So my 96xj had a tranny go out and with 270k and a ton of body rust it was better that I put her down instead of spending the money to fix it. I bought another 96 xj and close to everything is the same except this has a dana differential, ABS, and close to no body rust.

A couple of questions about the caliper though. I'm thinking about painting up my donor callipers. Only on one of the calipers one of the slides doesn't move as freely and the actual piston has a small chip in it. I never noticed any uneven brake ware though.





WOuld you guys reccomend painting that caliper? I just don't want to have to take the new xj out of service while I wait on painting it.

Next question is about the axles. Is this something that is going to be effected by the ABS? Or is it really just disonnecting the shaft, brake lines, and the leafs?

 

You do know that the XJ's with the ABS brakes came with the weak and less desirable D35 instead of the much more HD Chy 8.25 rear differential don't you? Most who off road their XJ's don't want the D35 or ABS brakes either one on them.

If your other XJ has the more HD Chy 8.25 or anything other than the D35 I would swap them out JMHO.

 

That was one of my questions, is it going to be something that is worth it for me. But from your answer I'd say yes. Is an axle swap something as easy as the brake lines, hard lines, leafs and then also the shocks? Never done an axle swap.

 

If you plan on just driving the jeep down the road the D35 is totally fine. Even mild wheeling you'll be fine with the D35 as long as you don't put super huge tires on it and mash the skinny pedal to the floor. A lot of guys in Australia wheel the D35 because the 8.25s are hard to find and expensive.

Axle swap; (Sounds complicated, i know - but trust me it isn't.)

Use an 8.25 from a 97 or later cherokee. They're 29 spline.

- Jack jeep up. Support front by the axle, and rear by the unibody (not the rear axle for obvious reasons)
- Remove the rear driveshaft. (4) 8mm bolts hold it into place. (The 8.25 and D35 use a different rear driveshaft. Ones an inch longer but i can't remember which. Get the rear shaft from the donor XJ if possible.) If you have a SYE ignore that. The front XJ shaft will work on either a D35 or an 8.25.
- Remove the rear u-bolts. Buy new u-bolts. The D35 and 8.25 use different size u-bolts. I think the plate that sits on top of the leaf springs is different as well.)
- Remove the rear brake lines.
- Remove the rear parking brake cables.
- Roll the D35 out of the way and roll the 8.25 in and redo.

If i were you i'd buy an 8.25. Bring it into your shop/garage and totally redo the thing. I'd also swap disc brakes onto it. (If you look around you can find ZJ backing plates for like $100.

When you hook the rear driveshaft back up you can either use the old bolts or do a "U-bolt upgrade" for like $10. I can explain this more if you'd like.

After that put new calipers, rotors, and pads on it. Change the diff fluid. Run new brakes lines, and then roll it under your jeep and bolt it back up.

OH! And your caliper. That thing is fine. Just pull the slide pin out, clean it with a wire wheel/brush and lube it up with a silicone paste. If it doesn't slide freely then you have a problem. But honestly dude, a front cherokee caliper is $19.99. It's almost worth it just to buy a new one if you want to paint it.

You'll be a happy camper. Ask any questions you may have and i'll be happy to answer.

 

[QUOTE=xj guy;2928260]... Only on one of the calipers one of the slides doesn't move as freely and the actual piston has a small chip in it. I never noticed any uneven brake ware though.






A "small" chip?? LOL
And painting it? I wouldn't even bother tbo...
Get yourself a nice set of new calipers for $60 and paint those...

 

The rear differential swap is one of the easier mods to do and you named all the bases for it. A few new parts will be needed one being a new set of U-Bolts for the Chy 8.25 and if like every other XJ rear shock bolts because they all seem to break.

Yes by all means if you plan on off roading with your XJ a Chy 8.25 swap is well worth dumping the "Turdy Five" for sure. The 97 and up 8.25 will have the 29 spline axles and close to strength of a D44 at a fraction of the cost. Used in a JY most can be found complete with everything on them for <$200 in my area anyway. I'm not sure id you need the driveshaft or not from it but I would get it anyway, if the other fits you have a spare and that's good.

For off road just getting rid of the ABS would be a big plus in my book. When shopping for the 8.25 keep in mind what gear ratio you have now unless you plan on changing them, if installing larger tires, lockers, etc.

This is an upgrade that I would make to my own at the point where your at now before spending much money on that D35 but JMHO.

 

Sounds easy enough. But here is the deal. The 8.25 I have is from my old 96 xj. Still recommended? And the axle I'm using actually has the leaf pack from my lift attached to it. Probably a hell of a lot easier if I take the leafs off the axle while doing this swap huh? (kinda wanted to avoid buying new u-bolt hardware, but if it is going to save my back I will)

I would definitely look into doing the zj disk swap though while I have it out.

And of course service the differential as well. ---Just a complete fluid change and inspect the gears----

And I also don't plan on doing insane wheeling. This is my DD and I'd do some light trails if I ever went wheeling. I also am going to throw in my 2" lift and I only run 29's. I know it is weak but I am Ballin on a budget.

 

Think you can explain the u-bolt upgrade? I think the last set I bought ran me like $30 or so.