Keeping the 8.25 in the rear

NorCal KJ 707 · **Posted:** Sat Jan 17, 2009 3:40 pm

So say I want to keep the 8.25 axle in the rear for the sake of not messing with the speedo pickup...i also wouldn't have plans of replacing the t-case except for maybe doing the tera low 4:1 kit. Is it safe to say the best canidates for the front end are the hp d30 out of an xj or a d44? I'm not sure which vehicle to get the d44 out of to closely match the stock axle width but which would be the better (and maybe more economical) choice? I'm not looking to go as cheap as I can because we all know it hardly exists but I also don't plan on going "overkill" say like Troy's axle setups (don't make it out to wheel as often). I'd like to hear some opinions.

Rock Lizard · **Posted:** Sat Jan 17, 2009 3:55 pm

Just find an hpd30 out of a 97-99 XJ and you will be fine. The only reasonable d44 option out there is the TJ Rubicon and it really isn't a true D44, it is a D44/D30 hybrid, is low pinion, and will cost you 3-4 times as much as the recommended D30 just because it came out of a Rubicon. The HP30 is a tough little axle, I have been wheeling my HP30/8.25 in my XJ with 35" tires for years and have yet to break anything, but although I take on some pretty nasty trails and pretty often, I am easy on the skinny pedal, and know when to say enoughs enough when I can't make an obstacle. Get an HP30, slap a locker and 4:56 gears in both axles, run some 33's, call it a day. The only real problem I have with running these axles in the KJ is just the fact that the KJ is so stinkin' top heavy. A stock KJ is taller than my Cherokee with 5" lift and 35's. IF I were to build an SFA KJ with stock width axles, I gaurantee you I would make that lift as low as I could possibly get away with, and run atleast 2" wheel spacers when on the trail. I do not like being off camber or pulling seat cushion from my crack. They say wheel spacers are unnecessary extra cost and will ruin your hubs/bearings faster. This may be true, but the way I look at it, wheel spacers and replacing hubs once everyother year for added stability are a lot cheaper than replacing a KJ that has rolled down the hill because it fell over from lack of stability.

Christopher · **Posted:** Sat Jan 17, 2009 4:23 pm

Instead of running spacers couldnt you just run a rim with very little back spacing?

jsc7002 · **Posted:** Sat Jan 17, 2009 4:54 pm

Christopher wrote:

Instead of running spacers couldnt you just run a rim with very little back spacing?

ya and IMO that is the way to go, I had wheel spacers and they worked fine but Id rather just have the correct wheel

NorCal KJ 707 · **Posted:** Sat Jan 17, 2009 5:01 pm

i was thinking the same thing with the wheel backspacing to go wider. could easily gain 2-3" of track width. hmm...i really really want to do an sfa swap...

jsc7002 · **Posted:** Sat Jan 17, 2009 5:10 pm

NorCal KJ 707 wrote:

i was thinking the same thing with the wheel backspacing to go wider. could easily gain 2-3" of track width. hmm...i really really want to do an sfa swap...

start gathering pieces, thats what Im trying to do, I may have just found a HP D30 for $75 and I already have a DTT for it so I would just need 4.88 gears plus a bunch of other parts

NorCal KJ 707 · **Posted:** Sat Jan 17, 2009 5:18 pm

I'm working on "the list" as i look for parts as well. Do you plan on putting Superior or some aftermarket axles in that d30? Seems like you can't go big spline unless you want the arb locker

jsc7002 · **Posted:** Sat Jan 17, 2009 5:39 pm

NorCal KJ 707 wrote:

I'm working on "the list" as i look for parts as well. Do you plan on putting Superior or some aftermarket axles in that d30? Seems like you can't go big spline unless you want the arb locker

I honestly dont have a clue, I just started gather parts about a week ahgo just because I came across this axle lol, but check with JJsKJ, OHV, allyrand and INC all use a HP D30 or is planning on using one.

I am still reading up on it all

ohv_kj · **Posted:** Sat Jan 17, 2009 6:17 pm

i have 1.5 spacers and 3.25 back spacing...

Rock Lizard · **Posted:** Sat Jan 17, 2009 7:06 pm

ohv_kj wrote:

i have 1.5 spacers and 3.25 back spacing...

That's what I'm talking about, adding spacers to rims with less backspacing, not spacers with rims with stock backspacing. On my Cherokee when I had 15x10" rims with 3.5" backspacing my trackwidth was the equivelent of running 15x8" rims with 1.5" backspacing, and I was very comfortable on the trail with 35's, but again, that is with only 5" lift on a cherokee, and like I said, a stock KJ is taller than my lifted XJ. So add 10" total lift with suspension and tires, yeah, never mind, I would never run an SFA KJ with stock width axles even with spacers and less BS rims. :twisted:

Hope you have good insurance.

ohv_kj · **Posted:** Sat Jan 17, 2009 8:02 pm

my tires stick way out there...i don't look top heavy at all

ChileanKJ · **Posted:** Sat Jan 17, 2009 8:03 pm

what I have to look in the D30 HP to keep the ABS? o I can't keep it?

JJsTJ · **Posted:** Sat Jan 17, 2009 9:55 pm

Funny that 3 different SFA KJ's have stock TJ width axles and are/were wheeled regularly on off camber trails and pretty tough ones to boot and None have had a problem. Not to say a full width set of axles wouldn't be more stable because we all know they would but I honestly think the whole "top heavy kj" thing is being a little blown out of proportion. I have felt very stable in tippy situations in my Kj and my XJ hasn't felt any better in my experience. fwiw, I am running 4" bs 16x8's, no spacers.

NorCal KJ 707 · **Posted:** Sat Jan 17, 2009 10:01 pm

JJsKJ wrote:

Funny that 3 different SFA KJ's have stock TJ width axles and are/were wheeled regularly on off camber trails and pretty tough ones to boot and None have had a problem. Not to say a full width set of axles wouldn't be more stable because we all know they would but I honestly think the whole "top heavy kj" thing is being a little blown out of proportion. I have felt very stable in tippy situations in my Kj and my XJ hasn't felt any better in my experience. fwiw, I am running 4" bs 16x8's, no spacers.

I will sleep better at night knowing this!

JJsTJ · **Posted:** Sat Jan 17, 2009 10:07 pm

fwiw, I lied a little after thinking about it.....my KJ D44 is a little wider than a stock TJ D44 and I have an extra 1.25" up front w/ the Warn hubs and WJ goodies. but still, you get my drift...

NorCal KJ 707 · **Posted:** Sat Jan 17, 2009 10:15 pm

So JJ, how much wider up front are you than your SA D44 in the rear? There are no issues with different track width or did you do something to stay even?

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Sat Jan 17, 2009 10:18 pm

JJsKJ wrote:

Funny that 3 different SFA KJ's have stock TJ width axles and are/were wheeled regularly on off camber trails and pretty tough ones to boot and None have had a problem. Not to say a full width set of axles wouldn't be more stable because we all know they would but I honestly think the whole "top heavy kj" thing is being a little blown out of proportion. I have felt very stable in tippy situations in my Kj and my XJ hasn't felt any better in my experience. fwiw, I am running 4" bs 16x8's, no spacers.

I hate off camber situations,I kinda scream like a little girl so I'm all down with going very wide.Hopefully my 650lbs+ front axle will help keep me in the upright position also :lol:

.

NorCal KJ 707 · **Posted:** Sat Jan 17, 2009 10:23 pm

tjkj2002 wrote:

Hopefully my 650lbs+ front axle will help keep me in the upright position also :lol:

.

Thats a lot of BEEF :shock:

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Sat Jan 17, 2009 10:27 pm

NorCal KJ 707 wrote:

tjkj2002 wrote:

Hopefully my 650lbs+ front axle will help keep me in the upright position also :lol:

.

Thats a lot of BEEF :shock:

Yeah right now it is basically bare,just the control arm mounts and gears/ARB installed and it weighs more then my RockJock60 does :shock:

(which is 380lbs) and I still need to install the axles,knuckles,spindles,brakes,hubs,diff cover,and the rest of the axle mounts.It's a HP44 from a '75'ish Ford F-100/150 with 1/2" axle tubes,67" WMS to WMS.

USAFCOP · **Posted:** Sat Jan 17, 2009 10:27 pm

My reason for wider is not so much the top heavy, just the hight itself. Wider axles will let us stay lower, and here in CO, some of our trails have low branches that I hit with the current setup, any higher than we are planning would make me need a chain saw to get through...As for top heavy, I really have not noticed much on the off camber stuff I have been on.

Keeping the 8.25 in the rear

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