Axle swap questions...
 

I have a 97 XJ with the Dana 35 diff...which I've heard is the crappiest diff in a Jeep. I am building a DD and weekend off-road XJ, and I'll probably use it to tow a pretty heavy welder from time to time. Question is should I swap out the whole unit for another? (Lemme know which one and re-gearing and what not) Or do I rebuild it and leave it since im not doing really crazy off-roading in it? Any suggestions concerns are appreciated!

There are many options as to getting rid of the d35. If you are just driving down fire service roads and not really wheeling it, I would leave the d35 alone and not even worry about it.

It is only crapy when you start talking about serious off-road and using big tires,moderate trail use and towing is fine,if you still want to upgrade of course the d44 is the best choice if you can find it,or the 8.25 97 and above.
Do you have abs? that would be a consideration if you do,because the other choices do not have abs.

I would do a ford 8.8. 31 splines, thicker tubes, and disc brakes! All you have to do it weld on new spring perches and shock mounts. Just the disc brakes are a HUGE advantage over a d44

I plan on using a 4.5 in lift and run maybe maybe 32's with it...The most I do off-road wise is tear up some salt flats...and climb a few hills....no rock climbing or anything like that...

32s are about as far as you can go,you do not have to be rock climbing to break an axle,if you flex it moderatly you can break an axle. It sounds to me that you would be fine with the 35.

My vote is for 8.25 29 spline. My reasoning is its your DD and you dont need anything hard core. I am doing the same swap, getting rid of my dana 35 and swapping in a 8.25 29 spline off a 2000 cherokee so it has a higher spline count. As far as the dana 44 and ford 8.8, both those are excellent choices to replace the 35 but if your not going to run bigger than 32in tires you should be just fine with a 8.25, just make sure you get the 29 spline. I picked my 8.25 up for around $100. There's a bunch around so it will be much easier to find than a dana 44. I'm running 33 inch tires and plan on new axle shafts and trussing the 8.25. Theres always stuff to do to beef up your axle. Hope this helps.

For your usage your D35 is probably fine. If the D35 was such a weak axle why was it used for so long on so many different vehicles? IMO, no stock axle is adequate for Hard-core Offroading. I'll bet you will not find 1 serious offroader running any stock axles in any brand rig. At the very least the internals have been upgraded.

x2,when pepole say weak,you are reading articles and post about serious off-road use,more pleasure than actual use,they put there xjs in positions and angles that most will not.

While I do see your point I think when you start putting bigger and heavier tires on our cherokee's you have to start thinking of the added stress that brings on the "stock" equipment, in this case the D35. IMO if the OP was running stock tires while being a daily drive and weekend wheeler they should be fine. But they did say they wanted to go to 32inch tires in the future. At that point there would be a lot of stress on the already weak D35. During my time on the forum I have only heard bad things about the D35 and that when you increase the tire size and start offroading with it you are very likely to break something...

Also I want to add that budget does play a big factor in what axle you want. If cash is tight the D35 SHOULD get you by ok but I've learned the hard way that when offroading you never know what will happen...good or bad. For security I would upgrade but if your not worried about it then stay with the Dana 35.

FWIW, any tire bigger then a 225/75/15 on a D35 in the wrong conditions will break it. I watched a D35 loose 3 ring gear teeth and a couple pinion gear teeth when a friend cought a patch of grass in his driveway. He was on 31's with the pukgoat tranny. Yes he was spinning the tires when he cought the patch of grass. :cheers:

x2. This is probably the easiest and cheapest way to go and not have to worry about it again.

SO What!! I've seen the same thing happen to built D44's and 8.8's also. Point is any axel can be broken. My XJ has a 8.25, but my ZJ had a D35. The ZJ Never had a problem with the D35 axle for 260K miles much of that Off-Road. The axle did finally fail when a Ford escort rear ended me, was a direct hit from the rear on the right tire, turned the axle into an S, wonder if a Ford 8.8 would have survived. Car went right Under the bumper, due to 6" of lift.

Listening to you all I think I have decided to just rebuild what I have...D35.