Diff ID

Silent · Feb 27, 2005

I went and looked at my diff, so far I have only narrowed it down to 2 diffs:
Chrysler 8 1/4, and Dana 35. Can anyone tell me anything else I might be able to look for? I have a 95 XJ, 4.0L, 2wd, sport, 4dr. It is a oval diff cover with 10 bolts. Other than that I am at a loss.

Silent

yellowxj · Feb 27, 2005

for that year its probably a 8.25...it could have been swapped out...the d35c usually has d35c stamped in the bottom right corner of the axle differential.

Kejtar · Feb 27, 2005

:twak:

yellowxj said:
for that year its probably a 8.25

It could be D35 just as likely.

ANyways, the 8.25 has a flat lip on the bottom while the d35 is more rounded. If you got abs, then you have d35.

Run a seach on teh forums for axle identification and there's pictures posted that will help you with that.

edit: here it is: http://www.yuccaman.com/jeep/gear1.html#axle

IH8RDS · Feb 27, 2005

Silent said:
I went and looked at my diff, so far I have only narrowed it down to 2 diffs:
Chrysler 8 1/4, and Dana 35. Can anyone tell me anything else I might be able to look for? I have a 95 XJ, 4.0L, 2wd, sport, 4dr. It is a oval diff cover with 10 bolts. Other than that I am at a loss.

Silent

Look at the bottom of the axel housing. If it is flat its a 8.25. It will have 27 spline if it original on the 95 XJ.

Yucca-Man · Feb 28, 2005

Thanks for the support Kejtar...it don't get much easier than lookin' at pictures. Of course, the D35 has a Dana diamond on it while the C8.25" has a Chrysler pentastar on the cover, too.

churky89 · Feb 28, 2005

This is a 35

Chancer · Feb 28, 2005

Visit Jeep.com and ask them for your buildup sheet - give them your chassis number and they'll tell you what was put in when it was first built etc. A truely useful starting point is to know how your jeep appeared when it first came off the asssembly line.

Silent · Mar 1, 2005

Where do you get the chasis number from? And, once I get it. What do I do at jeep.com?

Silent

Rocketman · Mar 1, 2005

It's pretty simple to tell the difference between an 8.25 and a D35 by looking at the cover. The cover of the 8.25 will have a raised lip around the outside edge. The D35 doesn't as you can tell by the picture in one of the above replies.

XJBill · Mar 1, 2005

churky89 said:
This is a 35

This is a 8.25

See how the housing is flat on the bottom of the 8.25 and the D35 is round?

Silent · Mar 1, 2005

Ok, I have the 8.25. Thanks, for the help. Now, question is. Is that a good diff, or does it need to be replaced? Also, what applications would warrant the diff change?

Silent

Yucca-Man · Mar 1, 2005

with a 95 and a C8.25, you have the 27-spline axles. While still stronger than the D35, it could be made stronger with the addition of some 29-spline axles and spiders from a late-96 or later C8.25.

Either way, the C8.25 is limited to 4.56 as the deepest gearset available. the 27-spline limits some of the locker/limited slip availability as well, but overall you've got the better of the two options for that model year.

With the 95, you still have the old-style t-case output so it's not as prone to vibes; that's just something to bear in mind when thinking about a lift.

Silent · Mar 1, 2005

What would the 4.56 gearing do. And what do you mean spiders? If I wanted to upgrade what would I want to be looking for?

Silent

Yucca-Man · Mar 1, 2005

When the lift bug bites you and you need larger tires, 4.56 will be a great match for 32" tires. Larger tires will often require deeper gears (numerically higher) than are available for the C8.25"

If you stay with an open rear diff, there are four small gears arranged inside that apply torque to both axleshafts; they are commonly referred to as spiders. Since the axleshafts are clipped into the left and right outer spider, they have 27 splines and would need to be replaced to fit the stronger 29-spline shafts.

jeepinandy · Mar 6, 2005

http://www.coloradok5.com/axleguide.shtml they say the chrysler 8.25 is almost strong as a D44 so u should be fine

Eagle · Mar 6, 2005

jeepinandy said:
http://www.coloradok5.com/axleguide.shtml they say the chrysler 8.25 is almost strong as a D44 so u should be fine

That's the 29-spline 8.25. The 8.25 used in 1995 has shafts that are the same diameter and spline count as the Dana 35.

89xj · Mar 6, 2005

Silent said:
What would the 4.56 gearing do. And what do you mean spiders? If I wanted to upgrade what would I want to be looking for?

Silent

why do you feel the need to upgrade?

are you putting on a lift and larger tires?

XJCasper · Mar 8, 2005

Without ripping the rear diff apart, is there a way to tell if I have a 27 or 29 spine. I do have the 8.25. I presumed from past posts that I would probably have the 29. What piece am I counting when the diff cover is off?

Woud it be worth upgrading to the XJ d44? I am running 32's.

Kejtar · Mar 8, 2005

JMotorsprt said:
Without ripping the rear diff apart, is there a way to tell if I have a 27 or 29 spine. I do have the 8.25. I presumed from past posts that I would probably have the 29. What piece am I counting when the diff cover is off?

Woud it be worth upgrading to the XJ d44? I am running 32's.

If the jeep is 95 or older it's 27, if it's 97 or newer it's 29. If it's 96, you're counting.

Yucca-Man · Mar 8, 2005

Kejtar said:
If the jeep is 95 or older it's 27, if it's 97 or newer it's 29. If it's 96, you're counting.

Even if it's a 96 it's most likely a 27-spline. Mine was built in mid-March 96 and had a 27-spline C8.25; the changeover was supposed to be late in 96 and that's almost as late as it can be.

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