rocketwheels Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 ...my 2nd 2wd 35 rear end just started to break, fished out all the cluster gear teeth pieces a few minutes ago while inspecting it. The first one exploded about 2 years ago and I finally found another 2wd mj in a salvage yard. Will any 2wd cherokee 35 rearend swap into this with no mods? Bolts up the same way on the leafs? or are they axle under spring? Also, if I happen upon a 4wd comanche rear ( a 44 or such) what mods are required to plug and play? I'm assuming a will need to get the 4wd rear drive shaft for a possible length/rear yoke mod and appropriate u-joint swap onto my original drive shaft along with a new correct u-joint for the 4wd mj rear. I don't care about gear ratios, any will be fine for old Sgt. Rock, he's just a back up daily driver to get to work in bad weather. Thanks for any advice for a hobbling old veteran ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mvusse Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 The rear axle for a 4wd Comanche and 2wd Comanche is identical. The reason a 4wd has a shorter driveshaft is because there is a transfer case behind the transmission moving the output shaft closer to the axle. Cherokee rear axles (2wd and 4wd) are identical to Comanche rear axles except for two things: 1 - Cherokees have the shock mounts on the axle instead of the u bolt plate. Easily fixed with a $20 angle grinder. 2 - Spring perches are on the wrong side of the axle and spaced differently. They will need to be cut off and new perches welded on in the correct spot. Stock perches are dirt cheap from Mopar performance parts and it should only cost $20 or so to have them welded on by a welding shop. D35 axles are junk. They are barely worth their weight in scrap steel D44 axles are great. Especially ones already set up fro a Comanche. They are quite rare and thus usually overpriced. Chrysler 8.25" axles from a Cherokee are a good upgrade and there are literally thousands out there in the junk yards. The early 96 and older ones are okay, the late 96 and newer ones use 29 spline shafts are are about equal to a D44. Get one from a vehicle with the same size engine and transmission to make sure it is the same gear ratio as your current axle. The only possible issue is that both the D44 and the Chrysler 8.25" have a 1" longer nose than the D35. Make sure the slip yoke on the front of your driveshaft (the part that goes into the transmission) has 1" or so extra length sticking out or you're going to need a shop to shorten it a bit. U joints on the driveshaft are identical for all these axles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJRemi Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 You can also use the AMC Dana 20 rear axle found on 86 MJs and 84-86 XJs. They are much stronger than a D35 and were used on vehicles equipped with heavy duty suspension for those years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DREDnot Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 You can also use the AMC Dana 20 rear axle found on 86 MJs and 84-86 XJs. Seriously? I never knew that those axles were in any XJ or MJs. I always assumed D35,D44,or 8.25. Learn something new every day :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mvusse Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 Forgot about that one. Even more rare than the MJ D44, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 You can also use the AMC Dana 20 rear axle found on 86 MJs and 84-86 XJs. They are much stronger than a D35 and were used on vehicles equipped with heavy duty suspension for those years. I've seen the AMC 20 in more than a few '86 MJs, but I have never seen one in an XJ and I don't think it was mentioned in the original XJ FSM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimoshel Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 If I knew where your located, might be able to help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJRemi Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 You can also use the AMC Dana 20 rear axle found on 86 MJs and 84-86 XJs. They are much stronger than a D35 and were used on vehicles equipped with heavy duty suspension for those years. I've seen the AMC 20 in more than a few '86 MJs, but I have never seen one in an XJ and I don't think it was mentioned in the original XJ FSM. That could be correct. I thought I remembered seeing a XJ at a junkyard with the 20 but I'm not 100% positive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carnuck Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 I found that a 2wd '66 Travelall has the same bolt pattern and may even bolt directly in but I haven't finished the width check (they came with the wrong wheel offset which would push the tires outwards on an MJ). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harley Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 They also offer an upgrade kit for the AMC 20 to make it stronger than stock. I plan on doing that with mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dasbulliwagen Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 They also offer an upgrade kit for the AMC 20 to make it stronger than stock. I plan on doing that with mine. The upgrade kit for the AMC 20 is for the CJ's with the two piece axles. The MJ AMC 20 already has the one peice axle upgrade. Same goes for the AMC 20 as used in FSJ Waggy's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harley Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 They also offer an upgrade kit for the AMC 20 to make it stronger than stock. I plan on doing that with mine. The upgrade kit for the AMC 20 is for the CJ's with the two piece axles. The MJ AMC 20 already has the one peice axle upgrade. Same goes for the AMC 20 as used in FSJ Waggy's. Hmmm maybe your right. I dunno. I never looked too much into it yet other than the owner of a jeep shop telling me about and said it was for the truck...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketwheels Posted July 22, 2012 Author Share Posted July 22, 2012 Thanks for all the help !! this quote is the part I was concerned about... "The only possible issue is that both the D44 and the Chrysler 8.25" have a 1" longer nose than the D35. Make sure the slip yoke on the front of your driveshaft (the part that goes into the transmission) has 1" or so extra length sticking out or you're going to need a shop to shorten it a bit. U joints on the driveshaft are identical for all these axles." ...as I wasn't sure how much longer the whole assembly was in affecting the length of the driveshaft, and a possible different (larger) ujoint. I managed to find 2 scrapped 2wd mj's in this county , both with the 35, got the cleaner one (the other was partially submerged in a mud hole) for $150. Weird how scrap yard prices have really went up. The one I bought a couple years ago was only $50. I did find one Xj with a D44 out back if anyone needs one. Not sure what was up front, it was there but I don't know what I'm looking at. It would have been nice if the XJ and MJ leaf spring to axle mounting point widths were the same! I would just bolt it in and ride around like a 70's street machine with airshocks ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 Hmmm maybe your right. I dunno. I never looked too much into it yet other than the owner of a jeep shop telling me about and said it was for the truck...... The only upgrade I remember hearing of is the 1-peice shafts. :dunno: and the CJ shafts would be too short for your axle so even if you bought them they wouldn't work. Don't worry. You'll never need an upgrade anyway. The AMC 20 found in MJs is plenty strong in stock form. :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harley Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 Hmmm maybe your right. I dunno. I never looked too much into it yet other than the owner of a jeep shop telling me about and said it was for the truck...... The only upgrade I remember hearing of is the 1-peice shafts. :dunno: and the CJ shafts would be too short for your axle so even if you bought them they wouldn't work. Don't worry. You'll never need an upgrade anyway. The AMC 20 found in MJs is plenty strong in stock form. :thumbsup: Don't know if that shop owner was right but he said I should do the upgrade when I swap in my V-8 PS Hey Pete, you back home now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 I doubt anyone makes an upgrade kit for our AMC-20s. We don't share widths with either the SJs or CJs. and your 20 should be able to handle a mild v8 just fine. :thumbsup: nah, still in GA. should be driving home Saturday though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harley Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 hmmm good to know. I'll have to look more into that and find out exactly what he was talking about. Maybe he's mistaken, wouldn't be the first time for a shop and sure as hell won't be the last lol I don't think it would hold up to me though. lol I tend to be heavy on the clutch action and busted up the last 20 I had behind a 2.5 but either way it'll be fun to see how well it holds up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 interesting. what part of the 20 failed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dasbulliwagen Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 I'm not saying I'm a fan of the Dana 35, but how badly do you guys have to be drivin to be tearing up 35's or even 20's??? As far as I know, my truck had the original untouched 35 in it untill I swapped in one with 4:10 gears at 340,000 miles. The MJ AMC 20 is extremely rare. Its not unheard of for a shop owner to not know the difference if they don't dealve into the specifics like we do here each day. If you tore one up behind a 2.5, there had to be something else wrong. Ive heard that the AMC 20 is as strong as the dana 44 if not stronger, and I can't confirm it, but I heard a version of the AMC 20 modified to Independant suspension was used in the Hummer H-1's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harley Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 interesting. what part of the 20 failed? For starters I blew the spider gear apart and and put a nice size crack in the shaft. If the gears didnt blow apart I'm sure the shaft would have twisted off. earlier in the day I did a couple burnouts where I rolled backwards about 10mph or so and dumped the clutch then later on I was driving normal and thats when the gears let go. Took the cover off and their was a few pieces that fell out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harley Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 I'm not saying I'm a fan of the Dana 35, but how badly do you guys have to be drivin to be tearing up 35's or even 20's??? As far as I know, my truck had the original untouched 35 in it untill I swapped in one with 4.10 gears at 340,000 miles. The MJ AMC 20 is extremely rare. Its not unheard of for a shop owner to not know the difference if they don't dealve into the specifics like we do here each day. If you tore one up behind a 2.5, there had to be something else wrong. Ive heard that the AMC 20 is as strong as the dana 44 if not stronger, and I can't confirm it, but I heard a version of the AMC 20 modified to Independant suspension was used in the Hummer H-1's. Not sayin the shop was correct but they are a jeep only place so I'm pretty sure they deal with specifics just like we do here every day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 interesting. what part of the 20 failed? For starters I blew the spider gear apart and and put a nice size crack in the shaft. If the gears didnt blow apart I'm sure the shaft would have twisted off. earlier in the day I did a couple burnouts where I rolled backwards about 10mph or so and dumped the clutch then later on I was driving normal and thats when the gears let go. Took the cover off and their was a few pieces that fell out. might need to step up to a Dana 60 if you're going to be doing that with a v8. :yes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harley Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 :rotfl2: Thats kinda what I was thinkin. Not so sure my stock 20 will hold up in the long run. If nothing else it'll be kinda fun to see what kinda damage itll cause. I'll be sure to post pics when I do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketwheels Posted July 23, 2012 Author Share Posted July 23, 2012 dasbulliwagen....I did tear up the original 35 myself....it had about 225k on the odometer and I was constanly doing ProStock style burnouts with it before drag racing some of the guys at work. That truck is surprisingly quick. The 2nd rear axle came out of the salvage yard, a truck that had 80k on the odometer.After hearing the horror stories on this forum about 35s, I haven't abused this one at all, but no telling what may have happened to it before I got it. When I first felt something was wrong I was going thru a right hand curve around 45mph and something popped and then sounded like a baseball card in the spokes of a bike. I thought that one of the finger springs on the presssure plate must have broken. There was no more noise, once I started to drive again. Then a few days ago I had to jump out across traffic to the median and heard a loud pop and felt the learch...I eased it home with it popping and crunching along the way. Removed the cover to see several spider gears missing teeth. BTW....would you have ever guessed that a 225k mile big 6 in a 24 year old Comanche would out launch and outrun the v6 "new" camaros that showed up a few years ago? Embarrased , my co-worker sold it and bought a hemi Challenger, I didn't have a chance ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carnuck Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 I have a D44 from a '66 IH Travelall that has the same bolt pattern as XJ/MJ, but it has 2 piece shafts and is @5" wider. Derr. Got sidetracked! (cross country flying can mess with the mind, especially if you get a sinus infection in the process!) There is an axle tube brace available (goes over the pumpkin) and welding the tubes so they can't pull out of the pumpkin is mandatory, even on FSJs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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