bikerdude661 Posted May 24, 2010 Share Posted May 24, 2010 Hey guys I'm new to the Comanche and the 4x4 world... i drive a 240sx back home. but this summer I'm in alaska working. I bought an 86 Comanche with a 2.8Ltr V6 (guttless wonder i know...) and its a 4x4. I put in new rear brake lines once i got it home and did a tune up and shes been doin great. Until the other day... every once in awhile id hit a bump and hear kind of a thunk in the back. i made the mistake of just letting it go and not worrying about it. It only make the thunk when i hit a bump in the road, but two days ago i was pulling out onto the main road leaving my house and BAM something broke. I figured it was the U joints, so i checked those. Turns out they were fine. So today i pulled off the rear diff cover (its a dana 35), and when i roll one wheel back and forth the spider gears and the ring gear move in and out of the differential i found one tooth so far ( which in thinking is from the front input gear...) i would love to take this time to upgrade my F&R axles but i need to fix this soon so i can get back to work.. My question for you guys is how do i pull this rearend apart? ive already pulled the bearing caps and she still won't budge, so do i have to pull the axles too? (my 240 has a floating rear axle so this is all new to me.) Any input is helpful, Thanks guys! P.s. Ive been looking on this forum for a little while and i have to say that its by far my favorite compared to all the others ive looked at. -Taylor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpdocdave Posted May 24, 2010 Share Posted May 24, 2010 welcome, and bummer first post. yes, the axles have to come out before the carrier does. honestly, find out what gear ratio you have, and just swap in another axle. from the sounds of it, you are not ready to install a new ring and pinion, if thats what it is. but, if its just the spider gears, you're in way better shape. let us know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikerdude661 Posted May 24, 2010 Author Share Posted May 24, 2010 Well on the top left face of the differential (if ur looking at it from the back...) it says 4219 I'm guessing thats the gear ratio? I'm going to start pulling the axles and see how she turns out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpdocdave Posted May 24, 2010 Share Posted May 24, 2010 nope, that is not a gear ratio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Automan2164 Posted May 24, 2010 Share Posted May 24, 2010 On the ring gear, there will be two numbers a little off from the rest, but together. It will be the number of teeth on the pinion and the ring. So... if you see a 41 11 divide 41/11, and you get 3.72727272... round that, and you get 3.73's. Most common gears in '86 with your combo is 3.55, 3.73, and 4.10's as an option... Keep us posted. Rob L. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikerdude661 Posted May 24, 2010 Author Share Posted May 24, 2010 Well automan i followed ur steps and came out with i have 3.55 gears. I'm no gear man so i don't know about all these ratios. The truck seems fairly quick, but ive really gotta be on the throttle to get her to go up hills. Is this because i have a low gear ratio? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Automan2164 Posted May 24, 2010 Share Posted May 24, 2010 Yep, could be. Now, is the chipped gear on the little gears inside the carrier, or on the big ring gear, or the little pinion at the back? Rob L. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikerdude661 Posted May 24, 2010 Author Share Posted May 24, 2010 all of the spider gears look good and the ring gear looks good, so I'm thinking its from the smaller gear in the back, it looks like it may be a little worn too.. but i couldnt get the dang axles out to dig deeper in the problem... On a Side Note... I found a cherokee down the road from my house, its a 4x4 also. I'm gonna try to talk the guy into either selling me the truck or just the axles off of it. How hard is it to put cherokee axles onto my comanche?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Automan2164 Posted May 24, 2010 Share Posted May 24, 2010 Do you know how to weld? The cherokee is a spring over axle. In order to make it work, you will either have to weld perches underneath to retain your spring under on the MJ, or re-weld perches up top to fit the comanche's spring width. Front will be a direct swap. Rob L. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikerdude661 Posted May 24, 2010 Author Share Posted May 24, 2010 Yup ive been welding for a few years. So if i put on the cherokee axle on with the SOA setup that would give me some lift, how would i compensate the front for the amount of lift i gained in the rear? would i need to use the springs and shocks from the cherokee? and wouldnt i also need to use the rear shocks from the cherokee if i went SOA? Thanks man youve been really helpful so far! -Taylor W. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geonovast Posted May 24, 2010 Share Posted May 24, 2010 DO NOT put the XJ axle on SOA with the XJ perches. XJ and MJ perches are also different distances apart. You would bend your springs out if you did. However, if you welded new perches in the correct location to install SOA, you're going to net about 5-5.5" inches of lift in the back. A lift this high in front gets very expensive, and there's no safe way to do it cheaply. When looking for a new axle, since you're fine with getting an XJ axle, try to get ahold of an 8.25. They were used in the XJ starting abouts 93. They're a MUCH stronger axle than the craptastic Dana 35. 93-96 have 27 spline axleshafts, 97-01 have 29 spline axleshafts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dasbulliwagen Posted May 24, 2010 Share Posted May 24, 2010 go to www.car-part.com put in what you need and in what area, and it will come up with junk yards that have what you need. Might be a good place to start, might even find one for a comanche that will bolt right in. Good luck, let us know what you end up doing.... welcome to the club! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikerdude661 Posted May 24, 2010 Author Share Posted May 24, 2010 Well guys, thanks for the help so far! The cherokee that i found, i believe is an early or mid 90s it has the inline six in it. but the guy told me i could have both the axles and suspension if i wanted it for $40. So ill be picking that up later today, Ive decided against going SOA until i have enough money to do the front right and not cut any corners. So when i go to put the rear axle in should i use the MJ or XJ perches? (Spaced and ReWelded for my MJ.) And Should i keep my front suspension on there? Or should i use the XJ front suspension? Thanks guys for all the help! :cheers: -Taylor W. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Automan2164 Posted May 24, 2010 Share Posted May 24, 2010 Keep all of your suspension stuff. You should be good with that. As for the perches, Mopar actually has some really nice perches you can get from the dealer, really long, and stout. Mr. Hornbrod will have to chime in with the part numbers though. Is the cherokee a stick or auto? Rob L. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted May 24, 2010 Share Posted May 24, 2010 So when i go to put the rear axle in should i use the MJ or XJ perches? (Spaced and ReWelded for my MJ.) Use the XJ perches on the XJ axle. Grind them off carefully (the welds are all on the outside so they'll be easy to remove with a die grinder) and they can be reused. Keep the perches on the original MJ axle so you can use it as a template for setting up the correct spacing and angles on the "new" axle before welding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikerdude661 Posted May 24, 2010 Author Share Posted May 24, 2010 Awesome guys, so ill reuse the xj perches on the xj axle and use my stock mj axle to measure spacing and the angle for which its sitting at. The Cherokee I'm pulling the axles from is an automatic, so I'm guessing it has a better gear ratio than my 3.55 correct? (i have a 5spd.) But I'm swapping both front and rear axles so i don't mess up my 4wd. Is there anything I'm missing guys?? :hmm: -Taylor W. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Automan2164 Posted May 24, 2010 Share Posted May 24, 2010 You might have gotten lucky. Most 4.0L, auto XJ/MJ's came with 3.55's already... Now notice how I italicized most. There are some oddballs in there. You might only have to switch the rear axle. Rob L. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikerdude661 Posted May 25, 2010 Author Share Posted May 25, 2010 Well i pulled the rear axle today, it was in a 95 Cherokee 4x4 with an inline 6. from looking at pictures i think it might be a chrysler 8.25... it has the chrysler star imprinted in it. i just took some pictures and ill post em up right after dinner. The Axle tubes are a helluva lot thicker and the differential is quite a bit bigger. So I'm hoping its not just another Dana 35... -Taylor W. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Automan2164 Posted May 25, 2010 Share Posted May 25, 2010 That will be an 8.25... Good catch. Check the gears and throw 'er in man! Rob L. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikerdude661 Posted May 25, 2010 Author Share Posted May 25, 2010 theres the rear end i got... -Taylor W. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Automan2164 Posted May 25, 2010 Share Posted May 25, 2010 Yep, thats an 8.25. Did you check the gears yet? Sometimes you can get really lucky and find the tag on the outside, but I would still pull the cover to check the gears and change fluid. Rob L. :cheers: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikerdude661 Posted May 25, 2010 Author Share Posted May 25, 2010 Well Rob it turns out that it also has 3.55 gears. A perfect match! :clapping: So hopefully tomorrow i should be putting the new one in, if i can get time at work to use the welder... If not itll b Wensday til i get her goin. But ive gotta say that I'm excited for the better rearend! You guys have been really helpful with this whole ordeal :cheers: Thanks a ton guys, ill deffinatley be sticking around this forum ya'll are a ton of help! -Taylor W. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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