i have the lift to fit 33's what will be the easiest and cheapest way to run them and still save some mpg's and not wear out my axles?

 

im run 33's on dana 30 and 8.25. they've been fine on them and getting around 15 mpg. you could upgrade your rear end to a dana 44 to help with the big tires

 

33's should be ok, as long as you don't got WOT all the time when wheeling. 35's are the extreme limit, and will for sure chew up your axles if you wheel.

Of course, this is all assuming you've got a D35 or D44 rear, the D44 being able to handle bigger.

 

where can i find a dana 44?

 

I know guys that run the Dana 35 with 33s and do OK. I wouldn't change axles unless I broke the 35 or unless I was going to lock the rear axle. If you just have to have a 44 check all the local junk yards. You also may want to check on a ford 8.8 with 31 spline shafts, or a 29 spline chrysler 8.25. The 8.8 is stronger than a 44 and the 29 spline 8.25 is as strong as a 44 in most respects, just harder to find lockers for it.

 

Eh the D35 isn't the best for 33s due to it's low spline count on the shafts and the shafts aren't as strong to turn them like the 29 spline 8.25 is or a 30 spline D44. The 8.8 is easier to find sometimes too and some can come with disk brakes if pulled from something like an explorer. Iron Rock offroad also has everything you need to outfit an 8.8 to an XJ. They have everything from spring perches, gears, lockers, shock mounts, etc. etc.

 

can i just re gear my existing rear d35 and be ok for 33's?

 

you could but the axle shaft is still going to be smaller than a dana 44 or ford 8.8. also if your dana 35 has a C clip i believe thats one of the weakest points of the axle so upgrading the gears wont help. unless it eliminates the C clip. but i think you'll be fine with a dana 35 thats what i have and i plan to put on 33's also

 

you can just regear you d35. if you do i would go to 4.10's. but if you wanna go stronger i would go with a 8.8 out of an explorer if you go to fordtruckparts.com you can search near you where to find an 8.8 is at and then can choose what gears you want(some came with 4.10s). thats what im gonna do. find me a 8.8 with 4.10s and a locker.

 

Don't put money into your Dana 35. Get yourself a 29 spline 8.25 and regear that.

 

if you're going to swap axles, dont go from a d35 to a 8.25. the improvement is minimal.

8.8 or d44 is the way to go if you want a different axle. some good junkyard scavenging could land you a direct bolt in d44 out of an 86-87 XJ. also the 8.8 is relatively easy to fab up to work on an XJ and well worth the time and money.


and as for your original question. i ran 33/12.5/15 mud tires on a stock d30/d35LSD combo without a problem. it all depends on your driving style.

 

I would choose the 8.25 over the d44. Unless you buy a newer 44 with the larger pinon and pinon bearings and larger axle tubes. You can put aftermarket Superior shafts in the 8.25 and it will be as strong as a 44 or stronger. If you have to have something stronger than a Chrysler 8.25 go with the 8.8 which is almost as strong as a 60.

 

True, but 8.25's are much easier to come by and they are a DIRECT swap. The 8.8 is good but you have to weld new perches and stuff and not everyone may want to do that. Not to mention 8.25's are MUCH cheaper.

And the upgrade from a d35 to a 29 spline 8.25 is much more than minimal.