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'95 XJ front end on '98 XJ? Plug and Play?

halmca

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Tallahassee, FL
I'm converting a 2WD XJ Sport 4.0L 4 dr to 4X4. All is in place and running with one major exception: The 2WD front end is in place.

I have found a reasonably priced '95 front end, "front end" meaning wheel to wheel, whole works including nuts and bolts. Even tires.

Is this a plug and play operation; that is, were there any material changes between the '95 and the '98. Would like to know of any now, as opposed to when I'm lying under my XJ with a flashlight!

Thanks in advance -- incidentally both the 2wd and 4wd front ends are box stock.
 
It would be plug and play, but there is a difference, I believe the '95 has the small u-joints.
 
Make sure it's geared the same as your current rear axle.
 
Physically plug and play, to the four control arm bolts and track bar and steering and springs and shocks and brakes.

NOT plug and play on the gearing necessarily. If same engine size and transmission type, you 99.9% are good.
 
Not that concerned about gearing unless the difference between front and back is material.

It should be your main concern unless your planning on doing gears right a way, they much match!
 
Not if he doesn't put in a front driveshaft or transfer case. BUT regearing is a pain an expensive so you are definitely better off starting with the right gear. Also, though, unless you have something unusual, aren't the majority of xjs 3.55? So odds are its the right ratio anyway.
 
4.0L automatic is 3.55, and yes that’s probably the vast majority.

4.0L manual is 3.07 so automatic axles are a good upgrade for near stock size tires.

4-cylinder manual is 4.10, so those axles are nice for anyone on 31s or maybe 33s.

4-cylinder automatics were rumored to be both exceedingly rare and 4.56.
 
It should be your main concern unless your planning on doing gears right a way, they much match!
Not being argumentative -- just wanting to learn: I've owned a s'pot of Wranglers over the years and find that the only time I ever use 4wd is in sand. (It rarely snows in North Florida, and icy roads are nothing more than a mid August hallucination.)

So in sand (and mud) where traction is tenuous at best why would a mild difference in ratios matter at all?

As we all know, running your factory 4WD in a Wall*Mart parking lot is going to quickly demonstrate that the front and back are not perfectly matched, due to quite a number of variables.

So I'm a little confused as to why, as I drive though Florida sugar sand or Georgia pipe clay, the ratios should be matched. Help!
 
Not being argumentative -- just wanting to learn: I've owned a s'pot of Wranglers over the years and find that the only time I ever use 4wd is in sand. (It rarely snows in North Florida, and icy roads are nothing more than a mid August hallucination.)

So in sand (and mud) where traction is tenuous at best why would a mild difference in ratios matter at all?

As we all know, running your factory 4WD in a Wall*Mart parking lot is going to quickly demonstrate that the front and back are not perfectly matched, anyway due to quite a number of variables.

So I'm a little confused as to why, as I drive though Florida sugar sand or Georgia pipe clay, the ratios should be matched. Help!
 
..... a little confused as to why, as I drive though Florida sugar sand or Georgia pipe clay, the ratios should be matched. Help!

Cheap insurance. If you have a senior moment and drive onto something high traction, or pavement in 4x4, there soon will be crunching noises and something expensive in the driveline will self disassemble.
 
My take would also add in torrential down pours. A possibility in FL? With a 242 TC, that might factor into safety.
 
Cheap insurance. If you have a senior moment and drive onto something high traction, or pavement in 4x4, there soon will be crunching noises and something expensive in the driveline will self disassemble.
Worth considering since at 75, all of my moments are senior moments, and ya never know which one will be your last.
 
So in sand (and mud) where traction is tenuous at best why would a mild difference in ratios matter at all?

Define a mild difference.

a 3.07 in one end and 3.55 in the other isn't mild to me. Ditto 4.10 vs 3.55.

3.54 and 3.55? Send it.
 
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