axle opinion

[dirty88comanche]

thanks to the guys that helped me to fingure out my rear axle.

 

if i run the RE or Rough Country is the dana 35 good enough for the lifts. what should i look to do or if i need to replace it what should i go look for.

 

and a side topic what about lockers after, if i lift it.

[Twisty]

Well its fine for the lift, its the tires that cause the problems. You have options though; Ford 8.8 Chrysler 8.25, Dana 44.

 

If you lock the D35 with anything larger then 31's and wheel, then you could possibly have lots of trouble.

[rejeep]

If you lock the D35 with anything larger then 31's and wheel, then you could possibly have lots of trouble.

 

I blew my open 35 on my Yj with 31" tires..

They are meant for stock power, stock tires, and even then they are the weak link........

My Ba10 outlasted my 35

[CWLONGSHOT]

You will find no one is going to support the D35.

Its not really that bad...but we all know its a weak link.

 

So if your going to upgrade..do it right the first time and don't waste your hard earned cash on a sub quality part.

 

Like twisty recomended...Go for the 8.8 FORD from a 96 or newer EXPLODER OR a newer 95+ XJ 8.35 or the XJ D44. There are a couple more choices, but these are the most popular.

 

There is also gearing to think about. You don't mention your tire size or what your going to be doing with it...but the 8.8 is readily avalible with 4:10's. Just watch for a 4CL XJ/MJ for the same geared front axle for a swap in gear change.. WAY cheaper than having your re-geared!!

 

Just a couple pointers..

 

...but to answer your question, Yes, you could lift your rig with a D35 in it but sooner or later your gonna break it with the bigger tires that follow a lift...

 

CW

[JeepcoMJ]

I'm running a 3" rough country lift with 31" tires on my truck and my brother's truck. it's fine as I don't beat on it and all it sees is street use and minor off-roading, but I wouldn't DARE take it into anything hardcore...it's just not a great axle to begin with and add the tires and such, it's GONNA blow on me sooner or later.

 

I'm looking for an 8.8 to put in mine...that's probably the best bet.

[dirty88comanche]

what I'm hoping to do if i lift it is put 33s on it and use it in the woods alot. alotta trail rinding but nothing too hardcore. and still use it as a driver from point a to b, not crusing around town

[DirtyComanche]

Axles I consider workable for a rear swap (where my list stands now):

 

 

Ford 8.8 (explorer) disk and drum 5x4.5

XJ/MJ D44 5x4.5

MJ AMC20 5x4.5

Waggy D44 6x5.5

Waggy AMC20 6x5.5

Chrysler 8.25 (XJ, 95+) 5x4.5

Chrysler 8.75 (mopar muscle) 5x4.5

Isuzu 12B 6x5.5

Isuzu D44 6x5.5

EB 9" 5x5.5

Toy 8" 6x5.5

Nissan something-or-other (It might be 62-63" wide... I've still been meaning to look into it) 6x5.5

 

 

Unless you want to swap the front, you'll only want ones labelled as 5x4.5 (bolt pattern). Some of these axles are slightly narrow and could use spacers (you can also adapt the other bolt patterns this way).

 

 

 

Edit, you want 33s... I'll narrow it down.

[DirtyComanche]

These would be best...

 

Ford 8.8 (explorer) disk and drum 5x4.5

XJ/MJ D44 5x4.5

MJ AMC20 5x4.5

Chrysler 8.25 (XJ, 95+) 5x4.5

Chrysler 8.75 (mopar muscle) 5x4.5

 

 

 

For 33s I'd actually say the 95+ chrysler 8.25 is a good choice if you don't 'need' disk brakes. It will be plenty strong but the lowest gearing is 4.56 (which may or may not work for you). The best part is it is very avaliable - often for cheap.

 

The 8.8 is a good axle if you find a junkyard one with 4.10s. That keeps over-all cost down as CW mentioned.

[Eagle]

what I'm hoping to do if i lift it is put 33s on it and use it in the woods alot. alotta trail rinding but nothing too hardcore. and still use it as a driver from point a to b, not crusing around town

I wouldn't trust a Dana 35 with anything larger than 31" tires. People have gone larger with the D35, but then it becomes a question of "when" it's going to break rather than "if" it's going to break.

 

If you're on a budget, just get a Chrysler 8.25 from a wrecked XJ and flip the spring pads -- or just move them if you're going high enough that a spring-over gets you to the correct height. It'll be cheaper than the Ford 8.8 and you won't have to adapt anything. You should be able to cut off the stock spring pads and re-use them, but if not you can get the best spring pads available through the Mopar Performance catalog for about $10 a pair.

[dirty88comanche]

what did the Chrysler 8.25 come on? i'll be going to junkyards around my county this week looking for parts and the axle

[Twisty]

97+ XJ's are 29 spline 8.25 axles

[jared]

the 8.25 is easy to spot, its a almost oval diff cover with a rubber fill plug, but the axle is flat on the bottom. but try to get a 97+ one it has the 29 splines. or you can get a older one with 27 splines. whcih is stillstronger then a d35.

[ChiefJosh]

So far, I'd highly recommend the 8.25, though I'm a little partial because that's what I did. Some of it depends on what trans you're running. Auto and 33's, you'll want at least 4.10 - In that case the Ford 8.8 is probably easier to find, than a Chryco 8.25 with 4.10s.

 

I'm running a 5spd, so 3.55 gears will be good for 33's, especially because my MJ will see a lot more street driving than trail. 3.55 was the "standard" gear ratio for XJ's with the 4.0/auto combination - that means in the 96+ time frame, there's about 3 million XJ's out there with the axles you can use, and it means they're cheap.

 

My MJ had 3.07s with the 5spd, I bought both axles out from under a 99 at the junkyard for $200. The front was an easy swap, and saved a ton over having my old axle regeared, plus the fact that it is 10 years younger. I bought new leaf spring perches and shock mounts for the rear, welded them up and bolted it in. I've only put about 20 miles on it since, but so far so good.

 

Another plus side of using the 8.25 over the 8.8, especially if you have a 5spd, is that the e-brake cables from your D35 will fit right into the 8.25. That is not the case with the 8.8. From what I hear it's not too dificult, but it is one more thing to deal with.

 

Hope that helps- Good luck :cheers:

[dirty88comanche]

i may have hit a financial bumb in the road and not be able to afford the RE of Rough country any more. but have some for a small lift like a 3inch one. if i end up having to abandon the re and rc plans can my dana 35 work with a 3inch lift and proly 31 if i cut the fenders. still for the same use of trail riding and minor street riding

 

thanks for all the help

[Eagle]

I'm running a 5spd, so 3.55 gears will be good for 33's, especially because my MJ will see a lot more street driving than trail. 3.55 was the "standard" gear ratio for XJ's with the 4.0/auto combination - that means in the 96+ time frame, there's about 3 million XJ's out there with the axles you can use, and it means they're cheap.

WHAAAAAAAAAAT?

 

Josh -- 3.55s is what Jeep should have used with the 5-speed and stock tires. 31x10.50s and 3.73 gears results in the same final drive ratio as 3.55 gears and stock tires. It's barely adequate for 31s, and 4.10s would be a whole lot better. For 33" tires you need at least 4.10 gears, and you'd be a lot happier (even for a daily driver) with 4.56s.

[Eagle]

i may have hit a financial bumb in the road and not be able to afford the RE of Rough country any more. but have some for a small lift like a 3inch one. if i end up having to abandon the re and rc plans can my dana 35 work with a 3inch lift and proly 31 if i cut the fenders. still for the same use of trail riding and minor street riding

 

thanks for all the help

No cutting necessary. I ran 31s with a Trailmaster lift that was somewhere between 3" and 4". I hated the lift and took it out. I can still run the 31s, even at stock height. Without trimming.

 

The key is that you MUST run factory Jeep wheels. They have enough backspacing to allow the tires to stuff inside the fenders. Run aftermarket rims with less backspacing, and the tires will whack the flares when the suspension compresses.