Someone told me that a CJ front axle will fit on the front of my 88 Samurai. Just wanted to see if this was true. i want to do an axle upgrade, at least in the front, because i want to lock the front and i dont trust the samurai axle. also i was told that Jeep made an offset rear axle for a few years on the CJ, is that true?. any help i get will be nice also if anyone has web links on this matter and if anyone sells pinion flanges to fit the drive shafts or any type of adapters. Thanks

I'm looking into the same thing.  If I've done my homework correctly, I think that the most common axle ratios are in the 2.72 - 3.54 range.  4.09 was an option, but hard to find.  And newer YJ and TJ Dana30 junkyard gears wont fit because that are reverse cut for a high pinion. 

So the CJ narrow track Dana 30 would be an ideal axle to swap into the sammy (same wheel pattern and width), but good luck finding one with 3.73 or 4.09 diff gears.

Why not just go with a set of axles off of a Toyota FJ-40? 

b/c if you can find a CJ axle w a 3.73 ratio then you could upgrade the front axle only.  At least thats what I was thinking.  But I agree, a set of yoda or LC axles probably makes the most sense in the long run.

FJ-40 has an offset rear? that would probably be better for me because i dont want 3.73 gears, i want to put 4.10 in because my low range isnt low enough, even with 6.5 gears in the T-case. Any other ideas for getting my low range lower beside diff gears? im assuming there is no way to do a dual T-case since it is divorced. i also just want a front axle i can put a locker in and not break every other day.

You could switch to a 1.6L and keep the transmission, then get a Shogun or Kicker 3 setup installed.  That will give you your dual t-case setup.  I have also seen dual transmission, using the 4 speed from a SJ-410 in between the transmission and the transfer case.  If you can fine one a Rock Block replaces the Jack Shaft, acts as a dual t-case as well.

There is also a Toyota t-case adaptor, but then you loose the high range reduction box.

As for the front end, I swaped to an ARB and some Chromoly axle runs great.  What are you running for tires?


As for the FJ40, offset front and rear:

cool. is your front axle suzuki? im an running 33" TSL for tires. Thanks for the sdvice

I stole that picture from another web site.     I have talked to people who have done the FJ-40 swap due to the fact that they are cheaper then Toyota mini-truck axles and have the same offset as the SJ axles.  And they are much heavier.

The down side is they are much heavier.

Personally I run a Hybrid Rear that has been re-sleeved with some 1/4" tubing and braced along with rear disk brakes.  On the front I run 5.12 with Trail Tough Chromo axles and an ARB.  I want to swap to rear chromo axles as well, just haven't ordered them yet.

Personally I run a Hybrid Rear that has been re-sleeved with some 1/4" tubing and braced along with rear disk brakes.  On the front I run 5.12 with Trail Tough Chromo axles and an ARB.  I want to swap to rear chromo axles as well, just haven't ordered them yet.

what size tires are you running in the front w/ the chromos and ARB?  how's that hold up?

33x12.5 Pro-Comp XTreme MTR's, before that it was some old style BFG MTR's and 5.12 gears.

The ARB takes a ton of force off of the front end and allows me to run open most of the time.  I don't even have power steering. 

One thing to note, soft tires such as Swamper TSL's can hook up a lot harder then my MTR's and when that happens they will exert a lot more force.  I like a bit of wheel spin when I get on the throttle, it means I don't have to worry about everything binding up and exploding.

I ran for 3+ years with stock front birfields with Calimini HD front axles (so I could use the larger spline ARB up front).  Johnson Valley, Moab, Rimrock,and  I wasn't nice to them.  Ended up destroying a front birf when playing around at Evans Creek at a fun run and the rear axle blew up when I was backing off the obstacle but I won the hard luck trophy.  When running Outer Limits in Johnson Valley the rig I was with, running 31" Swamper TSL's, Calmini HD axles front and rear and birfield cups, managed to break  both rear axles and a front axle.  A combination of the better traction, smaller tires and  lower gearing meant that he could put that much more pressure on the drive train and something has to give.