pull the bulb...but think that your ecu will always be looking for that function... do you have inspections in your state?

 

u-joints are the exact same. they are spicer 1310 no matter what axle.
the u-bolts are different, the d35 uses 2.75 inch and the 8.25 uses 3 inch (wide that is, you know, axle tube diameter).

you do however want the drive shaft with the 8.25 because the pinion is longer than the d35, so your stock drive shaft will be too long, about an inch.

as for the abs, just pull your abs relay from under the hood in the PDC (fuse box) and all is well. you just won't have operating abs. who needs it anyways.
*edit - if you just pull the bulb, your pedal will pulsate every time you step on the brake, at least till you reach 20mph but if you pull the relay, no pedal interference, it will act like you don't have abs at all. perfectly fine. at least with my tj anyways. your xj should be the same.

as for pulling it, just cut the chit off. took me 5 minutes last week to pull an xj44. seriously. i just used a grinder running off a generator.
cut the shock rods, u-bolts and brake lines all with the grinder.
then pulled the axle with drive shaft attached. it will just slip right out of the t-case.

 

What bulb? See I don't actually know what happens when I put a non ABS axle under my jeep that is installed with ABS. I just have read that like something will happen and to get rid of it you pull a fuse or something. If you could explain what happens that would be awesome.

And yea I have inspection. It's actually getting inspected tomorrow

 

Awesome!! Thanks for the informative reply. So I will still pass inspection with the ABS fuse pulled? I don't care if I don't have ABS, but I will care if I don't pass inspection lol.

And I'm not gonna cut anything cuz I don't have a grinder lol.

 

I did everything a few months ago under the hood pull the 2 ABS fuses in the fuse panel i passed inspection with it out and no problems for the ABS wires just tuck them away you wont need them the U-Joints are the same size and for drive shafts i have 4.5 inches of lift and my D35 drive shaft worked but if your not lifted get the 8.25 drive shaft

 

trace the ABS wires from the axle to under the bench seat. Unclip them from the computer. seal the holes with sealant unless you want the carpet under the seat to mold btw.
Pull the relay under the hood, and 2 fuses from the interior panel. One is the ABS, one is the light. No need to pull the gauge cluster to yank the bulb.
IIRC my ABS light fuse was a yellow 2 Amp. in position 7. that is on a 96 so yours may be different.
All relays and fuses gone? Computer in the XJ won't know the difference and neither will the inspector.

 

yes i learned something today +1

 

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Oh wow, ok cool man, thanks!!

I'm gonna snag the 8.25 shaft, but I'll try my D35 shaft first, as I also have a 4.5 inch lift.



Thanks to everyone who responded!!! You all have built my confidence and cleared up a lot of stuff for me. Can't wait to go pull my axle in two weeks!!

 

I swapped out my ABS D35 for a non-ABS 8.25. You will need new UBOLTS as mentioned below, I also had to swap out the e-brake cables from the d35 (1998) to the 8.25 (1994). Other than that it was a straight axle swap. I used the d35 driveshaft because it was in better shape. At the time I didnt know the d35 driveshaft was longer but with my lift it worked out perfect. Some people will say using a non-ABS axle is unsafe but Ive been driving it that way for about a year and my brakes actually work better. I just pulled the ABS relay and fuses last week cause I got tired of the light yelling at me.

 

Thanks dude, very helpful. I'm grabbing an 8.25 from a 97+ so I shouldnt need to take the e brake cables

 

One last question. Since I'm getting a 97+ axle for m 97+ Jeep, I can use the same e-brake cable right? Also, how do I disconnect the e brake line from the axle? Thanks