has anyone ever heard of putting one of those new jeep rubicon front axles into a xj?

http://www.off-roadweb.com/tech/0702or_dana_30_axle_upgrade/

dunno if it will help but its worth a try. let me know if you succeed in your swap.

Depends on how much you can get the axle for, but I don't think it's worth the effort unless you have a D30 with vacuum disconnect. Basically the Rubicon front axle is a low pinion D44 centersection that has axletubes that are Dana 30-size diameter and wall thickness, it also reuses D30 knuckles, brakes, and unit bearings. The axle also requires you have a source of compressed air if you want to run the OEM locker which operates with 5psi if I remember correctly. From your 88 XJ you might have a reverse rotation high pinion D30 which makes it something like 25-30% stronger than the LP D30 and probably almost as strong as a LP D44. If you have a HP D30 then a cheaper upgrade would be just to swap out your weaker 260X jointed shafts for some from a 97+ D30 with the larger 296X jointed shafts (same as D44), or you can go with some alloy shafts <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />.

Fred R.

well I broke my d30 in the front and i need a strong axle to replace it. what is the best axle to put under my jeep thats not to costly?

When you ask "not too costly"... The answer is to get one zackly like the one you broke and install it! If STRONGER is what you must have then you are pretty well gonna have to do some altering and changing wheels to fit the lug pattern of the new axel... Not cheap to put different axles on there.
Stronger is most likely to have 8 lugs.. There are some d44 out there that will fit your tires but good luck finding one cheaply.
Just what did you do to yours?
Big Jim <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/pfft.gif" alt="" />

I was goin down a dirt road too fast and came up on a ravine, and the front end ate it on the slope of the ditch and snaped the axle right in half. but yeah, changing the bolt pattern is out of the question cause those wheels are brand new and cost enough.

You would have probably had the same problem with the Rubicon D44 as it has the same tubes as the D30. Off the top of my head I don't know of any other axles other than the D30 that keep the 5x4.5 wheel lug pattern, have the same WMS and have a passenger side pumpkin drop. You can get a LP D44 from an 70's Jeep Wagoneer with about the same WMS give or take 2-3" inches as your D30 and has the same drop but those have 6 lugs. There are also HP D44's from late 70's Ford pickups but those are 8 lugs and are closer to a 70" WMS which is about 10" inches wider than the D30, although I have read/heard that the some 76-79 Ford Broncos with D44's that have a similar WMS and lug pattern to Jeeps but I have never verified this so you can take that for what's it worth. Your "cheapest" bet is to do like BigJim said and stick with the D30, upgrade the shafts and truss it if you're going to be doing high speed stuff...

Fred R.

okay, thanks for all the help guys.

If it was the axle that broke and not the housing...then you have no problem. The axel itself may have been injuted months or years earlier! Just get a new one and put it in! If however you busted the housing then you need a complete different front end. Make sure to get one with the same gear ratio in it.
Twisting an axle is a common thing doing heavy duty work with a 4X4. The only one I ever twisted was a d44.
Big Jim <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/pfft.gif" alt="" />

yeah, I twisted the housing. so im gonna go get amother d30 from the junkyard tomorrow to drive around on. my buddy built up a ford f150 front axle to fit under his Xj so im thinkin about buildin up one for later on, has anyone ever done this for some info?