pinion on the 2000 xj is toast. ring gear toast as well as other issues on the axle. local shop wants WAY too much to fix. i ended up picking up a good shape d30 front end for $100. my question is.... how hard is this to do?... whats the best way to do the control arms? will i need to replace the bushings in order to properly do the job? i can handle all of the steering components. my biggest fear is the control arms....

 

You won't know if you need bushings until you get those arms off.
Jack up the front of the xj one side at a time from the axle. Put heady duty jack stands under the front of the frame rails right behind the lca frame side mount.
Take wheels off and let the axle droop.
Dissconect diff breather and calipers
Take draglink off pitman arm
Take trackbar off frame side bracket
Disconnect front drive shaft from axle yoke
Then take off upper CAs axle side.
Unbolt the lca's from the axle side one at a time.(it may take a little lifting of the axle to get the bolt to come out)
Axle should fall off at that point.
Repeat in reverse to put new axle in

 

Changing the front axle is a handful. If you want new bushings on the LCAs just order new control arms.

I don't know where you live but prepare yourself for corrosion. I'm in the habit of replacing most hardware that I remove. The LCA bolts are M14x2.0x110 ISO Class 12.9 with flange heads, if you go the hardware store route instead of OEM (like me) make sure to get hardened washers.

Reattaching the front axle has two hurdles; the track bar and the control arms. I recommend doing the LCAs second. Once the UCAs are bolted in wrap a ratchet strap around the axle to the transmission cross member and start tightening it. This will line up the lower holes for you. Track bar I left to last step because it kills the flexibility in the front end of lining everything else up. You can put the new steering in prior then just turn the wheel and the body and axle will shift. Easy way to line up the trackbar since you'll need to do an alignment anyway.

 

So getting the bolts out are not going to be insanely hard. Your description makes it sound easy.

 

I just replaced my hp30 and stripped the new one down, painted, replaced axle ujoints and the long side axle shaft and it took me about 4-5 hours with breaks.
However, my jeep has lived in Texas it's whole life and I put new lift components on the old axle so all the bolts were a breeze when I swapped it all over to my new axle.
If you live in the rust belt you might wanna soak everything down in pb blaster for 2 weeks before you do it lol

 

Here in Ontario I cut out a lot of things lol. My LCA bolts had seized in their bushing sleeves, had to cut the heads and nuts off and pry the LCA mounts apart to remove.

 

If the bolts are seized to the sleeves forget about getting that thing out.
Just cut it and don't waist your time.
I was doing a rear axle with my bro in his k5 blazer and it took us 2 hours to just realize to cut the bolt and get a new one.
Almost impossible to get that thing out without cutting it

 

Yep. This is why I always buy new hardware lol