go to the ford 8.8. I know I can find these in a pull yard just making sure I get a good one is the hard part. And here is another dum thing to ask but what does a ford 8.8 come on so I know wat I'm looking for besides a ford lol Meaning what makes and models?

From what I've read, the 8.25 wasn't used in the Cherokee's until 91. You would have the Dana 35 or possibly the Dana 44 in the 89 if it was equipped with the tow package.

Not all XJ's equipped with a D-35 have anti-lock brakes. My 90 Laredo is an example.

If your 89 is a auto then just grab a 97+ Chryco 8.25 and the drive shaft from another auto XJ, its a easy swap.

Find a 97-01 cherokee in the junkyard with the 8.25. It would be a much easier swap.

MGudde said:

From what I've read, the 8.25 wasn't used in the Cherokee's until 91. You would have the Dana 35 or possibly the Dana 44 in the 89 if it was equipped with the tow package.

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Now I'm going to feel real dum here how would you know if it had the tow package? I got a button inside for what it says is power or comfort seems to change how the trany shifts and like I said there is a 35c stamped on the rear end does that mean its a d35? Sorry for the dum qeustions but I'm really new to the 4x4 world here.

Here's a couple links for you from the "FAQs and write-ups" forum:
Axle type:
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=101249
Axle strength:
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=101345
Gears:
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=101355

'Might clear up some of the questions for you.

tbburg said:

Here's a couple links for you from the "FAQs and write-ups" forum:
Axle type:
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=101249
Axle strength:
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=101345
Gears:
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=101355

'Might clear up some of the questions for you.

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I'm not sure how to thank you for them links and you other guys for your help that helps a lot.
Now I'm thinking I'm going to look for the 8.25 seems to be the better choice in the selection and from what I just read would be a good upgrade from the d35 I have now. So how much hacking am I going to have to do here lol

If you can find a 4cyl. auto doner vehicle, it should have 4.10 gears.(so you grab both axles)

Probably won't have to hack too much for the 31-32" tires with the lift you're planning.

BigDog said:

I'm not sure how to thank you for them links and you other guys for your help that helps a lot.
Now I'm thinking I'm going to look for the 8.25 seems to be the better choice in the selection and from what I just read would be a good upgrade from the d35 I have now. So how much hacking am I going to have to do here lol

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If you search around you can definitely find stuff on axle swaps, but as people have said, going from the D35 to a Chry 8.25 is a very simple swap, the 8.25 will bolt right in, so no hacking required. The only thing to keep in mind before starting the swap is you will probably want to run out to the parts store and pick up some U-bolts (4 of them)

Essentially how it works is for the rear end there are two plates welded to your axle. The leaf springs sit on those plates. There are 2 U-bolts (per side) which hold the axle to the leaf (u-bolt goes around the axle and clamps a plate down on top of the leaf spring, holding the spring to the axle) Anyway, I will venture to say that when you are removing the old axle you will break the old U-bolts since the nuts will be rusted on pretty good, plus its always good to use new ones if yours are that old anyway. Thats about the only complication I can see you running into. Otherwise you just need the axle (make sure its correct gearing, you should need a 3.55 ratio) and the rear driveshaft. Make sure to hit everything with PB blaster or something along those lines a few days before you do the work, can make your life alot easier.

Edit: saw the post that got in just before mine, if you mean how much hacking will you have to do for the axle swap, my post stands. If you mean hacking your body to fit the tires, you should be fine. I was running 30" tires with 3.5" of lift and they had plenty of space. 31's would have fit fine. I now have 33x12.50's on the same 3.5" of lift and had to do quite a bit of fender trimming to get them to fit. Mind you they are backspaced out quite a bit so I may have needed to trim a bit more than if I had different wheels, but thats beside the point. With 31" tires you should be fine with the stock gearing, but if you are going to jump to anything near 33" tires I would say that tbburgs advice on grabbing both front and rear axles from a 4 cyl XJ is a good idea. I have a manual tranny so I have 3.07 axle gears. Your automatic has 3.55 gears, a 4 cyl has the 4.10s. What that means is that for every 3.07 turns of my driveshaft my tires will turn once. For every 3.55 turns of your driveshaft your tires will turn once.. etc etc, you get the idea. I plan on picking up a matched set of 4.10's for my rig once I get back to working on it, but again, if you are going to stick with 31's then your stock gears should be fine, it will just accelerate a bit slower.

has anyone swapped a 8.8 into they're xj, wanting to see a good right up before i attempt it.I saw a good one the other day but can't find it anymore.

Do yourself a favor and use the search button up top. 8.8 swaps have been covered numerous times on here as well as other pertinent axle info. If people would search before posting threads that have been covered hundreds of times it would make it easier. BLS just do a search for explorer axle swap.

blsfan said:

has anyone swapped a 8.8 into they're xj, wanting to see a good right up before i attempt it.I saw a good one the other day but can't find it anymore.

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Nope. Ford axles belong in Fords. Not Jeeps.

Doing such a swap would be worthless and a waste of time.

Starboard M said:

Nope. Ford axles belong in Fords. Not Jeeps.

Doing such a swap would be worthless and a waste of time.

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X2 on that,and a 27 spline 8.25 is just fine for what your doing,even with a locker.

yes true but i got the axel free is in good shape has disk on it. so i'm selling my d44 and puting it in it is a stronger axel and parts are cheaper.

It is spelled "axle."

blsfan said:

yes true but i got the axel free is in good shape has disk on it. so i'm selling my d44 and puting it in it is a stronger axel

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okay wait. your selling a Dana 44, to swap in a 8.8?

blsfan said:

parts are cheaper.

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and. false. the dana 44 is one of the most common axles on the market. while the 8.8 is not.

Parts for the D44 are far more readily available, it sounds like you read that artical on JU and got your hopes up. but considering you already have a dana44 your just jumping onto a failboat.