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Axle Swap For 38.5 Tires

2K views 28 replies 17 participants last post by  XJBeater 
#1 ·
I Had A Friend Build A 13 Inch Lift For My 89 Xj And Im Going To Be Running 38.5 Tires I Just Havent Found A
Good Axle Combo Yet To Swap As The Original Axles
Wont Handle The Abuse From That Size Tire.has Any
One Done A Swap And Running This Size Tire And What
Was It.appretiate Your Time And Help.
 
#4 ·
ctavel said:
38's = D60. But they are going to tear up the rest of your drivetrain in a hurry. are you going to be wheeling this?
ALL I DO IS WHEELIN HE HAS THE LIFT IN HIS ALREADY AND HE HAS BLOWN 4 SETS OF AXLES NOW HE WENT TO 12BOLT CHEVY REAR AND CANT FIGURE ON WHAT TO USE IN FRONT IVE DECIDED I DONT NEED THAT HEADACHE ID RATHER PUT IT ALL TOGETHER FIRST.ALSO I DONT WANT TO DO TOO MUCH FABING TO INSTALL SOMETHING I WAS TOLD OLD SCHOOL BRONCO FRONT AND REAR WOULD WORK GOOD????NOT SURE THOUGH.
 
#6 ·
I would assume those 38.5's are Swampers whcih are really heavy, so a D60 front and rear or a D60/14 bolt would work good, but I agree, 13" is insane. I'm running 37's on my RE 5.5" kit. I would say go full width axles, because cutting down to stock width for your proposed setup would be dumb and dangerous (roll over easy due to high COG). If you don't want to do much fabbing, then about your best bet would be to buy axles already built for your application, such as Dynatrac, Tera, Currie, which are going to be big money. Ford Bronco axles (D44/9") just aren't wide enough for your setup, and they will still break, although not as often as stock axles, depending how you build them up (axle shafts, CTM's, spline count, bearing size, gears, locker, etc.)

13" of lift is going to require a lot of custom fabrication, not including the axles. Steering, driveline, suspension, etc. You won't just throw in coils, blocks, and leaves and call it good. The whole setup is going to have to be custom. I can tell you already, if you leave the leaf spring setup in the rear, the arch required to give that amount of lift, is not going to flex worth crap.

Anyways, those are my thoughts. Do as you will, but that is my recommendation on axles.
 
#7 ·
xjfreak said:
ALL I DO IS WHEELIN HE HAS THE LIFT IN HIS ALREADY AND HE HAS BLOWN 4 SETS OF AXLES NOW HE WENT TO 12BOLT CHEVY REAR AND CANT FIGURE ON WHAT TO USE IN FRONT IVE DECIDED I DONT NEED THAT HEADACHE ID RATHER PUT IT ALL TOGETHER FIRST.ALSO I DONT WANT TO DO TOO MUCH FABING TO INSTALL SOMETHING I WAS TOLD OLD SCHOOL BRONCO FRONT AND REAR WOULD WORK GOOD????NOT SURE THOUGH.
Hey, I wasn't trying to be a smart ***-- chill.

I would go either go built *** 44 or 60. Are you sure the 12 bolt is gong to be strong enough. I also agree that the 13" may be a little excessive. GottabeJeep has 37's and is running the 5.5" RE. Just food for thought
 
#8 ·
we test fitted some 37's on mine the other day and they fit with no rubbing at all when turning. I would say not to go over 8 or 9 inches for 38's. You wanna keep a low center of gravity, while having those big meats on there.

I have a 6 in lift with bushwackers. So if i didn't have those flares... i would be able to flex well with the 37's.
 
#9 ·
xjfreak said:
I Had A Friend Build A 13 Inch Lift For My 89 Xj And Im Going To Be Running 38.5 Tires I Just Havent Found A
Good Axle Combo Yet To Swap As The Original Axles
Wont Handle The Abuse From That Size Tire.has Any
One Done A Swap And Running This Size Tire And What
Was It.appretiate Your Time And Help.
rockwells baby 8)
 
#10 ·
Pics!

I desire Pics!
 
#11 ·
a set of axles out of a 76-77 bobtail bronco could be built for the jeep fairly easy....

i would go with the 44 and 14 bolt out of an old school chevy truck. you would have to go with a passanger side drop t-case though.....

A guy down the road from me is running the full width chevy axles under a scout II.... with 44's....

held up pretty well.

can't remember which side the drop is on a dana300.... passanger side I think.

something else to consider with this setup is a dual toyota t-case setup.

just some thoughts.
 
#13 ·
38.5 Tires

Thanx To All Who Replyed For Axle Use Under 13inch Lift.as Id Explained
The 13 Inch Lift Is Already In His Jeep And Was Very Easy To Build.started
With 8inch Liftcoils, And 5inch Spring Spacers In Front.new Upper And Lower Control Arms Were Built And A New Crossmember To Hold Lowers Bolted To Frame Approx 12inches Behind Original Brkts.custom Built
Adjustable Track Bar Steering Box Brace Completed The Front.the Rear
We Did A 6inch Re Arch On Springs Added 2inch Shackles And 4.5inch Blocks.fabbed A T-case Drop And Sye Was (purchased)only Piece Bought So Far Besides The 38.5tires And 15x10 Wheels With A Good Offset.actually Looks Like Mini Monster Truck I Do Have Pics If You Would Like An E-mail Of His Truck Beside Mine Let Me Know Your E-mail Address.he Actually Has Not Been Pulled Over Yet For Inspection If So He Will Trailer To Next Event.13 Inches Really Isnt Alot After You See The Pics And Is Used Mostly For Mud Boggin.i Would Prob Never Do Any Climbing With It As Fear Of Rollover No Cage Built Yet Its Coming Soon.
 
#15 ·
xjfreak said:
5inch Spring Spacers In Front

4.5" Blocks
:confused: :brickwall
 
#18 ·
So would a dana 30 out of the front of a 4 banger with the 4.10 gears and a ford 8.8 with 4.10 be a good combo of axles to build up. For 33's-35's. Or is it gonna be more of a hassale to build up a dana 30 front end.
 
#20 ·
Take the spacers and blocks out, trim the hell out of it and keep the 38s. Get a 44 in the front, because thats all he will need. 9" in the rear...
 
#22 ·
Yeah, 3.55 gears, scary huh? ;) He's up grading to a D44/9" combo when he can and much deeper gearing :D

Edit: As for the Jeep I would scared to even stand near it. To know you're doing 4.5 blocks 5 inches of spacers definetly worrys me about what the steering is even gonna look like :x With trimming like CheapXJs, you could fit those with 5" of lift :x
 
#23 ·
hjeepxj said:
WHOA! gottabejeep...you're running 37s on 3.55s?!
Yep. I'm not going to put all that time and money into building up some axles that are going to the scrap pile. The stock gearing is pretty bad, but it still get's me around on the road and the trail just fine, just not a lot of get up and go. I can do 2500 RPMs in third (auto) at 70 MPH. :eek:
 
#24 ·
GottaBeJeep said:
Yep. I'm not going to put all that time and money into building up some axles that are going to the scrap pile. The stock gearing is pretty bad, but it still get's me around on the road and the trail just fine, just not a lot of get up and go. I can do 2500 RPMs in third (auto) at 70 MPH. :eek:
I dont like 31s on 3.55s! :rofl:
 
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