i bought an 8.25 a while ago. 2 days ago the pieces in the brakes snaped in the 35 and it grinded. my 35 and my 8.25 look almost identicle. i thought i had an 8.25 as my old rear. i have to order new Ubolts. the 8.25 is a direct swap in. in the middle of my swap i realized that my U-Joint is to big.. is the U-joint saddle smaller on an 8.25 then a dana 35?

 

Did you search?

It should be a direct bolt in, I believe i swapped driveshafts at the same time so I'm not sure on ujoint size

 

The 8.25 should just slide rite under. But
I believe the axles housings are different size. You should put new u bolts on every time you pull them off anyway! The u bolts and the hold down plates on the 8.25 are different than the 35 so go get the rite hardware and its just another unbolt the bolt back job. The 8.25 is a better rear too. So just get under there tear it out and have fun. Also if the its the u joint yoke on the differential that is too big, then that rear end my have been built by someone that went heavy duty. The yoke is easy to change too. and I would pop the pumpkin to give that a good inspection while its off the jeep.

 

i figured it out on my own.. search didnt help because i worded it wrong.. i went to napa and the guy explained it perfectly.. the U-Joint is a diffrent size so i got a conversion.. and my buddies got Ubolts for the 8.25 aswell.. thanks guys.
and sorry for the useless post. :P