1990 wrrangler YJ

tjlboise

New member
Ok sooooo.... I wanna beef up my u joints driveline and axles. And install a winch. What are the best products and places to get these things?
 
Yeah actually the guy I bought my jeep from gave me a catalog from there. My problem is that there is too much to choose from. Im still learning about all of this so I was hoping to get some pointers on what would be a good start. Are most jeep parts like these pretty compatible with each other or do I need to get something specifically made for the YJ? How do I tell what kind of differentials I have? Transmission? Manual obviously but how do I tell the type?
 
Ok sooooo.... I wanna beef up my u joints driveline and axles. And install a winch. What are the best products and places to get these things?

how much do ya wanta spend ??????? to upgrade joints, i'd pull a set of shafts off a new jeep xj, or tj the joint will be bigger. you will be going from a 260 size to a bigger 297 size. or you could just jump into some new chromo axles $$$$$. as for the winch buy what you can aford. brand names do work better such as warn, but the smitty builts seem to do ok, just not as fast. as for places to shop 4wd.com is ok, bad service.. q-tech is my perfered place.
 

Yup. Buy good u joints. I prefer non greasable as they are stronger. I always had good luck with spicer joints. If you upgrade to bigger front axles get the spicer 760-x u joints. The are forged and way stronger than the 297. As for a winch. For an entry level reliable winch I had a warn m8000 never let me down. I am upgrading to a warn 9.5 xp. Welcome to jeepin. Have fun. It's an addiction.
 
Well as far as the budget goes, the wife will probably let me get away with around a grand every month. I told her I would do everything in increments so that I will be able to make the right choices while learning what they are at the same time rather than just buying everything at once and finding out I should have done this instead of that and whatnot. Plus I think the building of it all will most likely be everchanging and neverending anyway.
So your saying that the XJ u joints and axles are compatible with the YJ's? Good advice. Ill look into it.
I like quadratech's website the best too. Its very informative and user friendly. I know how to do the work, its just all the technicalities and size, rating, and compatibility that I need help with. I've always repaired cars. I've never had the luxury of being able to have the freedom of making them better.
 
Yup. The xj shaft from the newer xj are larger as well as any xj with abs. My 92 has the larger joints cuz it had abs. For ease of info stick to the newer shafts. That way you won't have to search for a Cherokee with abs.
 

Jester32 said:
Yup. Buy good u joints. I prefer non greasable as they are stronger. I always had good luck with spicer joints. If you upgrade to bigger front axles get the spicer 760-x u joints. The are forged and way stronger than the 297. As for a winch. For an entry level reliable winch I had a warn m8000 never let me down. I am upgrading to a warn 9.5 xp. Welcome to jeepin. Have fun. It's an addiction.

So what do you recommend as far as the axles go then? Thanks for the input on the non greasers that's exactly the kind of stuff I need to know. And thanks for the welcome. Im having a blast just learning and thinking of all the sweet stuff im going to do. Im addicted already.... it had me at hello.
 
Jester32 said:
Yup. The xj shaft from the newer xj are larger as well as any xj with abs. My 92 has the larger joints cuz it had abs. For ease of info stick to the newer shafts. That way you won't have to search for a Cherokee with abs.

Cool deal...sounds like that's what ill do then. So do I just go to quadratechs site and buy whatever shaft and joints they have listed for xj's? And it wont need any other kind of modifications to fit right into my 90 wrangler YJ?
 

If you have a front axle disconnect you may need a different seal. Someone else will have better insight on that. I have always run axles with out it. I would try to find some used ones. Save yourself some money.
 
No sure. I have 31s right now and they seem pretty okay. I might go to 33's I don wanna get too huge with it. I still want to be able to drive it on the freeway and around town
 
Jester32 said:
If you have a front axle disconnect you may need a different seal. Someone else will have better insight on that. I have always run axles with out it. I would try to find some used ones. Save yourself some money.

Yeah im not even sure if I have a disconnect. To be honest, I don't even know how to tell what that is or even what it means... sounds like I need to do a lot more researching
 

33s are a good size. Your stock diffs will hold up. I would recommend at least a 4.10 ratio eventually. You have the i6 for a motor?
 
The disconnect is on the right side axle tube. It disconnects the right side shaft in 2wd. It has been known to be problematic
 

Jester32 said:
The disconnect is on the right side axle tube. It disconnects the right side shaft in 2wd. It has been known to be problematic

I see. I will look tomorrow morning and see if that's the case or not. If it is...you think I should change that? It does just sound like something else to go wrong
 
If you go with xj shafts they are full length so it gets rid of it. Just have to get insight from someone who's done that. Ya i6 is good I'm doing small block chevy swap in my xj lol.
 
Nice! I have always been a big fan of the small block chevys. They are so easy to work on. I used to work a second job as an apprentice at a diesel shop and my boss made me take the motor out and put it back in until I could do it in 7 hours flat without needing any adjustments. It sucked at the time but im glad he did it. I know those things pretty well now.
 

Ya they are fun. That's sweet. Im a tech at Chrysler up here in Alberta.
 
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