The gears have to be matching front and rear, or else one axle will spin faster then the other one....which is bad.

Close, but not 100% accurate. Ratio can be a little off, but not by more than .10 of the final number. For example- My Bronco has 3.54 up front, but 3.50 in the rear. No problems. A gear driven transfer case will be more durable to gear differences than a chain driven unit, but none the less: going from big jumps can't be permitted. 3.54 up front won't work with 3.73 in the rear.

I've shreaded the ring gear teeth off of one Scout D44, and replaced that unit with another Scout 44. On that one, I broke the pinion gear clean in half, threw the shaft on the ground, and the gear spur busted a hole in the lower pumpkin. They're not as strong as everyone makes them out to be. (Maybe HP and concrete don't mix)

D44= 8.5 ring gear diameter. That's average for a 1/2 ton truck, but not a "heavy-half"

The only experience I have with the 8.8 was in my Buddie's Bronco. We had to get another unit due to his axle tubes sagging in the pumpkin housing. Wheel seals leaked and outer shaft bearings were trash. What caused that? Not abuse; he was running 31's on the street. (Poor quality/ R&D). Also, messing with center pin in an effort to remove axle shafts sucks. Not to mention that a special puller is needed to remove axle shaft bearings on the outer tubes. If you need your bearings changed out on your 44, you just use a bench press...and you don't have to take a bath in gear oil to do it.

Dana 44 all the way for me- it's a bolt in swap, and they're not all that hard to find (yet)

so what gears come up front in a D30? just wondering

Right, but for the general public and general user on here, my answer was the most simple to understand.



Depends on engine, transmission, and if you have a tow package or not. Most common is 3.55, which is a 4.0L with an AW4 automatic transmission.

* 3.07:1, manual transmission, I6 engine.
* 3.54:1, automatic transmission, I6 engine with Dana 44 rear differential.
* 3.54:1, manual transmission, I4 diesel engine with Dana 35 rear differential.
* 3.55:1, automatic transmission, I6, V6 engines; manual transmission, I4 engine.
* 3.73:1, automatic transmission, I6, Tow Package, UpCountry Package.
* 4.10:1, manual transmission, V6 automatic transmission, I4 engine.
* 4.56:1, automatic transmission, I4, offroad or tow package.

so if my jeep is a loredo with an auto tranny and a 8.25 rear.....which package would that be? how can i be certain without ripping the diff cover off and trying to see if its stamped on the ring gear?

Should be stamped on a metal tag of some sort on the outside of the dif. Usually the tag is held on by one of the dif cover bolts

3.55

thanks for your help guys.....i'll have a look at it

.

Wow Fraser,

I'm sorry that you and your little 8.8 took such great offense to my comments! Please apolgise on my behalf.

What you neglected to mention about the slide hammer is the tip that threads onto it- these aren't laying around everywhere, and THIS is the special "tool" that I'm referring to.

PS- there's no weight back in the back of a bronco, just the top and the tailgate. IMHO, that isn't enough weight to make the tubes sag out of the pumpkin housing. IF this had have happened on a P/U loaded with rock, (work truck)- it might be different. If you read previous posts, I'm not the only one that has seen this problem. Sorry again to knock your 8.8 dude; you really are cooler with disk brakes back there anyway

ok...i checked my rear and it didn't have one of those stamped pieces of metal that tell you what gears it has in it...do i just crack the cover off and look?

You could do that. Did you look at the list I posted above for the gear options?

What year is your XJ? What engine and transmission? Factory tow package? If you gave us that info it nails it down to a select few options.

im sorry, maybe my mechanical experience and going to school for mechanical/body has me ease of access, or knowlege of where to pick up said slide hammer attachments, my bad. yes, the bad quality issue could be true, but i have never seen it personally myself, and i havent seen any pics of it here. i own a 8.8 of the disk brake era, yes. it sounds like the ones you speak of are easily 10+ years old by now, and could have been beaten to death every one of those years by everybody and anybody. no matter what tire size it has on it, it can only take so much. i friend of mine broke a 14 bolt shaft on 38's and know others that have spun the tubes on them, but im not just going to throw its strength out the window b/c of it. im just pointing out i can get one axle cheaper then the other, im not gonna pay $250+ and drive quite a distance just for ease of installation w/ an XJ 44. im not offended or anything. meh, im not cooler, just upgraded to a 10 min brake job

as long as you do some preventative work on the 8.8 it is as strong or stronger then the 44. i have the 44 and i got a good deal on it. it is strong and easy to upgrade. but if it breaks i will be going the 8.8 route. because every junk yard by me has about 15 to 20 of them at any one time. and i can get then for around 100 bucks so they are hard to beat. unless you come across a great deal near by like i did.