Xj Dana 44 works. Swaps right in you just need to make sure the ratio matches the front. Your front axle will hold 33's just fine keep it if you have a budget. Good luck on the hint for an xj D44

 

Ill second the XJ dana 44, finally found mine for 200 bucks after nearly a year of digging through JYs, craigslist, anywhere and everywhere. Heres a pic so you know what your looking for if you want to try to find one, only offered from '87-'90 with a tow package.

 

Awesum thanks! This forum is great! I had d44s in my tj sport as luck wud have it.will there b any other direct fits besides xjs 87-90? And How cheaper would it be for the ford 8.8? Is it as direct of a swap? Sorry I have no jeep friends to ask these questions to lol def gonna send in my 8 of my vin and see what I'm already sitting on.thanks again everyone

 

No, The 8.8 is not a direct swap but it is very easy provided you have access to a welder and some basic fab tools.

All you'll need are the perches, shock mounts and the companion flange. E-brakes can be made functional with a little work as well.

Keep in mind that the 8.8 is notorious for spinning the tubes and the OEM carrier is not the strongest you'll ever come across. A full case locker is a wise upgrade and welding the tubes to the center section is mandatory.

 

Yeesh..I think I'd rather wait and see what I can turn up on the Dana's. 200$ seems like a fair price.tho Iam a fabricator by trade and have access to even a plasma cnc table.ths build won't happen overnight so if it takes me a year I'd jus rather get the Dana.is the ford really more reliable then what I already have?

 

Since you haven't told us what rear axle you currently have it's impossible to say.

 

Tu shay lol I'm awaiting my build sheet request

 

Build sheet?!
There plenty of threads here that will tell you how to ID your axle based on the shape of the rear cover.

 

Well I'm laying under it if ths helps

 

Dana 35. Don't waste any money on it.

 

Bummer.yea I'm reading now there pretty weak.what kinda axels lift and tires are u running offroader?

 

So if I swap in a d44 and run the 33x12.5 and later on decide I want to add front and rear lockers shuld I consider upgrading axel shafts front and rear then? I'm jus trying to see what and when shuld b the deciding factor in upgrading to a more durable set up.

 

Way too much to list here. If you look under my screen name on the left side you'll see a link to my Cherokee

 

,.,,

 

after extensive research on this question myself, for locked 33's on the D30 I found that you absolutely should upgrade the ujoints and grind them to fit full circle clips. http://www.therangerstation.com/Maga...t_snapring.htm

chromoly shafts are up to you. I decided against them for now because of cost and I don't want to spend much more on a D30. and if you have beefy axles and ujoints, it moves the weak point to other places such as carrier and ring and pinion. stock shafts are much cheaper to replace. for the rear D44 yeah I'd feel comfortable investing in chromos. you'll get most of your money back people spend big money on 44's for some reason

^^that's my thought process on the matter. but you would greatly benefit from spending some time searching the forum through google to get more opinions.
I am running a rubicon 4.5" on 33x12.5's with and 8.8 swap and plenty of internal upgrades
vv you can check out my build thread in the link to get an idea of how much effort it takes to do this