ZJ axle swap kit needed.......

tailgunnerex

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Nov 24, 2008
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fuquay varina
Just had a 93 XJ bite the dust on me, interior electrical fire. I want to take off the axles and install them on a 96 ZJ. I haven't looked into the front axle swap in detail yet but I assume the Dana 30 high pinion from the XJ would bolt right in, with maybe a driveshaft adjustment being in order due to the high pinion for low pinion change.
The rear axle is what I'm sweating......
The ZJZJ h a the stock Dana 44HD with the oversized aluminum housing, and the XJ has a standard Dana 44 out of an 87 XJ that had the tow package. I can't t find a manufacturer that make a kit with coil buckets and the other parts and pieces required to make this change. I want to keep the XJ axles as they both have recently been completely rebuilt and both have new 4.10 Dana Spicer gears and E-Lockers.
I've contacted Artec, East Coast Gear, 4Wheel Parts and one other axle adapter manufacturer, whose name evades me right now (age.....), but no luck.
Anyone successfully done this swap, on a street driven vehicle that is......?
 
You could always try cutting off the 44a brackets and put them on the regular 44
 
Most likely not going to find a straight forward swap, just is not popular. You'll have to do a custom blend of components....The easiest method and my preferred is fab up a locating fixture mated to the stock axle. Remove said axle then place the new unit on the jig.....build fit. Zero issues with fitment. Or the traditional located dim, record angles, and reverse engineer.....either way its all custom since your swap is not exactly popular.
 
Front axle will be a direct swap with a possible driveshaft mod. Rear swap can use these:
ZJ Ford 8.8 Axle Swap Bracket Kit - Iron Rock Off Road

Given the 8.8 axle tube is bigger than the XJ 44 you will have to adjust to fit but the bracket geometry is correct.

Edit: FWIW, the XJ Dana 44 is 2.76” axle tube
Ford 8.8 is 3.25”
 
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Big Clay sounds like he's on to something, hadn't considered that approach. I did read an article where an 8.8 kit was used for this swap in Four Wheeler magazine, but when I called the manufacturer of the kit (M.O.R.E.) they told me NOT to do it as a lot of folks had ordered the kit in the past to attempt it and most were returned.
I'm gonna take a look at the 44HD hardware swap a bit closer to see what's involved.
Thanks for all the input! Will post the results ...................
 
tailgunnerex said:
Big Clay sounds like he's on to something, hadn't considered that approach. I did read an article where an 8.8 kit was used for this swap in Four Wheeler magazine, but when I called the manufacturer of the kit (M.O.R.E.) they told me NOT to do it as a lot of folks had ordered the kit in the past to attempt it and most were returned.
I'm gonna take a look at the 44HD hardware swap a bit closer to see what's involved.
Thanks for all the input! Will post the results ...................
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Did they say why? Looks like a little trimming for radius and your darn close.
 
No, the guy in technical support didn't go into any reason, just that folks that tried it were calling trying to return them. He also failed to mention whether or not they were accepting the returns!
 
The biggest thing I can think of would be the tube diameter being smaller on the XJ44 compared to the 8.8. I should assume you could find a bracket set from one of the suppliers that would fit closer to your tube diameter. If it says ZJ regardless of the axle it is the correct geometry
 
skyhighZJ said:
The biggest thing I can think of would be the tube diameter being smaller on the XJ44 compared to the 8.8. I should assume you could find a bracket set from one of the suppliers that would fit closer to your tube diameter. If it says ZJ regardless of the axle it is the correct geometry
Click to expand...
Smaller would suck more.
 
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