Cherokee 8.25 to 64 Dart?

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tbr3

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Hi Guys,

Has anyone used a Cherokee 8.25 in an A body? Just wondering whats involved to do the swap?

Thanks for any knowledge!

Tom
 
I haven't done it but considering the width of a Cherokee compared to a 64 Dart I'd imagine it'll need narrowing. Have you don't any measuring?
 
Yes, they are within an inch from the backplates. Looks like I would need to move the perches to the bottom and move one of the offset shock mounts? Thats what I'm wondering about, do I cut them off with a wheel and just re-weld?

Thanks
 
Don't go the measurement brom the backing plates. What counts is the measurement wheel to wheel. Like Inertia said you don't need shock mounts cause your dart has the shocks mounted to the leaf spring mounts. You can cut the leaf spring pads off (a hand grinder works good) and weld new ones on but be extremely careful welding the new ones on cause it's very easy to warp a rearend housing. Weld in 1/2" increments alternating from one side to the other to give it some cooling time. Also, make sure you have the pinion angle set right when you weld them in place.
 
Thats really good info, I appreciate it. Anyone know where I might get the correct leaf spring mounts and spring pads? The original mounts are 2 1/2" (u-bolts/axle housing width) and the 8.25's are 3 1/8".. I doubt the parts stores would have them? I assume the older A bodies with bigger than 7 1/4's had this size mounts..

As for the width, the drums are a bit wider on this rear, but I believe deeper wheels will work.

Thanks for your knowledge!
 
Take pics as you go and post a tech tip. I ask about this a while back and was told it wouldn't work so like a dumbass, I didn't even try.
 
Good idea, it doesnt look all that tough, but I am a rookie!
 
tbr3 said:
Thats really good info, I appreciate it. Anyone know where I might get the correct leaf spring mounts and spring pads? The original mounts are 2 1/2" (u-bolts/axle housing width) and the 8.25's are 3 1/8".. I doubt the parts stores would have them? I assume the older A bodies with bigger than 7 1/4's had this size mounts..

As for the width, the drums are a bit wider on this rear, but I believe deeper wheels will work.

Thanks for your knowledge!
Click to expand...

I think I saw some spring mounts for sale in the for sale section recently. Check there. If you don't see any post a want ad. Their pretty common so shouldn't be hard to find. I bought some a couple months back for $50 plus shipping. Any from a 8-1/4, 8-3/4 or Dana rearend will work. You can buy new weld on spring pads from Summit real cheap. About $15 if I remember right. If your don't mind changing too deeper wheels it should be no problem making it work. It is a 5 bolt wheel pattern isn't it? Dakota's had that weird 6 bolt pattern but I believe Cherokee's used the std. 5 bolt pattern, but I'm not positive.
 
If you're wanting some extra wheel/tire room, you can get offset spring hangers front & rear from Mopar Performance and Mancini. That will give you another 1/2" per side. But do that before you weld the perches on the axle.
 
Many thanks to all of you guys, I think I have everything I need, now I need to quit the pesky day job to find the time to do this, I'll post some pics when I go for it,

Tom
 
From what I've read on Jeep forums the explorer 8.8 is 1.25-1.5 inches narrower then the stock Cherokee axle. From this site I have read the explorer 8.8 is 2-3 inches wider then an A body axle. So I would be that Cherokee rear is wider then a B body rear, a good 3-4" wider then the A body. Still thats 2" per side that could be made up with modern high offset rims like on a newer Charger or Mustang.

PS: are you sure it's a 8.25 and not a Dana 35? Both were used in the Cherokees and are hard to tell apart, just wondering. The Dana 35 would be a waste of time messing with.
 
I will need to re-measure to be doubly sure then, No I'm, not sure its not a DANA, would you know how to make a positive ID?

Thanks!
 
The easiest way is the dana 35 has 2 3/4" axle tubes and the 8.25 has 3" tubes.

There are also two different spline counts on the inside of the 8.25 depending on the year. I think mid 1996 they went from 27 to 29 spline.
 
Thanks, yeah I checked, it's not a Dana,its got the 3" tubes.

It also measures approx 60 1/2 ", as opposed to my original 57 1/4" approx. I would need about 1 3/4" of wheel offset to make it work, sounds doable? I am not going to cut the fenders unless I absolutely have to, but I do want some decent size tires back there..

Thanks guys,

Tom
 
Normally a 8" wide wheel would run about 3-4" of backspace (4" backspace on a 8" wide rim would be zero offset.) So find a 8" wide rim with 5-5.75" of backspace (or +25 to +44mm offset. That same wheel may not fit on the front though because of the tie rod end unless its 18" diameter. A set of 18's off a modern charger or 300 might be just right, or if you want 15's then longer studs with a 1" spacer in the front should clear.
 
Thanks for the wheel info, I will measure the bolt pattern and post when I can
 
After measuring, the pattern is 5 on 4 1/2, and I was wrong about the width by 3/4 inch, cause the drum had slid out, so I don't think I'll need too much of an offset on the wheels, Photos to come if I can escape my pesky day job and get to work on this unit!..
 
I've been thinking about one of these in my Valiant, too, since I have a good one sitting in my garage. The Cherokee 8 1/4 came with 4.10 gears when they were installed behind the 2.5L engine and also was available with sure grip.

I'd rather not get the offset wheels, but shorten the axle housing. Would it be possible to use axle shafts out of an A body 8 1/4? I don't know if the spline count is the same and I'm not sure if there is enough spline length on the original axles to just shorten those too. Anyone have an idea?
 
Narrowing a cherokee 8.25 to use A body 8.25 axles seems like a lot of work. If you have A body 8.25 axles they probably are in an A body housing. If you just want the posi and good gears out of a cherokee just transfer that stuff into the A body.
The 8.25 spline count changed somewhere in 1996 they went to 29 spline before that they were 27 spline.
 
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