I've been debating a few things with my car. One was swapping to a D35 / 3.55 with limited slip, and that would give me room to put a Cherokee gas tank in I think (running a 8.25 which is huge).
I was wondering if the rear shock mounts could be cut out and swapped around so the shocks match all other axles for Jeeps, etc. This would also make future axle swaps simple, as well as routing the exhaust.
Anyone ever do this? I can't see any reason why it couldn't be done.
Why a Cherokee gastank??
Why not change the XJ axle (D35/ Chrysler 8.25) shock mounts, parts will be available forever for those.
The shock mounts I'm talking about are the ones on the car, not the axle. Since I can't weld is rather swap the mounts on the car around so I can use stock axles as they come.
I was wondering if anyone has done this, or if there is a reason not to. From what I can see there isn't anything other than design decisions that dictated this.
Some car drivers have done that but it works against the torque/thrust and causes more axle hop, especially in reverse. You can use smaller shock mounts in the back. I plan to for the XJ tank swap towards my EFI swap later.
The tank won't fit if you run larger than a d35 in the rear. It hits the differential.
It's odd that it would work against engine torque seeing as the XJ cherokee is near identical underneath but has them mounted opposite.
There are reasons behind what I'm doing though.
I want limited slip, and I need to replace my fuel tank and sender. I'll need to modify whichever tank I get (xj would be easier but the Eagle fits better and sits higher). If I swap to the Dana 35 I can find one cheap with limited slip, then use a xj tank in my car. If I keep the 8.25 (which is a beast) then i have to use the Eagle tank and fit an xj sender.
If i swapped the mounts then I can change axles easily without having someone constantly have to weld them for me.
The twist of the vehicle when under torque did occur to me. I have a few engineer friends I'm going to ask as well, but I'd still love to hear from you guys.
In my opinion it would be harder to change the mounts on the car than on the axle. I would think welding would still be required. Some have said they didn't change the shock mounts on the axle and were able to put the shocks on the Jeep axle with the upper mounts in the stock location. I don't see how that is possible, but maybe I didn't try hard enough.
I've mocked up an adaptor piece that would work well. The XJ stock axle mounts are about an inch and a half lower which gives room for a simple bracket that bolts to the stock Eagle location and tilts a stock Eagle shock the opposite direction to mate up with a stock XJ axle. That is something I want to produce as a on the shelf retrofit solution.
Capt, get on that and I'll be the first to buy a set. They better be sexy
Hey Cap, any updates on this mod?