D30 Swap - ABS issues?

Just looking into possibly putting a new D30 replacement axle into my 97 XJ. The question I have is, if I get a new axle that does not have the ABS "rings" on the outer shafts, can I just swap outer axle shafts and then mount the ABS pickups on the new knuckles, or are the knuckles different for ABS versions?

Just in the initial stages of looking into this, thanks for the help.

Mark

The knuckles are the same, 90 & later. You just need the tone rings on the outers, every thing else is the same. The brackets for the sensors fit right on.

Are the outer shafts the same, only the gear tone rings are there or aren't? That would be great if I could just press on some of the tone rings and be done.

I don't know for sure, but it has been posted on this forum that you can press the tone rings off & on any 297 U joint stub axle. They are different part numbers though.

You'll likely be swapping out your D35 as well, no? So why worry, you'll be losing ABS then as well (for the better, IMHO).

Write up coming soon on retaining your ABS when swapping from a D35 to a D44. Real easy.

As for your earlier question, while it really could be as easy as pressing new rings onto the replacement shafts, I doubt you'll be able to find new rings. While doing my D44 swap, I tried all the parts places and the dealership and no one had just the tone rings available. The closest I got was being able to buy a complete set of axle shafts from the dealership with the tone rings already pressed on. Your options are to either reuse the ones from your old axle, or go to the junkyard and find some there. If you do manage to find a supplier for new tone rings, please let me know.