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Jeep axles


werewolf

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after reading in the tech articles this is going to be a stupid question. Got a 87 4x4 ranger 2.9 five speed. am mainly fixing up to do the off road trails. won't be on the street much. now for stupid, my boss is a hunting nut. and has a few old hunting jeeps just setting out back only used for hunting. set the rest of the time. set all the time the lest few years. he to suburbans and excretions. the five i drove but the other day are leaf springs front on all. three are full time hubs and two had locking hubs. from what i have read it would be a waste of time to change most likely dana 30. i haven't got under any wet also has a wrecked 93 ranger was parts runner. with 4.0 he said i could. waste of time or not. all parts i can get free, or keep looking for 95 and up explore.:dunno:
 


scotts90ranger

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Could you clear up those statements into questions? Don't wanna be a jerk, but that's extremely hard to read...

All Jeep Wrangler's are Dana 30 front axle except the newer Rubicon's I think (even then I think it's a Dana 44 rear, might still be a 30 front), I don't know much else. All Cherokee's are 30's as well, a lot of people swap to Dana 30's and do ok...

If you are asking if the 4.0L and front axle from the wrecked '93 Ranger would be worth swapping in (I'm assuming you have a 2.9L in your '87) it honestly should be pretty easy as they are pretty similar engines, if the '93 is a 4x4 the Dana 35 front axle would bolt right into your '87 (assuming 4x4 on the '87), there could be difference on driveshaft lengths as 2.9L's use odd transmissions...
 

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The JK Wrangler Rubicons are D44 front and rear, If the axels are in a rubicon they will have electric lockers, depending on the year it will have either 3.73 or 4.10 gears. The 2007 thru 2010 had 4.10 with all transmissions. In 2011 they swapped to 3.73 as the standard gearing in the axel for auto, but a 4.10 could be ordered.

I know this info because I had a 2010 Rubicon, swapped to a 2014 and now run a 2017 Hard Rock all with 4.10 gears in them. 1st one was a 6 spd and the other 2 have been autos with 4.10's and had to pay the extra for the gearing upgrade.
 

Captain Ledd

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From what I interpreted, all of the jeeps are leaf sprung front, so I'm guessing YJ's or earlier vintage. Though, FSJ's (Wagoneers and/or J-trucks), that everyone seems to forget about had leafs up front too, but the op didn't specify what kind of "Jeep". Which they might be if the full time hubs he's talking about are factory. Any of the XJ variations of jeeps were all coils.

And yeah, not to be a jerk, but that is kinda hard to read. if you could separate out and word your questions a little more clearly and give some more information on the vehicles that would be a huge help to us, and ultimately, you.
 

4x4junkie

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I'll attempt a translation on this:

After reading in the tech articles, this is going to be a stupid question. I have an 87 4x4 Ranger 2.9 five speed. I am mainly fixing it up to do some off road trails. It won't be on the street much.
Now for the stupid part... My boss is a hunting nut, and has a few old jeeps just sitting out back that were only used for hunting. They have sat most of the time, and have sat for all of the last few years (he is into Suburbans and Excursions). They all had leaf springs on the front (<< hoping that one is right, I couldn't tell all of it for sure-- 4x4j) Three of them had full time hubs and two had locking hubs. From what I have read it would be a waste of time to change to what is most likely a Dana 30. I haven't got under any of them yet to check. Also, he has a wrecked 93 ranger that was a parts runner, with a 4.0L. He said I could have it. Waste of time or not? All parts I can get for free, or keep looking for 95 and up Explorer?:dunno:


A Jeep Dana30 front and D35 rear are both not as sturdy as what came factory under a '93 4WD 4.0L Ranger. So I would certainly say swapping the stuff from the '93 would be well worth your while (assuming it IS 4WD... you didn't say, or it was not obvious if you did). If the '93 is also a stickshift, you can make this whole thing a bolt-on affair by swapping the front axle, driveshaft, trans and t-case together (which all are better than your '87's units anyway). The rear 8.8 will swap straight over no matter what, though you may need to modify or change your driveshaft if you reuse your stock one (the '93 8.8 is also 2" wider overall at the wheel flanges, if that's any concern).

A '95 Explorer won't yield any replacement options for your 1987's Dana28 front axle, but the disc-brake rear would be desirable. It would also be a little stronger than the '93 Ranger 8.8 due to the bigger axle shafts. The Ex 8.8 needs the spring perches moved, it's not bolt-in (well, it is if you want to lower it about 6"...)
 

ben_2_go

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after reading in the tech articles this is going to be a stupid question. Got a 87 4x4 ranger 2.9 five speed. am mainly fixing up to do the off road trails. won't be on the street much. now for stupid, my boss is a hunting nut. and has a few old hunting jeeps just setting out back only used for hunting. set the rest of the time. set all the time the lest few years. he to suburbans and excretions. the five i drove but the other day are leaf springs front on all. three are full time hubs and two had locking hubs. from what i have read it would be a waste of time to change most likely dana 30. i haven't got under any wet also has a wrecked 93 ranger was parts runner. with 4.0 he said i could. waste of time or not. all parts i can get free, or keep looking for 95 and up explore.:dunno:

Are you speaking of the CJ made up to 1986 or the square headlight YJ made from 87-02? The CJ dana 44 with disc brakes is a good axle. My 74 had D44 front and rear. With a AMC 304 built to a hi comp 307, T150, and dana 20 sporting dana 18 gears. I couldn't kill those axles while running 33x12.50-15 tires. They were open diffs tho. Running leaf spring axles in a coil spring Ranger will require a good amount of work and welding. The Early Bronco or late 70's F150 D44 would be an almost bolt in affair.


My '85 Ranger I upgraded to D35 TTB from a later Ranger, 90 or 91 IIRC. It was a good upgrade for 33 inch tires. If I was doing it over, I would do the TTB out of a full size or a later Rubicon D44 and a 9 inch rear.

I am considering an SAS on my 01 Ranger. I just haven't decided which way I want to go. My tire choice will be a narrow 33 to 35 inch tire. That's a good place to start when considering an axle. The next thing is where will you drive the truck and how often you'll actually go there.
 

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