Front diff. Help
 

Hey guys im pulling a 46RH our of a jeep for my V8 swap and it is a 4x4 tranny and transfer case does anyone know if like a 93/94 jeep front diff/axels will work in 88/89 dakota 2WD?

Thanks

What kind of jeep? Are you talking about a solid axle or half-shaft for IFS? Chances are you will have to fabricate a way to mount it either way because the 2wd frames don't have front axle mounts.

93/94 jeep cherokee, i really dont know what kind of suspension or axels are in them probably not independent? I dunno it was just a thought im still looking for an 89 4x4 so i can just pull those parts to make it easier.

i will be doing a solid axle swap my self thoe i don't know your time line i will be selling my stuf

I believe it is a Dana 30 or 35. Not the best for a V8. Jeeps are narrower too. So you would need wheel spacers or offset rims.

The front axle out of a cherokee is a dana 30. They ran them in the V8 grand cherokees. They are also the same width as a dak rear. The axle shafts out of a cherokee is the same a 87-91 dak after that daks went to 29 spline instead of 27. If I was to do a V8 swap in my dak Id look for a dana 44 out of a cherokee or a wagoneer from 84-01. Cherokees are also 4 linked and coiled, Dak's are IFS.

If you do a sas (solid axle swap) you need to fab your own link mounts on the frames. I will be doing an sas on my 87 at the end of this summer, after I save the money to buy the front axle. I'll be taking alot of pictures of my swap and posting them on here. Ill also be doing a rear axle swap either a ford 8.8 or a chrysler 9.25.

Ok that is helpful info i was just curious because since i am planning on taking a 46RH out of a 94 cherokee 4x4 i will have to switch the front diff to 4x4 so if i could just use the jeep front diff that would be great but if not no big deal. Also what are the pros to SAS i thought that for 4x4 and off road IFS was better???

Thanks again

Yes the Dana 30 did come on a few V8 applications, but it is not that strong. There is a reason it did not come on the full size trucks! (As far as I know) The Grand Cherokee may be the same width (I'm not to sure). But the axle I believe is a IFS. So it is not a choice for a SAS. The Axle shafts may be made of the same material and used on the same type of differential BUT they are not the same. Like I said the Cherokees are narrower. I just measured a Cherokee is 58in wide, the Wrangler is 58in, The Dakota is 62 in wide. Give or take an inch on each. And the Splines were 27 on the Dakota until 97 (2nd Gen.) then they were 29. So a Dana 30 or 44 out of a Cherokee (I don't believe they came with it) would not work. As for a Wagoner it will fit but would be wide. Most full size trucks axles are 64in wide. And they stopped production of them somewhere in the 80's.


46rh's did not come out of Cherokee's. GRAND Cherokee's it did. No you can't use the jeep front diff unless you get offset rims or wheel spacers like I said.

As to the Pro's and Con's of IFS and a SA is that it all depends on what you want out of your truck! So if you want rock crawling or anything that will put serious abuse on your truck then SA is what you want. If ride quality and just need it to get you where you are going, and don't abuse it then IFS is good for you. IFS is still strong tho. I do push my truck to the limit and NEVER had a problem with the IFS system. TONS more to this argument.

I know they do not come in cherokee's i was just lazy and didnt type grand cherokee, lol. I called in the vin to check on the tranny in the vehical and i did some research so i did know that.

yes the grand Cherokee comes with ifs in the newer ones. from 93-04 they came with a solid axle.

are you measuring the front of a dak or the rear. the rears should be the same. the front because of ifs is kind of weird, when sitting level the front of a dak is wider then the rear. up to 1989 jeep Cherokees/wagoners (not grand wagoners) were available with the d44 rear if ordered with factory tow package, but some with tow package had the d30/d35 set up.

i just went out and measured my two axles, i have sitting outside my garage both are 8.25's one is a Cherokee and one is a dak. they both measured 56" back plate to back plate and spring perches are the same spacing on both axles. although the Cherokee is 5X4.5 bolt circle and dak is 5X4.5 until 92 6X4.5, brakes are bigger on the dak, and the universal is bigger.