Has anyone upgraded their Dana35 rear differential with a limited slip carrier? I have been looking at this and it appears to be a relatively easy upgrade with the biggest hassle being shimming the new carrier for a good mesh. Any other issues to look out for?
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Limited slip
- Thread starter tjmotter
- Start date
xcm
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Southern Oregon
Any effort you put into a d35 will seem like a mistake when your d35 shits the bed. Obviously setting up gears is a little bit more involved than 'shimming the new carrier for a good mesh', so if you dont have a dial indicator and magnetic base, forget it.
Pickup an xj 8.25, and do any work on that. Ive seen them given away, but theyre not nearly as bad as a d35.
Pickup an xj 8.25, and do any work on that. Ive seen them given away, but theyre not nearly as bad as a d35.
X E Ryder
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Northern California
Have to agree, the TrakLok has clutches in it, that can, and do wear out as well as require a friction modifier gear oil additive. Setting up the rear has two critical operations, setting pinion depth, and setting backlash (the easier of the two and what I believe you were referring to). Unless you are OK buying some special tools and a little trial and error, possibly expensive, you might want to at least enlist the help of someone with considerable experience.
The TrueTrac is a seamless limited slip with no clutches, I like them well enough I put them in both axles! Some folks say that if you have a wheel in the air you're stuck, but a little work on the gas and dragging the brakes can fix that in my experience.
Your post asked about Limited Slip, so I won't bother mentioning Lockers. If you don't want a locker, or deal with air, cables or electric of the selectables, the TT is a nice solution, especially in hard pack snow or ice.
One other view you are very likely to hear is, not to put any money into a D35. I have not had one so I cannot say, but I'm sure someone who has will.
- Location
- sacramento
you can buy a JY ford 8.8 with LS. do that. get a ruffstuff swap kit and a 1310 pinion flange for your rear DS at your local driveline place and call it done.
last axle youll ever need for your rear end of your XJ.
31 spline, 8/8 ring gear, massive housing, very large axle tubes. disc brakes. can handle more torque than a 44 , even as a c clip axle.
and you get disc brakes while you are at it. do that instead. please dont actually pay for a LS for a 35. maybe if a free one was handed to you and just swap the whole thing.
last axle youll ever need for your rear end of your XJ.
31 spline, 8/8 ring gear, massive housing, very large axle tubes. disc brakes. can handle more torque than a 44 , even as a c clip axle.
and you get disc brakes while you are at it. do that instead. please dont actually pay for a LS for a 35. maybe if a free one was handed to you and just swap the whole thing.
Thanks to all for the reply's!
My thinking here was that limited slip had to be better than a standard differential. I must admit that I had the trakloc on my first XJ and it worked well enough for me (where the primary use case was snow and icy roads). As I looked at my options, installing a new pinion gear was at the bottom of my list of things I was willing to do and changing out the entire rear end was next to the bottom. I had already upgraded my power brake booster and am actually pretty happy with the braking performance so I wasn't looking to make any big changes there either. Since the Trakloc used the same housing and the ring gear simply bolted onto it, I was willing to put a couple of $$ and some sweat into upgrading. I've worked on differentials before and have all the tools but if changing a pinion gear was a "must have" I would definitely be taking it to a shop because compressing those crush washers to just the right depth isn't my idea of fun. Setting backlash was within scope but it sounds like the trakloc idea in general is a bad idea.
Based on feedback from y'all it sounds like plodding along with my existing D35 is the lesser of all the evils on this one.
thx
Todd
My thinking here was that limited slip had to be better than a standard differential. I must admit that I had the trakloc on my first XJ and it worked well enough for me (where the primary use case was snow and icy roads). As I looked at my options, installing a new pinion gear was at the bottom of my list of things I was willing to do and changing out the entire rear end was next to the bottom. I had already upgraded my power brake booster and am actually pretty happy with the braking performance so I wasn't looking to make any big changes there either. Since the Trakloc used the same housing and the ring gear simply bolted onto it, I was willing to put a couple of $$ and some sweat into upgrading. I've worked on differentials before and have all the tools but if changing a pinion gear was a "must have" I would definitely be taking it to a shop because compressing those crush washers to just the right depth isn't my idea of fun. Setting backlash was within scope but it sounds like the trakloc idea in general is a bad idea.
Based on feedback from y'all it sounds like plodding along with my existing D35 is the lesser of all the evils on this one.
thx
Todd
