OMG, help: D35ophobia is taking over. What should I do to my axles?! HELP!

Hey guys...

I've got a problem here. I just started putting a few bucks into my first XJ, and I'm realizing I don't have deep enough wallets to make it as trail-worthy as I would like.

It's a 2001 w/ ABS so I've got a D35 out back. I just shelled out about $1700 bucks on a 4.5" RE, shocks, and 33's with wheels...which doesn't leave me too much to address the D35. I'm scared to even drive it on a fire road after all the things I've heard.

I read a lot of different things about it, from "if you finesse it, the D35 will be OK for moderate wheeling", to "it's a hand grenade with the pin pulled once you put 33's on it".

I don't know what to believe, and I am trying to figure out what my best value is in terms of balancing out money spent on the rear end and enjoying my rig for a while without having to spend another $3,000 to do full axles/gears/lockers.

It's not a full time daily driver, I have other cars to drive. But I do drive it on the street. I typically drive to the place I'm gonna wheel, and drive it home. It's also the dog taxi and large item hauler. My wheeling is I guess "moderate"...Holcomb Creek and John Bull are two of my favorites, as well as a few trails in the Panamint Valley and Death Valley areas:
http://www.myjeeprocks.com/reports/category/big-bear/holcomb-creek-3n93/

I will also be seeing a lot of snow in the next few months, and I'm scared to leave the diffs open as I dont' feel like getting stuck in the snow!

Please help me figure out what to do. I can't go full out right now - so I'm trying to figure out the minimum I can do to do some decent wheeling in the mean time, and save the major upgrades for later (after tax time maybe).

Here are the options I was considering:
1) Leave it stock (open D35), it will be OK in the snow for a little while ($0)
2) Throw a cheap locker (Aussie) in the D35 to get some traction in the meantime, just take it easy until you can upgrade the D35 in a few months ($260 ish).
3) Run a Super 35 kit with a Detroit; it should be OK for my usage ($850 ish).

...what other options do I have under $1000? I'm not very handy with DIY/JY stuff as I don't have any experience with the XJ yet, and I have only met one or two local guys so I'm not sure who I could sucker into helping me out with some labor (I coudn't go pull an 8.25 and swap it out by myself).

What would YOU do? Am I OK to wheel in stock form without getting an ulcer from worrying about the D35 so much? Should I lock it to get all I can out of it since I'm gonna be taking it relatively easy anyway? I still want to put some money into a rack and sliders, which is another $750 right there. Arrrrgh. I know I can't do everything. Is the D35 really that fragile once I go 33's, even though I do pick good lines and drive with finesse? Please help, I have a headache!!! :rattle:

Im going with the obvious. If you dont have the money to spend, then wheel it like it is. 33s and an open D35 doesnt automatically mean your going to break. Some people have wheeled that combo for years with no problems. And wheeling or driving in the snow open/open is not that big of a deal. With decent tires, you can do fine.

I know you say you couldn't go pull an 8.25 and swap it out by yourself, but you can.

8 nuts(for the 4 total ubolts) and the brake line/E brake cables. Jack up the rear end so the suspension's at full droop, put jackstands under the frame rails and maybe on at the back to stabilize it, but whatever. Unbolt the ubolts, unbolt the brakeline, remove the E-brake lines up in the tranny tunnel. Then repeat in reverse order. It's really quite simple.

If you installed your lift, you can swap the rear axle no problem. It's an afternoon job by yourself, maybe a 2 or 3 hour job with some help.

Well, I have to thank Russ and Ray H for talking some sense into me!

After further consideration, I think I'm going to opt to leave the axles stock for the time being and use the money for the SYE, rails, and maybe a rack.

I'm going to wait a month or two and source something like a Ford 8.8 and do it once, and do it right (gears, locker and 8.8). I can't afford to do it right at this moment, so like it's already been mentioned...better to wait and do it right the first time.

dood i wheeled a 35 with a detroit with randy's "super 35" kit for a year on 33's around my neck of the woods. i found a deal on a 44 and got it and put in a truetrac in it because i like smooth driving. the extent of my offroading nowadays is two track, rutted out, logging road looking for steelhead/sasquatch spots kinda terrain. both are elusive in the great pacnorwest

Drive the D35 like you still are making car payments (or have to drive 1,800 miles home) and you should be good ($0.00) This worked for me in Moab UT and in Ouray CO. A Super D35 is still just a D35.

Since you are going to lift it, you will already be halfway done with the work needed for an axle swap. Find a nice 8.25 with the correct gear ratio ( $125-150 around here) and swap it in as you install your lift kit. Pull the ABS relay and head for the trails.

8.8 would be overkill for 33s dont you think? Look for a D44 out of an 87-89 XJ....with luck, you could just bolt it in, provided you have the right gears...I believe a 44 has better ground clearance than an 8.8 as well....

The 8.8 is much easier to find and comes with disc brakes. XJ D44s around here are like needles in haystacks.

well I will post my experence. I wheel a "built" dana 35 (I know I'm gonna take heat for this).by "built" I mean it has 4:88's a yukon super 35 (yukon shafts/detriot soflocker ect.) TNT truss and rockcrusher cover.the truss just got put on , so I guess it does not count fot the conversation , but I will state that I bought the "super 35" befor I found this site and was still a "newb" to offroading and if I had to do it again,it would be a 8.8.
anyway after wheeling the "super 35" every weekend with 34's (@10-14 psi) with 4:88's and a 4:1 teralow , I have yet to break anything , and I really don't show my rig to much love (crowd pleasing 3 wheel drive burnouts (fronts open for know) and have even been in the "burnout box" a couple of times @ the local redneck fair).will it break......mabey....or mabey it won't.
If you majorly worried about it , get some spare shafts and wheel the hell out it.it's all about having fun with your rig. dont' let the guys with 44's , 8.8's and 60's give you small penis syndrome (the whole bigger is better thing).
1 of the guy's i wheel with on this site , runs 33's open with stock gears and has not broken anything yet , but does carry spare shafts (as do I ). just my 2 cents

Im gonna get heat for this as well... Get a super 35 kit and an aussie for the D30 and wheel it till something breaks... At that point then start the upgrading.. There are tons of options out there for upgrades.. Don't limit your self to a D44 or 8.8... just my $.02 worth..

I agree w/ Clean-- except just do the Aussie, be patient, work on driving skills and spotting, you may be able to drive it a long time before you break something, so save up and study options until then. I've seen skillful drivers in less "equipped" machines do a lot!! Rear locker is relatively cheap but a big bang for the buck in my opinion.

Well I just spent an extra 6 hours on the trail yestersay due to a broken D35 axle.He was running an open carrier and running 33's!

RCP Phx said:

Well I just spent an extra 6 hours on the trail yestersay due to a broken D35 axle.He was running an open carrier and running 33's!

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if it took 6 hours to change shafts :sure: , your never allowed to work on my rig. not try to be mean , but man o' man. if you had your stuff togeter it's about a 40 min set back , well that's what it was two weeks ago , when..... gasp a dana 44 tj broke it's shaft

trailbound xj said:

if it took 6 hours to change shafts :sure: , your never allowed to work on my rig. not try to be mean , but man o' man. if you had your stuff togeter it's about a 40 min set back , well that's what it was two weeks ago , when..... gasp a dana 44 tj broke it's shaft

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Well mostly we waited for him to drive back for an axle.But we did struggle with getting the c-clip out due to the axle damage at the splines.

Open diffs in the snow is better than locked, in my opinion. I went to a Valentines Day run last year, and there was 6 inches of snow on the ground and I was locked rear. If I grabbed traction, I couldn't steer with the front. If the rear broke loose, I slid sideways to the nearest tree.

One tire spinning and one stationary could keep you from going into a spin faster.

As for the 35...just be patient with your money, and pay attention to the good advice here. I did the 8.8 swap because it's stronger than a 44, comes with disk brakes, and I'm running 33x13.5 and going to 33x14.5 soon. There's nothing wrong with a 44 swap or 8.25 swap either, I just wanted that narrower axle, and to be able to use the Ected e-locker...and the discs were there already.

One cheap option is to purchase some stronger-than-stock axleshafts (Yukon, Superior, etc.). Install them in the comfort of your own garage. You'll acquire stronger shafts and the knowledge of how to swap them out, and you can keep the old ones as spares. Add the spares to your trail kit along with some gear oil and RTV.

There's no guarantee that a failure on the trail won't damage more than just a shaft, but at least you'll be reasonably prepared.

don_roberto said:

Add the spares to your trail kit along with some gear oil and RTV.
There's no guarantee that a failure on the trail won't damage more than just a shaft, but at least you'll be reasonably prepared.

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X2 on gear oil and RVT . I got a set of lube lockers (pre made /reusable gasket) there definatly worth there 16 bucks (each) and make jobs like broken axles and pumpkins full of water alot easier to change.
just be prepaired , as stated above , not being prepaired can cost you and your buddy's alot of wheelin' time.

You get hoppin on a trail and you'll break an open 35 in no time.

With a smart right foot and an auto trans, my d35 has taken me alot of places on 33's with 9-12psi in them.



I am currently building it though... truss, full floater axle kit w/manual hubs, arb air locker, 4.56's

Just my $.02. But if i'm not mistaken, a 2001 cherokee xj came with a chrysler 8.25 rear axle with 29 spline axles. So you might want to check because that axle will be fine for 33" tires. and you can install a powertrax locker and run it as is unless you want to upgrade the gears.

comanchechuck said:

Just my $.02. But if i'm not mistaken, a 2001 cherokee xj came with a chrysler 8.25 rear axle with 29 spline axles. So you might want to check because that axle will be fine for 33" tires. and you can install a powertrax locker and run it as is unless you want to upgrade the gears.

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xL8 APEKSx said:

(I coudn't go pull an 8.25 and swap it out by myself)

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