Hi new to this site and to jeeps!! Have had a blast in the Manistee National Forest this last summer! Now that winter is almost here I wanted to make some improvements to my 2001 XJ. I would like to start with a 4.5" Rough Country lift but not sure what rear end I have and not sure how to go about finding this out? Any help would really be appreciated. Thx

 

its either a dana 35 or a chrysler 8.25. The 8.25 has flat part on the very bottom of the dif. The dana 35 has a more rounded shape if you look at the cover. Hope this helps.

 

ok thx but what one is better?? LOL

 

the 8.25, is the better of the two

 

No TurD35 was ever used on 01 XJ's.. Only C8.25 29s.. So your all set on rear axle strength as you got the way way way better of the two..

As to lifting your jeep.. more goes into then just adding a lift.. once you get to a certain height you'll need a sye and drive shaft among other things i can't think of right now

 

If you buy the rough county 4.5" kit, it comes with both sets of u-bolts for the Dana and the 8.25 axle.....at least mine did. I would also buy some brake lines cause the kit only comes with relocation brackets.

 

listen to them. they will know more much than me lol

 

Not exactly. The dana 35 was used in 00-01. Buddy of mine had one in his 01, that we swapped for an 8.25.

 

http://jeephorizons.com/tech/xjstockspecs.html

 

the way I understand it is that they were used in 2000 XJ's that had abs and in 2001 no XJ's came with abs and all got the C8.25

 

My buddies xj did not have abs.

 

Darn you iPhone and your double post

 

WOW thx to all I really didn't think this question would get much traffic...But it looks like i still need to do some more looking into this. Is there any pix or web sites I could go to and see which one is which?? Also this is a 5 speed manuel... not sure if that matters or not. I will start another thread about lift kits. Thx Again

 

You can also measure the diameter of the axle tubes. IIRC D35 had 2 3/4" tubes and C8.25 had 3" tubes.

 

here you go.