What axle will fit?

I have a 96 4.0 with 242 TC and dana 35 rear. What are my options for bolt on with no mods for my jeep? My rear now bit the dust and i want to upgrade if possible while replacing, because my local scrapyard is 65$ for any rear axle.

XJ Chry 8.25 (1997-01 for 29 splines) or an 1987 XJ Dana 44.

97+ 8.25 will be easy to find, bolts up with almost no effort, and is pretty strong

Whats better, 8.25 or 35? i have heard pros and cons for each, but in the rare case of finding a 44, im taking that

there are no pro's to a d35...only cons. Get the 8.25 a bit cheaper than the 44 and more available

CJ96xj said:

Whats better, 8.25 or 35? i have heard pros and cons for each, but in the rare case of finding a 44, im taking that

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The D35 is weakest of all, and it uses C-clips so changing shafts requires pulling the differential open everytime you break an axle shaft in parking lot. The early 27-spline 8.25 is a bit stronger than the D35, and the later 29-spline 8.25 is quite a bit stronger, but they are also C-clip axles. The D44 is stronger still, and is not a C-clip axle, however they were only used on the XJ for a couple of years and only for a couple of configurations so they can be hard to find in a form that's immediately usable (they'll have the wrong gears, or they'll be missing brakes, etc). The late-model 8.25 is a very easy to find in good condition, and it is strong enough that casual jeepers won't break the shafts too often, so the C-clip issue is mostly moot with them. If you can find a D44 in a form you want you should definitely buy it, but put yourself on a schedule and when the deadline passes go buy an 8.25

I have found several XJ D-44. All the ones I have personally seen from an Automatic equipped XJ had 3.54/3.55 gears.

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and we found were all of the XJ D44's have disappeared too. C8.25 29 spline will likely be the easiest to find in a junkyard.

I agree, an XJ 44 is the best. Scour the junkyards and craigslist and see if you can find on. They are out there. The 8.25 is very easy to find in a junkyard.

Happy hunting.

cdawall said:

and we found were all of the XJ D44's have disappeared too. C8.25 29 spline will likely be the easiest to find in a junkyard.

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That's because they're all posing in that picture! My vote is for a Chryco 8.25", easy to find, cheap and plentiful parts. We just replaced the 35 in my son's '96 Classic, and we gave up the Limited Slip in the 35, but the clutches were chattering anyway. Maybe no more pinion vibes!