So long story short, picked up a 98 Cherokee Limited and the rear end just gave out. Found a Dana 44 from an 89 XJ on craigslist for 150. From what I have found so far, the only thing I need to worry about is finding a shorter DS. Is that correct?

 

Depends on what rear you had, and what trans you have.

This may not be a bad time to do a SYE of sorts, depending on what your doing with the rig.

 

Well it had a 8.25 on it and has the AW4 trans. This will mostly be used to pull the boat and day to day activities.

 

i dont know much about driveshaft lenghts. are you lifted at all?if so you should go ahead and get a SYE while you are at it to make the powertrain a little stronger and wont have to worry about possible vibes in the future

 

Nah I have no plans on lifting this one. Hard enough keeping up the maintenance on all the other rigs lol.

 

The difference in length between the 8.25 and D44 is very small and you'll be fine, D35 is another story.

 

Awesome. Thanks for all the info everyone!