HEY! What are you trying to say! lol. Even a 44 with chromo's is cheaper than a stock 60. You can find good deals on them, but everything else is a ton of money. It was over 400$ to rebuild all the stock parts of mine (breaks, bearings, seals etc.) plus the cost of gearing it.
I just priced a set of Nitro 4340 D44 shafts for someone and they are like $479, or $679 with 300m joints which would make the whole shaft/joint combo guaranteed for life.

 

I dont understand the passenger side drop driver side drop thing I havent had the chance to look that up right now I'm searching for info on full widths i dont' under stand what all that entails I did read threw your build man that thing is sick ill ask him about the width

 

The front diff is offset to clear the engine. Its eather offset to the drivers side or passenger side to match the transfer case. Jeep XJ's are drivers side biased, or drivers drop. Some of those earlier waggys are passenger drop.
Thanks. If you need any info directly related to doing the swap or anything feel free to PM me too. I dont mind and sometimes these threads get a little too cluttered to make sense.

 

driver side drop dosent know about the width if I open it up and the gears look good I should be in good shape then? anything else I should be looking for? would you be able to send me some links to brackets/shafts/etc... I would need to get her built?

 

haha that wasn't directed toward you. I made a thread in a different forum and got shut down for even considering it

 

Lol I know, I'm just busting on you.
I would measure the axle wheel mount surface to wheel mount surface to check width. I can send you some links for direct replacement brackets, or check out the ones I used.

 

you used a 70 for the rear though, surely they would be different? or it wouldn't matter I would just weld them where I needed them?

 

Well the rear is super easy anyway. The rear perch lord are all the same. You just order it for the correct tube diameter.

 

All hail the rear perch lord!
Haha I just wanted to sub to this thread

 

Another vote for the 8.8 here. 1997-2001 gets you disk brakes, and can be
found with 4:10. for around $200 plus cost of install kit. Its also one of the easier swaps (compared to going full-widths/tons all 'round)
A little welding, and your gtg.
35's?: no problem.
Like everyone says though, if you want 37's and up, you got to go more brutal. And it ain't cheap!
Not only will you have to gear way deep, there's fabbing up custom links,
unibody bracing, and lots and lots of $money$. Just my humble opinion.
Good luck with your decision.

 

The problem is getting a front to match the narrow 8.8. In my opinion if your gonna swap the front to a 44 you might as well find a matched set of waggy axles. The OP keeps saying "full width" but I dont really think he means full width. The waggy will be narrower which is perfect for an XJ.
The 8.8 would still be a good swap for the rear if you find a front, but now you also deal with bolt pattern differences too.
You can also go isuzu 44 rear. They can be had cheap. No matter which way, you will be welding and fabbing to fit. With the kits available now its pretty idiot proof and universal as far as the axle goes. Doesnt matter which one you go with.
On a side note I really need to proof read my messages sent from my phone

 

OIC My statement was assuming the D30 would be kept.
Bolt pattern is same, and the track width isn't really an issue unless you have really wide tires I would think. Its like a 1/2'' on each side?
From my point of view, an 8.8/D30 is a fine combo, without getting into big money territory (even with a re-gear). Once you think 44's then you might as well go 60's or 60/70/14b
because if you do try 44's first, your going to end up 'tons anyway.
D44 is just a bump in the road on the way to big axle land, and that just seems like a waste of $.
If yer gonna go big, do it once.

 

The 44 I am looking at is 66 inches looks pretty clean from the pics any thoughts on this waggy 44?

 

The point is you dont really have to "do it big". You can do it moderately and have a much more dependable setup for much less cost.
The problem for a lot of us is that we cant leave things alone, so one thing leads to another, then your on bigger tires and breaking stuff.
If you can honestly say you want to stay at a 35" and even if you thought maybe, someday a 37", than you dont need one tons.
I still say go to 5.13 too. Even on a 35 it would be fine, and if you ever did want to step up you would be good to go. No one ever says they geared too much, but you will hear plenty of people complain about not having enough.
After my personal experiences with my Jeep, I would never build a D30 again. Even for 35's. Id go right to a 44 and save the money. I spent a ton of money polishing a D30 that I ended up breaking.

 

If its 66" its not a waggy 44. waggy should be 60.5"
Early 3/4 ton J-trucks are 66"