andrews_96sport

love this build and totally love the rear end cover

teamxj

yea i love the diff cover, did you just paint it ?

1ABrian

Are the 8.8's stong enough to push locked 35's? I read earlier you were thinkin 33's or 35's but wanted 35's What type of wheelin you gonna be doing? The build looks awsome and following this thread. Great job!!

n_a_i_w

I did the diff. cover myself. Dont know how long it will last but why not. As far as the Ford 8.8. The guy that installed my gears and lockers has been biulding them for a few years now and replacing the Dana 44 with the Ford 8.8's. Even under the new jeeps. They are a lot stronger just by looking at them you can see the differance.
The XJ is my daily driver and I dont plan on retiring it to a play toy any time soom. But if I want to go out crawling I dont want my trails limited from a bad biuld rather than I just dont want to my jeep up. I go out now with and have no problems keeping up except for ground clearance. 35's will solve that. When I'm done I want to be the one they call to come get them out... LOL... Rubi owners talk alot of crap bout my XJ. Its all in fun over a beer at the end of the day. But I still like showing them up....

1ABrian

Cool, thanks for he details on the 8.8. I see TONS of swaps with them and seem reasonably priced too. What is it running you for the axles and rebuild costs?

n_a_i_w

I picked the Ford 8.8 from a local pick a part. Pulled out from a 96 ford explorer for the disc brakes and 31 spline shafts. $150.00
I ordered the new spring perches and shock mounts from IRO. Below are the links and prices .

Spring perches. They where a perfect fit. Didnt have to do any grinding. $30.00.
http://www.ironrockoffroad.com/Merch...gory_Code=F88S

Shock mounts where a perfect fit also. Required no grinding. $18.00
http://www.ironrockoffroad.com/Merch...tegory_Code=UP

I ordered the Riddler cover from Rokmen $109.00 Free shipping
http://www.rokmen.com/tj_products/di...ff_covers.html

I installed new rotors and pads and installed them just because I didnt want to have to do the brakes in a few months.

Rear rotors $27.00 each
http://www.napaonline.com/Search/Det...+50028+2028014

Rear brake pads. $20.00 Didnt go with any fancy high dollar pads. They tend to sqeeeeek....... so I bought the cheap ones. Nice and quiet.
http://www.napaonline.com/Search/Det...+50028+2028014

Depending on what lockers and gears you want to go with will definitly change the prices. I will post what I went with from Randy's ring and pinion just so you have a idea of prices.

Eaton E Locker $787.00. So far I love this locker.
http://www.ringpinion.com/ProductDet...px?ProdID=1935

Yukon 4:88 Gears $226.00
http://www.ringpinion.com/ProductDet...px?ProdID=1949

Master install kit. $96.00
http://www.ringpinion.com/ProductDet...px?ProdID=1959

I used Lucas oil for the diff. It took almost a gallon to fill it.
My uncle and I installed the rear ourselves. It was not to bad just find a good point to measure from to center the axle. I ended up using the bump stops and measuring across to opposite side calipar mounts. I think that the measurement we came up with to center the axle was 46 inchs.. make sure to do final checkes with the wieght on the axle before you do any tack welding. I also tilted the axle to keep the driveline as striaght as
I could. within 1 or 2 degrees. When it was all said and done we were less than a 1/8 inch differance.
I used all the brake lines from the 8.8 rear end. You will need a small ball pin hammer to tap and bend the lines around. We had to shorten the line a bit becuase i took a differant route of travel. Wanted to keep it up high to avoid damage. I welded a few small bolts to the axle to mount the brake lines to.
Total biuld was bout $2800.00 for the front and the rear. I took it back home and had Roger our gear guy there do the work. Wanted to give the business to him rather than someone I didnt know here in Phoenix. I'm sure I paid a little more but I wanted it done right the first time. He's the best I know and all his business is by word of mouth.
Hope this helps you all out. I will try to answer any questions on the install and if you need me to I can take more pictures of it installed.

Easyduzit

I am looking at an 8.8 for mine that is already set up for the XJ. Did you do anything with your brake booster or master cylinder for the adjustment to rear discs?

Keep up the great work!

n_a_i_w

No I didnt do nothing. Just hook up your lines and youll be good to go.

wagoneer12

good slick looking jeep man.

90XJkid

Did you feel an improvement in braking? Is it much of a difference?

n_a_i_w

The disc brakes where a huge differance. I dont have to apply as much force when I hit the brakes and it doesnt take as much distance to come to a stop either.

Jeep95

Awesome rear dif cover! And also great build man.

n_a_i_w

Thanks, there is more to come....

n_a_i_w

Well desided to replace my headlights and upgrade.

These are the lights i used to replace the old ones.


A shot of the old lights


And the new ones.

I will give a few updates and thoughts in a few days and let you know what i think.

NxtGenCowboy

Did you remove your rear sway bar after you installed the IRO lift?



I have the lift on and done and I upgraded the rear spring plates and Ubolts to RuffStuffs(well worth the $$$) because I swapped in a C8.25 at the same time as the lift.. anyway... I noticed the old rear sway bar mounts do not fit over the Ubolts...


Ive heard good and bad about the rear sway bar... so I figured Id ask for a real world opinion.