Sinking Creek 4WD Association

Ok so I guess its finally time to put together a little build thread for my new xj.

A few months back my red 1996 xj was hit and the unibody and the whole passenger side of the jeep were crumpled. Repair costs to fix the unibody where more than it was worth so I found myself another straight 1996 xj in need of love. I plan to use parts from both xj and a few new parts to build myself a new rig.

The OLD
-1996 Cherokee country (red)
-180,000 miles
-clayton 6.5" lift
- 33" Mastercraft Courser MT
-sye kit
-custom rear bumper (homemade)
rough stuff frame stiffeners


sorry Sam is in the pic but this is all I have pre-lift





The NEW
-1996 cherokee country (Black)
-120,000 miles
-salvage yard motor; needs rebuild or swap with the other cherokee

For the new (old) XJ I plan on
-swapping over the entire clayton lift, and the rear bumper
-finding or building a front winch bumper
-cutting fenders
-new axles.
+ was looking for front and rear dana 44s or a front dana 44 and a rear 9" but I ended up finding a build Dana 44 and Dana 60.

+ Both axles have detroit lockers, the rear is from a early 60s Ford f250 and measures 63.25" from wheel mount to wheel mount with Chevy disc brakes. The front is a driver side drop Dana 44 from a Grand Wagoneer: Chomo shafts, high steer set up, 79 f250 knuckles, outers, locking hubs, breaks, ect. Everything from the balljoints out is from a 1979 f250.

I know the Dana 60 is over kill and clearance is now an issue, but since I am going to have to move up to a 8X6.5 bolt pattern I figured its the right time for larger tires.

Old Axles



New Axles

DDing a 1 ton XJ. Awesome lol.

Hell yeah man, nice start. What gears are in the 44/60? You going to bump up to 37s? On a side note I would have sold you my 44/9" combo

That would have been nice to know! What are you running in your xj now? Currently they are 5.13 which is pretty low, but I might try to make it work for now. Tire size is currently up in the air.

4 D's

BadAssEddie wrote:4 D's

x2

42's on 8 lug beadlocks...

wonder where you could find a set?

What's the width on that Waggy axle? I would think it might be a little narrow compared D60 and could adversely affect your turning radius.

Nice Start to a project though.

pcparas wrote:That would have been nice to know! What are you running in your xj now? Currently they are 5.13 which is pretty low, but I might try to make it work for now. Tire size is currently up in the air.

I'm running 5.13s also. If you bought the 44/60 combo I'm thinking of you got a smoking deal

Is this build going to be a trail only rig or still DD?

The dana 60 is 63.25" and the Waggy 44 is 62.25". I figure I can work it out with only 1/2" difference on either side.
I ended up getting a pretty good deal on the axles, its nice to get something pre-build. I could've spent several times as much, and time I don't have building a similar set myself.

The plan is for the truck to still be by DD, but its getting further and further from it every time I want to do something.

pcparas wrote:The dana 60 is 63.25" and the Waggy 44 is 62.25". I figure I can work it out with only 1/2" difference on either side.

Excellent, I have an older '77 Waggy axle that is around 61" which still isn't a huge difference, just curious. Should work nicely for you.

Opened the axles up today to make sure everything looked good. Lockers are there front and rear and the gears look great.

pcparas wrote:Opened the axles up today to make sure everything looked good. Lockers are there front and rear and the gears look great.

Looks like some nice axles there, cannot wait to see it DD! Haha