KJamesJR

There are no tags on this axel. What numbers I could find on the back end are hard to read. I took pictures, though they probably wont help. Only number I could read was SHF-4. My guess is a D35??? On a 98 XJ.

00jeepXJ

d35.

KJamesJR

I'm still learning the ins and outs... Good axel or no?

97jeepxj40

not really, it would be a good upgrade to a c8.25 but i guess it depends what you do with your jeep.

BendXJMan

The D35 has a tendency to break if roughed around with. You should swap if for either a D44, Chrysler 8.25, or a Ford 8.8 rear axle. They all work great, but it's personal opinion as to which you would want.

XJ.89.Limited

D35 is fine for light wheeling. I go on old back roads and farm trails with mine and I have no problem. And mine has 234k on it. 230k of those are hard city miles. If you want to get into more tough terrain and plan on having tires bigger than 31s, you might want to swap a 8.25 in or re-gear. The 8.25 just has a thicker axle housing. The older D35s like mine are also a little stronger than the newer ones, so I've heard.

KJamesJR

I don't know if anyone is familiar with the north atlantic 4x4 conditions, but it really only goes 2 ways... A little bit of everything, or a lot of everything. At least that's how I've found it to be.

Right now its my dd and it needs a few things. Paint, lift, tires, wheels... Expensive stuff. I will/have used it for winter commuting, light trail riding. So I don't intend to beat it up, or run it too hard. However during our expeditions on trails, it will probably find some granite rocks, deep mud, heavy snow, loose gravel, large roots... And possibly all in the same day.

If I don't hammer it, the D35 should do fine right? If not, how extensive is an axel swap? Are some easier to do than others?

XJ.89.Limited

-If you go easy and don't hit too crazy of terrain, the D35 is fine. Especially on the stock suspension and tire setup. If you go with a fairly large lift and tire size, I recommend either upgrading the internals or swapping the axle.
-Depending on the axle choice for the swap, it might be pretty hard. You will need a welder definitely. A few cutting tools, air tools, normal wrenches, torque wrench, ratchet, brake line tools, other general tools. A full car lift would be nice, but jack stands will do, as long as you can get them high enough.
-Look into powerblock.com and find the Extreme 4x4 page. With a little searching, you can find a series of videos on an XJ build. I'm pretty sure they swapped a ford 8.8 in, but don't quote me on that.
-If you can find an axle out of another XJ, it would be easier since the width is already the same. A 8.25 would be easier than a D44 since the D44 was rarely put in the XJ's and it was only put in between 87 and 90 I believe. Either way, the shock brackets on the axles will most likely need to be cut and moved and welded back on, unless you find stronger aftermarket ones or fab some yourself.
-Remember that when you decide to do a lift, the axle choice is critical. If you do a lift and then change, it might not work out very well. A good idea would be to do the lift and axle swap all at once. That way all the leafs, shocks, and everything else aligns fine. Plan ahead and plan for down time.
-Starting a build thread will also help when you're stuck. That way we can all see where you are at and what you need help on. Good luck!

KJamesJR

That was my worry... I'm planning a 3" lift, with 31's. My auto mechanical prowess goes about that far, as far as suspension/drivetrain are considered. I think that's about as much lift i'll need for my requirements. I'm using the search function for as much as I can muster.

Will this axel handle 15" x 10" wheels with 31's?
These wheels... http://www.seriousoffroadproducts.co...ducts_id=88351

and

Does the D30, D35, and 8.25 diff covers have the same bolt pattern?

Basslicks

Yes... on xtreme4x4, they did an xj build entitled "Low Dollar Wheeler"... you can go on the powerblock.com website, go to the xtreme 4x4 page, and look at all the episodes as well as the build sheet for the build. They originally welded the spider gears on the stock axle, but then they added 33 or 35" tires and went with an 8.8 and an ARB air locker...

I've heard a lot of people doing just fine with up to 33's... but if you go that big, you don't want to lock it... the D35 just isn't strong enough to handle the abuse of a locker plus 33's... I've heard a few people have problems with a locked 35 and 31" tires, but not an overabundance.

you should also check out JPmagazine.com for other axle swap options and builds... easiest way is just to google search "xj axle swap site:jpmagazine.com"

Basslicks

same bolt pattern or number of bolts? the patterns are different because the housings themselves are different shapes/sizes... but I'm not sure about the bolt count

RenegadeT

no the covers are all different with differnt patterns.

KJamesJR

Ok, thanks.


@ Basslicks

I kind of understand how a locker functions, though I'm not entirely sure what it is, where it goes, or what it does. I haven't gotten that far into drivetrain mod research yet. I know it keeps the wheels from spinning.

XJ.89.Limited

I think the D35 will handle your setup just fine. 31's on those rims isn't that big of a radius to turn. A locker acts like a posi, but all the time. A posi will still give if one tire is in the air, a locker will divide power to both wheels when engaged, so you never lose power to any wheel. My D35 is a posi (or limited slip, whatever you wanna call it).

Basslicks

well there are different types of lockers, but yes the overall concept is that it make BOTH wheels turn at the same speed

with an open diff, when you make a turn, the wheel on the outside of the radius of the turn will spin faster than the wheel on the inside (i.e. when you turn right, your left rear spins faster and vice-versa). The problem with the open diff is that its natural tendancy is to allow the wheel with the least amount of resistance to spin faster, allowing you to turn your vehicle with less effort, less wear on the axle parts, and less wear on your tires... LIMITED SLIP allows this same action but has clutches in it that detects wheels spin and will engage the clutches to transfer some of the power to the wheel that actually has traction... works better than open diff, but still not as great as a locked differential... basically, the locked differential provides positive traction to BOTH rear wheels no matter which one is free.

hope this helps