Ok so my brother had a 84 chevy and he was going to put a 12 bolt rear end in it with 3:73 gears and a detroit locker. He sold his chevy and now doesnt have any use for the rear end. Do you guys think its possible to put that rear end in a cherokee?

 

if it's not to wide I'd say possibly yes...Would require some modifications but I'd think as long as the width isn't to wide should be doable.

 

I have full width ford axles on my XJ...Anything is possible.

Issue to look out for.
1. Does the gear ratio match the front
2. Brakes should work..just do the plumbing.
3. Cut off spring perches and buy new ones from tractor supply. Weld on new ones in correct place for springs...might as well adjust for pinion angle if needed.
4. LUG PATTERN...does it match.
5. I guess lastly..does the brake drums fit your rims with your offset.

Those are the issues I think about when looking at an axle.

 

The rear end on a cherokke has drum brakes right? Not disk? The 12 bolt has drum.

 

I think the drum issue he's talking about is the fact that the 12 bolt drums are likely larger then the drums on the XJ axles..So clearance issues with your rims could be an issues..

 

Correct OKCJEEPER. The drums might be bigger.

I listed that as a general reference when looking at ANY axle to put under ANY vehicle.

And some axles do come with Discs in the rear.

 

Alright a vehicle I know a bit about..
The drums will fit inside a 15" rim.. 73-87 chevys came stock with them.
It is a full size axle so it will be wider than the stock XJ.. would work ok, but might look funny with a stock front XJ axle due to different width.
The stock gear ratio is most likely a 3.07 or 3.08 but could be in the 3.2* range..
Lug pattern if it was a 2wd Chevy is 5x5", 4wd would be 6x5.5".

 

How much longer are full width axles than the stock axles?? Thanks!

 

One thing to keep in mind is with a wider rear axle, you will increase your steering radius.
If you're going to have one axle wider than another, the front is the way to go. Look at any mid 90s chevy truck. The front track was almost 3" wider then the rear. That insures a tight turning radius.
Ever drive a dually? The turning radius sucks.
However, if you're not worried about tight turns, I say go for it. Or, get the rear in now and look for a good front end to replace your D30, down the road.
You can get brand new JK HP D44s with 4.10 gears and an electric locker from mopar for $1500.00. Just a thought.
And no, they don't just bolt in, but what fun would that be?

Sorry for the slight off topic. Just throwing ideas out there.

 

Driveshaft yoke too

 

its basically a waste of time to swap in a 12 bolt under an xj

even if you have it, and its free, you can get a better starting platform and spend $1200 on the total build as opposed to $1000 and have a sub-par axle