Which axle

[Heaplife]

I'm going to be lifting my 96 XJ 4.5 inches and putting 33's on it pretty soon and I'm wondering which rear axle is the easiest to swap. I'm thinking a d44 with drums from an older XJ would be my best bet as far labor and what not. But I'm no expert! So what's the easiest axle swap and what car can I pull one off. Thanks in advance!

[4.3LXJ]

Either the XJ D44 or the Chrysler 8.25. Both are a straight bolt in

[XJ Wheeler]

The 44 is harder to find. And the 8.25 can be built to handle 35s.. Just get a 29 spline from a 97+.

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[Mudderoy]

Either the XJ D44 or the Chrysler 8.25. Both are a straight bolt in

The 97+ 29 spline Chrysler 8.25 is nearly as strong as a Dana 44 and cheaper. You may already have one as 96 was a transition year.

[Heaplife]

The 97+ 29 spline Chrysler 8.25 is nearly as strong as a Dana 44 and cheaper. You may already have one as 96 was a transition year.
Really? I'll have to look. My axle has some badge on it from a company that rebuilds axles. At least that's what it looks like. I'll look tomorrow and see what it is.

[Heaplife]

So I just have a 35 in the rear nothing special about it. I was wrong unfortunately. Being that I'm only going to go with 33s I think that I'm going to go with the 8.25. Will I need to pull the drive shaft as well? Or will it all line up just fine. dumb question, but does the 8.25 have disc brakes or drums? Thanks in advance guys.

[Mudderoy]

So I just have a 35 in the rear nothing special about it. I was wrong unfortunately. Being that I'm only going to go with 33s I think that I'm going to go with the 8.25. Will I need to pull the drive shaft as well? Or will it all line up just fine. dumb question, but does the 8.25 have disc brakes or drums? Thanks in advance guys.

Not a dumb question at all. No, no model year XJ came with an 8.25 with disc brakes. I know you can get disk brake parts off of a Grand Cherokee (WJ I believe) and upgrade it. The Liberty came with an 8.25 with disk brakes but I don't know if you can just swap in the Liberty 8.25, I suspect not but worth looking into. You can use those disk brake parts to go on a XJ 8.25 though.

[4.3LXJ]

Not a dumb question at all. No, no model year XJ came with an 8.25 with disc brakes. I know you can get disk brake parts off of a Grand Cherokee (WJ I believe) and upgrade it. The Liberty came with an 8.25 with disk brakes but I don't know if you can just swap in the Liberty 8.25, I suspect not but worth looking into. You can use those disk brake parts to go on a XJ 8.25 though.

ZJ rear discs are the ones you want for the 35. The ZJ rear axle was also a 35.

[abebehrmann]

Not a dumb question at all. No, no model year XJ came with an 8.25 with disc brakes. I know you can get disk brake parts off of a Grand Cherokee (WJ I believe) and upgrade it. The Liberty came with an 8.25 with disk brakes but I don't know if you can just swap in the Liberty 8.25, I suspect not but worth looking into. You can use those disk brake parts to go on a XJ 8.25 though.

Liberty Chryco 8.25 is set up for coil springs so that wouldn't be a bolt on mod. If you're lucky though, you might be able to find a junkyard that has both a 97+ XJ 8.25 AND a Liberty 8.25 with disc brakes. That way you could swap over the disc brake parts from the Liberty to the XJ 8.25 and only have to pay for one axle assembly. Here is a pretty decent write up on this. http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f11/fitting-kj-liberty-rear-disc-brakes-xj-cherokee-8-25-axle-750112/ That's what I would try to do at least. :D

If you have access to a welder, or a know a good welder, it's fairly easy to swap a Ford 8.8 from a second gen Ford Explorer into an XJ, these came with rear disc brakes as well. This axle, despite having c-clips, is supposed to be even stronger than a Dana 44. Iron Rock Offroad offers a kit for this swap that even includes a truss. http://www.ironrockoffroad.com/10471.html

[Heaplife]

Awesome thanks guys! I actually just found a 8.25 out of a 97 Cherokee. The guys selling it to me for 80 bucks. Going to get it on Wednesday! Very excited about that.

[abebehrmann]

Awesome thanks guys! I actually just found a 8.25 out of a 97 Cherokee. The guys selling it to me for 80 bucks. Going to get it on Wednesday! Very excited about that.

Nice! That sounds like an awesome deal! You probably already know this, but just be aware that since you have a Dana35 now, you might have ABS. If you do, your ABS will not work when you swap over the Chrysler 8.25, but it's not like the ABS in XJs is really worth much anyway. You can easily get rid of the ABS light on the dash by pulling a fuse under the hood.

[Heaplife]

Awesome thanks for the heads up on that. I didn't know that. How do I know if I have it or not?

[4.3LXJ]

There will be sensors and tone rings on the axle by the wheel bearing. It will be obvious if you do

[abebehrmann]

If you have the thing outlined in red, you have ABS. As Steve mentioned you'll also have a sensor and wire running to each wheel and each axle shaft has a toothed ring near the end of it called a tone ring.

[Mudderoy]

Awesome thanks guys! I actually just found a 8.25 out of a 97 Cherokee. The guys selling it to me for 80 bucks. Going to get it on Wednesday! Very excited about that.

Double check it's 29 spline. I've heard the 27 splines aren't much stronger than the Dana 35.

[Heaplife]

Thanks for the help everyone! I don't have that. I talked to the guy and he said he's almost positive it's 29. How can I tell if it is? And if it's not how hard is it to make it a 29.

[4.3LXJ]

In theory it should be easy, but apparently not. It requires a change in the carrier to do it. Best way to find out is pull an axle and count the splines

[Heaplife]

Will do. Thanks for all the info/help!

[denverd1]

I thought going to 29 spline would be easy too.

Pull c clip in diff to slide it out


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[XJ Wheeler]

I didn't see it mentioned but make sure the "new" axle has the same gear ratio as your front axle.

[cantab27]

nothing wrong with 33s and the 35 dana...just gotta learn to wheel wiser ...had that set up for awhile no problems......I do wheel like a nana but.....good luck with the swap...

[Heaplife]

I didn't see it mentioned but make sure the "new" axle has the same gear ratio as your front axle.
How can I tell?

[denverd1]

How can I tell?

metal tag attached by a diff cover bolt will be stamped with gear ratio

[abebehrmann]

How can I tell?

If there isn't a tag, you can figure it out fairly easily by marking the hub and the pinion. You then turn the pinion and count how many times you turn the pinion for the hub to make one complete revolution. Common ratios for an XJ are 3.07, 3.55, and 4.10, the most common being 3.55. So for a 3.55 gear ratio, it will take the pinion 3.55 revolutions for the hub to make one revolution.

I don't have sound on this computer but this video appears to show you how to do it.

https://youtu.be/kGkwb76tkDw

[XJ Wheeler]

The ratio should be stamped on the edge of the ring gear too btw.

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