The 8.25 is a decent axle. I'd keep it stock.
But driving habits will dictate how long any axle will last. Few people realize how much a stock axle can take with a smooth humble driver that uses finesse, goes slow, and knows when to quit.
I have the "infamous" dana 35c. But I have NOT broken it, and will try my best not to. In my opinion, the only reason its infamous is because people expect way too much out of it. It doesn't break because its a bad axle, it breaks because its design specifications were exceeded by the driver. You read that correctly, its the drivers fault the axle broke. And they usually break because the driver is using too much throttle and/or too big of tires.
The 8.25 is a better axle compared to the dana 35c, but that doesn't mean it will hold up under conditions that it was not meant for. It will fail just as spectacularly as a dana 35c if conditions for failure are present.
Some people will disagree with me that its the drivers fault. But consider this parallel situation.....if you roll your Jeep over, is that the Jeep's fault because it was NOT designed for hard cornering, or your fault for going too fast for road conditions??
Come on people, of course its your fault.
The bottom line is that you should be just fine with your current 8.25 if your easy on the gas pedal and keep tire sizes modest. If you don't, you will hear a loug bang from failed components in no time, and a dana 44, or better yet a dana 60 is in order.
