i have a 98 cherokee... looking to ugrade to 4wd and change gears... what vehicle is compatible with mine? hopefully i can take both axles out of the same parts vehice. does it have to be a cherokee? what years?

 

XJ's and MJ's (comanche) are the only vehicles that front and rear will bolt into your XJ. fronts from XJ's, MJ's, ZJ's, and TJ's will bolt in, although TJ's are low pinion

 

is it worth it to just buy axles geared to match or find a good deal and regear to match?

 

You can Use any XJ, ZJ, MJ front axels, I hear TJ but I thought they had different spring perches. Rear axel From all XJ, MJ is SUA so wont work and ZJ and TJ are coils. What rear axel do you have now, If 8.25 keep it and find a matching front axel. Gearing will cost 700-1000 per axel.

 

well i have the 8.25 but i believe its 3.55.. thats no good if i want to get 32's on there eventually... i was hoping to get 4.10 gears somehow

 

I just got a 8.8 with disk brakes. Alot of people here are running them here. Just have to flip the spring purches. Or a old ford 9 inch is probably the best but it will cost u.

 

if you want 4.10's, look for a front axle from a 4 cylinder XJ. most, but certainly not all, of them have 4.10's.

for the rear, you could do like mentioned above and get a ford explorer axle, SOME of these have 4.10's, i would say 25-40% have them, it will take some hunting. you will have to strip the axle of all it's brackets and weld on spring perches and shock mounts, but it's not that big of a project.

this is the route i would personally go, actually it is the route i am going.....i already have the 4.10 front end, just trying to decide if i'm going to keep the disconnect axle or swap to a one piece axle and have to find the explorer axle. there's a place here that you can get any axle that they have, front of rear, for $75. i have a feeling that if i come into a few hundred bucks, their explorers will be getting raided for the rears and their XJ's will be getting raided for the fronts....

 

with 32's it won't be too bad with stock gears. you will notice it a bit slower, but manageable. i'm on 36's with stock 3.55 gears. i won't beat a honda, but if i want to, i can be the first through an intersection. on the highway is fine.

we have 2 tj's with 33's, one has 3.07 gears and the other has 3.73, both tolerable.

but if you really want to, get a set of axles from a 95-99 4cyl. xj without abs.

 

well i was gonna start by putting 31's with my 4.5" lift and im only 2wd with the 3.55 gears, is my gas mileage going to plummit?

 

maybe just a bit if you're doing mostly in town driving. but you may just gain some for highway driving.

but remember, your speedo and odo will be off a bit with the larger tires, so it will look like you lost a lot of fuel mileage, but in reality it probably won't change much.

also for a 2wd to 4wd swap, you will need the 4wd tranny, t-case, cross member, front and rear driveshafts as well as front axle and 4wd shifter and TCU.

 

i'm just gonna deal with it for now until i run across a parts jeep... whats a TCU?

 

Tranny control unit

 

do you still have the 2wd driveline for your jeep i have ben in desperate need of one for my jeep see i moved the axle back 10inchs and so my stock one wont reach and i need one thanks

 

if you are staying with 3.55s find a match pair out of a '97-99 cherokee with the auto

if you are going to 4.10s definitly then look for a front out of a 2.5L 4 cyl XJ/MJ, and get a ford 8.8 out of a '97+ explorer, they have factory disc brakes, and can be found with factory 4.10s and LSD....they will need new leaf spring perches and shock mounts welded on but you can buy those cheap from IRO, Rustys, or Ballistic Fab

 

i just found a dana 35 dana 30 combo locked with 4.10 gears for $600 but i dont have the cash right now, i'm pissed, good deal or what?