Tonynguy Posted March 9, 2020 Share Posted March 9, 2020 Hello I have a 1987 2wd 4.0l automatic Jeep Comanche longbed and wanted to do a 4wd conversion/swap. I was wondering is there anyway to get a high enough lift in order to not have to cut my rear driveshaft? Or regardless I’d have to fab/modify it? Also are 2wd and 4wd lift kits the same? I have a dana 30 and 35 if that matters. Was hoping to run 33’s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dzimm Posted March 9, 2020 Share Posted March 9, 2020 Why do you think you have to cut your rear axle? If you get new lifted leaf springs you will just have to install those with some taller shocks for the rear. No cutting required. If you went spring over axle you'd have to cut the perches off and reweld them on top. Now I don't think the D35 will hold up too well with 33s. Let's see what others have to say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonynguy Posted March 9, 2020 Author Share Posted March 9, 2020 Don’t you have to shorten the rear driveshaft for a 4wd conversion? That’s what I wanted to avoid, that’s why I was wondering what size lift would help me in order to do that. And it’s probably not the best, but I’ve seen someone run 33’s on a 35 on YouTube by a channel called the fast lane truck. I just wanted to know what lift will make it so I don’t have to cut or lengthen the driveshaft, and of the lifts are universal between 4wd and 2wd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonynguy Posted March 9, 2020 Author Share Posted March 9, 2020 Also noticed I said axle instead of driveshaft earlier that’s why you were confused. Sorry I fixed it now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benjy_26 Posted March 9, 2020 Share Posted March 9, 2020 I used to run 32's on a D35 with a poor man's stroker in a ZJ. It wasn't too happy. I ended up swapping it for a 44A. Thay was slightly better, but not ideal. I think you'll have to shorten the shaft regardless of the amount of lift. I'd also plan on a rear axle swap. An 8.25 or Ford 8.8 would be cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonynguy Posted March 9, 2020 Author Share Posted March 9, 2020 25 minutes ago, benjy_26 said: I used to run 32's on a D35 with a poor man's stroker in a ZJ. It wasn't too happy. I ended up swapping it for a 44A. Thay was slightly better, but not ideal. I think you'll have to shorten the shaft regardless of the amount of lift. I'd also plan on a rear axle swap. An 8.25 or Ford 8.8 would be cool. Would I just use front axle, transfer case, transmission, and front driveshaft from a xj, and use the 8.25 or 8.8 in the rear? And would a 4wd lift kit bolt up to that? Debating on what to do first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benjy_26 Posted March 9, 2020 Share Posted March 9, 2020 Yes on all counts. You will have to adapt brakes, shocks, and spring mounting plates, but that's all dependent on if you want to keep it SUA or go SOA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonynguy Posted March 9, 2020 Author Share Posted March 9, 2020 12 minutes ago, benjy_26 said: Yes on all counts. You will have to adapt brakes, shocks, and spring mounting plates, but that's all dependent on if you want to keep it SUA or go SOA. Whichever requires less fabrication, want to try to keep this out of shops as much as possible to keep pricing down. And so I should wait to get a lift kit and 4wd parts together? Versus lifting now and 4wd later or vice versa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WeezyBlue Posted March 9, 2020 Share Posted March 9, 2020 I'm in the process of a 4wd conversion myself. You can take some measurements now and do some pythagorean theorem to figure out how high you'd have to lift it but I suspect your answer is going to be measured in feet. If you already have the driveshaft, a local shop should be able to shorten it to whatever you need for pretty cheap. That's my plan. Although I have yet to research or check to see if the slip yoke is the same between the 2wd trans output and the transfercase output. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiatslug87 Posted March 9, 2020 Share Posted March 9, 2020 This is from mjeff87 concerning the 2WD drive shaft: "Also, on the rear shaft.....those "tube-in-tube" style shafts were used on 2WD drive MJ's (I can't say exclusively, but I've never seen one on a 4wd MJ). They really can't be cut down to fit because there's a rubber isolator/sleeve inside the 2 different tubes at the yoke ends. If I had to wager, I'd say it was a 2WD shaft, and it's too long. For the front shafts, there's at least 3 different sizes of them as well, depending on what transmission was in the vehicle it came from. Each trans uses a different length shaft. I want to recall from memory that the AW4 was the longest, AX4/5 were the shortest, and the AX15/BA10/5 are intermediate length between the two." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted March 9, 2020 Share Posted March 9, 2020 welding perches onto an axle is super basic stuff. any muffler shop can do that. Any XJ axle will need the perches moved. a 2wd rear shaft is like a foot longer than a 4wd rear shaft so you'd need maybe 2 feet of lift to accommodate your original shaft. a brand new shaft is only maybe 200 bucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WeezyBlue Posted March 9, 2020 Share Posted March 9, 2020 47 minutes ago, fiatslug87 said: This is from mjeff87 concerning the 2WD drive shaft: "Also, on the rear shaft.....those "tube-in-tube" style shafts were used on 2WD drive MJ's (I can't say exclusively, but I've never seen one on a 4wd MJ). They really can't be cut down to fit because there's a rubber isolator/sleeve inside the 2 different tubes at the yoke ends. If I had to wager, I'd say it was a 2WD shaft, and it's too long. For the front shafts, there's at least 3 different sizes of them as well, depending on what transmission was in the vehicle it came from. Each trans uses a different length shaft. I want to recall from memory that the AW4 was the longest, AX4/5 were the shortest, and the AX15/BA10/5 are intermediate length between the two." Ah I hadn't considered that. I wonder if that dampener runs the full length or not. I would think a shop like Fleetpride would be able to work with it. 46 minutes ago, Pete M said: welding perches onto an axle is super basic stuff. any muffler shop can do that. Any XJ axle will need the perches moved. a 2wd rear shaft is like a foot longer than a 4wd rear shaft so you'd need maybe 2 feet of lift to accommodate your original shaft. a brand new shaft is only maybe 200 bucks. I believe I saw in another post that you had your 2wd shaft shortened? How did that work out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted March 9, 2020 Share Posted March 9, 2020 worked out fine. my rubber end was in good shape and they shortened it on the other end. But I got it shortened for dirt cheap, like $30. If it was going to cost over a hundred like I've seen other guys pay, I'd have just gone brand new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WeezyBlue Posted March 9, 2020 Share Posted March 9, 2020 1 hour ago, Pete M said: worked out fine. my rubber end was in good shape and they shortened it on the other end. But I got it shortened for dirt cheap, like $30. If it was going to cost over a hundred like I've seen other guys pay, I'd have just gone brand new. Where do you get a new shaft that cheap? I've always used Tom Woods for my other projects. $100 to shorten the stock shaft still seems like a good deal given the cost of a new shaft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted March 10, 2020 Share Posted March 10, 2020 unless prices have gone up recently, a new tom woods shaft should be under 250 complete with new joints Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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