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If you have a press you can do it yourself. In the absence of a press I used a bottle jack, freezer, pipe, the sun and my MJ. Throw the carrier in the freezer overnight, let the carrier bearings sit in the sun or put them in an oven at like 150*. I used a pipe that was the same size as the inner race and used a hydraulic jack to press on the bearing using the frame rail of my MJ. Worked great. On the 8.25 I believe you don’t have any shims inboard of the bearing since you have adjusters. You’ll need whatever tool (like a spammer wrench) to adjust the carrier. I also think the pinion has a crush sleeve. I’ve setup several diffs and bought the special clamshell pullers and it makes setup a breeze. We all have to start somewhere. You’ll for sure need a good dial indicator with magnetic base ($35 ish online). Helpful to have a pinion yoke holder also.

most of the Japanese vehicle here are JDM iterations it seems. Looks like when they assembled them in the US they would put in a Dana 44. Troopers came with the 12 bolt corporate axle which is supposed to be super tough. There are a ton of junked rodeos and passports though along the roads and in the jungle here. Time for the saws all and the winch

Is there a difference on carrier bearings between the 27 and 29 spline?

Yep, they exchange the drop outs in 4.10-4.88 gears and there is an ARB

Its an Isuzu corporate 10 bolt upon further inspection. Actual a very stout little axle according to the specs.

To the OP I’d strongly recommend 4” lift. And I would also recommend to stay away from rough country and rustys. Just my $.02

That is high but depends on market. $250 was what I last paid when I had someone else do it back in 2012.

it’s all about the operating angle of the u joints. Not having vibes for a bit doesn’t mean you have the right geometry. U joints can’t handle much angle at all. Pinion angle is the kicker when it comes to being able to run the double u joint H yoke at the tcase. As for the lift, the whole goal on solid axle rigs is clearance under the axle. The only thing that affects that is tire size. The taller it gets the more you throw off you cog. Considering this is a high schoolers rig, would you really recommend he jack up his cog from stock to 6.5+”. I haven’t heard any plan to address steering and brakes. Anything over 6” is going to need crossover steering. And any tires over 33’s are going to need much improved brakes.

A 3.5lb hammer works just as well . That’s the “trail fix” I use.

Based on you last couple of comments, it sounds like you have a long bed. The short bed has an almost ideal wheelbase for wheeling but does run into driveline vibes when going soa. Pinion angle is crucial but it is a bandage.

Just pickup a liberty axle with disks. Rough country and rustys are anything but a quality lift kit. Again, steering and brakes... if you don’t have the coin to do it all now that’s no problem just don’t do the lift thinking that you can do steering and brakes sometime down the road. If you keep it at 4” or even a bit less you’ll have a much better riding rig without having to do as many mods to compensate. Even at 4” there is plenty to do to make it right.

I’m good for now I believe but let me know what you want for it. Have a fuel system idea I’ve been wanting to try that involves a 96+ fuel rail with no return.

Welcome to the HO club

Keep in mind, steering and brakes are often overlooked but essential for obvious reasons. The higher you lift and the bigger the tires the more inadequate stock components are.

The MJ bed is wider though and any narrower axle is easy to spot. I really don’t get the appeal of the 8.8 other than at one point they were cheap. They are small brakes, thin tubes, c clips, and an obnoxiously large pumpkin. And very heavy for their size. If you already have an 8.8 or it’s free than go with it, otherwise ignore the hype which has been going on for far too long. Grab an 8.25 from a liberty of your running 35’s or less.

Just put in the slip yoke at the very least. The tcase will pump oil out of the rear output of nothing is there

I installed mine when going soa on my shirt bed. JB conversions is the hands down best sye I’ve ever used. Great price too. Tom woods or an adams drive shaft and you’ll be good to go. Make sure to rotate your pinion angle when going sye. You’ll want it to point about 1-2* below the tcase output to compensate for torque.

Hey all, came across this axle the other day and am trying to ID it. It was in a JDM Isuzu rodeo of unknown year. Looks like some sort of corporate axle with a dropout center. it’s laying on the side of the road:

An 8.25 from a liberty would be what I would recommend. Disk brakes come standard. East to swap gears with the adjusters. Large axle tubes but better clearance. Also the 8.8 is narrow and while that doesn’t make a huge difference in the YJ/TJ/XJ crowd, it is very noticeable on an MJ which means spacers are in order. Lot of work for not much gain. If your going 37’s then it can be a decent axle to build. But I’d have to get one for free and plan on tuning 37’s to make it worth the investment.

Nice rig! And good advice regarding keeping it clean

4” would be my recommendation

Double check your engine to tranny bolts and tranny to tcase bolts. I had tranny bolts be a little loose that caused this issue.

Looking good! Be sure to post in the Member Projects section.

Good info! Was going to grab a set of used xj leafs but the guy wanted minimum $200 for rusty old springs from a 96. I have the 4 leaf pack. I don’t have a spare and rarely carry any significant weight.

. Also carefully inspect the bulbs.