Upgrading my Dana 35

[carmaniac57]

Hell All,

I am running 34's on my '90 YJ and currently have the stock 27 spline Dana 35 in the rear. For that matter the front Dana 30 is stock as well. I have heard that the stock 27 spline Dana 35 seem to break when running bigger tires. I have been very lucky that it hasn't broken on me while on a trail up till this point.

I have been looking at the upgrade kit by Alloy USA that comes with the stronger 30 spline shafts and an ARB locker. Is this the right way to go or should I be looking into a different axle all together. I am just worried that I could buy this kit for the 35 and it break on me anyways in the future.

Does anyone have an opinion on the best way to spend my money without regretting the decision later. I just want to get into some harder wheeling but hesitant till I fix the axle situation. Thank you in advance.

Donald

[xthread]

35/44

find a dana 44 that bolts right up .throw in a locker and some superior axels and presto done .no more worries .at least that part anyway .!!!!

[MY4D9WILLYS]

find a dana 44 that bolts right up .throw in a locker and some superior axels and presto done .no more worries .at least that part anyway .!!!!

Ditto!

[carmaniac57]

Now would the dana 44 be a good option for the front as well or should I stick with the Dana 30. Also what would a good donor vehicle be to pull them out of?

I found a Dana 44 out of an MJ or one out of an XJ. Would either of those be a good candidate. I was figuring the XJ 44 would be a closer fit than any others. Thank you guys for helping out with the direction on going toward the Dana 44.

[6spdYJ]

A set of outers from a '95 will give you bigger u-joints and support 35's pretty well if you are not too agressive. As for the rear 44, you have to go to Canada to find a YJ 44 that will bolt right in. The MJ/XJ is the easiest swap - just relocate the spring perches. Check jeepaholics.com for some good info on 44 swaps.

[NAILER341]

I'd avoid the Alloy USA parts and look into the Superior Super 35 a an option. The dana 44 is good and all, but so is the Super 35 kit.

It all falls back onto what your budget is.

There are a lot of viable options for you since you re a YJ owner. Damn near anything can go under there with minor work.

The 8.8 is a great option for many. Weld on some new perches and away you go.

The Superior Super 35 kit has a wonderful reputation and is known to withstand some pretty heavy wheeling on up to 35" tires. Their failure rate is minuscule.

If you aren't ready to lock the rear and don't plan to anything in the near future, there is a shaft only swap that they offer for a 35% gain in strength.

It really depends on what your goals are in running the trails.

Are you planning to flog your rig through the rocks in JV?

http://www.superioraxlegear.com/tube...html?deep=true

[carmaniac57]

Oh I want to have both axles locked and ready to go. I have no problem banging her against some rocks. As for a good gear ratio for being a driver and a crawler would the 4.88 gear ratio be a good choice for the axles. I plan on putting a 4:1 converter on the transfer case such as the Terra Flex. Any thoughts on that piece of machinery?

When you say JV did you mean Hungry Valley on March 19th. If so I am definitely thinking of going up there for the weekend with the girl. Are you planning on going to the event nailer341 or anyone for that matter. I would love to meet some of you guys and gals out there. I don't think I could get the axle conversions done in time but I will sure try.

I'm leaning towards the superior super 35 conversion for the axle with the ARB locker but I am still not knocking down the idea of a 44.I'm just looking at what would be the best bet for longevity reasons. The 35 conversion looks like a sweet deal and good quality stuff.

As for the Dana 30 in the front. Would it be in need of an upgrade at the same time as the rear and get it done in one tear down or could i just re-gear it and throw an ARB locker in there and be done with it. Also would a slip yoke eliminator be a good choice to put on the transfer case while its apart?

Should I be looking to do anything else while I'm under the jeep? Thank you guys for all the info it's a big help.

[USMC 0369]

Oh I want to have both axles locked and ready to go. I have no problem banging her against some rocks. As for a good gear ratio for being a driver and a crawler would the 4.88 gear ratio be a good choice for the axles. I plan on putting a 4:1 converter on the transfer case such as the Terra Flex. Any thoughts on that piece of machinery?

[COLOR="Sienna"] Okay, I'm a rookie too, but I can field a couple of these. I have a '90 YJ, and I've done a couple of these things and can only talk in a limited capacity. Erik (Nailer341) has a LOT of experience with his YJ and I generally take his advice.

I run 4:10s right now because I have 33" tires and don't want to wind the engine out trying to get it up to 55mph. Your gear ratio in the axles is (somewhat) tied to the tire size & if you plan on driving it on the pavement extensively. Or so I've been lead to believe.[/COLOR]

When you say JV did you mean Hungry Valley on March 19th. If so I am definitely thinking of going up there for the weekend with the girl. Are you planning on going to the event nailer341 or anyone for that matter. I would love to meet some of you guys and gals out there. I don't think I could get the axle conversions done in time but I will sure try.

[COLOR="sienna"] I don't think Erik was talking of any specific event, but rather the type of wheeling you plan to do. Johnson Valley is a whole other level of rock crawling. Although you can build a rig to run JV trails and drive on the street (see Erik's rig, and Kurt's (Rat Patrol)). You're going to pay for it and make some major modifications. If you're concerned about building up a Dana 35, then I don't recommend taking it to JV just yet. Johnson Valley will most likely eat it quick. Although people have made it through with a D35, it takes quite a bit of finesse. I don't know your wheeling experience; if you feel comfortable, don't let me stop you.[/COLOR]

I'm leaning towards the superior super 35 conversion for the axle with the ARB locker but I am still not knocking down the idea of a 44. I'm just looking at what would be the best bet for longevity reasons. The 35 conversion looks like a sweet deal and good quality stuff.

[COLOR="sienna"]Superior is quality stuff. I ran the Super 35 kit for years. I got lucky and someone gave me a kit when they upgraded to a better axle. But, and here is where Erik once tried to advise me and I didn't pay attention (I wish I had). When I did finally kill my Super 35 (my fault, not Superior's product) I went to the junkyard and bought a Ford 8.8 rear. The advantages are too many to pass up. I don't have the picture of D35 shafts next to an 8.8, but they're so tiny it makes me wonder how I made it so long with the 35. You get rear disk brakes, and with the Superior Super 88 kit you get the added strenght of Superior shafts and the kit eliminates the c-clip type axles.[/COLOR]

As for the Dana 30 in the front. Would it be in need of an upgrade at the same time as the rear and get it done in one tear down or could i just re-gear it and throw an ARB locker in there and be done with it. Also would a slip yoke eliminator be a good choice to put on the transfer case while its apart?

[COLOR="sienna"]The Dana 30 is pretty damn stout as is. I did just as you said, threw a locker in there and was done with it. My only breakage has been in the u-joints at the knuckle. Not fun to play with on the trail, so I am looking to upgrade with Superior's Super 30 kit which upgrades the shafts to 30 spline and includeds a ARB. I'd recommend looking into it, you'll save money in the long run by not buying two ARB's.

Looking at your avatar, if that's your Jeep, I would think you've already done a slip yoke eliminator on your T-case. The slip yoke is needed to reduce the drive shaft angles when you lift the Jeep away from the rear axle. Using a constant velocity (CV) driveshaft can help reduce your vibrations also. I would definately do that if you haven't already. [/COLOR]

Should I be looking to do anything else while I'm under the jeep? Thank you guys for all the info it's a big help.

[COLOR="sienna"]I've shaved off my shock mounts and brought them up so they don't hang down below the axle and get hung up on everything. That was a personal demon of mine, but if you're going to do extensive axle work, maybe think about it. Hope I haven't rambled on too much.

Remember, I'm a noob (essentially) too, if anyone thinks I'm steering him wrong... PLEASE speak up.[/COLOR]

[6spdYJ]

I won't knock the Super 35 stuff. But for practicality purposes, having a stock(ish) axle allows for easier and typically cheaper replacement parts when something breaks.

A goofy thing I stumbled onto is a simple formula to find a fairly close tire size to gear ratio. What tire size do you want to run? Divide it by eight. So say 35's 35/8=4.375. So, 4.26's are close, but bump up to 4.56. How about, I have 3.55 gears, what's the biggest tire I can run without major problems? Let's see 3.55x8= 28.4. Best to stay close to stock. What about 54's? 54/8=Rockwells. Obviously it's not carved in stone, but it will get you close.

[bails85]

dude the hp 30 is a strong axle alreay a 44 really isnt worth the swap. im going the 8.8 route because it is stronger than the 44 and it comes with disk brakes. people will argue the 8.8 and 44 strengths because the 8.8 has c clips but ive never really heard of anyone snapping an axle in the 8.8 and 4.88 will be way too low 4.10 would suffice 4.56 would probably be about right. 4.10 gearing came stock in hp 30 and 8.8s 4.56 youll be paying to re setup the ratio.

[6spdYJ]

With the 2.5, 4.56-4.88 will be the way to go. If you swap them out, let me know what you'd want for the gears.

[NAILER341]

4 : 88 all the way.

Nick, you and I need to talk about some Super 88 stuff sometime soon as I am changing to a 9".

[dirtman13]

With the 2.5, 4.56-4.88 will be the way to go. If you swap them out, let me know what you'd want for the gears.

Umm...gear ratio choice is determined off tire size and tranny used not engine size.

[Mitch]

Donald,

I have over 200 runs on my 88 YJ with the Super 35 set-up. I've done a bunch of hard rocky trails with great success. I have broken an axle, but that was my fault and know how to help prevent it. There are also people that go out and break 44's. So a lot is the in the driving style.

I do have an extra rear Chromoly Dana 35 30 spline axle set (Non C-Clip) for sale as well as a dana 30 axle set that by passes the 2 piece passenger side axle set up. PM if you are interested. Might be a way to upgrade and save some money.

Mitch

[6spdYJ]

Umm...gear ratio choice is determined off tire size and tranny used not engine size.

Granted, but the 2.5 has never been known to be a powerhouse. Look at the excessively simple formula. Engine size isn't part of it. All it deals with is gears and tire size. And, as I said it just gets close. Compensating for the known lower output of the engine, simply compensate by dropping the gear count a bit.