I am a new guy to this forum and I just bought my first cherokee. I bought a 1996 Jeep Cherokee Classic 4.0 auto. It has a 4.5" Rubicon Express lift, 32" M/T tires, cragar rims, floors and rockers are rusty, motor has a slight knock but seems to quiet down after it warms up. I paid $1700 for it. Did i get a decent deal? Also there is a guy i found that has a 1998 Jeep Cherokee Sport 4.0 auto that is all stock and in great condition with no rusty rockers or floors. only bad thing is the rearend went out of it. He said $800 and its mine. I plan on buying it next weekend but need to know a few things first. Will the rearend from my 96 go on the 98? I am going to put the lift on the 98 as well as the tires and rims. I would then have a really nice jeep. I could use the 96 for parts or just sell it outright for a decent price. i just dont like the rusty floors and rockers as they are quite bad. and not having a knock in the motor would be great as well. Any help would be great. thanks. By the way would it be a good deal to get the 98 and do what i want to do?

 

well the 96 is probally a chryco 8.25 but even if it is a D30 it will still swap to the 98 (even though your wasting your time) But yes it should be a good deal. Post some pics of these rusty floor boards and rockers.

 

why am i wasting my time?

 

If it increases the value of your Jeep and is what you want, then it is not a wast of time. Most people on this forum don't think the D35 rear end is worth having. However if you are not putting a locker in it, it is quite serviceable.

 

i was refering to swaping a weak D-35..The whole jeep swap is a good idea....alot of work but good idea.

 

If you feel like doing all the work, then its a good idea. The nice thing about xj's is that all suspension/axles will swap out from 1984-2002. I wouldnt swap out the axle if there isnt anything wrong with the 98 one unless the 96 is locked or something.

My 89 is a clean jeep and i bought a 87 with a 5.5" lift, bushwackers, and all sorts of other goodies and spent a couple weekends swapping it all out.

You could then return the 96 back to stock and try selling it to get some of your money back.

 

Go for it, $800 for a 98 is a screaming deal. Even if the rearend in the 96 is a D35, unless your going to hardcore wheel it's not as bad as everyone makes them out to be.

 

have heard of them breaking from spinning on wet pavement and hitting dry.

 

I was just going to unbolt the leafsprings and shocks and disconnect the brake lines and swap over the whole rear end since im swaping the lift over as well. i dont think that i will take as much time to do it that way. im not really going to be doing any hardcore offroading with the jeep, just some light offroading and a DD

 

I also have quite a few pics of the rusty floors and rockers so if you could send me your email i could send them to anyone who wants to see them. if they are not beyond repair i might just fix the 96 but i think the 98 is a lot cleaner

 

anyone else?

 

My girlfriend drives the 89' with a rear d35. Its on 33"s with stock gearing. We took it down to the badlands and beat on it pretty good and had no issues. Before we lifted it i used to beat the **** out of it and do brake torques and stuff and its still fine. Can it break...YES....but depending on how you drive, and the way it sounds like you will be using it, it should be fine. That is if you even have the 35.

 

so is it a deal to get the 98? i think i could have it done in a weekend

 

does anyone have a write up on how to swap over the front suspensions? i never did a suspesion beore. i need to know what to do to take the stock off the 98 and 4.5" off the 96 and put it on the 98. any help would be great

 

you have heard..... well i wheel with a d35 on 33s and if you are carefull and dont bounce then it will live just like any axle....yes it is weaker but not as bad as it is made out to be stories are just that ....stories i spun my tires plenty in 2wd in the snow and caught traction and took off the past two monthes and it still is fine