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XJ axle swap/build

Dude don’t sand too much, they are supposed to be a tight fit. Like heat the knuckle up in the oven or grill and put it on the tube at night.

If you are not narrowing, you don’t have to take them off. Just cut the weld and turn on the tube.



I had to heat them to put them back on, so I think they’re tight enough. I took them off to clean up to the old weld. Thanks for input 👌


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Rear d44 with zj brake swap


Nice to see a disc swap that looks like it actually has an e-brake. As a fellow AX-15 driver I understand the importance of that detail.

3.07s and 33s sounds painful.
 
My assumption is the C's for so tight alignment isn't an issue? Just make sure the are fully seated (is there a stop?) then check rotation and weld on?

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Nice to see a disc swap that looks like it actually has an e-brake. As a fellow AX-15 driver I understand the importance of that detail.



3.07s and 33s sounds painful.



Thanks! It works ok, adjusting it is kind of a pain but this parking brake works better than the one I had before.
Yes, 33’s and 3.07s are the worst, but I don’t want to change gears when I’m doing an axle swap.

When you put the C’s back on, you need to make sure that you they go back on the same depth as before. They don’t have any built in taper that would set the depth correctly as far as I know.


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I commuted for a year with 3.07 and 35s. Its brutal and basically unusable in the rocks. Definitely gear for the road drive ability. But you will need much deeper gearing in the tcase for actual crawling. I have 5.38s and 37s but it was rather hectic crawling with the stock 2.72 and Ax15. I was originally looking for a 5:1 atlas but i ended up with a 10:1 four speed to keep options. It was a new vehicle when i swapped that in.


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I commuted for a year with 3.07 and 35s. Its brutal and basically unusable in the rocks. Definitely gear for the road drive ability. But you will need much deeper gearing in the tcase for actual crawling. I have 5.38s and 37s but it was rather hectic crawling with the stock 2.72 and Ax15. I was originally looking for a 5:1 atlas but i ended up with a 10:1 four speed to keep options. It was a new vehicle when i swapped that in.


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Thanks for the input! I was thinking about the transfer case and was looking around for a NP 241O out of a rubicon but they are almost as much as an Atlas. I don’t know if it’s worth looking into a doubler or if it’s less hassle to just put the money into one of those. How are 5.38s on the street with 37s?


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Yeah I wasn’t going to say anything since you wrote it was in progress already, but 4.56s seemed higher than convention for 37s and manual. I had 4.88s, 35s, automatic on green junk and it was not unpleasant on the road.

Maybe a consideration, maybe not with the locking hubs, with an Atlas 2-speed, your front driveshaft will get even shorter. NP241 or Atlas + doubler or Atlas 4-speed, it will stay about the same or maybe get longer.
 
Yeah I wasn’t going to say anything since you wrote it was in progress already, but 4.56s seemed higher than convention for 37s and manual. I had 4.88s, 35s, automatic on green junk and it was not unpleasant on the road.

Maybe a consideration, maybe not with the locking hubs, with an Atlas 2-speed, your front driveshaft will get even shorter. NP241 or Atlas + doubler or Atlas 4-speed, it will stay about the same or maybe get longer.



Yeah, I am realizing it may not have been the best decision, but I’ve been driving on 33’s and 3.07s for a while so it can only get better I guess haha.

Thanks for the heads up, I am pretty new to the idea of doublers and atlas’.


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Thanks for the input! I was thinking about the transfer case and was looking around for a NP 241O out of a rubicon but they are almost as much as an Atlas. I don’t know if it’s worth looking into a doubler or if it’s less hassle to just put the money into one of those. How are 5.38s on the street with 37s?


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5.38s and 37s is pretty good in the street. 2500rpm ish at 65.

I was ready to buy an atlas 2 but the driveshaft length was more an issue than i wanted to deal with. Also the crossmember would be unconventional as well. I had already bought a d300 and 231 doubler. But the packaging wasn’t the best. Didn’t want to cut the floor to make a flat belly. Thus my finally decision of a 4speed atlas. Hard nut to swallow but it was the best upgrade i have done to the jeep for sure. Also only need one spare driveshaft.
 
5.38s and 37s is pretty good in the street. 2500rpm ish at 65.

I was ready to buy an atlas 2 but the driveshaft length was more an issue than i wanted to deal with. Also the crossmember would be unconventional as well. I had already bought a d300 and 231 doubler. But the packaging wasn’t the best. Didn’t want to cut the floor to make a flat belly. Thus my finally decision of a 4speed atlas. Hard nut to swallow but it was the best upgrade i have done to the jeep for sure. Also only need one spare driveshaft.



That’s not too bad, I may have made a mistake going with 4.56s haha! 😬😬😬

Yeah, I don’t want to have to do much cutting if at all. I agree it’s definitely an investment but it sounds like it’s well worth it. With an Atlas 4 speed you have 1:1, and 3 more lower gears? Not sure how I am going to get my wife to go for it though....


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That’s not too bad, I may have made a mistake going with 4.56s haha! 😬😬😬

Yeah, I don’t want to have to do much cutting if at all. I agree it’s definitely an investment but it sounds like it’s well worth it. With an Atlas 4 speed you have 1:1, and 3 more lower gears? Not sure how I am going to get my wife to go for it though....


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Yeah. 3 lower options if you get the right options. I would mine has a 2.72 reduction housing which is stock. And a 3.8 rear housing. Then you combine them to 10.3. I tell you what, the control i feel in low low is unbelievable. I flipped rigs and parts to pay for stuff. Its the long road but its doable. I wheeled it for almost two years with the stock tcase. It is totally doable. Just a bit less controlled for technical crawling.
 
Yeah. 3 lower options if you get the right options. I would mine has a 2.72 reduction housing which is stock. And a 3.8 rear housing. Then you combine them to 10.3. I tell you what, the control i feel in low low is unbelievable. I flipped rigs and parts to pay for stuff. Its the long road but its doable. I wheeled it for almost two years with the stock tcase. It is totally doable. Just a bit less controlled for technical crawling.



That’s sounds pretty awesome, having all those options to apply to different situations like rocks, mud or sand. I’ll have to stick with my 231 for now but I’ll have to start saving for an atlas 4 spd right now haha.


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My axle looks just like yours right now. I'm hoping to start welding the truss on Monday. I still haven't decided to put the 5.13's I got from Gordo into it or step up to the 5.38's, though the 5.38's might be a better choice for getting to the trails.
 
My axle looks just like yours right now. I'm hoping to start welding the truss on Monday. I still haven't decided to put the 5.13's I got from Gordo into it or step up to the 5.38's, though the 5.38's might be a better choice for getting to the trails.



Right on man! I’m going to prep/fit mine for the truss tomorrow I hope. From what Gordo has told me, it might not be a bad idea to gear it for street-ability then get a tcase with really low gearing? I think that’s the direction I’m going. Do you have the same kind of truss and do you have a F250 or f150 d44?


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Yeah, I have the same TnT truss. I have an F250 front this time. I have a 150 narrowed down to take TJ d44 inners now but it's too narrow for 37's with the wheels I have. I've got a 3.8 Atlas to make the crawling easier and 4.88's for now.
 
With an automatic you can fudge on the axle gearing a bit and still have decent drivability. Hell alan ran 3.55s with 42s. He was just as fast off the line as mine with 4.88 and 35s when mine was auto. The torque converter gives you almost an infinite first gear so it’s fairly forgiving.
However with a manual there is only so much you can slip the clutch. So gear axles for driving on the street and make up the speed you need in the rocks with lower tcase gearing.
 
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