do ya know

[btm24]

dose any one know any thing about the 8.25 rear axle? is it crap or good? and is it a bolt on for our trucks? thanks

 

Brandon

[james750]

If you get the 29 spline version, it is a big upgrade from the 35; the 27 spline on the other hand, not so much. All that you need to do to make this axle work is relocate the spring perches and cut the XJ shock mounts off. Make sure that your front and rear gear ratio's match of course to avoid catastrophic failure.

[btm24]

If you get the 29 spline version, it is a big upgrade from the 35; the 27 spline on the other hand, not so much. All that you need to do to make this axle work is relocate the spring perches and cut the XJ shock mounts off. Make sure that your front and rear gear ratio's match of course to avoid catastrophic failure.

 

yeah i know my dad told me about the ratio thing thats y when i go to do the 4x4 convert i will be getting a cherokee to rip apart :D

 

oh and how can u tell the diff between the 27 and 29?

[james750]

General rule of thumb is that 97+ XJ's are 29 spline. Only way to be sure is to pull the cover, and count the splines on a shaft. Even if you have a 27 spline, you can replace the spiders and the shafts with 29 spline parts easily.

[mvusse]

I do do not have first hand information on this yet, but I believe the carriers are different. 29 spline spiders gears may not fit s 27 spline carrier, so the carrier may need swapped also.

[johnnyc]

Yes, the carriers are different.

 

The changeover year between the 27- and 29-spline was 1996. An earlier 8.25 has 27 splines and the later ones have 29 splines. On a 1996 XJ, you'd have to pull the cover to count the splines to be absolutely sure.

[mvusse]

Thanks for that tidbit. I have a 96 and always assumed it was 27.

[james750]

I was careful for this reason when making my post, I have always heard that the changeover year was 1996, but I have never seen a 96 that had a 29 spline, they were all 27 spline, maybe some were 29, and some weren't. 97 definitely had 29 spline though, so that is why I stated 97 in my post.

[TrailReadyMJ]

I had a 29 spline 8.25 in my old XJ with welded spiders (trail rig only) and that thing took a beating on 33s.

They also have slowly growing aftermarket support, and can now be geared as low as 4.88.

The housings are also real strong, and have 3" axle tubes (for comparison a D44 is 2.76").

 

I will add that if you play in the rocks with one (doesn't sound like you will based on your location?), you may want to shave the lip on the bottom some. IIRC you can take about 3/8" off without weakening the case. Doesn't sound like much, but I hit mine a lot less once I did this.

 

Also, the only reason I didn't swap the 8.25 to my MJ is because of the welded spiders. I needed a more road friendly setup, especially now that it's serving DD duty, and got a great price on my 8.8. Speaking of, if you can get a 8.8 for around the same price, it's a great swap and gives you disc brakes and 31 spline axles if from a 96+ explorer.

 

Unless you get an MJ axle, NO axle will be a direct bolt in. You will need to cut off the old perches, adjust the pinion angle, and weld new perches on. If going SOA, you will also need to weld in some shock mounts. If SUA, you will need to drill the plates for the larger u-bolts. Either way, you should retain the u-bolts and plates from the axle you pull. It's also always a good idea to use new u-bolts anytime you remove them.

[johnnyc]

I'd weld the tubes to the pumpkin. This happened to a guy on a trail run. We managed to get him off the mountain and into town.

 

[TrailReadyMJ]

I'd weld the tubes to the pumpkin. This happened to a guy on a trail run. We managed to get him off the mountain and into town.

 

 

:eek: Haven't seen that on a 8.25 yet! But I guess technically this is possible with any axle that uses plugs to mount the tubes.

I know 8.8s are good for this as well, so welding the tubes was the first thing I did.