Ok so all the guys I wheel with are locked front and rear and so naturally they have to lug my jeep through the really tough stuff... they have really good paying jobs and can afford to just go buy whatever they want unlike me... so my question is my XJ is my daily driver... two soft turns and a long straight away and I'm at work... about 10 miles to and from.... well anyways I have a 35c in my XJ and we have a welded 8.25 laying around out back of my buddy house and I was wondering.if it would be worth it to slap that in my XJ or just stick with my 35 for now... I'm running 33-12.50s if that helps

 

might as well... just keep that 35 near by as a back up

you can get a locker for about $350

 

Swap it out. Wheel the hell out of it an enjoy it. If it breaks no big loss put ur 35 back in an your good to go. I wouldn't even blink at this

 

i second that...it'll only take a couple hours to swap the two, depending on your bolts haha

 

The strength of the 8.25 is not really the thing to consider here. It will hold up to 33's with no problem, even welded. If 10 miles a day is all you drive, then it will probably be fine. But you will wear tires much faster overall, so that is something to keep in mind.

 

I have been researching this a lot and have found ALOT of mixed emotions on the whole thing... on my days off I drive my wifes Honda due to gas mileage... thanx guys... so this time next week I will he welded in the rear

 

do it. Personally I like solid locked axles. I run a locker now and ids kind of the best of both worlds, but if I had a welded rear available to swap out my 35 for I wouldnt think twice about it, and it will make a huge differece off road

 

Yea... I'm just tired of getting logged around the trails... we come actors some rock faces and deep mud spots and I always get stuck

 

I would throw it in welded, while i saved for a full locker to repalce the carrier with.

 

don't forget to make sure that the 8.25 has the same gear ratio as your d35

 

It does... both are 3.55s.. I'm buying gears and lockers in June so hopefully she will hold up until then

 

then what are you waiting for slap the thing in

 

I'm waiting til I get off work...lol