well first of all what year is ur xj 90-96 or 97-01

 

well its a 98 jeep cherokee classic with a 3.5" lift but i think i am going up to a 4.5 soon and run 35's. other then the lift and exhaust its completely stock

 

8.25 chrystler is okay if your easy on the throttle
if you have a dana 35 you might be okay with it if you want to be throttle happy get a ford 8.8 rear end and dont think about going with tons because my guess would be that by reading your question you arent quite ready for a swap like that. no offense to anyone but theres a little more to it than you think

 

You should be looking more at your front axle then the rear if you ask me.

 

well since its a 98 that means it has 29 splines, which means that its just about as strong as a D44. the D30 in the front aint that bad either. so if you really screwed up ur rear end some how i would just throw a Lunchbox locker in it and call it good

 

alright thank you i was looking into lockers so i might be going with that.

 

HAHAH thanks and i take no offense to that but i have swapped a couple rear ends before but i know more about muscle cars

 

As long as you don't weld the front you should be good. I have seen it done with 35s and it doesn't work out! Oh and gun it with one wheel on a hard service like a rock or asphalt. Every time it didn't work out well!

 

Ya i didn't plan on welding it i am not a big fan of it, i rather spend the money to lock it, thanks for the advice

 

LB lockers are just as good as full case auto. lockers and their cheaper and easier to install. their only a little bit weaker cuz u got to use the stock carrier, and they can sometimes lock when going round turns makin ur tires chirp but other than that their pretty handy

 

welding it has always sounded like one of those stupid drunken redneck things that they want to go off roading and they want their rear locked and they want it locked NOW!! lol (no offense to anyone)

 

None taken I welded the rear on my 95. It never sees street and it works great. If it was on the road i wouldn't and I would never weld the front. But a local in my area had to find that out the hard way. It was entertaining if nothing else. But my welded rear has yet to brake in 3 years and for a low budget off road only application I would do it agean in a hart beat. And I would never take offense to being called a redneck. I make my living with my hands and love the out doors hunting fishing and wheeling. Being called any thing else would offend me.

 

HAHAHAHA ya that's exactly how i feel. i have a freind that has his welded and i didnt like driving it. What about lock right lockers?

 

I consider lock rights disposable, at least the one's I had. Had to replace the springs every 6 months to a year. Aussies and Spartans are much better.
I also run a welded rear. Mine is off road only and a spool for my rear is $200 and I have 3 welders in my garage. I use nickle rods and if I break it a locker wouldn't have made it either.

 

i am just looking for a decent priced locker that isn't going to crap out on me.