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Strongest Dana 35 axles?

Mike Axle

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Calgary
I know all the arguments against the Dana 35. Mine is trussed and have never broken a thing running 33's. Who makes the strongest axle up grade? Thanks.
 
Nobody... haha

A super 35 kit would be best, upgrade to 30 splines plus a locker for about 1K... other than that, find a better axle for 1/3 the price... just a logical opinion

Seriously think about it, you want to wheel harder, or you wouldnt have asked the question... and you dont want to worry about the axle breaking. So why spend 1K on a POS when you can find thousands of other axles that would require from zero modification (newer model 8.25) to just brackets and possibly a ubolt adapter (if you went ford 8.8)

Your truss cost you what? the cost of scrap? why drop more than $35 in a 35... cut the truss off and use it on the new one.

I agree, I have a 35 with 33's on it now... on the street, but would I lock it? no. Would I do a trail I thought impossible? no. Am I building a locked axle for 1/2 the cost of the super 35 kit? yes.

Find a better place to spend your well earned money
 
My 8.8 cost me $250 and netted me 4 wheel discs, a huge strength upgrade and 4.10 gears with a posi... why mess with a Dana 35?
 
you are looking for 27 spline axles??
i have seen axles on the market from all the major players..quadratec has a selection..i am also shopping for "upgraded" axles for my D35..not that a stocker has broken yet, but the true track is going in next week and i figured why not..

maybe someone with some real experience with different brands of axles can chime in?
 
Spend no money on a D35. At the local Pic n Pull self service junkyard, any truck axle is $85: XJ Chry 8.25, D44, Ford 8.8, or Ford 9.
 
LOL looks like this is going to turn into another dont waste your money thread, PM me the details of what your looking for then when i find them for myself i will send you the info.
 
have fun throwing good money after bad :)

Sell your trussed turdy5 to some other idiot on CL and use the money to gear a 29 spline 8.25 to whatever you want, then bolt it in. An 8.25 is fine on 33s all day long, no matter what you throw at it, with no truss and stock shafts, and costs less than any alloy shaft set I have ever seen for sale.

8.25... $100 give or take.
gears - $250, get a $25 (10%) discount IIRC if you become a member here for $35. Might want to check on this before doing so.
install kit - $85, get an $8.50 discount like with the gears.

Total: $435 or so. If you can't get that for a trussed (geared?) 35 on CL you need to live somewhere with more suckers.
Total if you don't regear: $100 or so. I KNOW you can get that for a 35 on CL.
 
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Ok honestly your question is no different than asking "what is the tastiest piece of poop I can eat?" because no matter what the answer is you are still eating poop.

If you are going to be stubborn and spend the money on a Dana 35 even after all the expert and experience advice saying otherwise then start with these things.

-Look up a c-clip eliminating kit for the Dana 35 this will turn your c-clip axle into a semi-float axle like a Dana 44 so if you break a shaft you won't have the wheel walk out of the axle on you and leave you stranded.

-Next upgrade the shafts (if the c-clip eliminating kit doesn't already come with them).

-This extra strength in these areas pushes the weak fail points into the differential. So if you upgrade to a heavy duty locker which you should if you haven't already and insist on keeping that axle the next weak point is the ring and pinion.

-Buy a high quality set of gears and have them chryo'd to add even more strength.

This will give you the strongest Dana 35 around but again it will just be the tastiest piece of poop.
 
FWIW i understand that the D35 is POS compared to all the other axles, but it allowed me to keep my ABS(good for wife/kid), i got a great deal on my 27 spline d35 true track..the 35 came in my jeep with brand new brakes & drums and it should do just fine for now with my 31" tires
my jeep is more of a DD/hunting rig then a smash and bash off roader. if my jeep ever decides to become less DD/hunting and more smash/bash with larger tires, i will ditch the ABS and install a xjD44 with a true locker and larger tires.

for SOME people the D35 is OK. my buddys YJ has 33" tires and 4.88 gears on a LSD D35 and it has never caused any trouble, His YJ is more of a exploring/hunting type vehicle also.

i have a hard core off roader with all the best parts,race prepped 930CVs with 300m cages,undersized balls, 28spline 300m axles, cromo everything and i still blow up parts every race..the bigger ya build it, the harder you can beat it..but if your driving on the ragged edge..everything can and will break no matter what.
My Xj is not a ragged edge machine. maybe the OP is in the same boat and just wants a little insurance. 300 bucks gets ya some axles and ya end up with stock spares..alot less involved than a total axle swap if your just looking for a little extra peice of mind in a axle that has already proven to be sufficent for the OPs (and my) needs.

im sure one day soon i will be on here with my foot in mouth bitching about my 35 axle that snapped while pulling out of my driveway now that i have gone and jinxed myself. but untill then..
 
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FWIW i understand that the D35 is POS compared to all the other axles, but it allowed me to keep my ABS(good for wife/kid), i got a great deal on my 27 spline d35 true track..the 35 came in my jeep with brand new brakes & drums and it should do just fine for now with my 31" tires
- you can put ABS on an XJ D44, and at least one person has put it on an 8.25 as well I think? not sure.
- brakes/drums will actually swap over to the 8.25 no problem as long as it has 9" brakes not 10" brakes.
my jeep is more of a DD/hunting rig then a smash and bash off roader. if my jeep ever decides to become less DD/hunting and more smash/bash with larger tires, i will ditch the ABS and install a xjD44 with a true locker and larger tires.
ok, makes sense to me. Since you go easy on it, I agree, you should have no problems.
 
Talyn has the 8.25 with ABS. I know there's a handful of write ups for converting the 44 to ABS as well. I would start browsing the forums, eBay, and craigslist religiously. I scored a '90 XJ D44 with 4.88's, Powertraxx, raised shock mounts, full brakes and cables, and a SOLID diff cover for $400. I don't think it gets more economical.

I'm all for the argument that the '35 does work for some. I've had mine for 2 years with absolutely NO problems or complaints. But the cost of making it comparably stronger to some of these other drop ins just doesn't make sense.
 
If you have had no problems with it then why mess with it. Leave it alone until it breaks then decide what to do with it. I don't see how changing the shafts on a 35 or doing a super 35 kit is any easier then just bolting in a 8.25 or a d44. It's all bolt on stuff. Most guys aren't here to bash you over keeping the 35. But rather give you a better alternative to spend your money on at a better price and more bang for your buck. Run the 35 till it gives.
 
If you have had no problems with it then why mess with it. Leave it alone until it breaks then decide what to do with it. I don't see how changing the shafts on a 35 or doing a super 35 kit is any easier then just bolting in a 8.25 or a d44. It's all bolt on stuff. Most guys aren't here to bash you over keeping the 35. But rather give you a better alternative to spend your money on at a better price and more bang for your buck. Run the 35 till it gives.

You may run it a long time on 31's (now that you have explained usage), so I now understand your approach. Carry a spare pair of shafts... usually available free from your local NAXJA chapter's Karma thread. Still, I wouldn't spend money on a 35... there are plenty of nice things you can do with your XJ with that money that are not a waste.
 
My little Bro just pulled his 99 XJ off the road..and by the looks of things, wont be driving for a year or so..
his XJ is bone stock with some body damage from his battering ram driving tactics but it does have a HP30 and 29spline 8.25 and some nice factory 16" wheels...im tryin to con him into parting it out sooner than late

i knew pretty much nothing about jeeps when i bought this XJ of mine, i knew my grandmother bought it new and that it was in mint shape and cheap. being an off road kinda guy it did not take long to start ripping into it.. but both my brother and my parents years ago bought XJs..did not know anything about them really, and my parents lucked out and landed one with a 44 in the rear...we found out when we went to do brakes on it and the 35 drums did not fit.

and my bro just bought his XJ cuz it was black and looked good...had no idea about the great potential his 99 has with the axle combo..

then i go buy one and end up with a LP30 and a traclok35 BOOOOOOOO live and learn. at least it has the skid/tow package

i will look into these ABS swap threads,
 
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Hey Thanks very much, looks like your XJ took quite the hit in that picture..you made it out ok?

I dont run ABS on any of my track or road/track cars..and i never would..but it has come in handy on my XJ twice so far..the jeep does not stop like a low slung car does..i did not have quite the smash up you did but i did ABS slide/stop through a herd of spooked muel deer that were bolting across the sheet of ice highway in the pitch black on my way home from the mine (3hr drive after a 13Hr night shift). not a car on the road. no light for miles. in the stix,with major drop to the right and a rock wall to the left..next thing ya know there are deer running everywhere infront and behind the jeep, nothing i could do but hold it straight and apply the brakes. the ABS did its job and i slid quite a distance (with a deer balled up underneat) but it stayed straight and did what it should, that was my first time ever being happy that i had ABS.

i wish i could say the same about the traclok, that thing was a beotch on banked ice covered corners...
 
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