Anyone try a Dakota 8.25 in a 73/74 B-body?

Has anyone had any luck getting a newer 8.25 into an older mope? After reading the Mopar Action article on rear anti-lock brake setups (RWAL) on 89 and newer 8.25 and 9.25 rears I would like to take advantage of the improvement but I don't know if any will fit without major surgery. The 1st gen Liberty is a drum rear with our bolt pattern but from what I can google it seems to be too narrow. Same with the Jeep Cherokee. I am seeing conflicting numbers but it looks like 1st gen Dakotas might be a match. Anyone try it?

I have a 67 B body 8.75 under my 92 Dak. Width is just a bit narrower on the 67 housing than my stock Dak.

Wouldn't take much other than relocating the spring perches.

But keep in mind the early RWAL was not that great of a system. Most people that I know have deleted the RWAL solenoid and plumbed in a regular brake system.

Also the Dak rear was still drum brake through at least 95. If you want a disc setup, maybe look into a Jeep Grand Cherokee rear diff?

The other thing is that for some reason the later 8.25 diffs dont seem to hold up like the earlier setups, they chew spider gears quite often. Even on a suregrip.

The 96+ Dak/Durango rear diff was a little over 2" wider than the early generation. So they may not fit well.

I would be looking for a 1st gen drum rear, don't want to get into discs. The early rears are also regular bolt pattern and not 6 lug. Is the pig centered on the early rears? I think it may be offset after 96 but it's hard to find info on these.

yep, the pig is centered on the 1st gen Daks.

Awesome ty

Bump for the poster who was asking about this topic last week.

This would be for an A-body.
I want to take a dakota 8 1/4 trim off the ends.
Install 8 3/4 ends and use a jeep axle.
This would give tapered roller bearings instead of the straight and it would get rid of the C clips.

Don't know why it wouldn't work for a B body.


I have the parts but not the time to do it.

The interesting thing is you're less likely to get an advantage from ABS in all but the worst conditions if you swapped to rear disk, since they are a lot less likely to suddenly lock.

Those old systems are pretty awful. Basically a system that doesn't have a pump (will have a motor) is a low pressure accumulator and a valve to open and close it. Not really worth doing.

I'd get a good aftermarket kit like the Dr Diff or a setup from a first gen grand cherokee to convert to rear disk and you'll never look back.

You also need not worry about c-clips with rear disk because the axles cannot fall out (the caliper will hold them in place).