[XJOSHX]

ok, so I am going to be buying a preowned XJ from a local lot real soon. They have like 4 or 5 of them there. What ones have the best drivetrain? I want to pick through them and get the one that leaves me with the most room to grow. they have both 4 and 6 cylender ones.

 

[AH]

4.0 inline 6
avoid the Peugot Tranny (Late 80's)
Try to find one with a Rear D44

 

[Fairmonco]

RUST! Look all underneath it.

 

[XJOSHX]

4.0 inline 6
avoid the Peugot Tranny (Late 80's)
Try to find one with a Rear D44

how rare are the rear 44's? I went there again today (it snowed yesterday) and they were down to 2. They are both newer 6 cylenders. The gauge cluster looks a lot like my moms 97 grand cherokee. I looked under them and they both had the sam rear end. anyone have any pics of the standard rear vs. the dana44 rear? I know 44's have com in lots of shapes and sizes over the years.

 

[AH]

Can't post pics but it is octagonal. Do a web search of bolt patterns for a picture. The bolt pattern never changed. And where the rear ends are the same in both odds are they aren't 44's.

 

[sixditch]

-only 87-89 xj's had the option of the 44 (usually the towing package)
-if it's a newer xj it has a 35 or the chryco 8.25
-dana 35 has round bottom and "dana" stamped on it
-8.25 has a flat bottom and the "chrysler star" stamped on it, also 8.25s dont have ABS

 

[XJOSHX]

OK, it definitly does not have the bolt pattern of the typical 44, so it must be a 8.25 or 35. It is a rounder shape than a 44.

 

[XJ4THEKICKIN]

Depends on the year, SEARCH NAXJA.org

 

[CartsXJ]

Sounds like the 8.25 rear end. Good axle, specially in the later years, 29 spline. Strong fro what it is and will handle 35 with a locker, the only real drawback is no aftermarket support and the deepest you can go is 4.56's. If you need deep gears, well it doesn't matter what axle you get, you'll upgrade anyways. The best year seems to be 99, newer ignition system and still HP Dana 30 and before any of that weird exhaust, 3 cat stuff. But other than that auto any year before 00, in 00 and 01 they used the 3550 manual, very very rare, but I have seen and driven a few.

 

[thecherokeekid]

good for you

youl be happy with the xj. depending on what u wheel like and who goes with you id get a 2 door because you can cut the rear fenders alot more, so u dont have to lift as much and you can keep your center of gravity lower. id also look for a 4.0 high output. ive also heard the the 5 speeds arent very good so id look for an auto. i have a 94 xj 4 door with a h.o 4.0 and a auto and i love it. the only thing i dislike is not being about to cut the rear fenders much

 

[800MJ]

the shitty manual trannies come in all modles up till 90. some 89s. the ax15 manual tranny that comes throughout the 90s is good. all the autos are good as well. they are cheaper to lift too

 

[Flashover Mfg]

The three XJ's that I have worked on over the last few years all had rust in the front seat footwells. The 93 was not too bad, but the 86 and the 87 had floors like swiss cheese. These are from dry CO as well, yours may be even worse.

 

[XJ4THEKICKIN]

Newr the better, you can get a 1997+ for cheap nowadays. 1999 is considered the best year.