Lockers on a DANA 35? Noobie looking for serious advice.

Ewenm said:
i find this type of discussion sooooo frustrating, i am in the situation where i have a broken D35 ( bearings) and after 377,000 kilometers of suburban and off road use I'm going to pay the money and have it rebuilt, obviously here in Australia we dont have as great an opportunity to go down to our local wrecker and grab a 8.25 for $150 as you do

but when bagging out the D35 you really need to quantify YOUR driving style, i personally am of the slow and steady school, i love off road driving and am amazed where i can take my jeep, but i dont rock hop at 180 miles an hour

when you say you break D35 with anything over 30 inch tyres .........i dont know how you drive, i have 31 inch tyres and the standard trac lok diff and i know how to use my hand brake, and never had an issue with the rear end. except now it has warn out from old age

so tell me if i spend the bucks getting it overhauled will it be good for another 16 years and 300,000 plus kilometers???????????? i suspect it will

i guess while this IS the modified forum not all of us drive rigs with 7 inch lift and 35 inch tyres, i for one have about 3 - 4 inch lift disconnects in the front no rear bar and engine mods, so i think of my jeep as modified

so go easy on us not all of us thrash the c##p out of our cars

Ewen
Click to expand...
I don't know how expensive parts are for you guys, but it seems for about what it would cost to rebuild the D35, you could get a Toyota 8" out of a 4 runner and have a very sturdy reliable, and easy to work on axle. Just a suggestion :)
 
Hubbazoot said:
If I do spin tires, I try a new approach because if you have to spin tires to get over something, you should be trying a new approach anyway
Click to expand...

That might work where you're living, but out here, its rocks AND mud.

Try crawling over a slick rock. Nope, you need wheelspin. Not rev-limiter type speed, but you can't baby it over either.

Sure there are occasions where you can crawl over stuff, but I like the insurance of knowing that certain spots that require wheelspin won't blow up my D44.
 
fine, FINE!! I'll keep on the lookout for a Dana 44. Do I need to get a new drive shaft or can I use the one for my Dana 35? I'll be pulling the 44 out of a jeep cherokee.
 
Shouldn't need a new driveshaft, just be sure that it's not too short with the 44. The D44 pinion isn'tmuch longer than the 8.25 pinion (like a fraction of an inch I think), so it shouldn't be much of a problem on a D35 either. Keep the 8.25 in mind, it's a plenty good axle up to 33s and much more plentiful than the D44.
 
AH lock'it gota a set of spare axle shafts. Sell ya cheap....

Let me know

Nick
 
Well here's my .02

If you don't plan going up higher then 32's or 33's, I would look into the Aussie, they are inexpensive, easy to install, require no carrier removal, and should suit you just fine. The only con's I know of is that they are pretty loud on the street.

As for locking the front, that's up to you. I've read that it affects traction on the trails, like when making tight turns and such because both wheels are moving at the same speed.

Here's my thoughts on your setup. How many times honestly do you go wheeling a year? I mean you can spend $600 on a full detroit locker, which is overall a really great locker,but they're twice as much as an aussie. Since your on 30's, I can almost bet you won't have any problem running an aussie locker.
 
TheSandman said:
Well here's my .02

If you don't plan going up higher then 32's or 33's, I would look into the Aussie, they are inexpensive, easy to install, require no carrier removal, and should suit you just fine. The only con's I know of is that they are pretty loud on the street.

As for locking the front, that's up to you. I've read that it affects traction on the trails, like when making tight turns and such because both wheels are moving at the same speed.

Here's my thoughts on your setup. How many times honestly do you go wheeling a year? I mean you can spend $600 on a full detroit locker, which is overall a really great locker,but they're twice as much as an aussie. Since your on 30's, I can almost bet you won't have any problem running an aussie locker.
Click to expand...
I go wheeling every chance I get, but if I got a detroit locker I was going to get an easy locker since they only cost about 250. I will look into the Aussies. When you say they're noisy on the street, do you mean like chirping tires?
 
I understand, the aussie's are great upgrades that aren't that difficult to install, no axle removal, no ring gear swap onto the new carrier, etc. When I mean loud, I'm talking clicking when you make turns.

There's a video someome did on a WJ that had an aussie, I'll look it up and post it.
 
I have a D35 Detroit locker for sale. 3.54+ gear ratio. I would take $400 for it. It has less than 1000 miles, and was never subject to offroad or broken axles. My wife totaled the jeep on the way to test it "offroad." We finished the install, left the next morning and drove it into a wreak on the interstate. Anyways, after hearing all the negative reviews, but seeing people run them on the trail I talked to
Joel Fodor
Director of Operations
AT SUPERIOR GEAR, I asked him if I could run 33" tires and the Dana 35 locked. Here is is reply:
"If you’re easy on it I’d say you’ll be fine and run it. If you actually what to wheel it I’d say get our C-Clip Eliminator kit. These axles will plug right into your Detroit locker and have the strength to run 35” tires off road. It may be out of your price range, as I completely understand the paycheck to paycheck thing. I could sell that kit direct to you for right around $500. Or I have replacement axles (same as stock strength wise) for $100 per axle"

Thanks,



Joel Fodor
Director of Operations
 
Last edited:
gajeepxj said:
I have a D35 Detroit locker for sale. 3.54 and up gear ratio. After talking to
Joel Fodor
Director of Operations
AT SUPERIOR GEAR, I asked him if I could run 33" tires and the Dana 35 locked. Here is is reply:
"If you’re easy on it I’d say you’ll be fine and run it. If you actually what to wheel it I’d say get our C-Clip Eliminator kit. These axles will plug right into your Detroit locker and have the strength to run 35” tires off road. It may be out of your price range, as I completely understand the paycheck to paycheck thing. I could sell that kit direct to you for right around $500. Or I have replacement axles (same as stock strength wise) for $100 per axle"

Thanks,



Joel Fodor
Director of Operations
Click to expand...
Awesome thx. Yeah I'll run an easy detroit locker on a dana 35
 
it sounds like it has no cover or mabe no oil ?? in that video. my aussie is quiet ya i can hear it but not like that unless I pull the cover and spin 1 tire. I also am running 75-85 oil.
 
I am going to jump on the Dont put any money in the D35 band wagon.

Get an 8.25 from a JY and start from there with an 8.25.
 
Disk brake Ford 8.8's are less than $200 in my area.

RuffStuff sells a conversion kit. Its real easy.
If you cant do it, the shop you have set the gears up prolly wouldnt charge you much to weld on the stuff for you.
 
i just wanted to throw in that i've been wheeling a d35 with a lock right and the 4.10's out of a four banger, with 32's for five years. i recently was awarded the "most abused" award at the southeastern chapter meet n' greet, so needless to say i beat on mine pretty hard. i dd'd mine the entire time, and wheeled every weekend, and often during the week, too. the only thing i've ever broken has been a few u-joints. i'm running stock shafts, and stock everything else with a five speed. i wouldn't mind a stronger axle, and i'll do a swap when i break something, but until then i'm gonna keep beating on my little girly axle.... as far as noise goes, mine sounds like a ratchet turning sometimes, but i can hardly hear it over the exhaust. i really hafta be listening for it.
 
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