Interesting. I broke a d35 shaft in my old jeep with 32s, locked, my buddy has broken 2 with 33's. so to me anyhting above a 33 is just a time bomb, again from what I have seen , not saying it isn't posible. I would just rather swap to a D44/8.25 and put money into it right off the bat then the d35.

just my opinion.

 

Why fix what isnt broken

I really think it is a hit or miss, some guys I wheel with run the d35's with no problems, others have ruined them.

 

Because of how often I see the spider gears or shafts break.

I personally dont like to take the risk of possibly having to replace a broken shaft or trashed spiders while on the trail, especially since my xj drives to all the parks and events.

But, for 33" and under, I have no issues with the d35 if driven easy

 

Same here i wheel a d35 and drive it to parks and stuff but i only have 31s and a light foot until i find a dana 44 or put a 9 inch in the rear im gunna drive lightely till then

 

Ooooh my 96 was built in 10/95 and i have the 8.25 sorry looks like mine was one of the first...lol

 

27 or 29 spline?

 

pretty sure you have a 27 spline.

 

I sure wish I would have known how sorry the d35 is before I put 4.56 gears yukon axles and 38s oh well I beat the s#$@ out of mine and its held up fine. Are the d35s that are craping out are they c clip? mine is the non c clip and I ran another xj non c clip with 35 tsl sxs and didn't break it but they both are welded and never see the pavement

 

I don't know haven't had the need or wanted to find out I just know it's a 8.25. And that it was built in 95...

 

27 spline

 

When were the 8.25s changed from 27 to 29 spline? Mine was made in 5/96, so a late '96.

 

Most likely you have 27 spl. They were changed in late 96. Late