I am new to jeeps, i have a 1993 YJ I am working on and wanted to know what it takes to swap in a 8.8 ford on the rear or is it better to just build the factory dana 30    

What is "better" to do depend on what you plan to do with it. Also you actually have a 35c not a 30 in rear. From 87 to 90 Jeep used a regular 35 in rear, starting in late 90 they went to 35"C". C mean is was a custom axle in that it was shipped to Chysler in parts to cut costs and they assembled it and used a "C" clip design retainer too. It is possible to convert a 35 "C" to a plain 35. If you never plan to go above 33's the 35 should do fine for you. If you want to go bigger and use a locker then the 8.8 would be a viable option. As I recall a late 80's to mid 90's Explorer 8.8 is nearly a bolt in. Do not change rear axle just for sake of changing it though. Another viable upgrade is the AMC 20 that was used thru 86. Stock it has a weak two piece axle design (axle and hub are separate pieces) but there is a aftermarket kit available that replaces them with a strong one piece design and makes it about the equal of a D44. (it has a 8 7/8 inch ring gear to the 44's 8.5 inch one and the 35's 7 5/8 inch one) There is also the option of a Chysler 8.25 which was widely used in XJ's and is stronger than a 35. 91 on XJ 8.25's are only 3/4's of a inch wider between wheels than your stock axle (stock is 60 and XJ is 60.75) so it would be a pretty good fit. Jeep used D35 in XJ until 91 when they went to 8.25 and used it till the end.  

thanx for the reply you give me the info i needed.. i plan on making a daily driver with the weekends at the local orv park.  

Make sure that you include a deeper set of axle gears. Stock gears are pretty tall and not good for off road use of any semi serious to serious nature. Especially with bigger tires.  

I have stock 4.11 with a 5 spd and the 2.5 four banger what would be the best gear a 4.88 or 4.56  i have 33x10.50 and i also have a 4 inch lift to go under soon does any one know how teraflex revolver shackles act on the street  

I think i'd go 4.88's  especially with that 4 popper and 33's.  

yep, 4.88's

the revolvers won't be noticeable on the street. they give the o...crap feeling when they unload going over an obstacle momentarily....

I love that 48 c-j2a! pops used to have one w/a 283sbc in it.  

At least a 4.88. Maybe even a 5.13 if you plan to off road a lot. That little 2.5 with 33's and 5.13's would be great off road and sip gas a lot slower doing it too. It would give you a max over all crawl ratio of a about 56 to 1 too or in simpler terms, about 1100 RPM in 1st low range would be about 2 mph and you would loose traction before you lost ability to turn tires even in sand. You would never have to "play" clutch at all 99% of time and when you did to creep the clutch loading would be so low that you would not be smelling roasted clutch.