Luke Gray

I was wondering if I am going to use my Jeep as a daily driver and occasionally take it 4x4 thru soft sand to the bank of the river on a hot day. Maybe take it once or twice on a dry river bed. Should I upgrade the axel? Front and rear? I want to get a 3 1/2 in maybe 4in lift kit max to. Also want to eventually get Smitty built front and rear bumpers so I can get the spare out of my Jeep. I know that adds weight. And I think stock Jeep rear axles atr Dana 30's. If I do need to upgrade what should I upgrade to? And there is a good pick a part near me that has a bunch of rearends that I can grab. What should I get that would be the least amount of Fab.
thanks again

cruiser54

If you're not gonna crawl it over rocks and generally abuse it, stock axles are fine with a 3" lift. anything over that and you're gonna spend money like crazy for other mods.

Luke Gray

The real mod I wanted to do is put a tire carrier on the outside and new bumpers. I was looking at the old oem tire carriers but I just don't like the idea of having a big bracket on the side of my Jeep. Any other manufacturer out there that have come up with good carrier designs?

bad_idea

Lift size is irrelevant to axle durability. You should be concerned about the axles when you step up to larger tires. The stock Dana 30 in the front is good to 33" tires. The rear axle is the wild card. You likely have the Dana 35 in the rear, though you may have a Dana 44 (not likely). If you have the 44, then it is also good to 33s. If you have the 35, then it SHOULD be ok up to 31s if you take it easy on the jeep (based on your described plans, you will be easy on it). If you want to step up to 33s or abuse the jeep some, then you should grab an 8.25 out of a later XJ to bolt in. You can find them in the same ratio as you already have and they bolt right in.