Chris - We are trying to avoid the hassle of installing an ARB...your solution is no worse, and if you have the tools, the mechanical skills, and a source of used/new parts required, your solution is a viable option, no question.

For myself, just trying to find all of the parts you were able to get would use of massive amounts of time and effort...around here, the salvage yards and used parts places just don't have the flexibility in taking what you need, like I'd have to get the whole axle assembly just to get the axle parts, etc...

I'm also not sure what compromises in strength were made to downgrade to 31 spline axle shafts from the 33's...the extra block in the pathy type housing might compensate....for example, but I'm not sure of the end results strength compared to the original point, is it break even, or just weaker shaft wise, or somewhere around that?

At least it would be WAY more fun off road.