hey guys i was just posting up for some info and opinions, i dont have a job right now but i will be getting one within the next week or so and i thought now would be a good time to do some research for upcoming mods on the jeep, i dont have any other expenses and the g/f is low maintenence so i dont have to put alot of money that way, so other than 50$ a week for gas i will be putting all of my money into it. i have also noticed this jeep sucks on the highway so new gearing is needed

i recently did a 6.5'' rough country long arm kit and im running 33'' general grabber m/t tires (two are bald so i need new ones and would like to go to 35''s) so this is what im looking for:

what axles are good for 33-35'' tires (highway use too)

what gearing am i looking for?

what vehicles do these axles come out of (donors)

lockers?

and with having a 6.5'' kit i would like to keep it wide (i have spacers right now and im not sure of the offset on my rims but 3/4 of the tire is outside the fender

here are some pics of the jeep, im sure i will have more questions down the line so fire at me what you can, thanks guys

 

Depending on how you wheel/terrain type/fabrication experience you can do many things. The easiest thing to do would be to keep the D30 front get the better 297 u-joints and either get a D44 out of a cherokee or an 8.25 out of a newer cherokee. both bolt up nicely. for gearing go with 4.88's and aussie lockers F/R.

 

well my wheeling will depend on the axles i have lol, i wouldnt dare try some of the hill climbs around here with a open/open d30/d35 lol and i live in the suburbs so its mostly stop and go traffic and on weekends i drive 45 mins south to my cousins house (highway). i wouldnt even mind doing full size axles as i want to keep my stance wide with it being so tall

 

If you are doing fullwidth's then just buy an old beater 3/4 or 1 ton Ford or Dodge truck (Chevy went IFS in the 70's, Dodge did like 5 years ago and Fords are still today live axles front and rear), doesnt even have to be able to move and weld all the stuff on, easy swap if you can weld and that would give you something like this https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f46/ba...15/#post419649, I just saw that thread and that had 79 Ford axle's swapped in. From what i've heard regearing can be a pain but I have all the tools to do it and im having a guy walk me through my new front axle soon and im doing the rear on my own. If you need help just ask.

 

yeah i was looking at his thread i think thats what got me thinking, after dad buys a house i can have parts vehicles but i might try to find some full size axles, just cause they are FCKING animals and i dont have to worry about ever upgrading again or breaking them haha....when u do your axles you will have to come over and give me a hand re-gearing cause i have no idea how to even begin that haha

 

Just to put in my 2 cents, be careful with full size axles. Be sure to measure your existing mounts to see where they will end up on the new axles. The full size trucks are obviously wider, which means the pinion housing will most likely end up under your frame rail. I went through a similar issue while building my DJ crawler.

I would recommend looking at older CJ7 axles. They will be narrower and should be plentiful.

 

You do a lot of highway driving - you should really have 3.73's for gearing...4.88's are great for rock crawling/mudding/off roading and big tires which you want, but your gas mileage will be awful, and you won't have any top end for the highway. 3.73's are a good balance between mileage/highway use and being able to handle towing/off roading and getting out of sticky situations. Just my 2 cents.

 

gearing depends on what gears you have stock, most manurals had 3.07 and most autos had 3.55.

to keep around stock 35 x 3.55 (auto gears) / 28.28 (225/75/r15) = 4.39, 4.39 isn't an option, 4:10 for slightly taller than stock gears, or 4.56 for slightly lower.

manual = 3.79, 3.73s would be about right.

35s will be some heavy tires, may want to be on the lower side.

 

Have a 98 Cherokee Laredo.

Can I a change the front Axle (CV to universal joints). Have a 92 Laredo that I want to use. Is it a direct bolt if not how big of a job is this?.

Thanks