Modrod

If you just drive your XJ as a regular vehicle on the road and you don't wheel hard then you just leave the one you have in it. Because if you don't wheel hard you will not have to worry about breaking an axle shaft and if you do wheel hard with bigger tires you will break the non C-clip axle anyway.
The tubes are too small and thin "on both axles" which causes too much flex under hard off roading and wheeling and that causes the axle shaft to break. If you want a cheap, decent and easy upgrade. Get the Chrysler 8.25 axle out of a 96-2001 XJ which has 29 spline axles and your done. Bolts up without major mods.

Sure, everyone says to get a Dana 44, which is in almost the same realm as fairies, elves and gnomes these days. Good luck, and if you find one it probably costs as much as you spent on your Jeep initially and it is not that much stronger than the Chrysler 29 spline 8.25.

If you are running huge tires and you want something super strong and with disc brakes, same wheel bolt pattern and strong 31 spline axles, get a Ford 8.8 axle out of a 97+ Ford Explorer. The 8.8 is super strong and only a bit narrower than the stock XJ axle.

Yes, you will have to weld on spring perches and get a drive shaft flange to fit the 8.8, but both are easy to find and install "with help from a how to online" and a friend that can weld, and you will have a bad a$$ axle. And they look cool and beefy on a lifted XJ from the back.

If you have a U-Pull It yard and a great friend to help, you can get them for $80 bucks. Spring perches $20, DS Flange is about $30 to $40 if I remember right.
Just remember to get the same ratio, 3.55 is more than likely your ratio and is one of the most common ratio's in the Fords, unless you have some special edition or 4 cylinder XJ.

Don't bother with a Dana 35 if you are worried about breaking and having the wheel fall off. You are basically putting in another Dana 35 that you are expecting to break and you just don't want the wheel to fall off. Not much of an advantage for all the work.

Modrod

Embarrassingly enough, I don't know how. I just looked it up and figured it out.
lol. I'm off tonight and bored as you can tell with my bazillion quotes.

hytek

My rear washer fluid squirter makes the sound like it works, but nothing comes out? Is there a 2nd resivoir I'm not seeing or is it clogged somewhere?

Modrod

Mine was doing that too. But it was the hose and I could see the washer fluid peeing all over the hatch. If it is not leaking out anywhere along the rear tube route, it is probably clogged up. If you have access to a compressor or some canned air, you can carefully disconnect the hose from the rear wiper blade, you can blow the air into the tube and see if you get bubbles into the res tank. If you don't it's clogged if you do, try it again and see if it works. If not then maybe the pump motor is spinning but the impeller is broken in the motor. Check for debris at the res intake hole at the bottom of the tank too. Maybe it is blocked.

hytek

Right on thanks. I just got some air tools so I'll give that a try.

Nperryman

I put on a 3 inch aal about 6 months ago and my rear passenger leafspring has got a gap between the added leaf and one of the stock ones. The clamp is still holding it strong but there is about 1/4 inch gap between them. Is it okay?

Modrod

Sweet, I love my air tools. I'm in an apartment now so I am sad since I can't use them. I had to buy an electric impact gun. lol It's a DeWalt and it has worked really well so far so better than nothing I guess.

Modrod

Ooops, double posted.

Modrod

Sounds almost like they are not bolted tightly together like the Drivers side one is. I would look real close at both sides and compare to see if they are exactly in the same position and nothing looks out of place or misaligned. Also, make sure that you didn't put it in wrong. ie, front to back. Sometimes the AAL is longer on one side from the leaf pack bolt hole end to end. If you did you will have to redo that side and flip it around.
Also, there could be a piece of debris between those two particular leafs and it is clamped together causing the gap.

Kuro89

thanks Modrod, so its still a worthless toothpick of an axle, funny thing is I see dana 44 on xjs and mjs quite often

Modrod

The D44 comes in the MJ's but it is a spring under design so you would have to cut off the old perches and if not salvageable you would have to buy and weld on new ones. Also, some of the other D44 options are from the bigger full size older Wagoneer and full size pickup but they have a different bolt pattern for the wheels and could be too wide. The only bolt in is a D44 out of an XJ with the tow package. They are pretty rare. Most of the D44 axles in XJ's are probably from someone upgrading their XJ.
Don't get me wrong, you can find them, but most are not bolt in and they average about $450+. They are becoming more and more rare. If you have to do a bunch of modifications to a D44 to get it to work, you might as well get the Ford 8.8. If you find a D44 that will bolt in and is a good price I would definitely buy it because it is a good axle. But for the money you could build an axle that will be a lot stronger than the D44.

The D44 has a longer pinion so your drive shaft would have to be shortened too. The 8.8 is only a half inch longer than the D35 so you can use your stock DS with the universal flange for the Ford.

If you are running a tire under 35 inches you could even go with the Chrysler 8.25, it has the same pinion diameter as the Dana 60 and when the D44 breaks it is the pinion shaft because they are not that big. 8.25 1.62 pinion Diameter, D44 1.37 pinion Diameter. With upgraded moly axles and a locker type carrier you would have a 8.25 axle that would be stronger than a bone stock D44 for about the same price. Yes, there is more of an aftermarket for D44's but dollar for dollar it's not such a bargain and the 8.25 has enough aftermarket to get you where you want to be.

But I still like the Ford 8.8, I think if you get all the stuff together and get it prepared to install, you will have the best option. They are all over the place.
For example the D44's big brother is the Dana 60, and it has maximum output torque rating "MOT" at 5500lbs "semi-float", the Ford 31 spline 8.8 is 5100lbs. The Dana 60 weighs 500lbs, The Ford weighs 200lbs. The D44 is rated at 4460lbs MOT, even the Ford 28 spline 8.8 is rated at 4600lbs MOT.
And with the Ford you get the rear disc brakes.

But still, if you find a D44 at good price that is a bolt in then get it. It's just getting to be rare. Never know, you might find a wrecked XJ at the bone yard with one.

Check out these sites and forum discussions.
https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f2/chr...-79499/index3/

Kuro89

lost my tail lights (kept blowing park lamp fuse) and unplugged a bullet connector in the hatch to fix it but now the rear wiper doesn't work, I have read a lot about people with the same problem but they never mention or experience losing the rear wiper.
Does anyone have any insight on this issue, I have searched multiple forums and found nothing.

Modrod

ugh, I hate electrical gremlins. You need a test light and or a multimeter. I have a cheap one for automotive stuff I bought from Harbor Freight because if it gets dropped or dirty I'm not out much.
When you are chasing problems like this you can get caught in the blow the fuse, pull a wire and something stops working and re-blow the fuse and it looks like the wire you just pulled.
So, you have to get organized.
First off, what blows the fuse? When you hit the brakes? Parking lights? Headlight switch?
Did you install a stereo or a new instrument cluster? Or off road lights?
If you did you need to look and make sure that none of your work has damaged or is not grounding on something.
You need to check to see if you wiper fuse is blown too. If it is blown then you might have some wire or wires grounding out due to damage. Like something hanging or pulling on the harness or wires.
The pigtail you unplugged could have been the wiper wire. Maybe the wiper is snagging on the wires or has worn through the wires for the lights.
Pull your tail light housings off and look at the wires underneath. From the factory they are short and really small and wimpy.
Just be careful because the are really delicate and break easy. But look for exposed or broken wires and chaffing.
Make sure the lift-gate is not tearing into the wiring harness that goes from the cab to the lift-gate.

I am just throwing out things I would look for and have experienced.
You just need to look around for wires that look out of place or pulled out, past electrical work from previous owner.
Look for places where the wires could be rubbing on doors and moving parts.

Jeepyjeepy

On the subject of rear wipers.... my rear squirter pees on other cars cuz the deal the tube running up the wiper arm attaches to is broke off....do they sell new or reman parts to fix this or is there a diy option?

Zack92MJ

My rear pump doesn't work. Like I flip the switch and nothing happens