What do you think on the axle swap?

[Fireguy]

So there I was.... I bent my front axle. Now my 4wheeldude tells me I should look into throwing an XJ axle for the front, w/ 4:56's, mainly cause it's cheaper and it would give the diff. clearance. Which I like the cheaper part. I'd have put 4:56 in the back as well to match. Should I take this route, or just drop the extra dough and put a new upgraded TJ axle in? All axle's are stock right now on my '03 TJ rolling on 33"s.

[trailsnail]

I've been told time and time again that the stock 35's are a weak point on Jeeps. If I had the money, and hopefully one day I will, I would go with complete swaps. If you find an XJ with a tow package, (want to say 96 or newer), then they have 44's on them. The ultimate decision is how much you want to spend.

[Fireguy]

Yea, all I did was "bump" a fence and a small ditch. Stupid weak 35's.....

[trailsnail]

The front of your jeep should have a 30 in it (most stock TJ's). But I heard that they have the same size u-joints as a 44. It is just the tubes and shafts that are smaller.

[notarubicon]

dana 60's i would at least go with 44 though

[Jeffb_79]

I wouldn't spend the money on a front TJ 44. They're pretty expensive and not really a 44. More like a 44 housing with 30 outers. I would say your cheapest best bet would be to replace with another 30. Other than that, start looking for D44 swap.

[greenbean]

A HP Dana30 out of a cherokee is considerably stronger, as is any high pinion model. This could be done fairly cheap and then find a Jeep Dana 44 or Ford 8.8 for the rear. It may take a little time to find what you need but could probably had for next to nothing. Slap in Chrome Moly shafts as big as you can get and you will have axles that can handle 35" tires and most wheeling...

Or just save your pennies and get ProRock 60's or Spider 9's!

[Ricky Booby]

A HP Dana30 out of a cherokee is considerably stronger, as is any high pinion model.

x2. Go for the HP D30. Just swap in some TJ shafts, and you're good to go. Do you have a locker in the rear? 33s shouldn't be too bad with the D35. Go with either a Superior Axle Super 35 kit, get a D44, or 8.8. You could also go with 60s, but you need to ask yourself if you really NEED them. With the Super 35 kit, you'll spend about as much as an 8.8 swap, plus you get a locker. Its really up to you. I have a 8.8 in the rear of my TJ. Disc brakes are a plus.

My .02

Bobby

[Fireguy]

Thanks for the advice. As soon as I swap out the broken suspension parts, were gonna throw in the axles. No lockers in the rear. I'm kinda glad this happened, just so I can get lockers and more beef now. Don't think I'd need 60's. It would be nice, but with almost 2 years of PJ school ahead of me, I don't know when I'll see my jeep again. I'll prolly just go the cherokee route for the front, and find something else for the back. I'll let you dudes know what we end up throwing in it. Should be this week.

[recon4christ]

96 or newer cherokees with a tow package didn't have a dana 44 in the rear, they either had a 35 or a chrysler 8.25. The 8.25 was actually stronger than a 35's. Yup and unless you have a rubicon your front axle is a 30,