Changing A Broken D-35 Axleshaft

Hey, a buddy broke a shaft in his D35 in his TJ. I've never changed a rear shaft in a D35, wanted to post here to make sure I've got my ducks in a row before going over to help him swap the shaft out. I picked him up a used shaft (passenger side) and the 80/90 + L/S additive, + diff gasket. I assume the carrier has a center pin, likely held in place by a set screw. Remove set screw, slide pin out, push shafts in to remove C-clips. I have a long dowel to push the 3-4" broken stub out the end and a magnetic wand to fish for chips. I expect this job to take an hour, maybe two. He said he only drove it maybe 100 yards after the snap, so I assume the bearing will still be serviceable, but I'll take a look at it when I get the broken shaft out.


Anything I'm forgetting or unaware of here?

Im not sure, I havent been in a D35 for awhile, someone will correct me if Im wrong, but I think a D35 uses a roll pin instead of a set screw. Just in case, take a small punch with you to remove the roll pin.
May as well change the axle seal on that side while youve got the axle out. Its probably FUBAR anyway.

I have had to replace many a TJ driveshaft and it is simple. Your on the right track with what you wrote. Chances are it busted at the taper in the shaft, just behind the splines. If that is the case, there will be 2-5 " of the shaft left in the carrier and the other fragments are in the axle tube. There will be a few fragments in the diff and in the fluid. Once you pull the axle out and drain the fluid, you will need to take out the set screw so it releases the center pin. Take out the center pin and remove the rest of the broken shaft after you have the c-clip out of the way. I strongly advise getting a telescoping magnet and running it up into the axle tube from each end, you'll be amazed on how many fragments you will retreive with it. Once you have the big fragments out of there I would clean out the diff w/ some parts cleaner so it "flushes" out the old lube and any remaining fragments. Also use teh parts cleaner on the ring and pinion to get any fragments off of them that might be stuck in place by the remaining lube on them. Once all of that is done, shoot some parts cleaner into the axle tube and run a rag through the axle tube into the diff to remove any unseen fragments. I used a coat hanger that I straightened out and tied a shop rag on the end. Once you feel comfortable that you you cleaned out the fragments, check the axle seal, replace if necessary, and then slide in the new axle, put on the c-clip, put back in the center pin, put in the set screw, clean the mating surfaces of the diff and cover, apply some RTV, put in the diff cover screws, let dry and then fill with lube....am I forgetting anything? :cheers:

Just for my own curiosity, does the D35 have a roll pin or set screw? I know Ive messed in a differential with a roll pin, I thought it was the D35, but it could be a D30 or D44 or a 10 bolt for that matter. Its been awhile since Ive dealt with any of them, so they run together.

They have a set screw. 7mm 12pt head I believe.

I have seen both set ups. In the TJ's they are set screws, but I have seen the pins in the older style D35's with the open carriers.

Alright, thanks guys. That's pretty much what I was expecting. I'll definitely use the telescoping magnet to fish out any fragments, I hadn't thought of the rag on a hanger trick. Hopefully the seal and bearing are okay, as I wasn't planning on changing either. If I get in there and they're toast, I'll just have to go pick up new ones and come back another day to finish it, as I'm going to be starting the job at about 2:30 p.m. and breaking for a parts run will likely put me into working in the dark. Since the Jeep is in an apt. parking lot, that option isn't very realistic. Plus, he has a car to drive while the Jeep is down. One thing I hadn't considered is the metric factor, pretty sure I don't have a 7mm socket in my tool box. I do have a double set of ignition wrenches though, so I should be okay there.

How critical is the LSD additive? I picked it up, because I don't want to short-change him if his LSD is still fairly functional. I'm betting the trac-loc is fair to middling function-wise at 60-70K miles, but better safe than sorry.

I run Lucas gear lube in my trac loc and dont have any problems. I have ran it for about 2 years and have not used the friction modifier. I may be in for a real treat one day though!

fubar XJ said:

How critical is the LSD additive? I picked it up, because I don't want to short-change him if his LSD is still fairly functional. I'm betting the trac-loc is fair to middling function-wise at 60-70K miles, but better safe than sorry.

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If you don't use the LSD additive your LSD will work REALLY WELL until it burns itself up.

Okay, update:

Went to my buddy's place yesterday to change the broken shaft. Got both sides pulled apart, took the diff cover off, no-one mentioned the fact that the trac-loc diff has a metal disc held in by a snap-ring to access the center pin. Of course, the old pair of snap-ring pliers I keep in my box had disappeared. Okay, with a rat-tail file tang and a small standard screwdriver I was able to get the snap-ring off (after much cursing) and the pin had no set screw, just slid right out. I got the good side axle pushed in and C-clip removed, tried to push in the broken stub with the wooden dowel, no luck. I tried slide-hammering the new axle into the tube to tap the stub inward to release the C-clip, no luck. At that point I knew the stub was stuck hard for some reason, so I pulled the carrier out, taking care to note the side shim and bearing race locations and labeling them. Once the carrier was out, I saw the stub had snapped flush with the edge of the carrier, and was completely galled and wedged in there. Told my buddy that there was no way I could get that out, so he took the carrier assembly up to Randy's Ring and Pinion Service (They're just ten miles up the road) for them to see if they could extract it. They told him they'd try this morning and get back to him, I haven't heard from him yet. (It's only 6:30 a.m. here) There were also three sheared bolts inside the diff, 3/8 or 7/16 bolts about 3 1/2" long. I assume they came from within the trac-loc, I told him to ask R&P Service about them. I figure best case scenario, the trac-loc is fragged and sheared the bolts, they can rebuild it and I can re-install it with the shims in the same location I removed them.

I'm a little leery of this mess, but am committed to helping him get it back on the road. I will of course advise him that this is a questionable fix, and that he should take it in to R&P once it's driveable for an evaluation of the gears. The R&P were not damaged, but the loose/broken bolts were troubling. He doesn't want to upgrade to a locker and is considering selling the Jeep once it's been deemed serviceable.


Any thoughts?

Last Update:

His Trac-loc was toast. In addition to the galled axle stub (which the shop could not remove) it had sheared three of the main bolts through the body. He went with a Detroit Tru-Trac, swapped the ring gear and bearings, we bolted it all back together with the shims all reinstalled as they came out, the test drive went well. He's taking it up today to have them check the lash to make sure it's within tolerance. Now he's talking about fixing the body damage (passenger windshield pillar and fender) replacing the fiberglass hard-top and selling it. He still wants to wheel, is considering an old CJ. I'll talk him through which year to buy if/when the time arrives.

KarlVP said:

They have a set screw. 7mm 12pt head I believe.

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I am pretty sure I used a 5/16 12 point box end.
That means 8mm.