lift kits

[Pete M]

all of those thongs are just bandaids on a weak axle. will it help? maybe. should you leave it alone and start looking for a better axle? definitely. :D there are plenty of better axles out there. I would find one of those and sink my effort into it instead of a d35. :thumbsup:

[mvusse]

My friend's TJ rear Dana 35 for some reason ground the pinion gear into an almost smooth ball with no teeth left in 20,000 miles of driving, never been to an off road park. Should have been a factory warranty issue, but the dealership refused it for some reason. Because of the 200 worth of brackets to weld on for a TH (4 link with panhard bar rear suspension) he opted against upgrading to a better axle, so we installed new gears and he sold the Jeep.

 

I witnessed an XJ snap a D35 axle shaft off road with 30x9.50 tires

 

I wheeled my D35 with first 29", then 33" tires until the pinion bearings went out, then swapped in the 29 spline 8.25" I had had laying in the back yard for a few month just for that purposed. Ended up giving away what was left of the 35 for free. I think they just wanted one the shafts out of it.

 

Listen to Pete. Don't bother putting any money into that Dana 35 besides brakes and gear oil.

 

I paid $100 for the 8.25" under my Comanche. I got the 4.10 29 spline 8.25" under my daughter's Cherokee for free. If you have a Pull-a-part nearby, ANY rear axle is <$100, Pick n Pull is just a bit over, I think LKQ is comparable.

 

A $25 angle grinder will make quick work of any brackets (spring perches, shock mounts) that the axle may have, new perches and shock mounts don't cost much (I get mine from Ruff Stuff Specialties). I had mine welded on by a local welding shop for $20. If you know a buddy with a large enough welder he may do it for a few beers. Either way, $200 or less to upgrade the axle.

[johnr]

My friend's TJ rear Dana 35 for some reason ground the pinion gear into an almost smooth ball with no teeth left in 20,000 miles of driving, never been to an off road park. Should have been a factory warranty issue, but the dealership refused it for some reason. Because of the 200 worth of brackets to weld on for a TH (4 link with panhard bar rear suspension) he opted against upgrading to a better axle, so we installed new gears and he sold the Jeep.

 

I witnessed an XJ snap a D35 axle shaft off road with 30x9.50 tires

 

I wheeled my D35 with first 29", then 33" tires until the pinion bearings went out, then swapped in the 29 spline 8.25" I had had laying in the back yard for a few month just for that purposed. Ended up giving away what was left of the 35 for free. I think they just wanted one the shafts out of it.

 

Listen to Pete. Don't bother putting any money into that Dana 35 besides brakes and gear oil.

 

I paid $100 for the 8.25" under my Comanche. I got the 4.10 29 spline 8.25" under my daughter's Cherokee for free. If you have a Pull-a-part nearby, ANY rear axle is <$100, Pick n Pull is just a bit over, I think LKQ is comparable.

 

A $25 angle grinder will make quick work of any brackets (spring perches, shock mounts) that the axle may have, new perches and shock mounts don't cost much (I get mine from Ruff Stuff Specialties). I had mine welded on by a local welding shop for $20. If you know a buddy with a large enough welder he may do it for a few beers. Either way, $200 or less to upgrade the axle.

no worries, after reading your guys posts i think ill be putting those ideas out of my mind. thanks for the all of the input.

[johnr]

took a scouting trip to the bone yard today. there are plenty of 8.25's out there. the real reason i went was not to look for the diff though because they had an mj out there. i got some good stuff, b pilar lights gauge cluster, clock, headlight switch and a rear window gasket, since someone already broke the glass.

so not to beat a dead horse more but i have to ask this. the mj i found is a 4 cyl 5 speed 2 wheel drive. this should have the 4.10 gears yes? i know its a d35 so would this be worth my time. they want 125.00 for it.

then, i think i know the answer to this, but will a d44 out of a durango fit a comanche?

[Pete M]

durangos had a dana 44?? :hmm: I thought they used a chrysler axle. either way the bolt pattern would be wrong.

 

try to find an 8.25 that's 97+ (or is is 96+?). they are about as strong as a dana 44. :thumbsup:

[johnr]

well i thought is was, i saw it on my way out and i had an arm load of goodies. but the diff cover sure looked like it i did not look close becuse i did not think it would fit.

anyhow I'm going back next week unless other things come up. the cherokees will still most likly have the 3.55 gears in them no? what would steer me to 4.10's ie. what should i look for in the biuld of the truck. every one on the lot was an automatic. also are any grand cherokees a possable doner?

[Pete M]

grand cherokees make for poor donors.

 

3.55s are common because 4.0l/autos were common. rules of thumb for 87+:

 

4.0+auto = 3.55

4.0+stick = 3.07

2.5+5spd = 4.10

2.5L+4spd = 3.55

2.5L+auto = 4.56

86 MJs and 84-85 XJs could pretty much have anything. gotta check them to be sure.

[mvusse]

Grand Cherokees came either with a D35, or an ALUMINUM D44. Neither makes a great axle. The Comanche being a 2.5/5 speed *should* have 4.10 gears, but always check to make sure. The edge of the ring gear has the number of teeth on it and on the pinion gear engraved in it. Divide one by the other to get the ratio. But the rear being a 35 is not worth any $$$ besides scrap value.

 

I know some Dakotas had a D44 rear axle, so I imagine Durangos could also, but as already said, wrong wheel bolt pattern.

 

97+ Cherokee 8.25 sounds like the best choice. I've heard late 96 can have 29 spline also, but my 96 had a 27 spline one under it.

[johnr]

thanks again guys good info :cheers:

[johnr]

if i sould be lucky enough to find an MJ with a d44 in it. what could i expect to find inside those housings?

[Pete M]

you mean for gear ratios? same as the dana 35. ratios were usually dependent on the engine/trans combo.

[johnr]

strange as it may sound i found a 90 comanche 2wd at the yard today with a d44 in it so i yanked it out and brough it home with me. i think ist a limited slip. i also was able to get a rear slider window out of her :banana: if it only had a roll bar it would have been a perfect day. looks like i will be give a re-gear a try some time in the near future if your chart is corect and it has 3.07's.

[carnuck]

Why didn't someone mention the Mopar axle? '91 up XJs used them and earliest MJs used the Model 20 as well.

[mvusse]

Why didn't someone mention the Mopar axle? '91 up XJs used them

 

That would be the Chfrysler 8.25". It's been mentioned in this thread by myself among others.

 

and earliest MJs used the Model 20 as well.

 

The AMC model 20 from a Comanche is rare (more so than a Dana 44) and doesn't have as much aftermarket support. The AMC 20 found under CJs are too narrow and have weak 2 piece axle shafts.

[johnr]

i just got the parts in for the front lift from rubicon express (thanks to COMANCHEROB from 4wheel parts) and i was reading though the directions, yes i do read them :roll: , anyhow they had made mention of the bump stop for the bottom and since i just bought parts and not a "kit" I'm wondering if i over looked something important :dunno: . the springs are 3.5" of lift. the parts i ordered are lower adj control arms, adj track bar, springs, shocks and a steering shock.

[mvusse]

Whether or not you need bump stops, and how much depends on both the shock (you want to suspension to stop before the shock is fully compresed) as well as tire size and how much sheet metal you cut. (before the tire hits the fender)

 

What are you doing for the rear?

[johnr]

Whether or not you need bump stops, and how much depends on both the shock (you want to suspension to stop before the shock is fully compresed) as well as tire size and how much sheet metal you cut. (before the tire hits the fender)

 

What are you doing for the rear?

as far as tire size I'm running 30"x9.5" for now but i will eventualy be putting on 31"x 10" and have no plans to cut anything if i don't have to. for the rear i have a set of hellcreek 3" leaf packs on order. i won't get them until mid january so i have some time to get this all right

[carnuck]

I didn't do the stop extenders, but I did do the lower arms (non-adjustable), 6" TJ coils (makes for a nice ride, but only 5 1/2" lift) adjustable trac-bar, YJ brake hoses and shock extenders (they were nearly new stock length) and SOA rear.

[johnr]

hey what the best way to center the front axle from front to back once i get all the parts in? :wrench:

[Pete M]

the proper length control arms should put the tire back in the center of the wheelwell automatically. :thumbsup: unless you get adjustable, which require some measuring.

[COMANCHEROB4WD]

You shouldn't need the extended bump stops with that setup. If you can get your Comanche over our way there's a guy here (Tom) who does all of our alignments after we install lifts. He's great. You can eyeball getting the axle to be centered with the control arms you bought, but you should still have an alignment done...if not with Tom, at least with a shop that has aligned lifted vehicles before (the caster would be slightly different than stock according to Tom).

 

If you want to talk to him you've got our number here at work. He's at ext. 876.

[johnr]

lift is finaly on, ill be taking it to the shop for a front end alignment on tuesday but i had to take it out for s spin. for the most part it went down the road straight and did not feel squirly at all, no vibration or cracking or poping or any other indication that something was not right accept maybe some noise once i got up above 25 mph. its like a tire noise but a little louder. its been over two months since i drove it last so maybe i forgot what the tires sound like but i don't think so. anyone care to though in there 2 cents?

this is the first time i have ever lifted anything so I'm sure theres something i missed

[johnr]

Comanche are not Cherokees and will not need SYEs or t-case drops or anything of that nature. we have a much longer wheelbase and thus a much longer rear driveshaft and so our d-shaft angles aren't a severe as we go up.

 

what are you doing for gears? I see you have a 2.5/4spd and so your gears are probably the sock 3.55. finding axles with 4.10s in them should probably be on your to-do list if you're going to bigger tires. :thumbsup:

so i have the lift on and the front end aligned and i getting vibrations in the driveline is there is anything i have overlooked? i took a few pics but i don't know it you can tell anything from them

[Pete M]

how old are the rear u-joints? did you replace them with the lift? they can cause vibrations purely because you changed their operating angles.

[johnr]

they came with the truck. i think that before i bought the truck it was in some kind of crash the drive shaft looked new and there was a nice fresh dent in the trans/driveshaft tunnel. but a new set of joints would be easy enough.