OMG, help: D35ophobia is taking over. What should I do to my axles?! HELP!

[karstic]

...what other options do I have under $1000? I'm not very handy with DIY/JY stuff as I don't have any experience with the XJ yet, and I have only met one or two local guys so I'm not sure who I could sucker into helping me out with some labor (I coudn't go pull an 8.25 and swap it out by myself).

Sure you could. Can you change a tire? It's not much more difficult to pull and axle.

Pull tires
Remove U-bolts
Remove drive shaft
Remove shocks
Remove brake lines
Remove e-brake cables

Need about 5 tools to do it. 3/4 or 19mm Socket or wrench for lugnuts and u-bolts, 8mm socket or wrench for driveshaft, 15 or 17mm socket or wrench for shock bolts, whatever wrech for brakeline

Start scrounging the PAP for a Dana44 they can be had for $150-$200. There's 2 here right in OC, another 5-10 w/in 50 miles.

 

[RCP Phx]

Just my $.02. But if i'm not mistaken, a 2001 cherokee xj came with a chrysler 8.25 rear axle with 29 spline axles. So you might want to check because that axle will be fine for 33" tires. and you can install a powertrax locker and run it as is unless you want to upgrade the gears.

ABS models use the D35!

 

[canadianwheeler]

Run the d35 and carry a set of spare shafts until u have the money to upgrade.

 

[jmop]

Run the d35 and carry a set of spare shafts until u have the money to upgrade.

x2

just get some spare shafts and you are golden. i used to carry a full set of front and rear shafts when i had the d30/d35 combo. personally i'd lock up both ends, the spiders in a d35 seem to go if you use wheel spin where a lockers would let you idle through.

 

[bmyohn]

run to the JY and grab a C 8.25 out of a 97+ they came with 29 splines, which is comparable in strength to the Dana 44, just my 2 cents.

 

[xL8 APEKSx]

Thanks guys. I need to be careful not to get too impatient here! I really appreciate all the advice.

I think if myself and a buddy went down to the yards, we could hack pulling out an 8.25 (if I could find one, anyway). I have a question though...is there a way to know from the VIN or something on the axle what gears the vehicle is equipped with?

I'm not sure if my stock gears are 3.55 or 3.73, and I would want to find an 8.25 with matching gears so I wouldn't have to swap them out quite yet.

 

[BlueGerbil]

I´d get a set of spare shafts for the D35 from the JY first and save some bucks to get a 8.8 w/ disc brakes, detriot locker, 4.56, welded axle tubes, truss, diff cover and SS brake lines later. Perhaps even the Super88 Kit from Superior.

 

[in2fords]

My buddy has a 2001 TJ with a 4" lift on 33x10.5 bfg mt's and has been wheeling it for a year without any breakage on the d34. before that he was running it on 33x12.5's for 2 years and he isnt nice to that rear axle at all but he has stock 3.07 gears and is open. another buddy has a yj on 36" iroks and a super d35 with a detroit, is snapping shafts like crazy! it is a hand grenade but with spare shafts in your kit and the knowledge of how to change them out you will be OK for now.
If you dont care about your abs go for the d35 or xj d44. Some say the xj d44 is rare but Ive had my hands on about 2-3 in the last year and Im on a fricken Island in the middle of the pacific ocean!
the d44 is a bolt in and the 8.8 requires a bit of work but is worth it, kinda a toss up for your situation. learn how to wheel, once you start breaking your stock stuff then start upgrading.
Jeremy

 

[Daedalus454]

is there a way to know from the VIN or something on the axle what gears the vehicle is equipped with?

I'm not sure if my stock gears are 3.55 or 3.73, and I would want to find an 8.25 with matching gears so I wouldn't have to swap them out quite yet.

There should be a tag bolted to the diff cover with lots of numbers on it. One of those numbers will be your gear ratio. I'm not sure where the ratio will be on the tag, I just looked for the number that was one digit with two decimals. If the tag is missing off the rear check the front, since they will both be the same.

I just swapped my D35 for a 29-spline 8.25, and I'm really happy with it. It's amazing how much beefier the 8.25 looks side-by-side with the D35.

My ABS had failed some time ago so I had already disabled it (look up the relays and fuses in your owner's manual, remove everything related to the ABS), but when I removed the old axle I still had to remove the wheel speed sensors, I ended up just hacking the wires off with a big pair of dikes.

Since I had just rebuilt my rear brakes with new wheel cyls, shoes, etc. I just pulled the shafts from both axles, unbolted the brakes from both axles (4 nuts each side, use lots of Kroil), installed the new axle, then bolted my old brakes up to the new axle. That way I didn't have to bother with setting up the parking brakes, and it was somewhat easier muscling the axle around without the shafts in it. Also with the axle out it's really easy to change your rear brake line.

 

[Blackchrome]

Some might be overlooking the fact that if you are running stock gears with 33's, you are underpowered which means there is even less of a chance of snapping the axle shafts.
Also, a Super 35 kit from Yukon is stronger than a stock 44...

 

[MudDawg]

You didnt say what kind of tranny you have....if auto, it will be a lot easier in the axle if you use common sense and back up if it wont go thru an obstacle. If it is manual tranny, it is VERY easy to break a '35...Rev 'er up, dump the clutch...KABOOM!....Save your bux, do a 8.8 with the superior super 88 kit....it ends up at stock width, has the same axle bearings as a 9" and there are no C-clips to worry about...it will most likely be the last mod you will need as far as a rear axle goes....unless your plans include like 38's and beadlocks and zillion to one transfer cases....and if you drive like ME!

 

[The Hard Struggler]

Some might be overlooking the fact that if you are running stock gears with 33's, you are underpowered which means there is even less of a chance of snapping the axle shafts.
Also, a Super 35 kit from Yukon is stronger than a stock 44...

Not exactly .............1. Lower gearing does increase the max torque the shaft will see BUT it also allows more finesse driving and the 35 IS a finesse axle.........2. The Yukon shafts are stronger than stock 44 shafts BUT every thing else is way weaker than a 44. The R&P, carrier, housing, bearings, is tiny compared to the 44. Of the six 35s i've seen blow on the trail two were Super 35s. One exploded the ARB carrier into about five pieces not counting bolts and bearing pieces.You can only put so much strenght in so small a carrier.The second broke the housing and rotated the pinion up past vertical and stripped half the teeth off the R&P. But in both cases the shafts were in perfect condition.Both were on 33s and were LONG drives back to camp.

 

[cal]

Also, a Super 35 kit from Yukon is stronger than a stock 44...

When I broke my dana 35, I ripped the teeth off of a side gear and broke the pinion. I was doing a u-turn, got a little wheel spin going and it hooked up - *boom*.

Wheel the dana 35 until you can replace it, but don't invest money into it - a super35 kit will cost you more than buying, installing and gearing an 8.8, which is going to be stronger than the upgraded 35.