Hello,
2001 XJ with D35 rear axle, 135000miles

At 100K I had dealer replace the pinion bearing, ring bearings and seals for the same problem. Now the roar is back and I'm not sure if I want to spend another $1000 dollars on bearings that will only last 30K. Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm not afraid to to try and replace parts myself but the service manual makes it looks like a number of specialized tools are needed and that adjustment is critical for proper operation.

thanks for any suggestions. Tim

 

C8.25 from a JY $200, done.

 

i agree. im sorry to hear you dumped a $1000 dollars into your crappy D35, you could have put a build D44 or Ford 8.8 with disk brakes in it for cheapre than that.

Either way, i would look for a cheap C8.25 rear end from a 1994 jeep or newer, just make sure the gears are the same ratio as the front.

is this a daily driver or do you wheel it?

 

Shoot, you could probably pay a shop to install the better axle and still come out nearly the same but with better equipment.

 

Thanks everyone.
So is the C8.25 basically a simple swap if the gear ratio is the same? As TurboXJ said I assume I can search the local scrap dealers for a C8.25 axle?

Thanks again for the replies everyone. I'm glad I decided to not drop another $1000 dollars into it.

 

It is very simple. You'll need new U bolts to hold the new axle on to the leaf springs and a drive shaft from a donor with the same transmission. For example if you have a 4.0L/AW4 with a D35 you'll need to find a Jeep that had a 4.0L/AW4 with C8.25. Then you get same gears and proper length drive shaft. If you have some room to work on it you can do the wheel bearings and seals easily and get some disc brakes on it before you put it under your Jeep.