Im picking up a Ford F350 front kingpin Dana 60 this Saturday, I kinda want to do fullwidths on my XJ, not sure yet but it's only 60 bucks and not that rusty so what the hell. Just wondering a couple things:

First, I think if I decide to go ahead and do this I would prolly run the matching rear which is a Sterling 10.25, supposed to be about as strong as a Dana 70, maybe even a hair more so. They are all full floaters and 1.5in 35 spline shafts so they only thing it sounds like i'd even be doing to the inside would be a locker and gears. Parts availability looks good, both ARB and Detriot make full carrier lockers and everybody makes gears. Anybody heard of people running these, sounds like a solid choice to me?

Im also wondering about what I would have to do to the front end, I cant picture front end setups in my head as well, would there be anything I need besides welding on the stock XJ style bracketry, getting some custom length steering and a new yoke? It just seems too easy for that to be all I need to do.

Also, not really a big deal just wondering, would you end up wanting to run really stiff springs? It seems like the axle would leverage against the body better with the springs being so close to the middle and make it really "body rolly" with some softer springs. I've seen this effect on a CJ before since the leaves on those are so close to the middle.

 

I wouldn't use stock brackets buy or make some Beefy ones.

 

I actually have less body roll with my full widths. I wish I could find a 60 that cheap. Around here they run a grand for one that needs rebuilt. Don't know a lot about the Sterling except you can get them with factory disc and LSD but only in the metric bolt pattern found on 99+ models. The older ones have drums. X2 on not using factory brackets, made that mistake and still fixing stuff.

 

Lots of people run that axle set-up. They work plenty well. Some will tell you to go with a 14 bolt in the rear so you don't have to swap it later. Personally i think the 10.25 is strong enough.

You need to have some fairly big meats to make the swap worthwhile. The pumpkins hang down lower so i would recommend 37's at least to maintain decent clearance.

I would also recommend running full frame stiffeners, and if you are using the stock control arm locations beef those up too and the rear leaf boxes.

http://www.ballisticfabrication.com/
will have all brackets needed for the front and rear axles.
http://tntcustoms.com/front.aspx
also makes a full weld on truss that makes the front suspension pretty easy. I would plate and reinforce the truss if you decide to go that route as some have had problems.

And lastly consider rotating the inner c's if you want proper camber. I believe stock is 7 degrees and i chose 5 for my old setup. This involves cutting the inner c's off, rotating them and pressing them back on the axle tube.

If you are worried about spring rates and body roll ect. I would recommend an off-road sway bar like currie anti-rock. Or if budget allows go with some adjustable coil overs so you can tune it to how you like it.

If this still sounds easy, its not. Its a ton of work to do it correctly so your xj rides nice offroad and on the street. The payoff is definitely worth the work. Remember to research research research. The more you know the better this project will turn out.

Good Luck and feel free to ask more questions.

-Mike

 

I run a 60 rear and you can shave about 1.5" off the bottom so it's about the same as a 44. You can prob do about the same amount to the Sterling.