• Welcome to the new NAXJA Forum! If your password does not work, please use "Forgot your password?" link on the log-in page. Please feel free to reach out to [email protected] if we can provide any assistance.

Seeking axle advice from XJ gods...

Dude, throw some 4.88's in the front, slap a 44 in the back with some discs already on it, by the time you pay some one to setup an 8.25 with 4.56, find out it aint low enough, and put some discs on it, you could have just saved some time and called drivetrain direct.
 
shawn_c said:
I would wager you would have broke the same parts on a dana 44 then to. I would go with 760 U-Joints. The shafts normally break when you break a U-Joint. The HP hell even the low pinion dana 30 is good for 33's, and even 35's with care. Breakage is a part of the game. I say wheel with spares and save your $$$ for other things. If your real parinoid dont lock the front end.
Click to expand...
So you're saying if you break your front don't upgrade your axle just remove the locker? :D You're kiddin' :D

Breakage is not part of the game, the goal is to build your rig to withstand the abuse and not to adjust your driving. You can even say don't get any tire greater than 30s and you're save. :speepin:

Where's the fun? More than half the fun is building the rig and the other half is the satisfaction to end a weekend without breakage with a lot of fun while wheelin'. If you know you're going to break on a trip everyone else will know that you break on nearly every trip so you will be goin' wheelin' alone in the near future.
 
Your mis quoting me instead of locking the front and worrying about breaking, dont lock it. I know tons of people who have had great success with 33's and to some degree 35's oin the dana 30. Breaking stuff is going to happen, live with it or get out of the game. If your busting a axle every trip or more then once or twice a year, you should start thinking of upgrading. If you listen to everyone on the net you will start to think you need dana 60's and 70's just to get off the pavement
 
This is exactly what i asked. Do not lock the front so you don't break? You can also say don't get bigger tires than 235/75-15 and you don't break. :D
 
Been down this path.
Put 4.10s in with the 8.25 and D30. Locked the back, Truetrac LSD in the front. Didn't break anything, but couldn't do anything without a cable assist either.
Put a D-44 in the rear, a D-44 in the front, detroits, 4.88's (Same 35's) (also added 4:1 T-case) and ran telico in Nov, lower 2, school bus, trail 11 down, and played on helicopter pad (Upper end) no problems. Did pull cable over the ledge on lower 2, it's a full story tall and we all did.
Don't put a dime in the 8.25. and contrary to the issue of limiting your capability to minimize breakage, make the thing go where you want, not limit where you go because of the thing.
My d-44 rear was 400 bucks on ebay (out of an 86 xj), locker and gears were like 700 more. Tools to do the gears myself around 300. less than your 1500 budget, but knowing how it goes together, and being able to fix it is priceless. The front was a bit more as it's custom width.
If it's not a DD, build it and break it.
It's all about the terror at a half mile an hour. :scared:
 
Thanks Daffy, others. I appreciate the real world experiences, etc. I think the jury says don't mod the 8.25 overall, or at least for what I want to do. I'm fully aware of it's capabilities, but I want to "not worry" about it, etc.
Happy wheeling and I'll keep ya informed of my developments.
 
What the hell, Why not to go with Unimog axles. It has been done, I've seen it.
It is an ultimate all the way around!
YOu can even put "speedy" Mog axles, so you can do freeway!

LET THE FORCE BE WITH YOU :worship:
 
well according to you breakage isnt part of the game, so yeah I guess unless you wheel with a dana 60 you'll break stuff, so you better stay with 235/70/15's, since breaking is so bad and all...........Personally I dont mind breaking stuff occasionally, so have always been locked front and rear...But I bring spares and know how to replace them.............Wheeling is a hobby for me, not a way of life, and I refuse to drop well over 1500 into a front end when I can replace a shaft once or twice a year.........
 
shawn, no offense, i did the same for about 2 years and i dropped more money into that D30 POS than my whole front 60 cost me. I broke ball joints, inner and outer shafts, u-joints, r&p, center pin, detroit locker - anything thats inside the housing. The only thing i didn't break was the housing and the steering knuckle :wave:

Besides all the money i could not finish some events or could not finish a weekend because of breakage. It's hard to field repair busted ball joints or a detroit locker. I did carry spares but in the end it was no fun anymore. So i decided to do it once and don't have to think about axle breakage any more.
 
The rearend in my 90 XJ is toast... So if I'm going to swap out this rear instead of having it rebuilt (275k miles), which is the best bolt-in, disc brake, no welding required, rear to use?

I'm new to the modified XJ world & I've read so many post and threads it's begining to blur... D44 vs D60 vs 8.5 vs 8.8?

There is a local boneyard that has 5-8 XJ/ZJ's in it.
 
rdx4me said:
The rearend in my 90 XJ is toast... So if I'm going to swap out this rear instead of having it rebuilt (275k miles), which is the best bolt-in, disc brake, no welding required, rear to use?

I'm new to the modified XJ world & I've read so many post and threads it's begining to blur... D44 vs D60 vs 8.5 vs 8.8?

There is a local boneyard that has 5-8 XJ/ZJ's in it.
Click to expand...

You my friend are after something that does not exist in the world of stock XJ axles................. :pig:
 
For the wheeling you're talking about I would recommend the following:
- 8.8/Detroit rear. Great axle, never seem one break, don't know anyone who has. Weakness is the carrier, hence the Detroit.
- Build the 30 in front (it's a HP, right?). Go with alloy shafts AND good joints (I've become a big fan of the Jantz (Yukon) Superjoints), a selectable front locker, and truss the housing/tubes.
Not bombproof but plenty for 35s in the midwest or even out east.
This setup survived BOTW. Led even used a front 30 out there with 37s.
- Use the money you save on the suspension. Don't skimp here. Go with RE or Rock Crawler.
 
Another weak point that often gets mentioned is the tubes spinning in the housing under torque load. Welding all around is the common cure.
 
Not to steal the topic, but what do you guys think of this....

I am running my 97 XJ as my DAILY (no backup) vehicle. Drive to and from offroading (over 3 hours one way many trips) (badlands, etc)

There seems to be two types of peeps here. 1 says break and fix, 1 says fix so don't break. I am wanting to be the fix it so it won't break guy.

I am running 3.5 RE lift, with 32" for now, may go to 33's SOMEDAY.

Just got my D44 (cherokee) for the rear, going to regear and select lock it.

May some day select lock the front HP30.... will it hold up? What if I don't lock the front.... will it hold in stock form?

What is your vote for gears? DAILY DRIVER,with an automatic!

Thanks fellas,
Jason

P.S. See ya on the trail, maybe you can pull me out!
 
Jason, if you're serious about 33's, get 4.56's. If you're pretty sure you're going to stick with 32's, go with 4.10's. Think hard about it, you'll only want to regear once, and you'll regret 4.10's if you ever do go up to 33's.

The D30 should hold up just fine, unless you're a "hammer-down" kind of wheeler, which it doesn't sound like you are. Even with a locker you should be fine. IMHO if you want to make your D30 more "reliable", get a 5x4.5" hub kit from Warn or MileMarker. Run alloy inners and outers with some HD u-joints, like CTM's, OX, or the Longfield SuperJoints (probably best bang for the buck in your situation). That will pretty much assure that the hub is the weakest point in your front end, and the hubs are relatively cheap, and super easy, to replace. You'll probably hear lots of differing opinions on that topic though.

Anyway, biggest factor is going to be your own personal driving style.
 
Red97XJ said:
If I go 4.56, do I need a new carrier up front for the 30? A friend of mine has a YJ, and he thinks I do. I was thinking I didn't.

Whats up?

Jason
Click to expand...
Carrier break on the 30 is 3.55 and higher (lower numerically).
IOW, unless yours came with a 3.73 or 4.11 (unlikely) you'll need a new carrier for any regear.
 
you'll need new carriers front and rear regardless of if you go with 4.10's or 4.56's. The same carriers will work for 4.10's and 4.56's though.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

V
Suspension advice
Replies
18
Views
2K
Evan03
E
L
Manual to Auto transmission swap
Replies
9
Views
294
lvcanyoneer1
L
S
96 XJ rear axle ratio
Replies
3
Views
1K
RCP Phx
R
H
JK parking brake cable on XJ JK rear axle
Replies
5
Views
2K
XJEEPER
XJEEPER
Z.m4v
Whirring sound only heard from inside
Replies
7
Views
173
Z.m4v
Z.m4v
Back
Top