'97 suspension same as '94??

[4x4life05]

I found a nice '97 XJ here in town and was wondering if the suspension and lift (3" RC) on my '94 can be swaped into the '97?

[peterjford]

All of the basics are exactly the same. Your susceptibility to driveline vibes could be different. Other little things like the fittings for the extended brake lines might be different, but I doubt it.

[outlawjeep]

All XJs from '84 to '01 suspensions are the same. The only thing that was changed through the years was the rear axles, deletion of the Vaccum disconneect front axle and the the changes from the high pinion and low pinion front axle. But if you are just looking to buy the guys lift then yes it will fit!


Ray

[4x4life05]

awesome thanks guys!! Im actually ganna buy the Jeep and put my lift and rear axel (8.25 27) from my 94 2.5 on it, take the stock suspension from the 97 fit that onto the 94 and give the 94 to my little brother...got to get more XJers in the family

thanks for all the help!

[4x4life05]

should the axels swap right out too? the 94 is a 5 speed standard 2x4 and the 97 is automatic 4x4.

[dj's 2000 xj]

You should use the newer axle for the lifted rig (If the gears are the same).

[4x4life05]

its a d35 and i think my gears on the 8.25 is at 4.10??

[JNickel101]

Hmmm...I dont think they ever put 4.10s in an 8.25

the pinion length on the D35 will be shorter than the 8.25, as will the output shaft length be less on the 94 than the 97. I would keep the axles as-is....I have a feeling you'll run into DS length problems due to the size/length differences in the tranny, TC output shaft, and pinion lengths.

that and the 27 spline 8.25 isnt really any stronger than the D35...

Dana 35 c-clip - 27 spline, 1.18" diameter shafts, 7.58" ring gear, 2.62" axle tube - used 90-01

Chrysler 8.25 - 27 spline, 1.17" diameter shafts, 8.25" ring gear, 3" axle tube - used 91-96

[outlawjeep]

Originally Posted by 4x4life05

should the axels swap right out too? the 94 is a 5 speed standard 2x4 and the 97 is automatic 4x4.

If the old XJ is non-4wd then the front "axle" is nothing more than a tube with brackets welded on it. What that means is that if you swap it in your 4x4 becomes a 4x2!

Now if you just made a mistake then yes they will bolt right in. Just use the driveshaft from yours on the newer one and you should be fine. But again the the difference between the D35 and the 27 pline 8.25... well if you look at the above post you can see that the there is not much difference. Now I asume that the newer one has ABS and that is why it has a D35, because as memory serves me correctly that was the only time they put that axle under the '97. And if that is the case then you will run into another problem with ABS as the older axles will probably not have the tone rings on them so the system get the right signals. So that means swaping the tone rings over as well.


Basically what I am getting at is you should be better off with the axles that are under the new Jeep now and running it the way it is.

Ray

[4x4life05]

Great thanks for the advice, and sorry for the confusion but I was just asking about the rear axel , thanks for the comparison, I always just assumed that the 8.25 was better...I stand corrected! So the original axel stays!!!! As for the rest of the suspension...

[selarep]

wait wait... the 8.25 IS better than the D35, hands down.