Hi, i have an 86 cherokee with a 2.8l with dana 35 rear and dana 30 front axle. I am getting a 91 cherokee with a 4.0 and trans to swap into mine. I was wondering if i should put a ford 9'' with a 44 in the front or will the existing dana 35 and 30 hold up?

Any advice is appreciated... thanks.

 

if you got the money then go right ahead, but your dana 30 up front will be fine, the dana 35 rear is junk

 

good luck, you're better off putting in a 4.3 or sbc. way too much work to switch to renix. imo.

as for the d30/d35, the 4.0 did come with those, so if you were to go 4.0, then i'm sure the axles will work just fine.

however, an hp44/9" with a small block 350 would be so much better.

 

The only thing i have to worry about is running additional wires for the computer and dealing with the fuel injection, unless i can figure out a way to carb the 4.0 but that is highly unlikely

 

http://www.lunghd.com/Tech_Articles/...Project_XJ.htm
If i had a 2.8 XJ, I wouldn't do a 4.0 swap. I would do the above 3.4 swap.
Everything bolts up.
I would trash the oem carb for an aluminum 4 barrel intake and a holley 390 vacuum secondary on it and headers.
You can get very close to the Power of the 4.0 without the added weight.