Seriously, let's talk axles.

[dave]

for one.. if its a 2000 xj the d30 is LP.. second i had a d35 in a yj.. it was the worst experience of my life... i would never ever let a d35 see dirt again... maybe not even a gravel driveway... i hate those things , end of story. My personal opinion would be to maybe find a junked 97 xj with a 29 spline 8.25 and a HP d30 with 297s in it. wheel with the tackle you have now while you're building the new axles up. get em done .. diable you abs , throw in your new axles , wheel away. My opinion on the 8.25 is, if its built right it'll handle 35s with a skilled , non happy with the skinny pedal kinda driver.

just my $.02 ... btw i also think the " super 35 " kits are a Super sucky.

 

[KarmirXJ]

buying $400 dollar superior shafts for a D35 puts you at the top of the Darwin award list.
so thats not a smart way to go... save your money


without reading the 2 page thread I can tell you this...

with your "31s maybe 32s" youll be fine with it as long as you dont do any stupid Sh|t on the trails I am pretty sure your D35 will last. dont buy any lockers for it right now... save some money (or take the money that you where gonna spend on suprior shafts ) and go buy yourselve either a Cryco 8.25 or a D44 and call it good. THEN you can buy youself a locker for that axle...

 

[Ghost]

2 Words! Crawfords Campground!

I broke one!

Yep ask GaMike, RokinXJ, A-Mechanic, and YellowXJ. I broke it in the "play area" Of Crawfords with only 3 cylanders working and 33's! You should listed to ARY! If your going to spend that kind of cash whats another $100-$250 bucks for an axle that will live? There was just a 8.25 for sale in the for sale area for $150! Get an 8.25 and buld that!

 

[BUCKYXJ]

I broke my D35 twice with open diff and stock gearing running 31" m/t's.
I am not easy on the throttle. I have a D44 now and have a complete spare D30. I am upgrading to D60 rear and D44 front in my new project. When I broke the first time I was going up rollover hill and just reached the top when SNAP! busted spiders rolled all the way back down it wasn't fun but a tree stopped me from rolling. The second time axle shaft snapped.
I don't spend money on it or just buy a cheap lunchbox locker and wheel it if you start breaking stuff get a 8.25 rear axle.

 

[MrShoeBoy]

Ghost, I remember that! I cant believe that your shaft broke! Did you ever decide to swap the whole housing for something stronger or just replace the shaft?

I ran 32s on 4.5" of lift and a manual tranny with the Dana 35 and I have not broken anything. I was very carefull with the stupid petal though. If you drive like Mrs. Daisy you will be OK on the trail. As soon as the rear wheels start to hop or if you get any type of axle wrap and you are on a good traction surface, Ex: rocks, fresh asphalt, the shafts or spider gears are going to explode in the Dana 35. I blew up my Dana 35 spider gears on the street! But then again I was being sort of stupid with the gas Try it and see what breaks, but plan on having the money to upgrade to something new. Its not worth putting money into that rear.

AARON

 

[Markm80521]

My 2 cents -

I agree with Ary.

Why spend the money on a inferior rear end. I'm not sure I even see the need for front and rear lockers if you're going to encounter the occasional snow.

I am up here in Fort Collins. I have an 88 with 4.5 inch lift and 32's. Similar to your setup. I had a Dana 35 and wanted to get a locker but when you get there the questions and order of process arise:

1) Am I happy with the gearing

2) Is the rear-end really strong enough for what I want

3) Do I really need a locker

The locker is the "end-cap" on this project. Once you but it your that much more invested in your setup (D35, 3something gears). You can find a d44 for that thing for not much more than $400 I would think.

There is a guy in Denver who is a wizard in finding axles and the last time I saw him he had 2 xj 44's. Give him a call before you start the project and see if he has a solution that fits in your budget. Tell him Mark from Fort Collins said he could find anything! Good Luck.

Mitch Hess
RMH Enterprises
303-359-6543

 

[Ghost]

AARON,

I was jsut going to throw a shaft in and call it a day. But the local yards would not sell me a shaft. New ones were $150 or so. So I went to the U-pull it to get a shaft and he would not break appart an axel either. But his price for the whole axle was $70! So I got a front and rear with 4.10's for $130. HGe cut me a deal and I had 3.73's. After spending two days pulling the front and rear I stumbled across a Grand Waggy in there. And you know what? after pulling those he told me all his axels are $70! So I could have gotten something different. Oh well, live and learn.

 

[dave]

i just sold a d44 for not much over 400 with all the bearings/seals/brake hardware etc to rebuild it. all it needs is whatever gears the buyer wants put in it. for under a grand you can have a locked 44 with whatever ratio you want.. arent the " super" kits like 900 bucks?

 

[ZachMan]

for one.. if its a 2000 xj the d30 is LP..

Yeah don't see many TJs running 35s.......

 

[hjeepxj]

Yeah don't see many TJs running 35s.......

I think TJs are HPs...or they swap 'em immediatly

 

[dave]

its not a matter of not being able to run 35s.. its a matter of LP vs HP.. which would you prefer ?

 

[XJ Sean]

All TJ's are LP

 

[hjeepxj]

All TJ's are LP

or is that it? my brain is on retard mode lately

 

[Weasel]

my .02.

Depends on which 35 you have. C lip or non. The C clip one I would be vary of breaking clips. A 8.25 just might be a good upgrade to be safe with.

If it's a non clip I say your ok. And don't worry about the front D30. Just learn to drive. A guy in SD has an XJ with 34's and the non c 35 and 30 upfront and has never broken either of them and he is running everything stock. Well except on the front he put grand CV joints in. And he has run the hardest of the hard stuff. He told me you just need to know how to drive and the axles will be fine.

Buddy is running the D30 with 36's and just upgrade to the larger 95 XJ joints and shafts and hasn't broken one yet.

It's all in how you drive. Don't get on the gas hard, don't bounce, ect.

 

[Powerman]

Thanks guys for all your input. Hey KarmirXJ, easy with the Darwin Awards. I'm a rookie, but I'm not inbred. What you said made sense though. Thats what I'm talking about. I can make do and build up a D35, or go a little more and have a much better setup.

So what is the difference between high pinion, and low pinion?

Thanks again for EVERYBODY's input. I appriciate you taking the time to educate a rookie.

 

[vintagespeed]

I'll chime in too since I wheeled my D30/D35 combo pretty hard.

I ran a welded D30 front with 260s & LokRight D35 non-c clip on 32 for a couple years, broke the LockRight but not the axles. I then went to a D44 rear & 35s with the D30 with 297s and wheeled for a few more years. In about 5 years total, with the D30, never broke a single thing up front.

 

[brcomputer]

Running 33s..... Grenaded my d30 spiders last weekend... and it was a swapped in HP d30. My own fault though, bumped the front up and landed it under load..... The point here is that I am usually fairly careful. I never mash the pedal, but it can be hard to see what your doing when you're looking up at the sky..... That said, I still have my d30 in there, just threw in a lock right so no more spiders. I really plan on "polishing that turd" and pulling in some manual hubs to use as a fuse as soon as the money rolls in....

For the rear I have a 8.25 29 spline with alloy shafts & powertrax. I was looking at a d44, but after speaking to enough guys with real world experience who have the 27 spline units on 32s & 33s, and hearing about how they thrash them on the rocks with no problem, I figured a 29 spline version with alloy shafts should get it done with no worries... Still not sure how my setup compares to a d44 strength wise, or how much stronger it is than a d35 ..... but I've met guys that have blown d35 spiders so often they carry several spare sets and wheel expecting to break them.

Just for reference, no rocks down here.... Soup & mud but no rocks and folks are blowing their d35s on 32s & 33s....

 

[8Mud]

Just a thought, had a 71 W200, Custom Camper Special, sprung to 1 1/4. D-60. Ran a lot of sand (speed) rocks (traction) in patches. Used to load the drivetrain up some. 383 4 barrel, plenty of torque.
During some bearing maintenance, I noticed the grain in the axles seemed twisted some, didn´t really know if it was machining or torque. Well being a curious type, I marked a straght line down the length of my axles with a carbide metal marker and inked it with machinists ink. A year or so later, pulled an axle out, and bigger than you know what, there was a twist in the axle.
I´m thinking many of the broken axles are a progressive thing. They stretch until they break. For people with more time than money (guilty) an index mark on the outside of the axle (just where it sticks out of the seal) and maybe on the side gears, to be looked at during oil changes and/or inspections, might prevent failure far from home.
There was a bit of twist in that 60 axle. It would be noticeable with just two index marks.

 

[k7ant]

I wouldnt worry about it,you can wheel them pretty hard w/ up to 33's.Dont forget the real weak link is the D30 up front.If youve got an automatic its alot less stress on the drivetrain!

Sorry RCP, but I think the D35 is the weak link. I see people wheel the hell out of their D30's and not break, me included so far even with 33's. The D35 in the rear is a piece of crap! I wouldn't spend an extra nickle on one. Go to an 8.8 or D44 or D60, 9 inch anything else when you break that turd!

 

[cliffhanger135]

d35c

Yeah the guy that Mattk was talking about that broke the axle at tellico, yeah that was me. I was running 32in bfg muds with open diffs and very light on the gas, and still broke. And do you know what that c stands for? That means that the only thing holding that tire and wheel on is that c clipand its in the spider gears. So if you break that axle shaft, your tire, wheel and what is left of the shaft with fall off the jeep. I will never run one again. Just not worth the risk.