Hey guys,
I'm a recent 4WD convert. I have a 92' Cherokee (in pieces right now) and the girl has a 97 Wrangler Sahara. The Wrangler has bad front axle tube/housing and I was going to swap gears and throw the Cherokee's front axle under there to get her driving again. Is there anything else I need to know? They are both Dana 30's. Thanks,

Eric

Is there anything else I need to PROVIDE?


pics of the girl:flipoff2:

pics of the girl:flipoff2:

X2!
:D








Other than that, no...

Yes, you can't swap the gears. The TJ front axle gears are specific to that application: crush sleeve and low pinion. The Cherokee MTL will have a high pinion D30 and shimmed-setup pinion.
The axle housings of the TJ and XJ should be swappable, but the XJ MTL will have the smaller ujoints. The TJ joints should be the larger 297/760s. I'd swap the TJ shaft/joints into the XJ housing. I'd keep the XJ shafts for trail spares.
The unit bearings of the TJ should also be swappable to the XJ axle housing. I'd also keep those. DO NOT RUN WITHOUT HAVING A STUB SHAFT BOLTED INTO THE UNIT BEARING. The 36mm nut pulls the stub shaft into the unit bearing, keeping the pressed-together unit bearing from failing (coming apart).

Swapping the XJ axle into the TJ shouldn't be any problem. Alignment requires you to have adjustable control arms, specifically the lowers. The TJ is aligned at the axle mount of the lower control arm. The XJ is aligned at the frame mount of the lower control arm. You shouldn't use the TJ eccentric alignment bolts, but sell them as they are expensive at the dealership and are not required for the XJ axle housing.

Yes, you can't swap the gears. The TJ front axle gears are specific to that application: crush sleeve and low pinion. The Cherokee MTL will have a high pinion D30 and shimmed-setup pinion.
The axle housings of the TJ and XJ should be swappable, but the XJ MTL will have the smaller ujoints. The TJ joints should be the larger 297/760s. I'd swap the TJ shaft/joints into the XJ housing. I'd keep the XJ shafts for trail spares.
The unit bearings of the TJ should also be swappable to the XJ axle housing. I'd also keep those. DO NOT RUN WITHOUT HAVING A STUB SHAFT BOLTED INTO THE UNIT BEARING. The 36mm nut pulls the stub shaft into the unit bearing, keeping the pressed-together unit bearing from failing (coming apart).

Swapping the XJ axle into the TJ shouldn't be any problem. Alignment requires you to have adjustable control arms, specifically the lowers. The TJ is aligned at the axle mount of the lower control arm. The XJ is aligned at the frame mount of the lower control arm. You shouldn't use the TJ eccentric alignment bolts, but sell them as they are expensive at the dealership and are not required for the XJ axle housing.

Thanks a lot for the information. I'm gonna get rolling on that.

Here you go, her and I on the right.
http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v65/5/43/17005257/n17005257_32938227_1186.jpg

:smokin:

:smokin:
the one on the left looks she would be playful in bed