Axle swaps/regearing/locking

[CT99XJ]

Okay, TMC- opinion time!

I have something in mind, but I want to see what people here think of certain axles/gearings/lockers. My overall objective is to run 35's on my Cherokee, locked front and rear. None of this ARB air locker stuff- too many parts of a system to break. If the axles get locked they're going to be auto lockers, similar to a Powertrax.

Axles in mind:

FRONT

Dana 60 fullwidth- fawk yes! doable, seen it done, looks nasty and overbuilt to all hell. lots of fab work though.
Waggy D44- correct width for an XJ, minor fab work involved to convert from leaf mount to coil.
Stock HPD30- if I stuck with my D30 I'd truss it.

REAR

GM 10.5 14 bolt- this plus D60 front = SEX. lotsa fab.
AMC 20- Could get this and a Waggy 44 from the same donor vehicle, but angels die when Waggys are stripped for parts. also, these (and the waggy 44) come with lametastic 2.73 from the factory, but some had factory LSD front/rear
8.8- can get this out of an Exploder with 4.10's. inch narrower than XJ though. lamesauce.
9-inch- some street rodder would have an aneurism, but also beefy as hell.
XJ D44- hard to find, but direct bolt in Dana 44
C-Corp HP 8.25- stock axle, easy to reagear, also decently strong.

at the moment, i want to stick with the C-Corp and D30, but down the road when i win the lottery, the 14 bolt and D60 could become a reality...

Gears: for 33/35 I want 4.56. stock ratio in an auto XJ is 3.55, which is lame. The sticks came with 3.07's though, so I could have had worse.

Lockers: lockers in consideration are Aussie autolockers front and rear, OX cable locker in the front with an Aussie in the rear, limited-slip rear with a Powertrax in the front, Detroits front and rear, or single Aussie in the rear. if anyone has another idea on lockers, im all ears. no im not welding my spider gears.

let's say for shits and giggles I have a 3k budget. What would you do to the AXLES ONLY with this?

 

[Bigredmariner]

Bump.

 

[Codeman]

Ford 9inch. Go get one out of a older econoline van. Can be found for a hundred bucks. Strip it and clean it up than as time and money allows build it up. Strongest rear end period!!

 

[Zembonez]

You can't do better than Dana 44s in a Cherokee. 44s with lockers and 4:10 gears will work forever and not completely break the bank in the process. 44s will be stronger than any other parts on the Jeep.

 

[Stumpuller6.5]

is a GM 8.5" and option for front, or dana 44? there are tons of them around in 73-87 trucks, unless the pumpkins on the wrong side..should also be tons of gearing options

i recomend a corprate 14 bolt, easiest rear end i`ve ever worked on, minus a ford 9", and VERY STRONG especially in the full floater version. but i see that would be alot of fabbin`.

I have had them in my last two trucks(14T FF), i have a detroit in the stumpuller and it definatley is hard core!!

 

[CT99XJ]

Can't use it, has to be driver side drop.

 

[CT99XJ]

Jim- the only reason I'd consider things over the D44 is because of how much XJ people love them. More often than not people who have 44's know what they have and how coveted it is for the Cherokees, and it's priced accordingly.

 

[Stumpuller6.5]

gm made a front axle almost identical to the 44, maybe it was an 8.25"

my bro has a 44 in his jeep, and i recall in my 80 GMC i had a Coprate front end, looked almost the same....

 

[CT99XJ]

gm made an 8.5 for the half ton trucks, but it's passenger drop. my t-case doesn't push from the passenger side, or i'd love to get me some 1-ton Chevies. the 8.5's are about the same as a D44 front, but not quite as strong.

 

[four_x_what]

You can't do better than Dana 44s in a Cherokee. 44s with lockers and 4:10 gears will work forever and not completely break the bank in the process. 44s will be stronger than any other parts on the Jeep.

I agree. If your only running 35s 44s are the way to go! And I hear only bad things about "auto-lockers". Lockers should only be used in small spurts. Lincoln, ARB, Detroit. Use them when you need them. But I can only speak from other peoples experience I dont have lockers untill I get my d60s and my 44in tires. So take what I say with a grain of sand. Or is it Salt?