Axles for the TJ.

[pred8tr]

I just finished reading the thread about the Isuzu 12 bolt and will have to start thinking about that too... but here goes:

Lets talk axles.

I have a 1997 TJ with the 2.5L. D30F/D35R
I have 4" of suspension lift and 31's.
I have a set of 35's begging to go on the Jeep right now.

I currently get 14.97 mpg without accounting for tire size.

For years I thought my next set of Jeep axles would be a drivers side drop wagoneer front D44 and rear D44 out of the same vehicle (same setup Paul C. used to run).

Now that it's time to start spending money though I want to be sure.

The buildup I am planning is eventually going to be a stock 5.9L in the TJ and I don't think I'll ever go beyond 37" tires.

If I wanted to go automatic one possible donor; a Dodge RAM 4x4 with a 5.9 could supply me with engine, trans, tcase and front and rear Dana 60's.

I don't know if I really NEED dana 60's though and considering lost ground clearance, the expense of doing anything to a D60 and how hard it is to find a good donor reasonably priced this isn't my first choice.

Another idea is to with a Ford 8.8 rear and a for the front. These seem to be pretty easy to find at junk yards and relatively inexpensive and I get to keep my stock bolt pattern. What front axle should I go with though?

I could search for an XJ D44 though it may be a long search. I've personally found 4 at my local junkyards and they are very cheap there... but that was years ago and there's no telling how the wait would be now. Also, what would make a good front end to keep the same bolt pattern?

I don't want to go with anything horribly expensive. Ideally I'd like the axle to be something stock that I can pull from my local yard when I need spares. Nothing like custom length shafts or anything.

The Waggy axles keep sounding better and better. Only downside I see is that I lose my stock bolt pattern and they are .75" narrower iirc.

Oh, lastly, the 5.9 swap is probably at least 6 months down the road. The axle swap is probably a lot closer.

Is it possible to avoid having to regear twice? Once for the axle swap and once for the V8 swap?

I think I recall reading that you can find 8.8's with 4.11's in them? I struggle with 31's and 4.11's now but at least it's workable. Are there any other axles that fit my bill that would come with fairly tall gearing? Nothing out of a V8 would be geared that low so it sounds like that's a hard combination to find.

Thanks for any tips.

[pred8tr]

For a collection of reasons I am thinking seriously about the 8.8 though I avoided it with my XJ.

Right now, for the money it just makes so much more sense to go that route... but that leaves me with a bit of a dillema.

What should I do for the front axle?

I should be able to find 8.8's with 4.11's in them but also 4.56's...

So I could buy one now and put it in and run with it (4.11's) or buy one now (4.56's) while looking for that front axle to also be bought ASAP to put me in a better gear range for the 4 popper. Then I'd only have to regear the front... and later down the road...

Wait... this makes no sense.

I should get the one with the 4.11's in it. Leave the Dana 30 up front until after the V8 swap. Then replace the front axle and regear them both at the same time and save money. That makes the most sense if I'm committed to the V8 swap.

I still need to figure out what front axle to go with though. Ideas?

[GiXeR]

Why didnt you put one in the xj.
There are a few of us who have been running them for year with no issues.
When you figure out the front let me know.
Steven

[pred8tr]

I dunno. I guess I wanted to stay all Jeep. Who knows why I did what I did back then. In any event I found an XJ D44 at CAP pretty quickly so I went with it.

Now-a-days, I haven't heard of anyone finding one there recently and I don't wanna wait forever to get a new rear axle.

[GiXeR]

You should not be able to find one that easy any more.
Back in the day they were all over but not any more.

[XXXJ]

I've got 3 of them....use one for a boat anchor, the 2nd is a birdbath, and the 3rd is a really kick ass potato gun. 

[GiXeR]

Come on pete I need a front axle   hook me up.
Steven

[Puddle Pirate]

Call independent 4x for information  You can go with an  Isuzu 12 bolt. They are easy to find at junk yard and they come with either 4.56 or 4.88  They say they are not as strong as a ford 9" but stronger than an 8.8  They have lockers available for them.  Depending on the year, they should have disc brakes too.  Once you add the adapters to change over to the 5 bolt from the 6 bolt, they will be about 1" wider than stock TJ rear.