so i have the 35 and i need to replace it. the 8.25 is much easier to find. do i need the drive shaft too? anything else?

 

Yep, you'll need a drive shaft from an xj with an 8.25 and also new u-bolts to accommodate the larger axle tubes.

 

I just did the swap on my 97, the only thing I needed wat the U bolts, there is no difference in the driveshafts.

 

a few guys told me i needed it but if you did it no problem then i guess thats that. thanks

 

DS should be the same length as long as the donor vehicle has the same t-case as yours. (NP242 had longer output shaft and shorter DS)

 

i have selec trac so isnt that the 242?

 

I am currently doing this swap at the same time as a rear lift on my '89. I had to order one a half inch shorter as I only had about 1/4" of compression at the slip yoke. Will let you know how it fits when it arrives wednesday.

 

Got the driveshaft Wednesday, installed the ujoints and my yoke, old shaft was 30 1/4", ordered a 29 3/4" shaft. This was perfect for about 3.5-4" lift in the rear and doing the 8.25 swap at the same time.

 

ok i plan on doing a 3" lift the same time as well. think i'll need the d/s?

 

You wont need it.This is a good time to do a ubolt conversion too and get rid off those straps on the yokehttps://www.cherokeeforum.com/f51/re...version-28141/

 

yeah i'm picking an 8.25 up today then ordering the lift

 

I'm confused... I'm also going from a D35 to an 8.25 and I don't know what kind of tcase the donor XJ for the 8.25 had, but should that matter? Wouldn't I just need to know if there is a difference in the yoke end length between the two axles?

 

My '89 has a nv231, and had a Dana 35, I swapped in the 8.25 at the same time as lifting the rear about 3.5", I needed a shorter shaft. There was enough room to get it bolted in, but the slip yoke only had about 1/4" left of compression into the T/C. I ordered a shorter one off eBay, swapped my ujoints and slip yoke onto the shorter one and I'm good to go!

 

Was the shorter DS you ordered a stock application or something custom made to length?

 

Found it on eBay, there's a guy selling used DS's for XJ's measured Ctr of u to Ctr of u. He had them in varying lengths about a half inch increments.