93-95's only came Low Pinion D30's (same as TJ's) and D35's (rear has drum brakes) axles, come in either a 4.0L I6 or 5.2L V8 engines and have the 242 t-case on the 4.0L's and the all wheel drive 249 on the 5.2L's. The 249 is not very desireable because it uses a viscous coupler to transfer power to the axles and the VC has been know to start giving out at around the 100K mark and are expensive to rebuild.
96-98's also have the LP D30 and D35 (rear has disc brakes) out back but the V8's came with the aluminum D44 rear end (aluminum center section, different gear sets from regular 44's, C-clipped axle shafts and NO aftermarket support for a locker since Aussie just recently discontinued the ONLY locker made for this axle) It is an upgrade from the D35 but it is not as strong as the regular D44's. They also came with 4.0L's and 5.2L's but in 98 there were a few with the 5.9L engines. These years also have the 242 for the 4.0L's and 249 t-case's for the V8's but this version of the 249 was a bit more desireable because it has a low-lock capability in 4LOW meaning that both axles were actually locked going the same speed like a normal t-case. With the earlier versions the 249's didn't have that so basically the VC was doing the power transfer to the axles so the t-case was never really locked.
Popular swaps would be to drop in a HP D30 from an XJ if you're going to be running 33"+ tires and be locked up front. Out back if you're also going to be running 33"+ tires and be locked you can also swap in a D44 from an earlier XJ or a TJ if you can find one and it's not too expensive but an easier and less expensive find is a Ford 8.8 out of an explorer (these have disc brakes if you get one from a 96+, have a larger Ring gear than the D44 and have 31-spline shafts) the only thing is that they are C-clipped and are 5/8" narrower per side than the OEM ZJ axles but this can be fixed with spacers or if you want and have the extra $$$ get a c-clip eliminator kit and kill two birds with one stone because the kit also widens the axle. With the 8.8 you can probably run 37's be locked and safe out back. I personally went the ford 8.8 route after upgrading to 35's but I did run my D35 locked with 32's for 3 years with no problems, but I also don't have a heavy foot off road. T-case wise popular swaps for the 249 is a 231 or a 242 but there are different input shaft lenths on the all of these cases and it is just not as simple as bolting the new t-case in. You basically have to find a new t-case with the same input shaft lenth, but to do that you have to know what yours is so you have to remove your t-case and measure, or if you are really mechanically inclined and can rebuild a t-case and what not you can just swap over your input shaft from the 249 into the new 231 or 242 case if they are not the same. As far as I know there is no real way to tell what you have for the input shaft lenth on the t-case (maybe a jeep dealer can decode the vin and tell) but the best bet to getting one that matches yours is getting the new case from a vehicle that's the same year as yours.
Lift wise you could get away with 33's and a 4.5" lift and no rubbing if you have the correct offset wheels and bumpstops. I ran a 5" lift and 32's with ZERO rubbing at full stuff and could I could also turn lock to lock with no rubbing. Now with the 5" lift and 35's I can also turn lock to lock but I have some rubbing at full stuff front and back (but more in the back) but I can fix that by putting in larger bumpstops, I just haven't gotten around to it yet. I'm running short arms for now with the 35's for the last 2-3 months but will be going to long arms here pretty soon when it starts to get a bit warmer out and I can work on the Jeep again. Hope this helps... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

Fred R.