what tires are you running now and what tires do you plan to run latter. because i drove around with 3.55's and 29's 31's and 33's with my rear detroit. when getting up to 33's it stated to get undriveable.
just last year i regeared and added the front elocker. well worth it.
but again i would not re gear until you decide on your final tire choice. wasted money if you gear to 4.10's for 31's and then go to a 33" or 35" tire.
if you feel you NEED a locker do a rear detroit now and enjoy your rig utill you decide what you wanna do.

 

I hate this logic. Sounds great on paper but you're going to get a lot more all around use out of the front being locked first


OP you live in socal so snow isn't an issue and your rear axle is 27 spline. It's pretty clear you should not to waste any money on that 8.25 so obviously you're going to need to lock the front first. just buy an aussie and if you don't like it sell it later, they're very re-usable devices.

secondly, you need to upgrade to spicer 760x ujoints if you're going off road regardless of locker or not. research that next
gears are great just get 4.56's when you can afford it

 

Well. I run 32s and 33s now, but I think that some day I will through in some 35s. I assume that with 35s it's MUST to be regeared.

I'm using this Cherokee as a toy for weekends trails in Nor Caly mostly from Fall to Spring. So I hope it will see some snow this year.

How much can 4.56's and spice 760x ujoints cost?

 

I don't remember what gears cost it's gonna be a few hundred after installation though. you'll want to upgrade rear to 29 spline at the same time as gears

the cheap effective upgrade is the full circle ujoints. It's a must have for anyone who goes offroad
https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f46/bl...2/#post2058717

 

Even with 35" tires go with the 4.56 gears the 4.88's have a weak (very small) pinion and easy to break under hard use ( a must for 33's and up). The 4.56's are built much heavier that is the main reason I chose them for my XJ running both now 33's and 35" tires on beadlocks for some trails. This is a good all-around gear for 31-35" tires for off road a set of 4.56 gears from Rustys cost me under $500 for both sets the Chy 8.25 29 spline and D30 included master install kits for both also.


Do replace your 27 spline 8.25 for a complete differential 29 spline from a 97-01 XJ $1-200 at the local JY before installing gears or lockers Gears and lockers should be installed at the same time if possible because no extra labor is involved installing the lockers.


You can get cheap lunchbox lockers from $300 up and a really good full spool (very strong) auto locker like the Detroit Lockers for $6-800 each depending on app. I paid $200 for each differential to have my gears and lockers installed here at a small 4x4 Shop.


So you could get by with as little as $1100 in parts total to re-gear and lock both ends plus labor where you live.

 

Thank you very much for the input. Lock the D30, upgrade u-joints, I know what's on my Christmas list. New gears will probably be a long way away, but I'll keep it in mind.

Edit: darny darn darn!!! After some research (yay! I know how to search!) I believe I have the weaker/smaller shafts that use the 260x u-joints, not the 297x, so the 760x won't fit. So...new (used?) shafts, plus the 760x joints, are in order to run a locker. This thing is becoming a major money pit.

 

have you seen any 4.88 sets break in a position where any other set would not have? just because of the "inherently" "weak" design, not abuse?
in a 5000lb expedition inspired xj (not a rock bouncer) i needed the 4.88's even on 33's. too many hills around here. sure i can only go 65 - 70 mph, but i get 21mpg (!!!) on the highway and i'm not overheating the trans shifting it to death.
drove to moab (400 miles one way) did fins and hells revenge, explored canyonlands and drove back. flawless.
i would rather be overgeared. less skinny pedal to get it to move under all conditions.

 

Is this one that should be used?

https://yubasutter.craigslist.org/pts/5199139732.html

 

^thats for a high pinnion/reverse cut dana 30. make sure you have one before you run to the bank in excitement.
if it works go get it. a new lockrite is about that price, or some more

 

low pinion, left.........high pinion,right. go and look at your jeep. hope this helps
if your axle looks like the one on the right, it will work.

 

One more question to all experts. I recently found this kind of deal:

"Dana 30/35 axles , front and back complete with 4.56 gears and a rear locker. Cross over type steering"

I know that Dana 35 is not the best option, but is worth to swap mine C8.25 with 27 splines until I can afford C 8.25 with 29 splines and decent locker?

 

i wouldn't even consider a d35 under any conditions. i would not run one on stock tires if it were given to me.

 

is it so bad?

 

some people say they will last, but i have heard horror stories where a guy was pulling out of a wet cement driveway and he broke one.
1/10 would not recommend.
especially locked up. on 33's
but there are some guys who can break a 14 bolt/ dana 80 /sterling 10.25 with a rubber mallet

 

ha. you're still way on the cheap side of things. if you get a decent crawler and you only have about $4k into it you're doing alright. yeah go get some 95-2001 axle shafts, shave the ears down, pop in some full circle snap rings and new ujoints, keep your old shafts as spares. some day you'll be very very glad you did this upgrade

yes, I have. constantly. all the time. places that 4.56's never would've broken. you are correct that 4.88's should be fine (they actually make 5.13's now too) but I do see them break a lot and I've never seen a shattered set of 4.56's. the pinion is much smaller and it breaks sometimes. plain and simple

that's the good stuff right there, nice price

front axle sounds sweet, how much does he want for the package? If he's asking more than $200 for the rear then I personally would pass on it. that axle really is as terrible as the internet says. definitely go swoop that front axle though, shouldn't be much more than $600-$800 asking price if it's semi built like that