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joshknight124
03-09-2017, 10:00 PM
Hello all! I am considering a DANA 60 axle swap (front and rear) for my 1989 Jeep Cherokee. I am just curious as to what it would take to get it done. I've looked around a little and found that there are quite a few people that do the D60 swap and leaf spring conversion for the front but I would like to keep the coils in the front. Any info and/or advise is greatly appreciated! Thank!

4.3LXJ
03-10-2017, 01:45 PM
Sorry to not get back to you sooner Josh. First of all, can you fabricate and if so are you a decent welder? The next question is what is your off road plans for this rig

denverd1
03-10-2017, 02:32 PM
depending on the axle, will likely have to move the coil buckets and shock mounts toward the center a few inches. fab up some arms and mounts and you're in business!! stiffen everything up if you haven't already, very heavy axle

looking forward to seeing it come together!

joshknight124
03-10-2017, 03:08 PM
Unfortunately I cannot fab or weld yet...(soon hopefully). I do however have a shop near me that could do the fab work and welding for me. It will be my daily driver/weekend worrier. I live in Southern California so I've got great access to a lot of trails so I plan on doing easy to mild and maybe some harder trails. Now swapping the axles is a future plan so by the time I get to it I may have the skills needed to do the work myself.

4.3LXJ
03-10-2017, 04:45 PM
OK, Josh. Here are some issues with your swap. Due to the size of the pumpkin, You will need at least 8" of lift for these axles. One issue is the location of the pumpkin. Any more and it starts getting undoable with the angle of the drag link, even with a high steer set up which you will need. One member here used axles out of a late model pickup and ended up with the casting where he needed his coil buckets, and had to move the bottom of the coil out about 5". Second issue is that this pumpkin needs to clear the frame and engine, so you have to be very picky about your choice of front end. But you aren't going to be able to do this until you are a good welder and fabricator. Now I say this from experience because I am doing this stuff right now with D44s. Also you will need to come up with long arm front suspension too. There is really a lot more to this than you might think to come up with a streetable conversion on this. The vast majority of these D60 conversions are trailer queens, although most won't admit it. Being streetable enough to drive to the Hammers means stuff has to be dialed in near perfectly. Follow my build thread

http://www.xjtalk.com/showthread.php?t=4716

and I will address the issues of making a rig street and trail worthy. For the time being I would suggest finding a 97 and up rear axle, locking it and the front and go no more than 35" tires on at least 4.5" lift but not more than 6.5". You will find that as you get more seat time you will get to where you can do about as much as anyone else. Then if you want to go further you can address the gears in your tcase and gain much more capability.

4.3LXJ
03-10-2017, 04:46 PM
OK, Josh. Here are some issues with your swap. Due to the size of the pumpkin, You will need at least 8" of lift for these axles. One issue is the location of the pumpkin. Any more lift and it starts getting undoable with the angle of the drag link, even with a high steer set up which you will need. One member here used axles out of a late model pickup and ended up with the casting where he needed his coil buckets, and had to move the bottom of the coil out about 5". Second issue is that this pumpkin needs to clear the frame and engine, so you have to be very picky about your choice of front end. But you aren't going to be able to do this until you are a good welder and fabricator. Now I say this from experience because I am doing this stuff right now with D44s. Also you will need to come up with long arm front suspension too. There is really a lot more to this than you might think to come up with a streetable conversion on this. The vast majority of these D60 conversions are trailer queens, although most won't admit it. Being streetable enough to drive to the Hammers means stuff has to be dialed in near perfectly. Follow my build thread

http://www.xjtalk.com/showthread.php?t=4716

and I will address the issues of making a rig street and trail worthy. For the time being I would suggest finding a 97 and up rear axle, locking it and the front and go no more than 35" tires on at least 4.5" lift but not more than 6.5". You will find that as you get more seat time you will get to where you can do about as much as anyone else. Then if you want to go further you can address the gears in your tcase and gain much more capability.

joshknight124
03-10-2017, 06:27 PM
Alright thank you. Would Dana 44s be more doable?

4.3LXJ
03-10-2017, 06:31 PM
More doable, yes. A real good combo to get for donors are the Ford 9" and Dana 44 out of a half ton Ford pickup. Buuuuuttttt, you still have the same fabrication, steering and suspension issues to contend with. But everything fits nicer when you are done. And, as a fellow CA guy, remember you have to cover those tires and use mud flaps on the highway for those full width axles

joshknight124
03-10-2017, 08:30 PM
Alright I'll keep a look out at the junk yard near me. Would I be able to get the steering components in a kit or would I need to have it made custom? And I plan on getting fenders to cover the tires.

4.3LXJ
03-10-2017, 09:42 PM
You will be able to buy builder parts to help you. But I am not aware of a complete kit. But then again, I have not looked for one. Do some searching for parts at places like BDS and Partsmike.com and see what you find. Parts Mike has the best long arm kits

joshknight124
03-11-2017, 06:47 PM
Awesome thanks for the help!