Driving on front axle only..

[kastein]

My experiences exactly especially trying to maneuver those winding secondary county roads in North East PA. I was constantly getting on and off the gas in order to keep the XJ in my lane. The harder you get on the gas, the more pronounced the torque steer. Getting up to speed slowly on the highway and maintaining that speed is a lot more relaxing.

Is it doable? Yes s indicated by myself and others. Would I recommend it? No!

And by the way, my XJ was all EOM except for a 1 inch spacer up front for a bit of lift.

It is way, way worse with a front locker... 5 speed, auto locker front, no sway bars and I nearly shit myself like I said before. Every upshift/downshift/throttle down/throttle up meant it jumped a different direction, it was a real handful until I figured out which way it'd go each time. :shiver:

On the other hand, my stock 98 only had a front driveshaft when I bought it (long story, bought a project in progress for cheap) and it wasn't really too bad (it just did the funky lurching thing at full lock you get even in RWD if your axle ujoints are bad, otherwise I didn't notice much) till the O2 sensor went bad during a test drive after the new radiator went in, then it tried to give me shaken baby syndrome with all the bucking and jerking and wouldn't stay in the lane without being very very careful. Fortunately I was only a few blocks from home.

 

[Happytrails]

OK.......a Center Axle Disconnect D30 (87-91 XJ models) prevents the front driveshaft from spinning when not in 4WD. ...
Folks with 92-later D30 in their XJ will typically deal with this issue (because their front driveline is always spinning) by reducing caster/pinon angle to minimize driveline vibes or installing manual locking hubs...

If you have a lifted XJ with a disco D30 (or non-disco D30) and have not corrected caster/pinion angle, when placed in 4wd and run at freeway speeds, the misalignment of pinion/driveline angle will cause the front driveline to vibrate and long-term use (500 mile trip) and depending on their condition, could cause failure to the ujoints, double cardan pivot ball, t-case output bearing......etc...

Blanket statements/advice by those who claim to have no issues running their rig in FWD only at 80MPH, could be leaving out a lot of relevant info which may ultimately result in you causing damage to your rig/yourself. You installed an SYE to eliminate vibration from your rear driveline, don't overlook the same issue up front.

YMMV

I previously owned an 86 and a 90 XJ. One with and one without the disconnect. Liked the without better. But my current 200k mile 96 was lifted at a local shop of good reputation. They made the necessary adjustments and alignment to eliminate or minimize the vibes. I don't detect any while driving. Just the usual additional noise from the chain load. Same noise that comes in 4H with both drivelines in. First leg of 500 mile trip was done last night. Comfortable and quite.

Also, it turned in a fuel consumption of 18.5 mpg. All highway. Some mountains. I am running 31's. (But they actually measure 30".) Speed and distance calcs and adjustments are from GPS data collected over numerous unobstructed long trips.

When I installed the SYE the magnet had no chips, chunks, or sparkelies. Oil was clean. Bearings were sound. Been on the lift now for 5000 miles before doing the SYE. Rear driveline never got happy, so I did the SYE and put in some 6* shims. Might need 8*. Had 6's laying around so I will try the new shaft with those and check the real life angles after rear driveline install.

Your advice is well understood and received here. Thanks.

BTW, for some reason my XJ sits high for the RE 3.5 Superflex. It came out more like 5". I was wanting to avoid as much driveline complication as possible, but at 5" I just had to do the SYE. New shaft should arrive next week. I could not find a suitable length salvage unit locally.

 

[rockclimber]

the RE 3.5" springs are pretty stiff for an XJ. mine did the same thing.

 

[donthelegend]

its going to turn for crap especially the closer you get to full lock, other than that it should be fine. I drove mine daily for 3 months with only a front shaft in.

I had the exact same experience driving on a front shaft only for a couple months because I was too lazy to rebuild the rear (I was especially lazy, as I run front shafts front and rear). It really didn't seem much different than a rear drive. I could get torque steer if I wanted it (ie: mash the throttle) but it wasn't unreasonable. No issues at 75 on the highway.

This was on a '99 with open differentials.

 

[zachandandy]

I get torque steer in my ford focus, it's part of driving a front wheel drive vehicle. I guess if you've never driven a front wheel drive vehicle and like to drive your jeep like you are drag racing, it could be a bit squirrelly? Maybe some people are just more sensitive than others.

 

[techno1154]

some people are just more sensitive than others.

You speak for both of us.

 

[Happytrails]

Yes, torque steer is quite noticeable. This was all familiar to me, having had a PT Cruiser for 13 years. But it does make me wonder just how much grunt the front ujoints at the wheels can take when turning sharp and adding some power. I try to be kind the hardware when I can. Otherwise I blow my wrench-to-ride ratio way out of whack.

 

[Talyn]

I had the exact same experience driving on a front shaft only for a couple months because I was too lazy to rebuild the rear (I was especially lazy, as I run front shafts front and rear). It really didn't seem much different than a rear drive. I could get torque steer if I wanted it (ie: mash the throttle) but it wasn't unreasonable. No issues at 75 on the highway.

This was on a '99 with open differentials.

Same when I drove my 2000 in front only. Some torque steer, no problems turning though. Even at full lock.

 

[clean4drxj]

Yes, I would like to upgrade the rear to an 8.8 or 8.25. But this XJ has ABS. And only the D35 was equipped with that. Don't know all the entanglements of getting rid of ABS. Sounds like it goes deep in the plumbing and electronics.

It's easier than you think, pull all the abs fuse/clip wires and done.

 

[Happytrails]

Uh, really! That's good news! Didn't think ABS was much good off road anyway. I will give this a try. Sounds easily reversible if funny things happen. So the plumbing all stays in there? It's quite a fangled mess with that pump and all.

 

[kastein]

Yeah, 92 and later you can just pull all the ABS fuses and relays and it is disabled.

91 and earlier the entire system MUST be removed for safety.