eeppower58

Just got paid and I was wondering which rear end I should go with anyone got any suggestion pro and cons of these axles?

pitbulld45

I put the Ford 8.8 in my xj. It has been great so far and the disk brakes are great for stopping power. If you go with the Ford 8.8 make sure you stitch weld the tubes where they go into the diff or the may spin on you. It was also geared the same as my front axle so I didnt have to buy gears right now. The brakes also hooked right up so I didnt have to change anything there. You will have to buy a yoke adaptor. they are $20 or $30 I cut the old hardware off of my Dana 35 and welded that into place on my Ford 8.8 and havent had a problem with that either so it shows that you dont have to buy the kit with the shock towers and all that.

eeppower58

What kind of front end do you have I have a stock Dana 30 so would have to buy new gears and also what kind of brackets will I have to buy or did what you did a cut the ones off the Dana 35 and weld them
On to the new one? Also what kind of lug patter are they?

96_xj

the 8.8 will hold up to anything you want to do with the jeep.

they come in 3.07, 3.55, 3.73, and 4.10

they are 5 on 4.5

ruffstuff makes a full weld on kit for cheap too

XJ-DP-WA

I have the ford 8.8 in my 85 and love it I've smashed that thing on rocks alot and hasn't bent or tweaked yet, some actually say its stronger than the D44, as for your D30 up front depends on what size tires run, I run 36s with my d30 with 4:88 gears and chrome kit and it does just fine but I think that's about max for the d30, But anyways I vote ford 8.8 you'll like it and you can get it under your jeep for a decent price

eeppower58

Alright sweet so I can keep the stock gears and if I were to look for a used one where would be the best place like eBay or craigslist ? Or any other place?

eeppower58

Yeah I run 31"s so I figured I'm playing it safe

fathersNsons

All I know is we have the Ford 8.8, and it seems to handle all we can throw at it.
I wish we had the disk brakes but it was on when I bought the xj.
good luck

XJ-DP-WA

Right on get one out of an exploder or mountaineer with discs, id check craigs for someone who's parting one out thats how I got mine for 50 bucks Haha, also you can find them all over ebay just depends on how much you wanna spend they tend to be on the Spendy side there after shipping

pitbulld45

I also have the Dana 30 it was geared the same as the 8.8 I bought. I run 35 inch tires with mine. I took the brackets off of my dana 35 and wleded them on my 8.8 so I didnt have to buy any. The 8.8 is the same pattern as the Dana 35.

eeppower58

Alright awesome it sounds alot easier with the ford 8.8 also I was looking online they had one on this website that was the 8.8 rear end that's already ready to bolt on with my xj its 500$ Is that a deal? Also I can add if I want posi and a locker and it's just like a complete set up or should I go with just doing it myself I have the equipment to do it myself and I have stock gears 3.55 I just have to look for one that has the same gears?

XJ-DP-WA

That's up to you depending on how mud your wanting to spend. I got mine swapped in for about 250, 450 after i bought the 4:88 gears, and is it 500 for a complete? Or just a gutted housing?

eeppower58

I think it's gutted because I have to choose what gears I want and covers and the option of lockers and stuff I think I'm gonna go with a used one off crags or eBay but thanks for the valuable info

XJ-DP-WA

Ya if its gutted that's not a good deal, there's many many exploders at salvage yards and on craigs you might even get lucky and find one with the stock trac loc

Tural

the east coast gear supply ford 8.8 is $500. it would be worth it, if you had absolutely no fab skills or access to a welder, and you couldn't cut the perches off your other axle.

i got mine from a jy for $200 already pulled... figured for another $300, i'd set up the perches and all new brakes and lines on it.
i tried adding the same accessories on ECGS website and it came to $989 i think...