Hopefully this will help here r the specs on my jeep. 1985
CJ7 i4 eng.
T-4 Transmission and a I think the
Dana 300 tcase.
Dana 30 up front and
AMC20 rear. Basically all stock. Minus the 31" tires that came on it. The reason I want bigger axles is to handle minimal 35"-37" tires. Realistically 20% of road 80% on road. Plus I want to drop in a v8. I just want it to hold up when I do go 4wheeling. It's not my primary vehicle. This is more of a hobby I wanted to do. I did a frame up rebuild way back in the day but didn't have the money or access to the tools I needed. Plus it was my only ride. Now a little older I'm in a better position to go a little more overboard on this build. So that's my story. Hope I didn't bore anyone.
Lets take one end at a time.
Rear
Couple of options for you..
The
AMC20 that you have will work just fine.
IF you go to a set of 1 piece axles. Add a truss to stiffen up the tubes and housing.
Since you already have 4.10 gears you can regear without having to replace the carrier.
Limited slip or a lunchbox locker (if the axle is open carrier) and you are good to go for what you want to do.
If you want disc brakes in the rear. SSBC sells a disc brake kit that includes 1 piece axles, disc brakes and an integrated parking brake. Plus all the hardware. Or you can use Ford 9 inch ends, Mopar 8.25 29 spline axles and 8.8 disc/parking brake.
With this setup you don`t have to screw with driveshafts , parking brakes, wheel bolt patterns etc.
Option 2.
Find a Ford 8.8 from a 95 and up Explorer. The 95 and up have disc brakes and 31 spline axles. Many are set with 4.10s from the factory.
The carrier has no breaks so you can regear to any ratio if you want. Gonna have a LSD or an open carrier. You can add a lunchbox locker to the open carrier and make it into a locker if you want. Superior sells a C-clip eliminator kit that has 31 spline axles made of 4340 Chromo and a dual pattern flange for 5 on 4.5 or 5 on 5.5 wheel bolt pattern.
These 8.8`s are everywhere and cheap. Published strength tests have shown the 8.8 is stronger then a
Dana 44 and not far behind a D60. In fact the 8.8 shares the same pinion bearing size as the D60.
You may have to change/modify your driveshaft.....But swap kits are readily available.
Front,
You read the link to Pirate on
Dana 30 vs
Dana 44 new approach, right ?
Dana 30 vs 44 New angle............. - Pirate4x4.Com Bulletin Board
Get some aftermarket shafts with the 760x-U joint. Convert it to disc brakes if it doesn't have them.
For what you want to do, even with the V8 you should be fine. And if something does break. It is an off the shelf part to fix. You are over thinking what you need and spending money you don`t have to.
Do a few relatively minor upgrades and wheel it.