(XJ) Looking to upgrade axles

bnm0129

New Member
Joined
Aug 21, 2014
Location
Wilmington NC
hey guys. New to the forum. Got into the Jeep life about 6-8 months ago. Went w/ a 98 XJ.

Current specs:

4.0 150k
auto tranny
D30 up front, swapped 8.25 rear
231 Tcase
RE short LCA
Ironman 4x4 fab short adj UCA
3.5" RE coils w/ 2" block
3.5" RE leaf in the back w/ stock shackles
33x12.50x15 BFG MT's


Parts sitting in the shop I picked up but havent installed:

spare 231 w/ SYE & DS
TnT Ylink setup w/ bellypan


My plan was to just put frame stiffeners, rock rails, and the Ylink on and wait a while before going full widths. But I just found a set of axles I'm about to buy and was hoping for some input.

Rear- 79 D60 3.08 gears (ill be doing disc brake swap)
Front- Late 70's Hp HD D44 (3.50 gears) w/ warn hubs


Planning on running 37" tires. Would you guys suggest 4.88 gears or 5.13's?
Also does anyone think I can make the TNT ylink work w/ the D44 up front or should I sell it and have custom long arms made? I have a buddy that's a damn good fabricator (running this same setup on his s10 blazer and fabricated everything himself. Thanks for any/all input guys.
 
I was planning on doing a similar swap but with a dana 44 /9in. Basically I decided to hold off because of what I was told, once you gear lock and upgrade shafts your into more money then what it would cost to go with 60s front and rear, and with an xj in stock form you'll have a hard time breaking stock shafts. The u-joints on a 44 are the same as a 30 in most cases. This is what I was told and it made since so I held off for now.
 
tknopp said:
A 44 pinion in 5:13 ratio is pretty small. The 4:88 would be stronger.
Click to expand...
Correct but 5.13 should hold up fine behind a 4.0l.

If that d44 axle is from a f250 then the y link should work but if it is a cast wedge f150 axle converted to 8 lug, it will be harder.

If it's the latter I would sell the kit and build a set of extended radius arms for it.
 
Loganwayne said:
I was planning on doing a similar swap but with a dana 44 /9in. Basically I decided to hold off because of what I was told, once you gear lock and upgrade shafts your into more money then what it would cost to go with 60s front and rear, and with an xj in stock form you'll have a hard time breaking stock shafts. The u-joints on a 44 are the same as a 30 in most cases. This is what I was told and it made since so I held off for now.
Click to expand...

This is mostly correct. Depending on what price your into the d44 for in the beginning, you might have what a d60 costs in it when your done. But that's the cost of a stock used d60. You still have to gear and lock it plus likely new u joints and such.

I say it depends on driving style, but I would look for a set of 05+ superduty axles. Best bang for the buck now imo.
 
Well I'm getting the 60,44, and a set of wheels and tires for $700. The 44 is out of a F250 8 lug original. Both are road ready except for re-gearing. How does that sound to u guys? Thanks for the feedback.
 
So did you get this set up? I run a 44/9 in my XJ on 5.13's on either 35's or 38's depending on what I am doing. I used a radius arm set up on mine since I had the cast wedges but it performs great. I am going to convert to some air shocks in the front and 63" leafs in the back.
 
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