I have an '01 sport and have a friend who has an 8.25 axle with an LSD that he just swapped out for a d44 and has offered to let me swap my d35 out for it. He has the U-joints needed but I have a few questions.
1) Can I keep the drums from my d35?
2)How involved is the swap? I know that the 8.25 was offered for other XJs but from what I've seen it was not offered in the last year 2001. Is it a bolt-on/plug-n-play, or was there some final modifications Jeep made that will require some fabbing around?
3)What driveshaft will I need? I've seen some posts on forums that I can use the d35 driveshaft, other posts saying I need a stock front (d30) driveshaft, and still others saying that I need an 8.25 driveshaft. The last one seems the most logical to me and I have started to look for them but cannot seem to find them for sale. Which is the correct answer?
4) If I need an 8.25 driveshaft, where can I find them? I can't seem to find them on ebay, Craigslist, or even Quadratec.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Did you mean u-bolts?

Do you have ABS?

It's a very simple swap. Is your Jeep lifted?

Yes, I do mean U-bolts.
Yes, I do have ABS.
My Cherokee is not lifted.

I'm guessing the 8.25 isn't set up for ABS.
The nose of the 8.25 is about an inch longer that the 35. If you have a lift, your longer driveshaft will work with the 8.25. Not 100% sure with stock height.