I would really love to run 35's on my 87 XJ. It is currently all stock with a dana 35 rear. Anyone know how well it will hold up till i get a d44, and what problems might i run into. also gonna add a locker any preffered brands for the XJ...?and one last thing i would to hear any suggestions on gears for the d35 turning 35's..?

Well, it will last with a locker if you do two things. Take it easy and don't put any tires on over 31". I have an Ausie Locker in mine and it held up just fine in some heavy wheeling on granite. But I just creeped around with it. 35s are the limit on a 44 unless you get alloy axles. You can upgrade them to 35 spline axles with either an ARB or Detroit I think. You need 4.56s for 35s

i ran 35s on my 99 xj with the dana 35 for a year, before 35s i had 33s and wheeled the hell out of that jeep. i never had any issue with the 35, granted most of the stuff i did was mud and some trails. my buddy had a 91 on 31s with the dana 35 and he broke 3 sets of spider gears and tore the teeth off 1 ring and pinion and he had that jeep for 2 years.

it seems to be hit and miss with the 35.

never the less it is a crappy axle. an 8.25 29 spline will hold up just fine to 35s depending upon what you are doing.

My 2 cents, drop the D35, don't put money into a weak link. just get a 8.25, d44, 8.8. they can be found cheap, buy gears/lockers/shafts for something that will hold up over the long term. If you where keeping it 32's-33's biggest tire and where VERY easy on it then maybe the D35 would be ok, But talking about 35's and lockers on a D35 is just a bad idea as far as the money invested goes. Save them money of doing it twice and put the moeny into a axle thats better suited from the start.

I can't put it better than gorillaxj just did... Good point about long term thinking with set up..

Yup, all it takes is one break of your D35...then it's junk, you likely need to pay for a tow, and you end up buying a new axle anyways. I'd say it's well worth it to get a better axle. If you can afford setting your rig up for 35"s you should be able to easily afford a used/junkyard axle.

the older xj have the non c clip dana 35 they are stronger than the c clip models 35 can be run just dont lock the axle im running 38s for over a year had 33 previous for over 5 years no issues there are numerous people running large tire on the 35s with no issues,as with any axle you run they will break even one tons

8.25 is super easy to convert to disc brakes, too. You can go Grand Cherokee or Liberty with little modification.

thanks for the responses fella's, I guess i'll be hitting the u pull u pay junkyard for the next few week-ends.Any idea what models i should look for the better axle under..?

97+ C8.25 cherokee (96 and older are 8.25 too but the axle shafts aren't as strong, but are still good)
87-89 D44 cherokee (I think its just hose 2 years?)

both bolt into your with only needing new U-bolts.

aint gonna find a dana 44 unless your very freakin lucky been looking for 5 years around here look for the 8.25 if you auto get one from a auto vechicle same as stick gear ratio should be same,4cyl ones got 410s get front and rear easy gear upgrade

^x2
C/8.25s can be upgraded to 1541H 29 spline shafts for $200-$250 and will make it stronger than the stock D/44 and the C/8.25s are easier to find and generally cheaper to buy.