2000XJL

I am planning on getting a rough country 4.5" lift and going to run 35's. I have a Dana 30 in the front and a 35 in the rear. I was planning on swapping the 35 for an 8.25 but can I run the Dana 30 in the front with a LSD with minimal problems. Any recommendations with axel swaps? I'm new to this ****. Is the Chrysler 8.25 significantly better than the 35? I still haven't decided on lockers so any suggestions would be appreciated. This Is going to be my DD

Atmos

there is a TON of information out there about running 35's on stock axles. search
https://www.google.com/search?q=runn...archBox&ie=&oe=
https://www.google.com/search?q=dana...archBox&ie=&oe=
https://www.google.com/search?q=dana...archBox&ie=&oe=


in short, a fully polished D30 will do quite well on 35" tires. if you run 4.88 gears then you pinion is possibly a weak point. you will probably want to run alloy axle shafts and definitely full circle snap rings
if you are spending more than $1400 to build a FULLY polished D30 with upgraded steering, you are overspending.

any 8.25 from a 1997-01 jeep cherokee will be a big upgrade over your D35. you are smart to make that swap

gpXJ

I ran 35's on my d30 (locked, 4.88 gears) for 2 years. I drove it 3-5 hours to the trails, wheeled it then drove it home for the first year. Then I got a trailer and trailered it to the same trails. I know my experience is not normal, but I never even broke a stock shaft. I wheeled with guys on 39's and 40's, running trails at Superlift and Clayton, Oklahoma. I just always kept in mind the fact I had a d30 up front, and tried to keep from bouncing the front end around too much.

So yes it can be done, and you can do it successfully and have fun wheeling. I didn't see the benefit to building up a d44, and I wasn't looking to go to 1 ton axles. I ran an 8.8 in the back, so I never had to worry about the rear axle on 35's. The 8.25 would work also, although not as strong as an 8.8. But the 8.25 is a bolt in and the 8.8 needs perches and shock mounts and such welded on.

I sold that XJ, but am getting ready to buy another and will most likely build it similarly as far as axles go, though I may go with 4.56's this time around.