Dana 35 upgrades?

ok, i know you all hate the Dana 35 but here in England you dont find many alternative axles so i was wondering if the 35 can be beefed up? from what i have read the differential housing flexes, allowing the crown wheel and pinion to slip/exploded. is this corect? if so would bracing make a difference?

my jeep is a 2.5td, manual, 3.73 diffs, LSD in the back, i want 33" tyres

I'm surprised you can't find an 8.8 over there - should be found in any (iirc) 95-01 Ford Explorer. 3.73 is the most common ratio in them over here, so you may be lucky.

You can put a truss on it (the bracing you mentioned), an aftermarket differential cover, a full-case locker to keep the carrier from flexing... chromo shafts, etc. Not sure I would but then again like you said you can't find better axles as easily.

yes they can be "upgraded". but its like putting lipstick on a pig. sit and wait, find that axle. with a 2.5l you really do not need to stress "too" much at the moment. if you can sit and look around i would.

The 35 has a few issues. The housing is weak, the gears are somewhat small, and the axle shafts are only 27 splines and c-clip, which means if they break the tyre, wheel, brake drum and the piece of broken axle will wander off down the trail/road without you. Not good! With that being said, I ran a 35 with 35" tyres and 4:88 gears on some fairly tough trails and never had a problem. I didn't have a truss (brace) on it but did upgrade to 30 spline alloy shafts and a Detroit Locker. I also drive pretty carefully and have an auto which helps. Personally, I think that with a good brace and some alloy shafts with your LSD, you should be alright with 33" tyres. It just depends on how you drive and what you'll be doing with the Jeep. And with a 35 it's always a good idea to carry spare axles when off-roading, just in case.... Hope this helped some.

SeansXJ said:

yes they can be "upgraded". but its like putting lipstick on a pig. sit and wait, find that axle. with a 2.5l you really do not need to stress "too" much at the moment. if you can sit and look around i would.

Click to expand...

Thats a 2.5L diesel. He's from the UK and they can't source axles as easily over there.

I just bought a rig with the Super 35 kit (upgraded shafts and Detroit locker) and the previous owner did rock crawling with it on 36" IROK's for years. I was going to go with the Super 35 kit before I found this rig, looks like it was going to be a good choice.

Re: SeansXJ, i know the 2.5L (turbo diesel) only has about 120 horse power so is a lot less that the 4L you all seem to use in the states but i think it has about 225lbs/ft of torque (about the same as the 4L) so surely the snapping ability is about the same?

30spline crome shafts are going to cost loads to import, as an example i'm getting a 4.5" full leaf RC lift and thats going to cost 1200usd! the jeep only cost 1400usd!

A truss on the other hand can be made at home for next to nothing, will a truss make that much difference?

i could probably make a beefy diff cover but would a truss make more difference?

i dont know what a super 35 kit is but i will search on that subject. i know the 35 is a weak link so i dont intend changind the diff from an LSD to a locker, instead i was thinking in the future of fitting a locker to the Dana 30 front

The Super 35 was a kit from (I think) AlloyUSA or Randy's that came with 30 spline chromoly shafts and a full case locker, usually either ARB or Detroit. I have a friend running one with the ARB on 32s, and he hasn't had any problems. He's very careful on the gas and with choosing his lines. I'd say that, plus a truss and diff cover would be of the mos thelp.

Depending on year of your heep. It may have non-c clip D35. If it's 87-90 then chances are you have non-c clip

If you decide to add a heavy differential cover to stop some flex, the shipping is reasonable using this Post Office supplied box;
Priority Mail® International Medium Flat Rate Box: 13 5/8" x 11 7/8" x 3 3/8". Maximum weight 20 pounds. $43.45