headRUSH

Hey guys I have a 2001 Cherokee that's currently running stock diffs and 31" tires. I'm upgrading in a few months to Eaton E-Lockers and new axles but I wanna get some things right first because I keep getting a little confused.

What are my best options for heavy duty axles that I can run my 31's on until I get the 35's? I want the gearing to be setup for 35's with moderate highway MPG and moderate off-roading in mind.

Also, I've got a 3" lift so 35's might be out of the question without more lift, so if I do need to lift I'll be replacing it with a 6" lift. This is happening regardless but sooner than later if I can't get the 35's under it yet, which I imagine will be the case.

After this I guess the only thing left will be a turbo.

xjmarc

Unless you have a D35 rear your stock axles will hold 35s. The low pinion front is slightly weaker than a high pinion version so you could find one from an earlier model and bolt it in. The 96 and up, I think, have the larger joints and yours will swap in if you get an older model. The 8.25 rear is fine with 35s in stock form. If you wanted chromo shafts you could swap some in but you'll be spending a ton of money on axles that will still be maxed out with 35s. As for gears think 4.56-4.88. 4.88s would be a little better with 35s but the pinion gets a bit small and is weaker. I ran 4.56s with 35s and now 38s and they do fine.

Fred/N0AZZ

Just change your LPD30 to a HPD30 and if you have the Chy. 8.25 29 spline you will be good to go on your upgrade. I'm running the same thing with stock axles, Detroit Lockers and 4.56 gears, zero issues.

headRUSH

Ok i've got the d turdy five in the rear and the D30LP up front, so in the front if I just change it to a high pinion how high can I go up in tires? Same question if I replace the rear with a 8.25.

I can't help but think if I put a 6.5" lift in I might eventually want more than 35s, I want to keep my options open so I never have to do this again.

Would it be more worth my time to just go ahead and take the plunge into 38's and get the right gearing and lockers for it when I do the upgrade? I would have to replace the gears AND lockers to go from 35's to 38's right? Or would 4.56 or 4.88 gears do both well?

headRUSH

Just found a complete chrysler 8.25 rear on on craigslist :

"complete hub to hub, also have front axle shafts, drive shafts, hub bearings, rotors,calipers, ect from a 2000 Cherokee jeep patriot edition. Would like $150 for all of it"

I priced a front axle once for $300+ from a junkyard so I think this is a really good deal, it's got the 3.55 gears so I could just swap it in for now and then when I upgrade all I have left is to get the high pinion in the front then swap gears and install lockers.

I can add the lift and SYE at the same time and put the tires under it and be good to go.

If I did exactly what I said here and wanted to go with 38's would I be good with 4.88 gears? I heard somewhere the most you want to go with the 8.25 would be 4.88.

This is alot to do at once so I might leave the lockers for afterwards just to conserve money for awhile.

phletch

38's on stock axles is not going to work. Period. 35's are the upper limit.

Ianf406

It is somewhat sketchy to run 4.88s in a D30. People do it but you have to be a little more careful.

The 8.25 will not hold 38s. You could build a XJ D44 to work but it probably wouldn't be cost effective starting from scratch. You would better off just getting some large axles to start with.

In no world would I run 38s on a D30... much less with 4.88s. Im sure its been done but certainly not ideal nor is it advisable.

35s you should be fine. Do you have the knowhow to do the gears yourself? (Its not very cheap) If not, I would save up and only pay for it once... Get some good axles if 38s are on the horizon.

XJlimitedx99

The front out of the 2000 is also a low pinion.

As stated before, 35s are the max limit on a high pinion d30 and 29 spline 8.25. If you have any intentions of going bigger than you should keep your 31s for awhile and start sourcing bigger axles to build.

headRUSH

Keeping the 31s for awhile sounds like a good idea. Would I have to buy all new lockers once I change my gear ratio? If so I will wait on those until I find axles. It sounds like until that happens my only option would be to get the lift installed, then do the axles and lockers together.

After the lift and axles + lockers is there anything else needed to make this thing a trail monster? I know skid plates but I'm talking mechanical. I have all the tools and know how to do all this myself but I'm not gonna have alot of time to do all this working at the railroad so I will get it done at a shop. I've swapped out plenty of transmissions and engines, my dad used nothing but cherokees when he delivered rural mail for the post office so I've done about everything you can do to a jeep haha.

Maybe I should do like him and have a kid so in a few years I can have some help with all this :P

XJlimitedx99

Quite honestly I think the first thing you should do is frame stiffeners. Once you start adding all this extra weight the unibody will not be happy, especially around the steering box area.

I've been thinking about this a lot lately, I think I'm going to buy the full set of hd off-road engineering's stiffeners. Also a steering box spacer and steering box brace would be a good idea. A trailer hitch, strong front bumper, and long arm crossmember are also good to tie the two unibody rails together.

The lockers you buy will definitely be specific to the axles and fears you have. If you want to run 38s you're going to need some big boy axles. I'm not super familiar with common setups for those so look into that some more.

To clear 38s you'll need to cut a lot of fender. The front is easy enough but the back will need to be hacked passed the spot welds and welded back together. The other day I read through the instructions of the notch customs flares and it gives a good write up on how to cut and reweld the quarter panel together.

I'm sure there's plenty more to think about that I'm leaving out. It never ends!

ohio95xj

Honestly, it doesn't sound like you are even remotely ready for 38's by the questions you are asking. Can you weld? Do you trust your life with your welds? I don't think you have any idea what all is needed to run 38's.

headRUSH

As far as the steering goes I want to just swap a grand cherokee steering box in. Frame stiffeners and skid plates sound good. I'm not worried about cutting my fenders I've wanted to do that for awhile because I hate the look of the stock fender flares, I want some of those studded ones http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...QL._SX425_.jpg this style but for a cherokee obviously. If those won't let me fit 35's-38's I'll jeep leave it bare and trim them.

Of course I don't know what's needed to run 38's, that's most of what this post is about. Engine work is a breeze to me however I'm not familiar at all with differentials.

Basically once I figure out what set of axles I'll use everything else I can manage pretty well.

Most of what I want to do is get the most potential out of this as I can, but it's possible I'll be satisfied with 35's. Who knows maybe the best thing to do would be lift it, lock it with the 8.25 rear end, then just replace what breaks until I don't break anything anymore.

XJlimitedx99

I'm not familiar with people using gc steering boxes. A lot of people use Durango boxes, but a guy at my local shop told me that those really aren't much better. He said the only steering box upgrade he would do is a Sagnaw YJ box with 4 bolts. Hydro assist steering might not be a bad idea either.

With 38s you'll want deep gears, probably like 5.13 or 5.38 with full case lockers. For axles you're probably going to want a HP 44 or 60 front with a 9" or 60 rear. As I stated, I'm not familiar with common setups for those.

My recommendation to you is find some build threads of other people who run 38s or bigger and read what they have into their rigs.

srb53150

this x 2 , just be happy w/ 35's , save yourself some money & misery.

xjmarc

If you really want to run 38s start saving your pennies. You'll need tons to do it right, my 44 front breaks all the time and it has chromos in it. Plan on 1k for a D60 front then another grand to gear and lock it. A good $500 to get a good truss and all required brackets. A rear 14 bolt can be had for 150 bucks then add on the cost of gears and a locker. Plate the frame and you'll need to address the steering. Mine are a pain to turn at slow speeds on the trail. You'll also need new drive shafts and so on. And FYI with a little cutting I easily clear my 38s on 6" of lift. Same can be done with 4" and 35s. Taller isn't always better and I wish mine wasn't quite as tall as it is now.