Tomahawked Posted October 12, 2008 Share Posted October 12, 2008 Changed over my Comanche to 4wd using a wrecked Cherokee. Glad there are so many of these vehicles around as organ donors. While I needed to get matched gear ratios, the Cherokee seemed an obvious way to go. Seemed to be common practice to cut and reweld the spring mounts, and would make the swap a done deal. I noticed the Comanche axle used larger ball bearings on axles, and didnt require opening the third member cover to remove them. The Cherokee used smaller roller bearings, and C-clips to retain them. Comanche had larger diameter drums with 10 X 1 3/4 shoes, while Cherokee was 9 X 2 1/2". So after removing both axle assemblies, I opted just to replace the ring and pinion. Took less time and didnt require cleaning, torching off the perches, grinding and rewelding. One less headache of not having to measure and get angle correct. So it is done and off to the next step to getting the truck on the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted October 12, 2008 Share Posted October 12, 2008 I'm assuming you've set up the gears properly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomahawked Posted October 12, 2008 Author Share Posted October 12, 2008 If you mean the 7 inch lbs pinion bearing preload, 0.008 backlash, pinion depth set and correct pattern on teeth, yea its fairly close for 190k miles on parts. So if it doesnt get too hot or howl, should work out fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted October 12, 2008 Share Posted October 12, 2008 Changed over my Comanche to 4wd using a wrecked Cherokee. Glad there are so many of these vehicles around as organ donors. While I needed to get matched gear ratios, the Cherokee seemed an obvious way to go. Seemed to be common practice to cut and reweld the spring mounts, and would make the swap a done deal. I noticed the Comanche axle used larger ball bearings on axles, and didnt require opening the third member cover to remove them. The Cherokee used smaller roller bearings, and C-clips to retain them. Comanche had larger diameter drums with 10 X 1 3/4 shoes, while Cherokee was 9 X 2 1/2". So after removing both axle assemblies, I opted just to replace the ring and pinion. Took less time and didnt require cleaning, torching off the perches, grinding and rewelding. One less headache of not having to measure and get angle correct. So it is done and off to the next step to getting the truck on the road. Sounds like you swapped a used ring and pinion set (ratio unknown) from the newer donor XJ c-clip D35 diff into your existing MJ non-c-clip D35 (also ratio unknown). No road test yet. :eek: It's doable AFAIK (but very difficult to do right w. used gears unless you're good), but need to know the before/after ratios of the MJ diff you swapped into to determine if you might have possible carrier ratio cutoff problems. The axle bearings and drums of the XJ donor and MJ recipient seem to be consistent w. c-clip and non-c-clip D35s, but need more details. :cheers: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted October 12, 2008 Share Posted October 12, 2008 If he got the pinion depth and the backlash within spec, he doesn't have a carrier break issue. If he had the wrong carrier it would be physically impossible to set up within spec. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomahawked Posted October 12, 2008 Author Share Posted October 12, 2008 If he got the pinion depth and the backlash within spec, he doesn't have a carrier break issue. If he had the wrong carrier it would be physically impossible to set up within spec. Yea, what he said........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted October 12, 2008 Share Posted October 12, 2008 If you mean the 7 inch lbs pinion bearing preload, 0.008 backlash, pinion depth set and correct pattern on teeth, yea its fairly close for 190k miles on parts. So if it doesnt get too hot or howl, should work out fine. I always get a little worried when I hear of people swapping in old gears. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted October 12, 2008 Share Posted October 12, 2008 Yeah, I see Tomahawked's post after I posted (I type sloooooooow). Hopefully he got the used gears set right. Still would like to know the before and after ratios. :cheers: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomahawked Posted October 13, 2008 Author Share Posted October 13, 2008 It was the typical 3.08 gear in truck from a previous Pujunk 5 speed. I swapped in the auto from Chreokee with 3.55. So that carrier was installed in the truck housing. It was about the easiest gear setup I have done. All I had to do was remove a 0.005" shim from inner pinion bearing. That put everything exactly in spec. The Comanche had more miles but bearings looked new compared to Cherokee. The only thing that took time was swapping the pinion bearings over. You have to be very careful when removing the large inner cone, so not to damage it. One crush sleeve measured longer and with the shim removed, it gave me a usable part. So the cost of swapping everything over was for a pinion shaft seal. There wasnt even a groove on the yoke from old seal like the Cherokee axle had. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 Got it. I did a swap in my C-clip D35 (3.55 to 4.11) for the first time and had a hell of a problem with the new crush sleeve not crushing, which screwed up the pinion preload, resulting in low speed vibes. Ended up after much trial and error re-using the original crush sleeve, and all is well - so far. I still don't understand all I learned regarding diff gear swaps. Gear swaps (and steering column rebuilding) are two tasks I will leave to the experts in the future. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pingpong Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 If you mean the 7 inch lbs pinion bearing preload, 0.008 backlash, pinion depth set and correct pattern on teeth, yea its fairly close for 190k miles on parts. So if it doesnt get too hot or howl, should work out fine. I always get a little worried when I hear of people swapping in old gears. :D If the gears are set up right used gears can be a cheap alternative to having to buy new parts. I have used the several times and had no issues. I think the issues come in when some one who doesn't know what they are doing tries to install them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 I think the issues come in when some one who doesn't know what they are doing tries to install them. 100% absolutely correct! :cheers: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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