Pete M

The axle you're looking for are found under pretty much all of the older small Jeeps TJ/XJ/YJ/ZJ/MJ. Which model you buy from will affect how much bracketry you have to cut off as TJs and ZJs are 4 link in the back. The Dana 35 is the most common, but the other common one is the Chrysler 8.25 axle. It's technically better than the Dana 35 and the later versions (late 90s) are 29 spline and on par with a Dana 44. Bonus points if you can find a ZJ unit with disk brakes on it. :D

Whoops. :oops: That's what happens when I'm in a hurry. :dunce: Yup, 89 was the transition year and your 90 should have an AX-15.

Throw on some 30s or 31s and it'd be much better. :D I'd take it wheeling.

With 150k on the ticker, my 4.0L '88 was fast and peppy from 0 up to 80mph with the 28" tall tires I bought it with. Then I got 30s and cursed the day. It sucked at stop lights and above 65 on the freeway. Swapped to 3.55s and it was like a whole new truck again. :D Combining 3.07 gears with a manual transmission was a mistake.

It takes a few special tools and a whole lot of patience. You essentially have to completely and properly assemble the entire diff in order to check the gear pattern and guess how you should move the shims around to get the pattern to be good. Then disassemble the whole thing to move the shims, the reassemble and check again. Then repeat until the gear pattern looks good. It's part science and part magic and it's one of the few things I would gladly pay a pro to do for me. If you do it wrong, you can waste your new gears or even the whole axle.

90 is the transition year. Sorry, but you'll have to look to know if its the peugeot or the later AX-15. The middle of the peugeot case has a left side and a right side and bolts together along the top and bottom seams. With the AX-15, this area is a complete donut of metal and it only bolts forward to the bellhousing and rearward to the back half.

Plenty of vehicles on the road today came with 4.10/4.30/4.56 gears. Your top speed won't suffer as much as logic seems to dictate. My Dakota has 3.92s and even with the 28" tall tires it has no trouble doing 90. What size tires do you have? If they are 30-31s, I'd have no problems suggesting 4.10s.

Higher rpms doesn't necessarily directly equate to more-gas-used. If the engine moves towards its sweet-spot, it'll take less gas per firing to maintain the speed, plus it'll use less gas to get up to speed. It's all about putting it in the right spot in the power band. After you do the swap and you can't wipe the smile off your face when you first feel that pop of extra power from a standstill, gas mileage won't matter anymore anyways. :D If you want to go the extra mile, find an Explorer 8.8 with disk brakes, but for now the Dana 35 should do you fine and be cheap too. When you convert to 4wd, then you should definitely look into the 8.8 and get even better gears and more strength at the same time (factory 4.10s are out there).

That makes 2 of us (the feeling old part). :D

Regearing an axle is not simply a bolt-in procedure and is either expensive (to have a shop do it) or tricky (not recommended for beginners). For his situation, I think finding an axle with 3.55s already inside would be the best bet. Careful searching should produce a 3.55 geared Dana 35 for anywhere from $100 down to totally free. Bonus if it's an MJ axle, but it's not hard to get new perches burned onto an XJ/YJ/TJ/ZJ rear axle. You can even use the brakes you have now (or use the new axle's, whichever are better). Then bolt it up 'n' go like the wind.

Are we talking about front fenders or rear?

4.0L + stick = 3.07 gears. There's your problem. No need for expensive engine mods here. Go get a 3.55 geared rear axle (a dana 35 will work fine in this application) and drop it in. Your truck will come ALIVE with performance!!! I promise. :D

I could easily have installed a couple Hemi engines into MJs for the price of a new truck, but I needed a daily driver right then and there and the Dak is what won my heart.

95-01 Explorer 8.8s are far easier to find (and easier to find in good condition) and come in the typical Jeep ratios (3.55/3.73/4.10).

In the past I sorta didn't even need a clutch for those things. :D Just put it in gear, turn the key and keep cranking. The starter will move the truck forward and eventually the engine will fire and you're on your way.

Yes. What gears are you running and what size tires?

Just a different passion that my rusty ol' Jeeps just can't seem to fill. It's a Dakota R/T. 5.9L Magnum engine, 3.92 gears with posi, regular cab and loaded with all the factory goodies plus my custom stereo equipment. It's one of the fastest factory trucks ever produced and my only "new car" purchase. I guess if someone were to offer me my asking price, I might sell it, but with my graduation looming and then (hopefully) some employment of the engineering variety, I'm far less apt to sell than I was a year ago. Even if I did sell her, the money would go directly towards my debt, not the Jeeps. When the money finally starts flowing and I dig myself out of debt, I plan to dump the automatic for a Richmond 6 speed and maybe do some engine mods. I find it hard to alter the engine too much seeing as it has 33k miles on it. Maybe I should build up a 5.9 stroker (into a 401) and sell off the stocker. Dunno. The first thing to happen once I start driving it again is the stupid Skorcher tires are history and I'm putting stock 255/55s on the front and 275/60s on the rear. :D Years ago I only had the red one and it was a little 2wd. Then the white one fell into my lap. Then the red one's tranny blew up and she got parked and I bought the Dak. Then I got sick and built up the red one. After being sick for so long I got poor and had to park the Dak. Then the white truck got parked and started being used a big portable storage unit. Then the gray one fell into my lap and I started building it to be a bumming-around truck (I already owned 3 trucks but not one of them worked as a "pickup" anymore). So now I have 4. And that doesn't even count the 89 MJ I owned for a while either (took the engine out and gave the body away to a Jeeper in need of a project).

It would have (if I had the gumption to swap in a battery). :D

But if you bought this one, you'd have 2 really nice trucks. :D If I put 7 grand into my trucks, I'd still have 3 piles of junk (just really, really expensive junk).

The joys of old trucks. :D I fired up the 90 just now and turned it around without too much hassle. I'm not even going to think about what the problem was until I get the new fuse box in.:roll:

So which bidder are you? I don't know who to root for. :D

Just one of those days... I had some daylight to kill yesterday so I went across the street to fire up my fleet and let them run for a while. First thing I discovered was that I forgot to disconnect the battery on the van and the optima died. No biggie, I walked back home and drove over in the Libby to jump the van. Started right up. Then walked to the 88 only to remember that I stole the battery out of it for the van. Oh well. Went on to the 90. Pried up the hood (removed the latching mechanism) and I forgot that he hook thingy was still there and the hood only opened 1 inch before slamming back down and pinching my finger pretty good. D'oh! Great. Connected the battery and fired the truck up. Forgot how loud the thing is without a muffler and a floor. Noticed the front tire was flat. Great. Walked back home and grabbed the little 12v compressor. Found out the cig lighter in the 90 doesn't work at all. Great. Backed the Libby up to it and hooked up the compressor. gauge doesn't read anything on it. Ignored that and let it run to see if anything happened. Then went on to the 86. Hokked up the bat and fired it up. Then went on to the Dakota. Hooked up the battery and the alarm goes off. Pushed button on key fob and nothing happens. Great. Unhooked battery and walked back home to get the other fob. This fob works and the alarm goes off. Fired up the beast and let it idle. At this point in time I decide to drive the van back to the garage (it is first in line for repairs) and as soon as I touch the steering wheel the power steering pump make horrible noises. Great. Looks like that slow leak wasn't only leaking while driving. Walk back home and grab some fluid. Can only find about a third of a quart. Great. Walk back to the van and dump it in. It quiets down enough to drive it around, so I drove it back to the garage. Walked back to the trucks to check on the tire. Seems to be inflated enough to stop so I wrap up the compressor and as I'm doing that, the 90 stalls and dies. Great. So I get in the cab and see that there's gas, oil pressure and the temp is ok. Huh. It fires right back up. Now it will only idle for about a minute before shutting back off. Stupid truck. I figure it might have something to do with all the idling (or possibly the disintegrating fuse box) so I just leave it and carry on with shutting down the rest of the fleet. That's when I notice the lake of water collecting in the back of the 90. Great. Why couldn't I have noticed that back before it was constantly dying and I could have turned it around and parked it facing up hill? Oh well. Maybe I'll try again today. So I closed and locked everything up and drove the Libby back home. So overall, my afternoon was "great". :D

I have seen aftermarket larger throttle bodies for the 4.0L, but I don't remember where. :( Rubicon Express I think. Spacers aren't worth it on a 4.0 or other MPI setup. They "work" best on throttle body injection or carbs.

Gearing, gearing, gearing, and more gearing. Absolute best bang for the buck. :D

You might as well weld the gears together and make some modern art out of them. :D I can't condone sinking any money into a Dana 35 outside of new shoes or gear oil. I made these out of my old Peugeot: