I have an 89 xj, I want to put bigger axles under it and I have heard about putting older wagoner or scout axles under it, and I was woundering what would be the best way to go.

The easiest would be to get them from a late model wagoneer. They had 44's front and rear. You want a driver's side drop on the front and a centered rear. You can also get the rear from an older xj which would be a direct match(obviously). I will be doing this soon and this is my plan, but I want a rear 44 with discs. *wink*:D

Yes, the waggy rear is a piece of cake and not even worth more than just saying "Look and it...you'll figure it out"

I went with a Scout II D44 in mine. It was free, I got the 11" drums (well, around there, Scouts used that funky sizing) a centered pumpkin so the shafts are exactly the same for easy spares, a 5 on 5.5" pattern, and all told very little work went into it. Same type of deal as just about any other swap. Move the perches, set the pinion angle, regear, truss, blah blah blah. It is about 2" narrower, but you can fix that no problem with some spacers from performance wheel. If you need the more technical info, run a search on my name. I think I posted it a few times in the past. If you don't get what you are looking for, feel free to e-mail me and I will help you out.

Of course you could always do the oh so popular Ford 8.8" swap. Search on 8.8 and you will find enough info around here to make your head pop. The only reason that I didn't throw this axle under the Jeep was because every junkyard around here was asking between $500 to $1000 plus core the last time I called.

Of course, if you want BIGGER, I've got a line on some Rockwell's if you want em :flipoff2:

I am in process of swapping a 44 from a waggie into my XJ right now.....it is pretty straight forward

Currently getting set-up to do a all around D44 swap on my XJ from a scout. Since my XJ came with E1 elses stuff (see the acronymn for J.E.E.P.)
J-just
E-everyones
E-elses
P-parts
I'm currently working on a front suspension idea that eliminates the (short) control arms.
I've done some research into axle widths, and heres the results.
FS waggy...........56.5", wide-track........58"
IH scout.............58" rear, 59" front.
Cherokee wheels have a 4" backspacing, if you use an aftermarket wheel, or request it, you can get a wheel offset of 3" thus putting track width back to normal.
Good Luck:beer:

Originally posted by mtndewmaniac
Currently getting set-up to do a all around D44 swap on my XJ from a scout. Since my XJ came with E1 elses stuff (see the acronymn for J.E.E.P.)
J-just
E-everyones
E-elses
P-parts
I'm currently working on a front suspension idea that eliminates the (short) control arms.
I've done some research into axle widths, and heres the results.
FS waggy...........56.5", wide-track........58"
IH scout.............58" rear, 59" front.
Cherokee wheels have a 4" backspacing, if you use an aftermarket wheel, or request it, you can get a wheel offset of 3" thus putting track width back to normal.
Good Luck:beer:

stock Xj wheels actually have 5.25in BS. all of them.
wider is better.

Actually the simplest rear D44 for an XJ would come from another XJ. The '89 and earlier XJ's with the tow package ran 44'd in the rear and would be direct bolt-in's.

Originally posted by erikrs301
Actually the simplest rear D44 for an XJ would come from another XJ. The '89 and earlier XJ's with the tow package ran 44'd in the rear and would be direct bolt-in's.

1987-1989 to be exact. These came with a "metric tow package." They are fairly easy to find and not very expensive. I did the 8.8" in mine. It was a fairly easy swap and I got 4 wheel discs out of it. If you plan on staying under 35" tires, go with the D44. I would go with the 8.8" if you have big power and 35-37" tires. Both units can be made full float. Also, the 8.8" comes w/ a 5 on 4.5" bolt pattern.
Check out my website for 8.8" pictures.

I you're swapping both you don't want a new rear w/ 5 on 4.5".
Just use both Waggys so you have the same lug patterns.