Hello,

I have a 97 Cherokee Country (XJ 4-door) with the Dana 35 rear axle @ about 175k miles. I use it for light farm work, light towing, groceries, home depot, etc. Also using stock size tires.

I had all the bearings replaced about 30k miles ago, and now it's making a low groaning noise above about 20mph. I saw where some people recommended to just swap it with a dana 44a. Is there a certain model/year I should look at to get a direct bolt up? Mine has leaf springs and the 9" drum (I believe they're 9"). I know that the drive shaft will have to be shortened to use the D44a (if those come in a leaf spring version?), but anything else needed if doing a D44a swap? Or is there another recommendation for a better match?

Looking for cheap and easy for light duty..

Appreciate any advice I can get..

 

Just grab another 35.

They are cheap and easy to find. Especially if you dont plan on running giant tires you will be fine.

You can find them for like $100 or less and they are not hard to swap in.

 

as stated, grab another dana 35 rear from another XJ or better yet, snag a Chrysler 8.25 from another XJ.. the dana 44a was installed in the grand cherokee's.. while they are not terribly difficult to find, i wouldn't get one...

 

make sure to get a 97+ 8.25, they are just as strong as a 44 and will be cheaper and easier to install.

 

Do I need to worry about gear ratios? Or should any Dana 35 or 97+ Chrysler 8.25 work as is? Just wondering what I need to ask the 'junk yard' when I call?

I remember I put an Astre rear end in my Vega back in the day and it really kicked up my top end (going down hill with a stiff wind..).. lol..

 

Make sure your replacement rearend has the same gear ratio as your frontend.

 

i wouldn't worry about calling, they usually don't know gear ratios or anything anyway. been awhile since i researched gear ratios in a jeep, but you can prolly figure it out in the vin number. just make sure it matches your front axle unless you want a higher number which might be a better choice if you ever think about putting bigger tires on it. then swap the front to match. another thing i didn't think about is i believe the 8.25 is non abs and the d35 is abs, so you might need to modify some stuff there to get it to work.

 

I guess I'd be able to figure out what my front axle is, but how would I know what the ratio is on the one I get from the junk yard?

Basically, if I can find another d35, what do I need to look at/do to ensure it will work on my Jeep? We need both our vehicles, so this has to be able to be done in one weekend. Are there big variations in the d35's that are out there? Or is a d35 a d35, one size fits all?

 

As long as you swap in an auto with an auto, or manual with a manual (whichever yours is), there is a pretty good chance they will have the same ratio (3.07 for manual and 3.55 for auto.) There are differences in this axle. As stated above, some were ABS, others were not. As well, some had the limited slip differential, others did not (I believe) This last point is only marginally important, it just means that you should add one bottle of friction modifier every time you change the diff fluid for the LSD equipped models. Other than this, I'll leave some of the fun for someone else to pitch in! If there is anything else of course...

 

Thanks for the help.. My Jeep is auto, with abs and no LSD so I'll look for one like that..

 

Gear ratio:
Look at the tag on the diff cover.