I bought a Dana 44 rear axle yesterday that came off an '87 XJ, just because I found one and I know they are a unicorn. I'm putting in a 2.5"-3" OME lift and plan to run 31's. I'm not trying to build a rock crawler, just the occasional weekend warrior, camping and stuff. My 2000 XJ came with ABS and a Dana 35 rear. It's fairly big expense (~$3k-4k since I have no garage, tools, or time) to install the D44 and re-gear that and the front to 4.10. I was planning on just trying out the D35 to see if it becomes a problem with the type of wheeling I do. Is there any reason to pro-actively upgrade to the D44 other than piece of mind that comes with a stronger axle?

 

No.

 

Nice find!
You could tart up the D44 and sell it on, spend the profit elsewhere on your Jeep.
Or just fit it and have a rock-solid rear end. Only you know how much 3-4k means to you...and how much peace of mind is worth to you when you're out wheeling.

 

I put the Dana 44 from an 87 into my 98 and love it. It was a direct swap, didn't have to modify anything. However, I don't have ABS, so not sure how that works with yours that does. Was the ABS on these models only front ABS?

 

nice find and no you dont have to upgrade it. It is not going to be practical to put the abs on unless you get an axle made with the tone ring. Then you could do it.

 

only d35 jeeps had abs. 8.25 did not.

that being said, if you swap in your d44, you will lose your abs. that's not a bad thing. abs sucks. i would then just disconnect all abs in the front, and pull the relay/fuses. hell, if you've changed your front axle joints, you may have already broken the tone ring. haha, i've done that before.