Topic: Chrysler 8.25 upgrade?

[neale_rs]

Lately I've noticed quite a few Cherokees with Chrysler 8.25 rear axles instead of the Dana 35c.  Since nobody seems to complain about the 8.25 like they do about the 35c, would this be a good upgrade?  Does anyone on the board have some experience with the 8.25?

Thanks

[oldjeep]

8.25 is near the strength of a Dana 44, but does have c-clips.

[Jeffy]

Locker/LSD selection is/was a bit more limited then with the D35 or D44.  But if you're not going to go with +35's, then it's a decent upgrade.

[neale_rs]

Sounds good.  There are probably a lot more around than Cherokee D44s.  Thanks.

[yellowta]

You can get lockrights, detroits, I think the ARB's are coming out this year... the only down side is that they won't hold anything higher than 4.56's. So in a 4 banger, you will not want to run better than 31's with it. In that case, you might as well stick with your D35 

[neale_rs]

I was thinking 31s with a locker.  On the D35 that combination would most likely result in broken axle shafts.  But I agree, if you are going to upgrade then you might as well go all the way with a Ford 8.8 or D44.

[jcsanders79]

Most people break d35's with 33's (probably because that is the most common offroad size) but I have seen pics of stockers breaking them, lockers help snap D35's but not a guarante.  I have gotten away with a lot of harsh abuse on a D35 but last week I saw a kid snap one on his first time ever off road.  They seem to be hit and miss at times but the bottom line is the D35 is the weakest link in your Jeep. Replace it with something, as far as the gear ratio 4.56 and 4.88 aren't so different that you can't get by with 33's but it you have dreams of 35's I would consider something besides that 8.25.  If you do actually break it those C clips will put you in the same predicument as a D35.

[yellowta]

There's a guy in our local club with a six cylinder YJ that ran 33's for about 6 years on a D35 with a lockright. Some people just get lucky I guess. I still don't believe all the hype that it will abslotuley break. I have seen an XJ on 31's do some pretty hairy stuff with no problems on a D35, as well as another friend with a YJ on 33" MTR's and D35 that ran it so hard on the trail that the motor blew the rings, axle was fine. I'd say it's hit and miss, and that you can't believe all the hype and heresay on the web. Personal experience speaks louder than words on a page  Not saying that your D35 will not break, just saying don't think that it's some friggin ticking time bomb or something. Rant over

[neale_rs]

There is often a tradeoff between capability and reliability.  Since I sometimes go off-road with my wife and daughter I tend to go for reliability before capability.  Following this rule, I would swap out the D35 before using a locker, regardless of tire size. Nobody will disagree that a D35 with locker is less reliable than the same D35 with open diff.

[JBFried67]

If you decide to go the 8.25 route, make sure you get one from a later model XJ.  I'm not sure when, but the earlier model axles are only 27 spline while the later have the 29 spline axles.

[neale_rs]

Good point. Thanks for the heads up.