I have decided to do a ford 8.8 rear axle swap on my 91 yj. I have been looking around and found a place that will do the swap including a change in the gears in both front and rear axles, disc brake conversion on the rear and add lockers for 2000$ that includes all the parts except for the lockers....I am just not sure if that's a good price...Seems like it but I am second guessing it.

Lots and lots of 8.8's already have discs on them.. Are you getting a completely NEW disc setup or are you getting the setup from Ford that comes on used 8.8 axles for about 300 bucks around here?
In any event two grand for the swapout you have posted seems to me to be a good price..
What gears are you having installed? If 4:11 or higher the rear axle might already have them and also the discs....in which case two grand might be too high.
Big JIm <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/pfft.gif" alt="" />

I'm not a jeep guy but 2k is a good down payment on a d60/14b or almost a complete payment on a d44/8.8 IMO. No offense but you'll still have a turd front axle not to mention its even worse with a locker. AFAIK 8.8s with discs and jeep pattern came in late 90s (2nd gen) exploders.

its a YJ so it won't be to hard to swap in a d44 or d60 too. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

Location will determine "good" price. If the axles are in high-demand in your area, you will pay more.

I just swapped in a D44 into a YJ for about $2400 (complete with Detroit and 4.56 gears; drum brakes). Disc would have been an extra $700.

Overall, sounds like a reasonable price.

It is an explorer axle that has 3.73 gears. I was gonna put 4.88 in it. I suppose the disc brakes would be what came on the axle. I am just unsure of whether to commit to it or not. as far as the front axle goes...I need a rear more than front for the time being...i didn't know what all needed to be changed to do the changeover myself, plus I can't weld.

91 YJ should be front disc rear drums with 3.43 (or something in that order) gears.

The 8.8 is a good swap with limited spring perch work needed.

Personally, I would go with 4.56 gears; but that is your choice and the 4.88s will work. You will have a little higher highway rpm.

Drum to disc is a fairly straight forward conversion. However, there are issues depending on the axle. D44 has 3 different bearing retainer plates. One is specific for disc brake installs.

Not sure about 8.8.

Overall, the D30 front and 8.8 rear are a good combination for trails rigs looking to maintain a balance between highway and trail performance.

Just wondering why you prefer the 4.56's...My yj has a 2.5 and 33 inch tires....I need to gear down but was afraid that 4.56 wouldn't be low enough. It isn't a daily driver and I don't plan on any extended road trips. If I can drive 65-70 I will be happy. this is my first wrangler so I am pretty unsure of a lot things when it comes to the mods.

Size of ring and pinion --- The 4.88 is smaller than 4.56.

With 35s, and 4.56 I can still run 65 highway with about 2500 rpm.

I don't have a link handy but you might do a google search for tire size and gear chart.

There is a band where you need to match tire and gear size to keep rpm at an optimum.

What is your definition of "extended" road trips? Is it going to be to trailered to the trail or driven from home to the trail?

Howdy Brando... I think your choice of gearing for the 33" tires is a good choice for the little 4-banger. Your ride came with 4:11's in it and about 28" tires.
I assume most here were considering you having a six cylinder in your Jeep.
The rear brakes only stop about 20% of the stopping load. So adding rear discs won't really add much stopping power.. UNLESS you also add more hyd pressure with a different master cylinder. So don't expect to stop your ride in LESS distance. Since disc brakes came into use the stopping distance hasn't been improved.. vehicles still stop from 60 mph in the same 160 feet as they did before.
If you need to stop more quickly you will need larger discs such as come on one ton trucks and more hyd pressure to squeeze the brake pads more tightly on those discs.
Big Jim <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/pfft.gif" alt="" />