Dana 35 = Toast

Hey everyone... I am about to rebuild my dana 35 rear end for the second and most likely last time. The issue, as in all things Jeep, is money. Start cringing now.. I am running pro-comp 37's with superior super-chromoly axles and superior 4.88 gears and an arb air locker in my otherwise stock rear end. The stock components have been beaten to hell (obviously) and are finally on their last legs even if i replace the guts. There is an obvious solution as my fellow jeeper pointed out. Just buy a fully built dana 44 bolt in and gears and rims and axles... thats right about the time i punched him in the face. I am a disabled veteran and live on a VERY fixed income. And the components i have in there now werent exactly cheap. Rather than tell you my ideas for a solution, i would like to hear your ideas as you may very well have more experience than i. thanks in advance.

Nine

What in your 35 is keeps breaking? Axles? R&P?

Its the gears that keep getting damaged (broken bits of metal) and then the axle seals fail. well, it takes about a year to a year and a half. actually, as i think about it, this will be the third set of 4.88 gears ive gone through in about 7 years.

Well, from the sounds of it you have a decent setup with decent parts, and there is always a "weak" point in every setup....you upgrade the axle you break the drive shafts....or blow up a transfer case....so i think if it were me i would buy some quality ring and pinions and maybe have them cryogenically treated to make them stronger than stock... i know http://www.longfieldsuperaxles.com/products.php?product=HEAT-TREAT-%26-CRYO-RING-%26-PINION will do it pretty cheap and the research i have done does show an improvement.....

Good luck.

The problem is you are running 37's on a Dana 35. That's all I needed to hear. That axle is pushing it with 33's, maybe 35's if you're nice to it. Unfortunately the only option is to upgrade your axle to either an 8.8 or a Dana 44, or you can keep repairing yours.

Check out our closeout section! We have a TJ rear D35 ($100) as well as a LJ D44 ($900) that might work for you...I know your's is a YJ but just a thought.

http://www.genright.com/Closeout.aspx#.UfHxbeA796E

TxCrawler wrote:

The problem is you are running 37's on a Dana 35. That's all I needed to hear. That axle is pushing it with 33's, maybe 35's if you're nice to it. Unfortunately the only option is to upgrade your axle to either an 8.8 or a Dana 44, or you can keep repairing yours.

i did say start CRINGING now LOL

Ninespike wrote:

i did say start CRINGING now LOL

Yeah, that part escaped me after reading the rest of your post. I was like  

Since this is in a YJ, I feel your best option would be finding an explorer 8.8. Cheap and easy to find. You still have to buy new gears anyway so why not upgrade the whole axle for a little more and gain strength and better braking with disk brakes. You could part out your current axle to recoup some of the costs. I understand the whole budget thing, but sometimes spending a little more money upfront will save you more money down the road.