Gear Swap on D30, Necessary in D35?

[ocean_jet]

I see they think that only Newbs would be looking at thier crap.

My favorite from the Rocky Road website:


[SIZE=+1]All these items add up to the finest riding suspension on the planet. No hocus pocus parts that are unnecessary (such as control arms) .... You can pay more for some if you want to throw away money, but the bottom line is that they are not needed and the stock arms do excellent. [/SIZE]

 

[Darky]

Hey Ken, lighten up, e suckered in by Rocky Road as well. e was having a bad day.

Read around and search on regarding Rocky Road and the D35. You will find neither has a good reputation. I've dealt with Rocky Road and never will again.

 

[rweaver138]

great, here we go with another case of someone who will defend their dana 35 until death and not take any advice.

the reason your not getting any feedback on the super 35 kit, is because no one around here is stupid enough to drop that much money into a dana 35. and if they do, then there ashamed to say it (as they should be). 29 spline 8.25's can be had for ~100, pick one up for yourself and never look back. the dana 35 is a ticking time bomb, and many choose to get rid of that weak link BEFORE it becomes an issue, i advise you do the same. cut the cord on your TURDY five and look for an 8.25.

hope that helps

 

[HttpWayne]

I honestly feel I Must post. For others that might read this and seem to feel that maybe your right, but your not...

You want real world experience?

I have been building Jeep axles and Gearing for years. I specialize in JEEPS...

I can recall 7 (and If I went thru invoices I am sure this is about 1/4 of the actual total over the years) D35 axles from TJ's and XJ's (Same gears, axles, tubes, etc) that have been brought to me to remove pieces of ring & pinion gears from inside the diff, and rebuild. 2 of which were brought back a second time (same syndrome that you have currently I think), to be rebuilt again due to breakage.

A dana 35 has a Very small R&P set. Then add in to the mix a lower ratio, which reduces that even further and multiples the tq even further and you get significantly increased chances of R&P failure.

Then add in the small 27spline axles (YOUR "super 35" axles are not Super 35 axles, they are alloy stock sized) and your axle diameter is so small that it makes the D35 a very weak assembly there also. Yes your aftermarket axles you bought might help a bit, but in my PROFESSIONAL JEEP experience, is a waste of money if not a increased spline size/OD.

Then do the worst thing you can to the D35 and add in a auto locker like the lockrite, spartan, or aussie (even a Detroit) and you really increase the chance of axle breakage.

If you have never driven a auto locked rear axle vehicle then you won't get this, and you should listen to reason here and professional advice, if you have driven a locked rear rig, then you will understand this...
Take a glass coffee table (dana 35) and put say a 75lbs weight on the center of the unsupported glass top (power being applied to the D35 axles), your prolly ok right? Prolly at this point... BUT then take a key in your hand and strike the glass near that 75lbs weight (the locker mid ratchet engaging) and the table top shatters (the D35 axle breaks). Shock loading...

Mix that with a 4.6 stroker (if you really have one) and your pushing that D35 beyond its limits without even a bigger tire or lower ratio gear set.

Do what you feel is best for you. If thats spending money now and paying for experience, then so be it. If its listening to 95% of Everyone here, and spending your money on a assembly that will not fail at some point and not wasting your money for experience, just reliability, then so be it...

Good luck.

See, this is what I wanted to hear. "Dana 35's are crap" is all I hear and that the AXLES themselves break. Maybe I wasn't being clear. I wanted someone to tell me what ELSE was bad about the eaxle, but all I get is the typical "it sucks" response. WHAT about it sucks? I've only ever heard that the exles break, and I bought a stronger axle. I think people use the phrase axle loosely. What they meant was, SOMETHING in the ENTIRE D-35 axle, not just the shaft, breaks. Thank you for the clarification because that is exactly what I was looking for. I don't listen to people that just tell you to do something because it's the general consesus. I need to know why, the details. Too many people try to do that on another forum I used to be on and it's can be a real dildo in the a$$.

I'm a previous Probe owner and on the forums there we only deal in exact reasons. It's a real pain in the ass to maintain that car, especially after being 15 years old, so you have to know exactly what's wrong with it in order to fix it.

I also just found out that even though they can't refund, they will give me an in-store credit at Rocky-Road. So I will be returning the axle and lock-rite after I get back to my other home.

 

[HttpWayne]

Also, I don't know about RR's reputation. After reading around on their site it really seemed like a knowledgable place trying to do some good. I can see now that in regards to the 35 that it has to be preying upon the unknowledged. I think that if we as a whole used more exact terms regarding HOW the 35 is a weak axle and not just saying "the 35 axle sucks" that less would be inclined to buy their upgraded 35 axles. I always though that the exle shafts themselves were the breaking point. So in my mind, replace the axle (shafts of course), then I should be all set.

Maybe I'm wrong for thinking of the axle as the axle shaft too though. But I'm new to the 4x4 community so that's to be expected. I think the same would go for anyone else who's driven a 2WD car their whole life and knows nothing of swapping axles or axle maintenance.

Sorry for the paragraphs. I'm a verbose person on web sites. I type as if I was holding an actual conversation. That's just me. Sorry I don't conform to your standard of paraphrasing yet.

 

[HttpWayne]

I've come up with a signature that I think fits like a glass slipper. Just one question... do I have to make a donation in order to be signature capable?


"Not trying to piss anyone off, just trying to get the details."

 

[xcm]

all I hear and that the AXLES themselves break. Maybe I wasn't being clear. I wanted someone to tell me what ELSE was bad about the eaxle, but all I get is the typical "it sucks" response. WHAT about it sucks? I've only ever heard that the exles break, and I bought a stronger axle. I think people use the phrase axle loosely. What they meant was, SOMETHING in the ENTIRE D-35 axle, not just the shaft, breaks.

things that make the d35 include weak ring gear and a wet noodle housing, aftermarket shafts wont fix that!

i did that on page 1 dude. weak ring gear, and wet noodle housing?
it doesnt matter which part exactly, because, as an assembly, the d35 sucks ass

when people say the d35 axle sucks, we mean entire axle ASSEMBLY, not the shafts....
this thread went waaay too far, you should just install the d35 and prove us wrong.

 

[REWSTER]

I'm a previous Probe owner

D35's are like probes...

they suck in general....

you cant do anyting to make them better...

they need to be wiped off the planet...

the owners think there golden...

 

[Darky]

If you read around their site looking to see if they're any good, you'll get fooled. No one is going to say, "We are idiots, buy our stuff anyways". Search for Rocky Road or RRO, try searching Pirate even, I bet. By reading reviews from customers or knowledgeable people who've read their site, you'll get a much better understanding of who a company is. I've heard one or two good experiences, many bad, including my own. When I was new to 4-wheeling, I thought they seemed pretty smart and cool too. Especially since I was wheeling a Geo Tracker at the time and there is very little support for them in the market. Going back after spending time here on and reading what they have to say on almost everything, I realize now they are a bunch of tards preying on those new to the sport, taking shortcuts to sell inferior products while pretending they are in on a secret that no other aftermarket manufacturer knows.

One of the few things they are correct on is the OME is good stuff.

 

[ROBZ95Xj]

Can anyone here tell me they've broken a super 35 axle? I am yet to hear anything of this nature. The one I have is forged, not cast, with SAE-4340 alloy steel on rolled splines, not cut. 30% stronger steel shafts with 35% stronger spline design from stock. Numbers don't replace quality. I prefer a 65% increase in strength to 3 splines.

So I know if people can run stock D35s with 35" tires, probably because they're intelligent and know their limitations, then I should be safe with 33's since. I've owned another jeep cherokee with completely a completely stock dana 35 with 31x10.50's and have used it like a trophy truck out in the hills of 29 palms, and on plenty of trails in big bear mountain without fail. I know I'll be just fine with this setup since I won't be doing with this what I did with that.

a good friend of mine had broken multiple super 35 shafts in his TJ on 33's he dosnt even beat it hard, hes since upgraded to a 8.8 and has had no issues, i blew up my 35 on stock tires, try listrining to peaple on here dood

 

[Darky]

a good friend of mine had broken multiple super 35 shafts in his TJ on 33's he dosnt even beat it hard, hes since upgraded to a 8.8 and has had no issues, i blew up my 35 on stock tires, try listrining to peaple on here dood

Was he running real Super 35 shafts or the RRO imitations?

 

[ROBZ95Xj]

Was he running real Super 35 shafts or the RRO imitations?

real deal, and with a ected so he wasnt even truly locked

 

[Darky]

So tere ya have it Wayne: REAL Super 35 shafts (30 spline and all) breaking on 33s with an intelligent driver. Stock sized shafts will be weaker.

 

[kastein]

Sorry I didn't provide details... yeah the whole axle sucks basically. Weak tubes, weak housing, weak ring and pinion (same material as bigger axles, just too small), weak carrier, tiny weak shafts, and weak spider gears. Pretty much everything in it is weak, though I think the lugnuts and yoke are actually ok...

It was used because it was cheaper to make and most people driving gently on stock tires will not have issues with it. Put anything bigger on it, or drive harder, and it will break... something. Beef that something up, and something else will break - and so on and so forth until you have replaced damn near everything instead of getting an axle that's better in stock form.

In my opinion YJs/TJs/ZJs/MJs have more of an excuse for running a 35 than XJs, because there aren't as many easy bolt in replacements. I have been running the one in my MJ for a while but it is making some really horrible noises and I have a 29 spline 8.25 literally sitting on standby for when it breaks.

 

[HttpWayne]

Well, you're all probably not going to believe this. I assumed I had the Dana 35. I just went out and actually looked at it today while I was washing it and I have the Chrysler 8.25.

Is there any way to identify the ratio on the outside of it via numbers? I wrote some down and I'm going to start googling. I know I could spin the tires and count but I don't have that capability ATM.

 

[ROBZ95Xj]

Well, you're all probably not going to believe this. I assumed I had the Dana 35. I just went out and actually looked at it today while I was washing it and I have the Chrysler 8.25.

Is there any way to identify the ratio on the outside of it via numbers? I wrote some down and I'm going to start googling. I know I could spin the tires and count but I don't have that capability ATM.

what trans do you have?

 

[Darky]

Auto wit 4.0 means 3.55
Manual with 4.0 means 3.07

 

[VAhasnoWAVES]

Well, you're all probably not going to believe this. I assumed I had the Dana 35. I just went out and actually looked at it today while I was washing it and I have the Chrysler 8.25.

Is there any way to identify the ratio on the outside of it via numbers? I wrote some down and I'm going to start googling. I know I could spin the tires and count but I don't have that capability ATM.

wow... after all this.

and i thought you said you were going to start looking for an ABS delete. i always included the condition, that "if" you had and/or wanted to keep the ABS, XXX was your option. but once you said you were going to look for the delete i was under the impression that you had it.:twak:




grab the tire and spin it... count how many times the yoke does a full revolution. pretty crude method but it works.

 

[casm]

Well, you're all probably not going to believe this. I assumed I had the Dana 35. I just went out and actually looked at it today while I was washing it and I have the Chrysler 8.25.

Okay... And how did you come to this conclusion?

After all the wonderful memories we share of the times that brought us to this point, let's make sure that we're really, Really, REALLY talking about the correct axle here this time.

 

[VAhasnoWAVES]