So my dad has a 90 XJ limited. It had a D35 rear end and he broke a shaft while towing it behind his RV a month or so ago. He found another rear end out of a 87 model Limited that supposedly had the tow package and had it installed. He was running 4.10's but this replacement is either a 3.55 or 3.73, I not sure.

He knows he is going to have to regear to get his ratio's right but has been driving it a bit around the RV park and noticed a leaking wheel rear wheel cylinder. He went to Napa to get a new one assuming he had a D35 but it wouldn't fit. He carried the bad one up there and low and behold it matches up to a D44. This is where it get's crazy. He sent me pics of rear axle and it looks to me like it is D35.

Now in my research, I see that the 44 was available in 86-87 on XJ's with tow packages, but again, the cover he has doesn't look like a 44 to me.

Is it possible that someone bastardized the vehicle he got the replacement axle out of so that the brakes are from an XJ with a D44 but on a D35??

He is going to be bringing his jeep down in a couple months for me and my buddy to put new gears in and right now we are kinda unsure as to what we need to buy. The first photo is of the axle he has now that came out of the donor jeep. The second photo is of the back of the wheel cylinder. You can see it has the tapered sides whereas the one for a D35 comes straight out the back I believe.

For what it's worth, his old 35 cover bolts right up to the new axle and the brake drums interchange. I personally think he has a 35.......thoughts?

Certainly looks like a d35, maybe brakes are off another axle? Prob a lot of different wheel cyls will fit....

Yea, I'm pretty sure that's not a D44. I have one and it looks nothing like that. Someone probably put the wrong (d44) wheel cylinders in at some point.

The oval shaped cover with the threaded fill plug gives it away as a D-35.

A quick check shows the wheel cylinders are different between an '87 and a '90 if the '90 originally has 9" drums.

Tell him to get wheel cylinders for the '87 axle. (they are different left/right)

The ones for the '90 are the same left or right if it had 9" drums.
If the '90 had 10" drums, then it uses the same wheel cylinders as the '87, and they are different left/right.

Hope that makes sense.

So 8.25 has rubber plug?

No. After I believe '90 all D35s also came with rubber plugs. A clear indication of an 8.25 is the flat bottom of the pumpkin.

I believe all 8.25 covers had a rubber fill plug.
Early D35 covers had a threaded fill plug. Later D35 switched to a rubber plug.

Also, D35 has 2.5" diameter axle tubes. 8.25 axle has 3" diameter axle tubes.

Thanks fellas. I thought it was a 35 but didn't know about the wheel cylinders.