Not considering axles, U-joints, knuckles (I already know these differences) is a 89 HP without disco the same as the 95-99 HP? I guess I'm just asking if the ring, pinion, bearings are the same for all HP, or maybe even all Dana-30s.

 

Is the HP 30' in my 88' a better platform all around then the low pinion I got? Does my 88' have the better knuckles and bigger u-joints?

 

I'd say other than being HP it's worse. 88 (and my 89) has small U-joints and 2-piece knuckles. The older knuckles use different calipers and shoes and almost no aftermarket support. My research indicates OEM is all you get for shoes.

 

Damn. Maybe I should just put this low pinion in then?

 

Pull the axles and knuckles (along with bearing/disks/calibers) and put them on your HP. I have a set of later model 1-piece knuckles on my shelf waiting for the swap.

 

get rid of both axles. no sense in wasting time with either one since good HP30's are so readily available

if it came out of a 97 wrangler, that would explain why it's low pinion

 

Maybe It did come out of a wrangler. He said Cherokee. But couldnt of unless its a 00'-01'.

 

Ok..soo I crawl under the Comanche to look at the front axle and its a non disconnect..so someone has already done the swap. And all this time I've been worried about getting a front axle. Haha. Now the question is, did they put in a 3.07 gear front end or 3.55??

 

You have a manual right? If the rear is still factory (i.e. 3.07) and your 4wheel drive still works without issues, the front has 3.07s.

There should be stamping somewhere on the diff. Or you can pull the cover and look at the gear itself.

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f12/h...-30-a-1029302/

 

Why the hell did he put a '94 8.25 into a '97??

For XJ and MJ drive-trains the common gear ratios were 3.07:1 with the 4.0L/stick and 3.55:1 with the 4.0L/slush. 4.10:1 appears with the 2.5L/stick. 3.55:1, 3.73:1, and 4.10:1 appear in TJs and YJs depending on combination (some sick bastard put a 30RH/32RH behind a 4.0L!)

Hokay, so. We've got three axle housings to play with. HP D30 and LP D30 housings are actually the same in strength on their own. HP D30 with CAD is alright if you aren't jumping your Jeep or anything. It certainly shouldn't be passed up.

Reverse-cut gears used by MJ, XJ (until 2000), and YJ D30s are stronger due to the way the force is applied. Hypoid gears are really only made to work well in one direction of rotation, "standard cut gears" as found in LP D30s basically run in reverse the entire time.

Standard shafts got upgraded in '95 to larger U joints and continued through 2006. Shafts with ABS shafts down in the Renix years also have larger joints. The tone ring can be ignored.

So if you don't plan on bending the axle...
- Any HP D30 housing
- Gears from any YJ, MJ, or <99 XJ
- Shafts from any ABS XJ, or any D30 newer than 1995


As for what gears they put in you'd have to check. You can pull the diff apart and count pinion and ring teeth or spin the tire and see how many times the DS rolls over in one turn.

 

Both front and rear are open diffs so I'm guessing no major gear swap was done. And after researching, I know a 88' Comanche should of came with a disconnect front axle, but its not. No vacuum actuator on the right side of the axle. Now, the question is, did they swap in a 3.07 gear axle or swapped in a front and rear 3.55 set of axles. That's something I'll have to find out.

 

How could I tell if its a D35 or the 8.25? And didn't all the Comanches have disconnect since they were discontinued in 91? Also, how many cherokees were manual? Would it be rare to have a non disconnect 3.07 axle?

 

I'm pretty sure 91 and 92 Comanches had non disco axles.

No it won't be rare to have non disco 3.07 axles since they had manual xj's up to 99 or 00

 

But being an 88' Comanche, it would of never came with a non disconnect, so someone has swapped it in. unless its actually a 91-92? But title does say its a 88'. I've never seen a 4 door manual Cherokee, that's why I figure the 3.07 axles were kinda rare.

 

this page might help you http://jeephorizons.com/tech/xjstockspecs.html
"SOME axles through 91 are vacuum disconnect"