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axle swap time... dana 35 to Chry. 8.25

C

ChevelleSSLS6

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Grand Rapids, MI
I'm basically wondering what's the best 8.25 for the XJs are, I don't think the swap would be too difficult and there's probably a writeup somewhere out there, I just haven't searched hard enough for it yet.

So- what's the best 8.25 (direct swap to XJ) and is there a vin code or anything to find out if it's a LSD? I have a lsd in the 35 and even though it's not super great, it does the job so long as both rears are on the ground.
-Matt
 
an 8.25 out of any XJ will bolt up. You want one out of a 97+ or some of 96 (easiest to just get one out of a 97+) so you get 29 spline shafts instead of 27 spline. You should be able to tell if it's an LSD unit via a marking on the tag (I think) and also simply by popping the cover off before you buy it and looking for LSD hardware in the carrier instead of plain spider gears.

You'll need:
* new U-bolts for sure, d35 tubes and 8.25 tubes are different sizes and yours are probably pretty rusty
* possibly new brake shoes/drums (do d35 brakes fit on an 8.25? I think so, not sure)
* new e-brake cables?
* driveshaft from donor XJ with 8.25 and similar transmission?
 
kastein said:
an 8.25 out of any XJ will bolt up. You want one out of a 97+ or some of 96 (easiest to just get one out of a 97+) so you get 29 spline shafts instead of 27 spline. You should be able to tell if it's an LSD unit via a marking on the tag (I think) and also simply by popping the cover off before you buy it and looking for LSD hardware in the carrier instead of plain spider gears.

You'll need:
* new U-bolts for sure, d35 tubes and 8.25 tubes are different sizes and yours are probably pretty rusty
* possibly new brake shoes/drums (do d35 brakes fit on an 8.25? I think so, not sure)
* new e-brake cables?
* driveshaft from donor XJ with 8.25 and similar transmission?
Click to expand...

what he said. its essentially a direct bolt in. get a 97+ 8.25 for its strength. if you have a pre-97 XJ, youd need to re-use your current e-brake cables on the 8.25 youre swapping in.
 
dont think you need a new driveshaft. i took one out of a 01 with a d35 that fit into my 99 with the 8.25
 
Yeah, I'm not too sure on that one. I wish I had a dana-spicer rear driveshaft catalog (I only have the front driveshaft catalog right now) so I could look up a definitive answer. I know the pinion is about 1" shorter on the d35, but I don't know if a longer driveshaft is used with it for sure...
 
a driveshaft with a dana 35 is longer then one from a 8.25. also a stick has a longer one then an auto. so standard dana 35 is the longest stock rear driveshaft, and an auto 8.25 should be the shortest (i dont have any experiance with dana 44's tho) I always use the stick dana 35 driveshaft because I have my jeep lifted and it helps keep the slip yoke about where it should be.
 
I have a fresh rebuild xj front ds, 3.5" RE new leafs lift, so yea... it should go pretty easy providing the jy will let me rent a cordless cutoff wheel.

Otherwise a guy a couple hours away from me has one listed at another website.
 
Quicker than pulling the cover- with trans in park or 1st gear and both rear wheels off the ground, rotate a tire. If it doesn't want to turn (counting out brake drag here) it's a limited slip. If it turns freely and the other tire turns backwards it's an open diff or a very worn out limited slip.
 
Buy yourself a cordless sawzall and a couple batteries, it was well worth the money. I can pull rear axles in something like 30 minutes now without touching a wrench (except for the yoke bolts.)

JJacobs - very useful info, but at the JY I like to pull the cover anyways so I know I'm buying an axle that has good gears in it. Nothing worse than getting home and finding out you just blew a hundred bucks on an axle with chewed up gears.
 
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