big66440 Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 I think the Dana 35 in my Manche is going out, I can hear and feel a clunk on acceleration and right before I come to a stop only when the ambient temperature is really hot according to the info I've been able to find it points to my spider gears being worn. I don't use my Comanche for off road but I do occasionally haul a few hundred pounds maybe 3 times a year and like to haul a$$ and do burnouts, my question; is it worth to pay for a professional to rebuild it? I know it has a terrible reputation for off roading with big tires but I don't do any of that, any advice is welcome thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minuit Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 Dana 35s are pretty much never worth re-building. For a fraction of the cost you can buy a much better axle (97+ chrysler 8.25, ford 8.8, etc) and make the modifications to install it into an MJ. Before you do any of this make sure the D35 is actually the problem, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiser54 Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 Have you inspected your u-joints? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benjy_26 Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 The D35 has gotten a bad rap, IMHO. If all of your driving is on the street, using street tires and aren't running obscene amounts of power, I believe it can survive. It's small size and relative light weight are also assets in an application such as yours. On top of that, it's already on the vehicle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dasbulliwagen Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 It will definitely be cheaper to put a used axle under your truck than to rebuild your current one. Youre looking at $500 plus to rebuild a rear end. Find an 8.8 with discs, or an 8.25, have the perches moved where they need to be and call it a day. As for just doing burnouts and stuff, that is VERY hard on spider gears. That might be your problem right there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankTheDog Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 If you had your location posted somebody could say "Hey! Come get the one that I have hanging around! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88ComancheMitch Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 My 8.25 conversion was easy and cheap. Paid $110 for the rear end. $15 in paint. $20 in fluid. $5 for a grinding disk to reuse the perches. Took a couple days of working on it for a couple hours a day. Pretty easy. Make sure you get the driveshaft angle right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benjy_26 Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 lol Yup. If you were in the West Texas area you could come grab my D35 in a few days for FREE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big66440 Posted July 10, 2014 Author Share Posted July 10, 2014 I'm in So Cal city of El Monte, ( close to Irwindale) I've seen a few D44's up for sale on Craigslist, I guess if I'm going to drive my comanche for a while I should upgrade it I've also thought of upgrading to 3:90 gears in the back anyone have experience with this? my truck has an AW4 and 235/75/15 tires Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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