What Jeep guy said. Remember, you have a unibody. No need to sling a bunch of weight under there. The 8.8 is a perfect fit with the HP 30 IMOP. I think the 8.25 29 spline under many of those Cherokees aren't bad either. I ran a Chromoed, Warn Hubed 30, lok-rite locked, 4:56 geared, with an 8.25 29 splined rear with no-slip, 4:56 geared on.... oh my goodness, say it isn't so.... 35" SS Trxus's MT's, on a 15x10" rim. I wheeled the heck out tof the Jeep, and daily drove it... Never, ever a problem in five years of driving!
With an auto, and some driving sense (read, "oh, I can make it", pedal to the floor style drivers get some 60's, reinforce the unibody, build an interior cage etc., etc...) your 8.8, or better yet, sell that sucker and get yourself a bolt in 29 spline 8.25, will do just fine up to a 35's.
I did rock crawl mine, but I'm not a pedal to the metal style driver. I also cleaned and maintained the XJ on a regular basis. I've seen non c-clipped turdy fives hold up to 38's with a good driver, on some rediculous terrain.
People spend too much time and money worrying about the "what if" titans of the keyboard (web-wheelers). If your worried about getting back out of the woods, then your not prepared. You should always carry spare shafts (the 8.25 has the same length shafts, so you need only carry one), and know how to work on your Jeep. Changing axle shafts is easy work for most Jeepers. AND, I'll bet that spare shaft will sit back there taking up space and collecting dust.
Quit worrying about that rear axle, go get a bolt in 8.25, throw your 31's on there, and go wheeling. Truely the best money spent, is on; Lockers, especially manual ones like the ARB for the front, a winch, tools, and some spare shafts and u-joints. A pic of my old girl... miss her!
P.S. I hate to see some of the replies on here that talk about 14 bolts, and deuce axles, even joking like that is so much like the JU boards of web-wheelin USA.This board is much better than that!
