So I bought my first Jeep Sept 2019, a 2000 XJ Limited 4.0 for $2600 CAD mostly stock with a 3 inch lift drop shackle and blocks in the front on 33"s and this is my DD. I have about 8k into it now including ordered parts. Among other upgrades I've been reading about axle swaps for a quite a while now as I have a D35 in the rear and a D30 in the front. I have read a lot of good things about built D30s up to 35 inch tires but have been warned to carry an extra set of axles and took kit, diff fluid etc incase my d35 shafts break on my 33"s, I dont mind being prepared but I do mind having high risk of breaking an axle on the trail. On top of this, here is some sketchy news; after 6 weeks of ownership my rear pinion seal went and my positraction pack was worn out so instead of paying 600 for a shop to fix it I paid them 1250 to install a yukon grizzly locker, in the process they told me that the P.O. had it set up with 0 backlash and there is noticable wear on the ring gear (in pic below) It would be 3 weeks to get a new ring and pinion so I told them to put it back in. I have yet to check my front (Critisism expected). Hopefully the front is a prettier story. This being said, I would like to be able to handle 35" M/T s in the summer comfortably without babying it through the woods but I have some really nice Cooper Discoverer M+S winters that are 31.6" and I want to run them during winter here in New Brunswick, Canada. From what I understand my D30 has the potential to suit my needs if I build it, can a D44 or C 8.25" rear ride on 31.6" fine during the winter I always hear of how big you can go but how small can you go? Out of curiosity, can anyone tell me how small of tires you could reasonably put on a d60? I want to put a zip locker in the front and a grizzly locker in the rear, how would you recommend gearing them for my wishes to suit up to 35s in the summer down to ~31.5". Lastly will a D44 or C8.25 allow my full time 4wd to work properly? I imagine it will but want your input as I am a big fan of full time DDing in NB. Thanks in advance for your input everyone.

As she sits today. Weird rust on the hood the underneath is very clean for the most part other than rear shock mounts.0

Photo from the shop \"4 Wheel Parts" during locker install

 

Ooooops
run the gears
Axles dont care the rust looks cool

 

You can run any size tire on any axle. Your 4WD doesn't care either. Decide on your intended tire size before regearing. I wouldn't run anything below 4.88 gears for 35s. If you swap to 31s it will run really high rpm's on the highway. I always upgrade the axle shafts. Cheapest rear axle would be a Ford 8,8. A S35 kit for a D35 can handle 35" tires without problems. A bunch of TJ guys run them because D44 axles for TJs are like finding a Unicorn and cost a lot.

p.s. I thought those were leaves on your hood. I'm not a fan of switching tire sizes and summer and winter tires. I run MT tires year round on all of my Jeeps. These are my summer tires on my Rubicon.

 

Thank you for the info, using a formula from BleepinJeep (new tire size x old gear ratio ÷ new tire size = new ratio) or a formula with pi i used for the same abswer i got 31.6 x 3.55 ÷ 29 = 3.86 for the 31.6" tires so I'm looking at 3.92 as long as they will hold up to 35s thats looking like the winner. When you say my 4x4 doesnt mind how about if i regear one diff does the other need to be regeared aswell or does that also not matter. Again thanks for the help. Cheers.

 

I overlooked this part, where do you live? My jeep came with the critically acclaimed, highly and widely recommended legendary duratracs and all winter i was looking for 33" winter tires and all roads lead to rome (rome being the duratracs or k02s) but personally i dont find they are up to par for my winters here in nb im driving around some mornings in 18 inches of powder snow which they get through np but has a lot of floatation not to mention they are very slick on ice or trying to stop on snow. It also hurts me that my dads caravan pulls harder in snow than i do in 4wd.

 

Both axles have to have the same gear ratio, I wouldn't put any lower than 4.56 gears in a Dana 30 due to how small the pinion gear is when you go lower than that. I have a Dana 30 front with stock shafts and Spicer 760 u joints with the full circle clips, factory Chrysler 8.25 in the rear, 4.56 gears and Spartan lockers in both axles. That setup has held up fine with 35s for over a year now. Your axles also have no affect on how the full or part time 4x4 in your transfer case works, so yes your full time will still work like normal if you swap axles.

 

Ok many questions answered good to know your stock axles have help up to 35s too. Your build sounds sweet good luck to you with it. I have a low pinion d30. If yours is high pinion do you think I would have as good of luck on 35"s? If it's LP please let me know. I was reading into swapping for HP but popular opinion was it isnt worth it so swap a d30 for a d30 so can I throw in chromoly's and call it a day or will my low pinion be the break point like my d35 pinion would be with cromes and a locker? I will keep the d30 if its solid for my needs but I also dont mind swapping it out, I havent put a cent into it yet. I wish i could put full width axles on it but thats very unreasonable if I'm going to run 31.5" winters.

 

Ok many questions answered good to know your stock axles have help up to 35s too. Your build sounds sweet good luck to you with it. I have a low pinion d30. If yours is high pinion do you think I would have as good of luck on 35"s? If not please let me know. I was reading into swapping for HP but popular opinion was it isnt worth it so swap a d30 for a d30 so can I throw in chromoly's and call it a day or will my low pinion be the break point like my d35 pinion would be with cromes and a locker? I will keep the d30 if its solid for my needs but I also dont mind swapping it out, I havent put a cent into it yet. I wish i could put full width axles on it but thats very unreasonable if I'm going to run 31.5" winters.

 

Mine is a high pinion Dana 30, your low pinion Dana 30 may hold up ok with 35s but your Dana 35 rear won't for very long. Since you plan on swapping the rear anyway it may be cheaper to find a cheap 97-99 XJ with a Chrysler 8.25 rear and you can swap both axles in and have plenty of spare parts or you can part it out to get some of your money back.

 

This sounds like my best bet. There hasn't been an xj in the junkyards here for years but I think I know where to get my hand on some 99 xj axles. Thanks again.

 

Ok thanks for your input.

 

So the guy I know with the 99 sport sold it to someone else I know so I asked if he wants to part it out, and told him I'm interested in the axles and other things. He said he hasn't made up his mind but he asked what I'll give him for it. I'm not really looking for a parts Jeep as I live with my parents still and they don't enjoy parts rigs sitting in their yard as much as I, but what should I offer him if I could find a place for it assuming it has the hp d30 and c8.25 im looking for? If I can't buy the whole thing what's a good offer on the axles in good condition? The gears will likely be no of no use to me as I plan on 3.92 gears but maybe I can resell of keep for spare. Anything that is specific to my '00 limited trim isn't of any value to me I just want the axles and the front fenders if they're good. From what I understand it isn't hard to get running but it isn't road worthy, should the fact that its a buggy/parts Jeep be a red flag for the axles condition? My front lp d30 has some camber to it and i dont want that in the future. Can I check camber without an allignment machine?
All info and opinions appreciated.

 

Don't waste money putting 3.92 gears in, if your planning on 33s or 35s go with 4.56 gears.

 

I would like to run 31.6" tires during winter as my 33" duratracs aren't cutting it for me in the winter so I'm looking for a happy medium. Its my DD so I'm not looking to up my torque ratio, I'm going for fuel economy, offroad dependability up to a 34-35", and winter driveability on ice and deep snow on highways and city, most of my city is on a hill. I can compromise somewhere if need be. So with a formula from BleepinJeep stock ratio for 31.6" is 3.86, for a true 35" it would be about 4.28. So I'm thinking I would rather be close to 3.86 in winter so I'm not screaming on a clear day on the highway, sacrificing torque on larger wheels but do you think 3.92 gears would break? 3.92 is a difference of .364 from a 4.28 gear, and my current tires are truly 32" calling for 3.92s, a .367 difference from my stock 3.55s, so it shouldnt have any less torque on true 35s as I do now on my 32" 33s. I plan to have yukon gears and lockers and I have only heard the best about them. Also I dont know if the axles are from a standard yet but they probably are so I might not be able to run big tires on that till I regear it or maybe they'll be 3.73?
Big question is will 3.92 yukons break on true 35s?
8

 

What about 5.13 or 5.33 gears ??

I got some axles with those already in them...but don't expect to go bigger than 36" on tire size..............