8.25 upgrades
 

building on a budget and unable to find a bolt on D44 out of the 87-90 cherokees, so planning on upgrading my 8.25. i understand most will say not to, but i don't have the means to mod/weld either a diff D44 or a ford 8.8. My question is, what would be the benefits of going to a 4.56 over the 4.10 gearing? i am planning on doing a 4.5" lift with 33"s in the end. I am still learning about all of this, so be gentle. ;-) any help/advice would be great, thanks!

more POWER!!! and better highway speeds...
and the 8.25 is actually a fairly decent axle, and holds up well to 33's...
they make moly shafts for the 8.25 also, as well as a veriety of lockers...

That is good to know. :-) Was planning on upgrading to the 29 spline axles for the 8.25, along with building up the D30 in the front with the same gearing and upgrade the axles. Rusty's has a D30/8.25 4.56 combo kit that has the gears and overhaul kits included. Ok, another question about gears... Since i will be going from stock to the 4.56, i read i will need a low ratio carrier for the front D30, will i need this for the 8.25? if so, anyone have a good site to get it from? planning on doing a locker in the 8.25, should i do this at the same time i upgrade the gears?

can u give me the link to the rusty's axle kit u are referring to? i cant find it and im interested in it

http://rustysoffroad.com/mm5/merchan...egory_Code=RIN

Just the gear upgrades is all, no axles, heh.

you dont have to get a new carrier for the 8.25.

check out www.completeoffroad.com for some good deals

That is good news, heh. Just curious, but how do you know? trying to learn as much as i can about this all. :-)

cuz its got enough space to accept the 4.56 ring gear w/o a smaller carrier. and doing a locker while gearing is the best....no reason to tear it apart twice...i got a Aussie locker for the 29 spline 8.25 in the for sale section...

Thanks for the info! :-) I will check out the locker and get back to you. I haven't ordered anything just yet, going to see where my funds are and go from there, heh. Only been on the forums a few days and already love this community! All so helpful. :-) Now to find a local club in colorado springs to join, heh.

if I understand this correctly, I wont need a low ratio carrier if I put an auto locker in my D30? since it will replace the carrier

the gear/pinion isnt expensive but wont the installation be expensive?

or is installing gears something anyone can do?

I would like to say anyone can install gears. But that just is not the case. Idiots are out there. However, randys ring and pinion has a book you might want to purchase if you plan on doing your own gears. I have not reade it, but Randy is quite well known and I suppose I would take his word on some things. So, if you get a little instruction, and take your time, please take your time, you should be able to set them up. But if you doubt yourself in any way, I would just suggest you take it to a shop that will give you a good warranty on the work, so if they screw up, its their dime and not yours.

x2 It's pretty complicated if you don't know what crush sleeves, rolling torque, and backlash mean.

As long as its the full locker and not a lunch box you should be fine.