quick way to ID a non-C clip D35?

I should know if there's a quick way to tell, but for some reason I'm drawing a blank. I know an '88 should be non c clip, but I haven't determined if the axle is original yet.

IIRC you can look at the ends of the tubes (by the brake backing plates) and look to see if they get wider to accommodate the larger axle bearings (non c-clip).

sounds like a good method-- I have been convincing myself that I had to pull it apart just to order bearings! Non-C clip axle face doesn't have access hole for retainer bolts either, does it?

If you can get under the drum, look for a retainer plate around the shaft behind the hub. C-clip axles don't usually have that, and the bearings are lightly pressed into the axle housing.

The best way to check is to simply pull the cover and eyeball the side gears - if it's a C-clip, you'll see the Cs and the side gears will be counterbored. If it's a 'retainer plate' version, the inner ends of the axle shafts will be just about flush with the side gears, and you'll see the splines come right up to the chamfer on the end of the shaft.

AMC didn't use C-clips, so your 1988 is likely to have retainer plates. I don't think ChryCo picked up on the C-clip idea for a few years, so anything before, say, 1992 will probably have retainer plates (but pull the cover to be sure. Or try to pull a shaft - the retainer plate shafts will come out easily, while the C-clip shafts will not.)

Really simple way? The non-clip D35s had a metal fill plug. The c-clip version had a rubber butt plug located a bit above the center line of the axle tubes. The c-clip version had the fill hole higher up as the wheel bearings were lubed with gear oil instead of grease packed for the non-clip. As a side note, you don't want to swap the cover with the metal plug onto a c-clip axle as you'll end up oil starving the wheel bearings.

If the wheel is off, the non-clip axle shafts have a hole in the flange for accessing the bearing retainer plate bolts. Might be easier than trying to look for the retainer plate if the brake shoes are still on. C-clip axle shafts with have some in-out play up to about 1/8", whereas the non-clip axles should have almost none.

I believe the changeover happened at the same time as the Renix/HO changeover, but that's no guarantee as Chrysler liked to used leftovers from previous years and someone may have swapped axles.

I have been looking around for this type of info as well. From the articles that I have found 87-89 have the non c-clip axles. 91-on have c-clip axles. In the '90 models it is a toss up.

I have a '90 that has the rubber fill plug. I a guess it is safe to say that I have the c-clip axles. But, I was at the JY this weekend and looked at a '90 that had the metal fill plug.

If anyone else has some more concrete data I would greatly appreciate it being shared.

The best way to tell is install a set of super swampers. Then take it out and tromp on it. When the axle breaks, if the wheel and axle starts sliding out then its c-clip.

So i know this is a stupid Q. But witch on is the stronger one of the 2
I have a Rubber plug on mine, also with the trash loc (1996) :looser:

postalxj said:

So i know this is a stupid Q. But witch on is the stronger one of the 2
I have a Rubber plug on mine, also with the trash loc (1996) :looser:

Click to expand...

Effectively, they're the same in terms of strength.

The C-clip idea was devised to make manufacturing a simpler process (I think,) as it eliminated the need for retainer plates, four or five nuts and bolts on the end, and allowed all of the shaft retention to be installed at the differential before the cover went on.

However, there are a few problems with the C-clip idea that make it unpopular for hard use:

• The bearings ride directly on the shafts. Damaged shaft = replacement mandatory. (A ground surface on the shaft is the inner bearing race.)
• The shaft is retained at the differential. If the shaft breaks, the tyre tends to leave the vehicle.
• The bearings must have enough of an oil bath to be lubricated - the retainer plate bearings are packed with grease.
• The differential cover must be removed to replace the shaft, making field repairs a bit more difficult (retainer plates may be removed "at the wheel.")

This has a lot to do with why C-clip axle assemblies are either replaced outright with non-C, or C-clip eliminator kits are installed (available for plenty of axles, typically Corporate.)

NB: The "C" in "Dana 35C" does not RPT not mean "C-clip" - it means "Custom." This indicates that, instead of shipping the entire assembled axle to the vehicle manufacturer, only the housing was shipped, and final assembly was done by the vehicle manufacturer. This is a common thread to all Dana axles, but it's most commonly misinterpreted in the case of the Model 35. "Custom" Dana axles usually have the C cast into the web of the housing immediately after the model number. (They may or may not have BoM numbers - if they have, it will only be the six-digit "base" number with no suffix, indicating what vehicle the axle housing was manufactured for.)

Wow lots of info Thanks alot :worship::rtm:

ECKSJAY said:

IIRC you can look at the ends of the tubes (by the brake backing plates) and look to see if they get wider to accommodate the larger axle bearings (non c-clip).

Click to expand...

can anyone with a c-clip report if the alxe, in fact, does not neck up at the ends as the non-c clip does?

thanx for all the info so far-- I guess not knowing the origin of the vehicle opens up alot of variables (wrong cover replaced, different axle replaced, etc) but if others are looking at an original assembly, they should be able to determine type.

I'll be changing bearings this weekend (time permitting) and will hopefully have the necessary lipstick for my pig.

Shorty said:

can anyone with a c-clip report if the alxe, in fact, does not neck up at the ends as the non-c clip does?

thanx for all the info so far-- I guess not knowing the origin of the vehicle opens up alot of variables (wrong cover replaced, different axle replaced, etc) but if others are looking at an original assembly, they should be able to determine type.

I'll be changing bearings this weekend (time permitting) and will hopefully have the necessary lipstick for my pig.

Click to expand...

That's why the very simplest thing to do is to pull the cover and look at the side gears - may be a bit messier, but you can't screw that up!

5-90 said:

That's why the very simplest thing to do is to pull the cover and look at the side gears - may be a bit messier, but you can't screw that up!

Click to expand...

yeah, yeah, yeah....... but typing and thinking is soooooo much warmer!

Shorty said:

can anyone with a c-clip report if the alxe, in fact, does not neck up at the ends as the non-c clip does?

Click to expand...

I just brave the heavy snowfall and walked outside to look. My 89 MJ non-clip D35 gets a little bigger in diameter just before the backing plate. The 93 ZJ c-clip D35 (which happens to be in the bed of the MJ at the moment) is the same diameter all the way up to the backing plate.

lawsoncl said:

I just brave the heavy snowfall and walked outside to look. My 89 MJ non-clip D35 gets a little bigger in diameter just before the backing plate. The 93 ZJ c-clip D35 (which happens to be in the bed of the MJ at the moment) is the same diameter all the way up to the backing plate.

Click to expand...

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! Now I feel like a complete wuss for asking someone in the snow to look so I don't have to....:cheers:

lawsoncl said:

Really simple way? The non-clip D35s had a metal fill plug. The c-clip version had a rubber butt plug located a bit above the center line of the axle tubes. The c-clip version had the fill hole higher up as the wheel bearings were lubed with gear oil instead of grease packed for the non-clip. As a side note, you don't want to swap the cover with the metal plug onto a c-clip axle as you'll end up oil starving the wheel bearings.

If the wheel is off, the non-clip axle shafts have a hole in the flange for accessing the bearing retainer plate bolts. Might be easier than trying to look for the retainer plate if the brake shoes are still on. C-clip axle shafts with have some in-out play up to about 1/8", whereas the non-clip axles should have almost none.

I believe the changeover happened at the same time as the Renix/HO changeover, but that's no guarantee as Chrysler liked to used leftovers from previous years and someone may have swapped axles.

Click to expand...

I've never seen a D35 with a metal fill plug and I've had a few that were non-C clip

flexinxj said:

I've never seen a D35 with a metal fill plug and I've had a few that were non-C clip

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Really? Every single non-clip D35 I've ever seen had a metal fill plug, including the two that I've had under my 89 MJ. Got a picture of one with a rubber plug?

I could be wrong, but I'm 95% certain the switch to the rubber plug happened at the same time as the switch to c-clips.