OK. I a complete Jeep newb. I'm a ranger guy but I have an 89 XJ sitting in the driveway I'd like to make into a project. I need to know everything you can possibly tell me about it. Gear Ratio's, Axles, open diff or limited slip, everything?. It's an 89 XJ 4.0 auto. Completly stock. Tell me all you can and where to look to find the rest. Axle codes and where to reference them etc.:confused:

prolly a D30/D35c combo in it, np231J maybe an AW4? correct me if im wrong.

if its got a towing package its got a dana 44 in the rear.

axle ratio is like 3.05 or 3.07 :1 or somethin like that. and its open diff'd inless youve got the 44 then it may have a limited slip aka trac loc.

with an auto, wouldnt he have something more like 3.55 gears instead of 3.07?

also, go have a look at www.naxja.org. You will find more info on cherokees than you will ever want to know.

If it's an auto, it should have 3.55s (possibly 3.73s if it's got the towing package). Front axle is a vacuum-disconnect Dana 30. Rear axle is either a Dana 35 c (non c-clip) or a Dana 44 (rare, since 89 was the last year of the XJ D44; I doubt yours has one). A D35 has an oval cover, a D44 cover is sort of hexagonal. Transmission is the Aisin-Warner 4 (AW4) (with a steep .705:1 overdrive), transfer case could be either the NP231 (part-time 4x4 only) or the NP242 (part-time and full-time 4x4). Both t-cases have a 2.72:1 low range).

As mentioned by tigerxj, take a look at naxja.org.