Will regearing my XJ to 4.88's give me better or worse gas milage? I was thinking about 4.10's or 4.88's with my 33's and me and Nick "mystickfirexj" started talking about this and now I am not sure if this is going to help or hurt my mpg. If 4.10's will do me fine should I just find an explorer with an 8.8 rearend that already has 4.10's in it or just regear my chrysler 8.25?
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'99 XJ, 5.5" lift, 33" MT's '11 Dodge Charger
I miss the days that they made toys that could kill a kid.
if you are worried about gas mileage, then i would go with 4.10s. These are what i have and i also have 33s on my comanche. I still get 20mpg on highway and they are good enough for the ocassional trail rides.
Explorer one's are the one's to look for. They have 1.31" diamater 31 spline axle shafts, disc brakes, come with 3.55/3.73 or 4.11 gears and sometimes a Trac-Lok diff. HOWEVER they are still a c-clip.
In comparison the D44 is a 30 spline 1.31" diameter shafts, non-disc brake, a 8.5" ring gear compared to the 8.8", but is a non c-clip.
The 8.8" does have some "drawbacks"...
The 8.8 tubes do neck down to 2.75" just before they enter the brake housings. Rather than welding the tubes into the diff housing, the tubes are just held in with pressed-in plugs. These plugs tend to stop doing their job under severe stress. The factory diff cover is made of tin foil. One thing to note is that the 8.8 uses a pinion flange instead of a pinion yoke like most Dana axles. Spicer makes adapters (called "flange yokes") that connect this flange to larger 1330-style U-joints.
All of the "drawbacks" are easily overcomed. Only one that isn't is the fact it's still a c-clip and some argue that it's not a real drawback.
Some say the 8.8" is stronger, others day the D44 is stronger. I'll let you decide.
Personally I don't see all the rave about the 8.8 unless you can get one practivly given to you the money to make it "the rave" just isn't worth it when a Dana 44 is bolt-in and in my opinion just as strong.
mysticfirexj wrote:Can you get a Dana 44 that is factory limited slip?
Yes, however they are somewhat rare.
Also if you ever wanted to do a "lunchbox" locker in one with the limited slip you can't. You have to go the expensive route and buy a locker that includes a new carrier.