THe way an open diff and LSD opereate is it allows one wheel to spin slower then the other when turning when you weld it or spool it one wheel cant turn slower so thats where you get te chirping from your tire is basically skipping across the pavement when turning

 

I have mine welded and drive it daily on 33s. If you don't mind a little noise while turnin corners it's not bad at all!

 

Oh alright makes sense. Thanks

 

because when you are turning both tires are forced to turn at the same speed over different distances. this means one tire has to give, and dry pavement vs rubber means worn tires.

edit: didn't realize this was already answered.

i'll admit, i've never done this so my advice(rather, opinion) is based on internet advice. but i would never do this do my DD, hell i'm not even really happy with my lunchbox locker. just be aware that it will handle a lot different then an open diff. my jeep is my DD and my work truck, i want i street friendly ride.......so much so that i think i may just save up for an ARB or elocker. all that said, i think all the posts by people who have done it say that it is doable and manageable on a DD, just be careful.

 

I really won't care about the noise. Seeing as I have to deal with a lot of noises already lol. (my struts r shot) and I hav a kicking system

 

Whats peoples thoughts on welding up the spiders on a dana 35 rear? I go out wheelin about every weekend, and only drive my jeep to school and back which is only a 11 mile round trip. So whats ur guys thoughts on welding a dana 35? Im running 33's but im a really light skinny pedal wheeler. And i have stock gears for now. Im going to re gear to 4:56 down the road when i have the cash. But will the dana 35 hold up to a welded dif?

 

Youre going to get a lot of negative opinions on that one. It still comes down to what the terrain is like: hill climbs with lots of articulation and grip and it seems like it will be more likely to break if its going to. I kniw someone who ran 35"s welded on a 35, wheels suicidally and was occasionally breaking ring gears, but not shafts. Keep in mind the last I saw him he'd rolled the xj, and tore the front axle loose, so you know he was rough (this sort of thing was typical for him). Dana 35s in cherokees dont have the best track record. On the flip side, i saw several different vehicles out the last time I wheeled, a good mix of cherokees, wranglers, toyota pickups, truggys, and land cruisers. We had no brakage among the jeeps, a broken axle shaft in a toyota truggy, and a broken pinion in the land cruiser. The wranglers mostly had dana 35s

the other thing thats needed to be figured in is if you have an automatic trans. Stock gearing with an auto is way less jarring on an axle.

Auto trans: soft pressure on the axle, not easy to 'dump the clutch' and overtorque something.

Stock gears: less gearing means less torque is able to be apl
plied to the shaft, therefore less likely to break.

Open diff: if you are used to wheeling open diff and go to welded you have to be careful. An open diff can only apply as much torque to either axle shaft as the breaking traction of the least grippy tire, then the tire breaks traction and spins, lessening torque. In this way its hard to brake a shaft in any axle without mechanically damaging something (warpage or other trail damage). In a locked or welded diff the maximum torque applied to a shaft is whatever can be applied before the most grippy tire breaks traction. If it is wedged in a rock pile or hole this torque can be quite high.

In a stock setup with auto trans, you are automatically limited: if you are so stuck you cant roll over the obsticle (tire in hole) and the combo of both axles wont get you out, the trans will give a little and slip before you break an axle. Of course the you might burn up the trans.

Welding without regearing (what I plan to do for now) keeps the available torque down, but you still can get crossed up on a trail and twist. But that holds true on any axle. Regearing to 4.56, however increases the torque a bit and makes it easer to break, expecially on a dana 35.

Just my thoughts and opinions.

 

Trollhammer, thx man thats the kind of responce i was looking for.

And yes i have stock gears for now and i have an auto 4 speed trans. And when it comes to wheelin im almost always extremly light on the skinny pedal. So if u were givin the choice would u run a dana 35 with a welded dif on 33's and stock gears? When i regear im planning on getting a locker so ill pick up a new carrie at the same time. And i dont really have or can afford a set of really narley tread tires right now. So i think they will just brake lose first. And the trails i run are a clay pack mudd base, and pretty much just beginner rock crawling trails. I was plannin on using my 220 miller arc welder to weld them up, ive heard not to use a 110 mig so im pulling out the old square box and a box of 6011.

 

Its the same boat Im in. I have 27spline corperate axles in most of my XJs, which some will say are the same strength torque wise as a 35, with a larger axle housing. I have an 8.8 sitting in the shed waiting to go in, but it will cost me regearing the front axle at the very least. It has a limited slip, but in the end it will end up spooled.

For now, though, my debate is whether or not I weld mine. Anymore, i dont really see any reason to use a locker in the rear of a trail rig that is being trailered, but for anything on pavement Id lean toward a locker if one can be found cheap. This would be a personal preferance, as it would make it easier to steer (or rather not feel like im fighting it as the rear tires bind up).

As to yours, it sounds like you might be ok for a while, but if you rely on it id at least go with a locker or leave it open and look for another stronger axle to play with. I have a d35 that I will end up welding to play with, perhaps with my old 34" swampers, and see what happens, but Im not going to rely on it for anything more than fun. Im also leaning toward welding my 8.25 in my actual wheeler for now, but Id rather have a drop in part to not have to deal with my questionable welding skill.

I cant remember which axles have the same length shafts side to side, but if you can dig ip a trail spare or two, weld it up and have fun. What I have been told, and I think it was stated earlier, if you do weld a c-clip axlr, weld the side.gears to the carrier as well as to the spider gears. If you feel squirmish about it try to find a mini spool. I havent found one for yours yet, but there might be one. Some are as cheap as 25 bucks ( it was a GM at east coast gear).

In the end it is up to you, you are wheeling it and know how you need to to rely on it ( trailer vs drive home after a day in the hills vs daily driver). I have seen locked and welded d35s function just fine, and I have read about plenty breaking, but usually the ones that break axles break them a lot, making me think it more has to do with their driving style or other mechanical issue than the axle being inherantly overweak. Its the weakest axle, no doubt, but it can work for some things.

 

Thx man. I really apreciate the responces, ur giving me. And as for welding it up. I might wait tell i can find a extra axle shaft at a jy to carry with me before i weld it. Thx for all the help in making my decission. Its been very helpful! Good luck with ur rigs! An have fun wheelin!

 

probably not what you want to hear, but if i were you i wouldnt regear the 35 when you can find a 29 spline 8.25 for really cheap (comparable to the D44). I dont know about you, but i'd rather not need to do something and have the ability than have the possiblity of needing to do something but being scared to. Im not telling you to not weld your 35, im just suggesting that if you're going to drop alot of money into an axle, do it to a superior one you wont have to worry about. Overkill everything, thats my motto.
Just my 0.02 cents tho...

 

How do you know how strong an axle is until you break it? I rock a 27 spline 8.25 thats locked and ive been beating on it with 35's and 33's for 4 years. If anything the locker wore out 1st. If i where to do it again, i would of welded it instead of a lunchbox

 

lol measure the tubes

 

D35: 2.62"
8.25: 3"
D44: 2.76"
8.8: 3.25"

Tube OD just tells me what U-bolts to get, not an indication of the strength. Dont over think axles, How many people here have actually broken an axle? I havent (not including d30 ujoints) with 35's

 

I would tend to agree with that depending on the situation. Around here D35 parts are almost given away and there isnt a single 29spl 8.25 to be had for any price. People here drive their newer xjs until the cant, then insurance takes them far away. Should change soon, but if there was any around Id grab one.

On the other hand, ford 8.8s are plentiful and fairly cheap. I got a 31 spline explorer axle with disc brakes and limited slip, geared in 4.10 for $50. I still need to get new spring perches and time to weld it up, mess with the brake lines, and buy a gear for the front, so it will probably wait a while, but once that is in there i wont have to worry about breakage again for a good long time.

If you want, busted knuckle, search around. I remember a thread that discussed trail spares and which shaft to take with you. IIRC, when I replaced a shaft on my wife's old jeep (bearing ate the shaft, and she still had been on some trails before we knew what happened) I had just grabbed an overpriced JY axle and threw it in, nowlt woreying about length, thinking they were the same. Later I saw the thread and realized Id gotten lucky that the axle Id grabbed was from the same side and same type jeep (GC d35 axles are thicker, but not at the spline where it counts). It had been the only one there, and I would have grabbed the wrong one if the other had been the only one there.

By the way, if your wife's uncle goes hunting with you, rides in the back of her jeep and mentions that there might be a bearing going out on his side, probably should check it out. I drug my feet for another who-knows-how-many miles before jacking it up and lifting the tire. Eighth of an inch of shaft was gone and I had to spend a day or two irrigating the axle tube to get the powdered.metal out of it.