Ion looking to get some beefeyer axles for my 94 grand Cherokee and put some lockers on them. What axles should I use?

 

well what size tires do you plan to run?

 

33s

 

Eventually 35s mabey

 

ford 8.8 for the rear

 

this

for the front I would go with and HP30 or an old school bronco 44

 

Nothing wrong strength wise with the LP30 its just gonna get hung up on more crap threw out the day. Eric is right though a 44 for the front and an 8.8 for the rear.

 

Being that the HP30 grabs more of the ring gear, it is indeed a bit stronger.

 

A 30LP and 30HP both grab the same amount of teeth as the ratios yield the same number of pinion and ring teeth. The difference is when a LP is put in the front, the gears are driven on the coast side of the tooth instead of the drive side. With the HP, the teeth are spiraled in the opposite direction which causes the gears to ride on the drive side now. The axles themselves are the same strength (assuming same years with same axles/u-joints) but the gears are a good bit stronger.

There is also nothing with a Dana 30HP for the front with 35's. As long as you don't do stupid stuff or you truss the axle, then the axle will survive. If you really beat on it, you can upgrade to alloy axles and larger u-joints. It is much cheaper and easier to make the 30 survive 35" tires than it is to swap in a Dana 44.

As for the rear, the 8.8 is your best bet. You can grab one with disk brakes already and you can get 4.11's from the factory. If you really wanted to, you can even get a limited slip in there as some Explorers came with that from the factory. This will require a lot of brackets to be welded on though since you have coils in the rear. The other choice is a Dana 44 out of a ZJ, this will atleast bolt right in and is the correct width.

 

common misconception but LP axles dont ride on the coast side

 

Doesn't the HP pinion gear contact more of the ring gear than a LP?

 

ZJs never came with a Dana 44 but with a Dana 44A. Early versions have aluminum center sections and they are c-clipped. Not much stronger than a D35 with a lot less aftermarket support. That being said the LP30 would be fine with 33s and even 35s if you don't have a heavy foot. Your D35 rear won't like the 33s but can live with them unlocked if you're careful. Find a set of rear disc off a 96-98 ZJ so if you break an axle your wheel won't fall off.