the C clips holding the shaft inplace is the major weak link and I've seen more then a few brake and the axle come out. but its all in how you drive it. if your mashing the gas to get over something you'll snap a shaft VS the guy crawling it and driving smart.

That being said I hate D35s have had a ton of issues in my 97 ZJ with a D35 lost a tooth on the ring gear, front seal, bearings were shot and a whole bunch of other issues and that was all under 90,000 miles and i took care of it. IMO is just a junk axle not worth spending money on

 

a d35 was just made with smaller, lighter material than all the others right? so its not a bad axle, just not as rugged as... any thing else... you hear horror stories, and success stories with the d35. the thing that gets me is when people slam 35's or even 37's on ANY STOCK axle! yes, some are built way better, but the rotational weight is asronmical. for every 10lbs you add, like when you go from a 33 to a 35, or a 35 to a 37. generally, there is about a 10 lb. increase when you go up a size. heres the tricky part: 10 lbs. becomes 100 lbs. when its ROTATIONAL. this is where the stress and strain will start to show up. its nice to have a big wheel, it gets your axle up, better traction, etc... but the drawbacks are there... kinda like cigarettes... some people can smoke all their lives and never seem to effected by it, and others die a really, really ****ty, totally ****ed death... ya know?

 

damn good point! its all in how you drive it! gental is going to keep you on the road longer. personally i prefer a more technical course over a "slam-thru-the-mud-like-a-banshee" course. the technical approach will take your jeep to its limits while reducing the impact from the speed involved with mud holes... imho...

 

I've been doing a lot of research on axle upgrades and D35s. #1 C clips in 35s suck because your axle will fall out if it breaks, but you can get a C clip eliminator. #2 The housing is not as strong as other axles i.e. 44s, 9s and 8.8s, BUT you can strengthen and reinforce 30 and 35s super cheap if you're handy with a welder. Also 27 spline axles not very strong in stock axles but you can upgrade. #3 Do U want to worry about what U can do with your axle. U can beat the pants off a 44, 9, or 8.8. I've come to the conclusion of why throw away money on a 30 or 35, i.e. locker, bearings, axle upgrade and reenforcement when you really should be patient and up grade. Granted like my self we all don't have crap loads of cash. I'm still debating what to do a year after I decided to upgrade. I like the idea that if you build a quality axle it will be good 4 ever, U buy a new rig take your axle with U. Another good cheap solution I came across recently was the Ford Explorer 8.8 which most come with LSDs, only problem I'm not sure of with this is that the LSD is activated by the ABS i believe and I dont know how well it will work? Heres a killer link I found on the 8.8 build up. Also be careful if you do 44s that you don't end up with cast iron 44s.

http://www.jedi.com/obiwan/jeep/ford88.html

 

whats the deal with cast iron? i didnt even know they were made this way! im assuming its something to do with the high rigidity and maybe a tendancy to have shearing issues??

 

Aaron, you have a local club that is a member of the Montana 4x4 Association there in Helena. Frontier 4 Wheelers, and they meet the 1st Wednesday of the month at the local Ford dealership at 7pm. If you are serious about wheeling and learning get in touch with them they will be able to answer your questions.

 

Does it have a LSD, the 8.8 drum, what did you get that one out of? Also, though I think I know what Im talking about, LOL, I still havent put in C-clip elims. I it a pain in the ***? I havent read up on this yet. I'm assuming you have to pull the diff and will you need to re adjust anything B4 you reinstall?

I like that 8.8 upgrade, I wonder how well the LSD will work with the XJ ABS?

 

I <3 35's, and dirty 30's. I've run them with 4:10's and 33" on my YJ, and now have 35" on stock gears in my XJ. I have never had a single issue with them.

The only thing I'm terrific at is snapping the ears off the yokes. I'm a certified pro at that. But, everytime I go to the junkyard I grab one, so I've got a small stock pile, can have one swapped out in a few minutes.

SO! If you ever have a yoke with good ears, give it to me, I'll return it broken beyond recognition.

 

Already a member and have been for a couple years.. My question was more rhetorical I guess. I just have never heard a real good reason to swap besides "they suck"

My 8.8 is out of a 94 ranger, but I'm swapping it for and explorer 8.8 from a scrapper. all he cares about is scrap value and they are the same to him.

When I do my swap I'll send them your way!