aj2494

So I got rid of my turdy5 a couple months ago in favor of an 8.25. It's in good shape, has a Solid diff cover and a lubelocker, and I've been happy with it. It's plenty strong enough for my needs and I have no inkling to get rid of it. However, I can't stand the factory 3.55 ratio in my XJ. Hate it, hate it, hate it. So 4.56's are very near in my future, and probably would be followed by a lunchbox for the 8.25 along with disk brakes. All is perfect in fantasy land.

Until this little wrench gets thrown in. I found a Ford 9" today that is absolutely perfect. 4.56, grizzly locker, UBE, shaved, and disk brakes. The best part is it's coming out of an XJ. Oh yeah and the price is just barely more than regearing the 8.25. The only issue is the bolt pattern isn't right, so I would probably run an adapter on the back, but then the rear is significantly wider than the front. I don't want new wheels yet though, so I might have to run a 2" or so spacer on the front. I'm not super comfortable with spacers, but does anyone see an issue with this combo? I would really hate to turn it down.

XJwonders

No issue. I run spacers on my rear axle and wheel hard on it. All is good. Go for the axle

andrewmp6

Call your local machine shops see how much they charge to change the lug pattern on two axle shafts and the disc you have.Or you can take your rotors to napa have them pull the same size rotor in your lug pattern,Or currie will sell you a disc with no lug holes you can have those drill also.And just remember you gotta change the gear ratio in your front axle to match the rear or you can't use 4x4 with out breaking something.

Fred/N0AZZ

I like Andrew's idea better.


I dislike running spacers of any kind but each to his own. On a wider differential a lot depends on where you wheel at, a major advantage of the XJ is its width and ability to make into narrow spots like between trees or on some trails and narrow ledges. This defeats that purpose in my area for sure.

aj2494

Haha yeah I know that both axles have to match. I'm actually considering buying this axle, swapping it in and pulling the front driveshaft (so I don't forget and accidentally put it in 4wd) until January or so and then regearing the front. Friday is my last day of a full 40 hour work week until then due to my college's schedule, and I need to be wise with my money for the three months I'm back in class.

I was thinking about having everything machined but I could see the costs going up pretty quickly there. The other approach to this is using my school's resources. We are pretty much exclusively engineering and focused on the automotive field, so we tend to have a lot of equipment. I'm not sure if we would have everything necessary to set up the jigs, but it might be worth a shot.

andrewmp6

If the 9 inch is cheap you can buy it and sit on it tell your ready to do the front axle.If its going to be your daily driver i rather have 4wd in the winter for the snow.The other options is leave the 9 inch alone and change the front axle to the same lug pattern which would take reid racing knuckles and a lot of new stuff like steering.Or if you can weld swap in a 80 or newer jeep wagoneer dana 44 and change the hubs and rotors to the lug pattern you need.

aj2494

My XJ is my DD, and is a lot easier to work on in the summer because my other car isn't away in storage. The only reason I even threw the temporary 2wd idea out there is because it would have a locker then and I would probably be fine as long as I'm not an idiot in the snow. I could still use low range with the front ds removed too.

I really wish you hadn't mentioned modifying the front axle. Based on my conversation with the seller, he has all the conversion parts that he fabbed up already and is basically giving them away for free. It's my understanding though that the sway bar mounts would need to be moved, plus I'd have to actually buy the high steer components, and then of course new wheels. But then this brings up the fact that I have an LP30 and it doesn't make sense to put a lot of money into that one, so why not find an HP30. And suddenly I've spent way more than necessary on a swap which was intended to save money on a regearing, while giving me a few bonuses. I also feel that this setup is a little excessive for where my rig is at.

If it was May or June and I actually had a shop to work in, I'd be all over this. I have no problem taking the XJ off the road for a little while during the summer when I still have my Z28 on the road, but it's basically impossible for me right now. I move every 3 months because of the co-op program that my school has so my shop is the 40" toolbox in the back of my XJ. Don't get me wrong, I love what I do and make way more money than any other 21 year old I know while getting real work experience, but I'm about 300 miles from my parents' house and don't really have a place to call "home" here in Michigan. My fraternity house has a garage, but nobody would be very happy with me if I pushed all of our stuff out to make room for an XJ that also might not even have the clearance to get in.

Ok, sob story over. Basically my being in school and so far away from my parent's house means that the extent of my projects is limited to what I can accomplish in a parking lot. That being said, I consider axle swaps to meet these requirements as long as everything is just plug and play, but doing everything to a Dana 30 so I can change the bolt pattern might be out of the realm of possibility.

Fred/N0AZZ

If you have the Chy 8.25 from a 97> your in good shape what you need is to do something about the front differential. It is the weaker LPD30 and also sit lower than the HPD30 does and a problem if you lift it with pinion angles.

aj2494

It's already lifted, the 8.25 is a 29 spline (part of why I bought it) and I'm well aware of the shortcomings of the LP30. I don't plan in ending up with a skyscraper and probably won't go over 33's for a while. The only reason I mentioned an HP30 swap is because it might make sense to build one of those vs the LP I have.

The 8.25 is strong enough for what I want. The only reason I'm even remotely interested in this axle is because it has the ratio I want, with a locker and disk brakes already installed. Just gears alone for my 8.25 would cost only slightly less than this axle, which is configured exactly how I want my 8.25 to end up.

Also Fred, 97> means less than 97, so I'm pretty sure you got that symbol backwards.

JandDGreens

I was reading in the book Eric Zappe put together. And he states that the pinion angle is not the only reason you want a HP front axle. The gear and pinion rotation from the top makes it a stronger. (like Fred Stated)

andrewmp6

Have you pulled the 3rd member to check the gears and the diff of that 9 inch?Used built axles cheap enough kinds scare me like theres something wrong with it is why its cheap.And did he say what the 9 inch is from or is it a custom housing?Ford ran 3 different bearing sizes for the 9 inch a small a large and the new large aka torino.The small was on cars the large was trucks and the new large is what currie uses but was used oem only on the torinos.

aj2494

Yup, the reverse rotation of the pinion is a stronger configuration. LP's use a standard rotation, and under torque, have a tendency to push the pinion gear away from the ring gear. Reverse rotation (read HP30) solves this, but it's not really an issue unless you're putting gobs of power down or have over 35" tires. The biggest I see in the next five years or so for my rig are 33" tires. Your reasoning is very much so correct though, and I'm considering building a HP30 for insurance sake. That won't happen unless I find a good deal though, since the LP isn't holding me back at this point.

I wouldn't exactly call it cheap, but a 4.56 swap is going to cost me ~$650 with parts and install, so it's only $100 more to get this 9" and end up with basically an ideal axle that I wouldn't have to modify again. I haven't seen it in person yet, just pictures so far. I trust the seller a lot though, since he invited me to start wheeling with his group. He's on a hunting trip, so I'm waiting to hear what vehicle it came out of. It is a big bearing though, most likely from a truck. The only reason he's ditching it is because he's upgrading to one tons. Since he's also trying to get rid of the knuckles/brakes/etc. that he built for the front axle, I'm not concerned at all about its functionality. It's not even pulled out of the XJ yet. The current condition is actually very good, with just a little bit of surface rust because it was painted when it was installed.

I'm actually seriously considering picking up all of this stuff and holding onto it until I find a HP30 with a 4.56 ratio in it already, or maybe even an LP30. Like I said previously, I'm not concerned about the strength of either of my axles that I currently have. They should be plenty strong for what I want, but buying this 9" and the equipment for the front axle would really save me a lot of time and money since everything is exactly how I want it already. That would save me a ton in the long run. I forgot to mention that the Dana 30 components have manual lockouts installed already. I just wish he had the entire front axle assembly, not just the modified components.

caged

just do it.

grab that 9 and sit on it till you're ready. maybe by then you will find a front 44 the same width and bolt pattern. if you can actually find one, look for one out of a 78-79 f250. they have front leaf spring 44hd with half inch thick tubes. these are easy to set up coil buckets and control arm mounts. someone may even make a truss with those already on it for that axle.
you would have to regear it, but it would be worth it to spend a few bux on it, then you would have a killer setup for what you want to do with it.

aj2494

I've gotta be honest though, using his components for a D30 would be awesome. Especially if I could find a HP30 already geared to 4.56. All I would have to do is move the sway bar and maybe track bar brackets, and then buy a drag link and tie rod for high steer. Then I would have 4.56 gears, high steer, 2 pot disk brakes, stronger knuckles, manual lockouts, and more width for essentially just the cost of the high steer drag link/tie rod and a used HP30 with it all machined to accept a 5x4.5 bolt pattern. Or I just wait to do it all at once and get the proper wheels (I've been thinking about new ones anyways). The only thing holding me back is the hesitation to drop the $$.

caged

that's why the plain black steelies are the way to go. 65 bux each. you can't beat them.