Dana 60 Just way to overkill for a ZJ?!?

[93ZJ19yrs]

Ok, as a lot of you know I am wraped up in this axle swap deal. I was looking and I found a Dana60 out of a J series Jeep. It has factory 35splines and 4:10's. Everything we just rebuilt. The guy was asking 500$ for it and he would put me in contact with a friend of his what would install it and re-gear the front to 4:10's.
Problem... the diff is off-set to far the the passanger side about 4". He said if I cut the axle tube and get the shaft cut and re-splined then it would be the right with and perfectly centred.

I would like input on this... is it worth it?

He also has dana 44's out of a XJ... They are 450$ but need drums and and a re-gear... This would fit the bill for bolt patterns and with but its just as much cash....

I would like your thoughts! :D

[Yucca-man]

A D60 might just be abit overkill for the ZJ. What bolt pattern is it? I'm betting it's not 5-on-4.5" which is what your ZJ should have. This means either redrilling/replacing the front rotors or re-doing the rear drums, or you will need to carry a spare that fits the front and a spare for the rear axle...

Excessive size and loss of ground clearance may be another deciding factor. If the rest of your setup isn't capable of breaking one-ton running gear, this axle should be pointed out for a good friend with a rockcrawler or CJ running a V8.

The D44 on the other hand should be a good swap for the ZJ. The axle pads will need to be removed and a coil spring pad welded on, along with shock mounts. I think the ZJ axle is slightly wider than the XJ, so you may need a small spacer or preferably less backspacing on the tire to avoid rubbing at flex.

You say "Dana 44s" in the post; you do realize that all XJs came with Dana 30 front axles? The D44 is rebuildable and is the route I would recommend at this stage of the game.

[eldiablo]

"You say "Dana 44s" in the post; you do realize that all XJs came with Dana 30 front axles? The D44 is rebuildable and is the route I would recommend at this stage of the game."

didn't some of the XJ's with the tow package come with a dana 44 in the rear?

[Yucca-man]

"You say "Dana 44s" in the post; you do realize that all XJs came with Dana 30 front axles? The D44 is rebuildable and is the route I would recommend at this stage of the game."

didn't some of the XJ's with the tow package come with a dana 44 in the rear?

Some of the early XJs and some "Metric Ton" MJ Comanches did come with a Dana44 rear axle. However, I was commenting on the line about "Dana 44's out of a XJ" and wanted to point out that the stock front axle is a Dana30. However, if this post meant the seller had a Dana44 that would fit the XJ, that's different...