Trying to decide, upgrade my Dana 35c or buy a Dana 44. rather not change axels but if i'm gonna break my 35 eventually don't want to keep fixing it.

 

Get the 44.

 

What about a Chrysler 8.25 off a newer model so it has the 29 spline. The Dana 44's are hard to find and spendy. The 8.25 is definetly better that a Dana 35. I picked up mine 8.25 for $100. However, if I had a choice between a cherokee dana 44 and a 29 spline 8.25, I would have to go with the Dana 44.
Ever consider a Ford 8.8?

 

Or if you really dont wanna swap axles you can just build a super 35.
And those 44s are super rare. Took months of me and my dad hittin up junkyards every weekend before we found one.

 

Don't waste any money on the 35. Even with the Super 35 it's still weak. The housing is one of it's main weaknesses along with the shafts. I made the mistake of trying to build one, truss, alloy shafts, gears and locker and still broke shafts and ended up bending a tube. 44s are nice but for the price I'd say get a 96 and up 8.25 and find a set of disc off a ZJ and you'll be fine up to 35s.

 

so this may be a dumb question but is a 8.25 the same as an 8.8? how much would one run and install difficulty? Problems with drive shaft? Where would i find one (what type of vehicle)?

 

8.8 is way beefier. Requires welding skills and a few adapters

 

Cost is the Key. any idea on price?

 

if you can weld 350-550 (but it also comes with 4.10s,limited slip, and disk brakes if you find right one)

if you can weld 500-700

here read this
https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f30/fo...wap-info-3847/

 

Ford Exploders, which are plentiful in junkyards

 

i went the 8.8 route and it was the best decision i ever made. I had to regear my front to match the 4.10's though (which was still cheaper than building the 35)

 

I think a very important question here is what kind of wheeling do you plan on doing... To the OP:

If you plan on doing moderate wheeling, lifting your xj and going to 33 inch tires, you could get away with a 29 spline 8.25 off a 96 and up cherokee. Benifits to this axle are that it is compeletly bolt in. Also much stronger than a Dana 35. Negatives would be limited aftermarket support. However there is getting to be more stuff out there for this axle.
If you plan on doing some hardcore rock crawlin and going beyond a 33 inch tire, the 8.8 would be next in line. It comes off later model ford explorers. Benifits are that it's 31 spline (I believe), can come with disk brakes and a lower gear ratio (4.10). Pretty beefy axle. Negatives are that the axle has to be modified to fit a cherokee. Like said above, you have to relocate some spring perchs and stuff. Its not a lot of work from my understanding but to do it yourself you would have to weld and know what your doing. If not a shop could install it for you...

Hope this helps a little bit. I did a lot of research on this because I too was looking for a beefier rear axle. For my situation my xj is a DD and I do moderate wheelin on the weekends. I have 33's and plan to keep running that size tire. A Dana 44 was just to hard to find and expensive, the 8.8 was a little bit to much work for me because I dont know how to weld (yet), so the Chrysler 8.25 (29 spline) was my best bet. I easly found and picked up one near me for $100.

 

I ran a non c-clip D35 for 5 years with 33" tires. In that time I bent a set of axles and finnaly shattered a pinion gear. My replacement for that axle was the ford 8.8 which I had in the jeep for about 3 months before it got totaled. But I was happy with it at the time, and plan on swapping that same 8.8 into my 1996 when I am ready to lift it this spring/summer. crossing my fingers hopping it didnt get bent in the collision! If so I will just get another one.

I say go with the 8.8
Stronger and easyer to find then the 44
More aftermarket parts than the 8.25
And if you find it right 4.10's a limited slip and disk brakes.

The only bad thing I can think of is a missmached u-joint to go from your jeep driveshaft to the rear yoke plate on the ford driveshaft. and the need to relocate shock mounts and spring purches. I also used 2 RH ford 8.8 brake hoses. new steel lines and a rear dodge brake hose from the unibody to the axle.

 

so the question is now is the modification to get a 8.8 under it worth it or just getting an 8.25 and getting aftermarket parts that are availible.

 

The 8.8 is NOT stronger than a Dana 44. The 8.8 still uses c-clip axles. It is also a bit narrower than the 35 or 8.25. For the price and work involved I'd go with the 8.25 and find a set of disc for it. I know tons of people love the 8.8 but all the shops around here don't recommend going above a 35 on them and these are shops who specialize in axles. They also hang a good bit lower than what you have so be prepared to catch it on things.