Rearend Questions from a newbie

My '88 XJ currently has a Dana 35C w/Trac-lock in the rear. This rearend has been howling since I bought the jeep a month ago, and will cost me about $300-$350 to have new bearings put in. So, here's the question. How much should I expect to spend to upgrade to a Dana 44, and how hard are they to find for an XJ? Are there any other rearends that fit that might be cheaper, but still dependable? As always, thanks for any help ya'll can give!

Go to the for sale forum. Lots o 44's. I built mine from a scout, and between spring perches, shock mounts, gears, locker, I'm into mine about $1500. But thats doing all the welding myself. If you have to pay someone to do it for you...$2500-$3000 easy.

An XJ Dana 44, if you can find one, will probably be from an '87, maybe an '88, so it's going to need bearings and seals the same as your Dana 35. And a factory Dana 44 might have Trac-Lok ... but it might not. XJ Dana 44s used to sell for $500 and up, but since folks have discovered that the Ford Explorer 8.8 axle can be adapted to the XJ, prices for the Dana 44s have gone down a bit. You might be looking at a couple of hundred for the axle, and another couple of hundred for bearings and seals, and since the Dana 44 uses larger brakes than the Dana 35, you might also need new brakes and new brake drums. The drums alone are worth $50 to $75 ... each.

It isn't going to be cheap. Unless you need the D44 for off-road, it might be more economical for you to get a Chrysler 8.25 out of a '96 or newer Cherokee and put that in.

Eagle said:

An XJ Dana 44, if you can find one, will probably be from an '87, maybe an '88, so it's going to need bearings and seals the same as your Dana 35. And a factory Dana 44 might have Trac-Lok ... but it might not. XJ Dana 44s used to sell for $500 and up, but since folks have discovered that the Ford Explorer 8.8 axle can be adapted to the XJ, prices for the Dana 44s have gone down a bit. You might be looking at a couple of hundred for the axle, and another couple of hundred for bearings and seals, and since the Dana 44 uses larger brakes than the Dana 35, you might also need new brakes and new brake drums. The drums alone are worth $50 to $75 ... each.

It isn't going to be cheap. Unless you need the D44 for off-road, it might be more economical for you to get a Chrysler 8.25 out of a '96 or newer Cherokee and put that in.

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HEY, no dissin the 8.25, its a big step above the 35 and really easy to work on. Prob find a good one out of a boneyard complete from drum to drum. Easy bolt up. Whats the gear ratio on your 35 ??
Options: fix the 35, lotta money and you still have a 35.
find another 35, unknown condition, gamble, I have not seen alot of 35's on say 97 or newer.
8.25, newer, might be in better condtion, easy to work on.
D44, might be a bit pricey, not much stronger than the 8.25,
ford 8.8, need to do some work getting it in, disc brakes.
No real idea on prices. Pay attention to the gears if you do pick one up. Might get lucky and find one with a factory LSDiff too... Check around your local jeep club if you know of any... I see that stuff pop up on blue mountain jeep alliance all the time.

I was looking at upgrading my 8.25 I just decided to replace it. It has cost me a little more then the upgrades would have. But in the long run I feel I saved a bunch of money cause I saw a replacement in the future anyway.

I'm into mine for about $800 so far maybe another $100 to get it under the jeep
AXLE-$400
Brakes-$50
The drums were in good shape just needed to have them turned $20
Carrier,Gears,install kit and Lock right $300
Guessing about $50-$100 for new hard brake line.
THe E-brake cables off my 8.25 will work and 1 e-brake cable on the 44 was new.
These are estimates.
I will be upgrading the axles sometime this year but they are in good shape then they'll be retired to spares. I haven't priced this but guessing another $200.
When its done I'll be selling the 8.25

RichP said:

HEY, no dissin the 8.25, its a big step above the 35 and really easy to work on. Prob find a good one out of a boneyard complete from drum to drum. Easy bolt up. Whats the gear ratio on your 35 ??
Options: fix the 35, lotta money and you still have a 35.
find another 35, unknown condition, gamble, I have not seen alot of 35's on say 97 or newer.
8.25, newer, might be in better condtion, easy to work on.
D44, might be a bit pricey, not much stronger than the 8.25,
ford 8.8, need to do some work getting it in, disc brakes.
No real idea on prices. Pay attention to the gears if you do pick one up. Might get lucky and find one with a factory LSDiff too... Check around your local jeep club if you know of any... I see that stuff pop up on blue mountain jeep alliance all the time.

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The 8.25 is starting to sound pretty good. My gear ratio is either 3.55 or 3.73, I'm pretty sure it's the 3.73 if I have the factory towing package. What LSDiff came in the 8.25s, is it the Trac-Lock like the 35s, or something better? Do all the brake lines and E-brake hook-up the same as the 35, or will I have to do some mods? BTW, Thanks for the help guys!

Just a few basic items regarding the 8.25. I would guess that your gear ratio is 3.55 which is a common ratio for auto transmission 4.0l XJs. 3.07 for MTs and 4 cyls usually came with 4.10s. There will be a tag on your D35 that should tell you what ratio it is. The 8.25 comes in 2 basic versions, either 27 or 29 spline axleshafts. The 27 spline comes in 96 and older models, and is basically about as strong as your D35 shaftwise. The 29 spline is stronger due to the increased number of splines and the shaft is slightly larger in diameter. The 29 started showing up in late 1996. All the 97 to 01 8.25 models are 29 spline. Try to find one of the axles from a newer XJ with the factory trac-lock unit already installed. The 8.25 will also require you to shorten your existing driveshaft. A good local driveline shop can do this for around $100. Everthing else should bolt right up, although you may need to swap e-brake cable with you D35 if you get a late model rearend.

Right now I am running a 93 8.25 housing that was converted to 29 spline shafts with a detroit locker, 4.56 gears and stock shafts with 33" tires and have yet to break anything on it. I recently bought a XJ D44, and I am in the process of installing 4.88 gears, a detroit locker and ZJ disc brakes. Overall I am into it close to $1200, but I did set-up my own gears and got most of the brake set-up for free. It should be finished and installed in the next few weeks. If you have the time and money, get a D44 and build it. But the 8.25 is a good axle for the budget consious for sure.

Bryan

"The 8.25 will also require you to shorten your existing driveshaft. A good local driveline shop can do this for around $100."

Would I have to do this , or could I just use the shaft from an 8.25?

Ttt.

cougar101 said:

"The 8.25 will also require you to shorten your existing driveshaft. A good local driveline shop can do this for around $100."

Would I have to do this , or could I just use the shaft from an 8.25?

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This should work, although I am not completely sure. I do know that when my buddy swapped in a 8.25 into his 87 XJ he tried to use my old driveshaft and it was too long. His 87 XJ is a 4.0 AT 231, and mine is a 96 XJ 4.0 AT 231, but my t-case has the newer style external slip yoke. If you found an older model, 91-95, with a similar drivetrain as yours, but with an 8.25 theoretically it should work. I would do some measureing once you install your 8.25 and go from there.

Bryan