Hey all,

I recently purchased an 01 Cherokee, 4.0 automatic with 160k original miles, super clean drives great overall I’m happy. BUT the front driveshaft has been removed. PO states it was stolen (may be true or could be looking at fixing something he was trying hide $$) regardless I was happy with purchase because of condition and price. Hopefully I am looking at throwing a new front driveshaft in and all is well.

My question is… with 4 “ springs and 1” shackles in the front and 3” leafs in the rear what front driveshaft will I need? Im told stock may not work and that could be why he removed. No junkyards nearby have them or are already removed as I have called around. So I will have to suck it up and buy one to get this done soon in prep for Midwest winter but don’t want to play the guessing game.

Thanks In advance. Still learning. Pic of xj below

 

https://www.adamsdriveshaftoffroad.com/
They have measurement charts or just call them.
The shaft you need is pretty standard.
They know their jeeps.

 

Has it been regeared? It may have been done in the rear but not in the front. I would definitely make sure both axle ratios match.

 

What TrailerTrash said but also thinking betting there is a vibration going on with the front driveshaft and the lift too so....

 

Best to make sure the diff and transfer case are good to go.

 

Stock is fine.

 

@Ralph77 as far as I know, the rear hasn’t been regeared. Im sure that would’ve been a mentioned selling point. I’m betting on the vibration as well. Picking up a new front driveshaft tommorow so we will see. Much rather it be vibration as opposed to Tc issues or front diff issues.

 

Yeah okay lol

 

@TrailerTrash ok then, let’s assume we can’t trust the previous owner. Want to tell me how to check if it’s been regeared?

 

Crack the covers and start counting teeth

 

You can also get the tires off the ground, put it in neutral, spin the tires all the way around once and see how many times the pinion does a complete circle. If it spins around 3.5 times, that means you are on factory gears.

 

Might aswell take the covers off. I'm sure the oil needs changed anyway

 

My bet is vibs. The Dana 30 you have is a low pinion with out the right adjustment via control arm and if there is any wear on the front drive shaft joints they might have removed it for that reason.
man that's a beautiful Xj!

 

Thank you all for the information, I really appreciate it!

 

I was also coming in to mention the 00-01 XJ's came with low pinion front axles rather than the high pinion that all the other years had. That would make the lift have a more significant impact on driveline vibes than XJ's with high pinion axles. If you can get your hands on a high pinion axle for a good price, it would be a worthwhile swap for driveline geometry and gearset strength.