Topic: Who has broken their D35

[01amberfirewv]

I have heard so many different things about this axle.  As of now my plan is to go with Alloy shafts, 4.88s, truetracs, and maybe a truss. It seems like I could do all of that for the same price as just doing an 8.8 or D44.  I have heard that that is a waste of money the D35 will break for sure and also that a 8.8 or D44 would be overkill for my 2.5.

If is held up what kind of wheeling do you do?

[trailblazer95]

you should add an option of broken shaft AND ring & pinion.   :D

[Spelo]

I'd be curious to know if anybody has ever broken a 'trussed' D35.

With 31" BFG, 4.10 gears and moderate desert off-roading, my D35 has held up well.  I was thinking about upgrading to 33", 4.88 and a truss in the next year or so.

[shotgun]

mind you this is just my experience, but  I have only seen TJ's break the 35. Mind you some of the YJ's have done pretty radical stuff for a 35.

I know a guy that goes everywhere with his 4.0L and 37's hasn't broken a single shaft, tooth, or anyhthing else.

Another guy can break a warn chromoly dana 30 shaft before his OEM 1992  35 axle shafts with 34 ltb's.

I run a welded 1987 35 with 34 ltb's

Not one axle is trussed. But I have seen a poor or inexperienced drive bust a  TJ 35 with a 2.5L

[StefanBidi]

I'm riding on 31" tires with open diff, but wheel pretty hard.  I think, most of the time, people are in the heat of the moment and forget to let off the gas pedal.  Probably, the worst thing you can do is add a locker.

[Grundar32]

i Blew the living snot out of my spider gears .. cracked the carrier and ended up rebuilding next to the whole damn thing .. in hind sight i should have just done a swap but you know what they say ......

[Jeffy]

I had mine hold up fine but then again, I wasn't running a locker of any type or drive with a heavy foot.  Only ran 32x11.5 radials on aluminum wheels so they were light.

The biggest contributors to broken axles are larger tires, locker, heavy foot.  Have one of the three and you'll probably be fine.  Two of then and you're just waiting for something to break sooner or later.  Three, and you better have spare shafts.  Also, you can damage the axle while offroad and not have anything appear till later on.  Which may make it seem unrelated.

Dana 35's have several weaknesses.  Small axle, when overweight, will flex at the tubes.  This will eat side and spider gears over time.  The Ring gear is only 7.5" and when you go with lower gears the teeth get smaller.  (The Pinion gear is really small already.)  C-clips aren't a problem but the axle shafts are.  The axle shafts tapper a few inches away from the splines.  This is where all the axles break.  Since the C-clip is on the spline end, it does not retain the axle shaft and so that slips out if the driver doesn't notice what happened right away.  (They use C-clips becase they are easier to install on the factory assembly line.)

[01amberfirewv]

Here is another question;

If I would break something how hard is it to change on the trail and what tools would I need.  i will probubly get the experince sooner or later because I wheel with guys who run D35's and S35's with lockers, big tires and very heavy right feet.  

Are limited slips (i.e. True trac) as bad on the axle as full lockers?

This debate is really killing me.  I have had so many people tell me that I should just go with the 8.8 but have never heard of having one installed for much under 1K (including axle).  It seems like I would be better off selling my Jeep and just getting a Rubi :oops:

[trailblazer95]

well, being prepared is always the best thing on the trail.  to survive a D35 break, here's what i'd recommend.

-1 spare set of shafts, you'll most likely break your drivers side.  
-Full English & Metric toolset with ratchets, sockets, and breaker bar
-4 Qts of Fresh Gear Oil, most people reuse old stuff, but it might have metal in it, so i wouldn't recommend it
-Magnet to pick up broken axle pieces.  They sell one on a pen-like retractible thing at autozone.  Use it to clean out the tube, carrier, housing, everything.  Metal bits will destroy it, I've got an D35 ARB that's proof of that.
-Garbage bags to collect broken pieces and oil.  
-Hi-Lift Jack and possibly a jackstand, for safety reasons
(lots of equipment to haul just for ONE breaking part)

I would say you'd be safer with a limited slip rather than a full locker, like a detroit, electrac, or ARB.   it's jumpy, so it'll lock the wheels in and out, which will definitely put more strain on the shafts, but you'll be loading and unloading rather than adding a solid force on it at all times... Which could be good or bad.  Ultimately  the choice is yours, but I'd suggest you consider an axle swap.  for you, maybe the TJ D44 would be the best choice.  check car-part.com for junkyards that have them around you.

[Bounty Hunter]

I hope to not jinx myself here, but I've bashed on my '95 D35 pretty hard with no problems, even one rockcrawl comp where I blew out the slipyoke.  I've been running it with a lincoln locker (welded diff) for a few years now, on and offroad.  Never a broken part.

In order of differential type, from least likely to break an axle to most likely, I'd say:

Open Diff
Limited Slip
Lincoln locker/Spool
Auto Locker (Detroit, Lunchbox locker)

The two most important tools for D35 axleshaft replacement:

1/4" 12pt. box end wrench (center pin retainer bolt)
telescoping magnet

With a 4banger, I always recommend keeping the 35 and carrying extra shafts, or upgrading to the Ford 8.8.

You would be surprised how easy a spool is on the 35, compared to the harsh sudden locking of an auto locker during wheel speed.

[Jeffy]

well, being prepared is always the best thing on the trail.  to survive a D35 break, here's what i'd recommend.

I would say you'd be safer with a limited slip rather than a full locker, like a detroit, electrac, or ARB.   it's jumpy, so it'll lock the wheels in and out, which will definitely put more strain on the shafts, but you'll be loading and unloading rather than adding a solid force on it at all times... Which could be good or bad.  Ultimately  the choice is yours, but I'd suggest you consider an axle swap.  for you, maybe the TJ D44 would be the best choice.  check car-part.com for junkyards that have them around you.

Let me elaborate a bit more on this.  There are three different types of lockers.  Manual lockers and Auto lockers and the two main camps.  In the Auto lockers there are subdivided into carrier and the lunch box lockers.  Manual lockers are not jumpy.  Basically you have a full spool (or Lincoln locker ) when they are turned on.  They do not disenguage until the user turns them off.  You get the best on and offroad experiance possable with these lockers.

Carrier auto lockers like the Detriot, or more specifically the Detroit No-Spin SoftLocker is rather smooth also.  They have added some extra springs so the dog teeth enguage quietly unless under a load.  The new Detroits do not ratchet like the older ones though. With these lockers you do give up some onroad driveability but you get a bulletproof locker.

Then there are the Lunchbox lockers.  These replace the side and spider gears in the carrier.  There are several weaknesses in this design.  One, they use the stock carrier.  Two, they only use one crossshaft to distribute the load.  (Detroits and most Manual lockers use 2.)  Because of the size inside the carrier the locker has to be compact.  Lunchbox lockers will usually ratchet like the old Detroits did.  They sometimes disenguage when you don't want them to also.  When they reenguage they will eat themselves if you're under load(ie., stuck.) .  Most people will tell you a lunchbox is ok for the front but wear out rather quick in the rear.  Onroad they will let themselves be heard.  They are inexpensive and can be swapped out for the original spiders in 30 minutes so you can easily remove them for daily driving.

Now onto LSD's.  LSD's are catagorized  from Tight to Loose.  This is in relationship to the Bias.  Tighter LSD's have a lower bias ratio while looser ones have a higher ratio.  LSD's like the Auburn were notorious for twisting off the ends of axle shafts for a long time.  They were popular in the 80's and early 90's.  Other tight LSD's are the TrueTrac and the Powerlok.  to give you a better idea about biasing, a TrueTrac will bias up to 2.5:1.  That means the tire will turn no more then 2.5 times before the other tire turns once.  The Auburn and TrueTrac uses gears so there is little wear happening.

On the other end of the spectrum is the Eaton Track-Lok.  This is a simple design that is common on many OEM applications.  These are the optional LSD's that Jeep has used.  Basically, they look like regular open-differential carriers but to one side are some clutches and some springs.  The clutches slow down the faster turning wheel and tries to bias the power as evenly as possible but becase of the design, it will be somewhere around 4-5:1.  When the clutches get old they will loosen up until they act like open-differentials.

LSD's are smooth though.  If you drive on a daily basis and don't want to compromise the ride and don't have enough for a manual locker then a LSD is your only option.  They will require as much install as a full carrier will.  They aren't cheap either.  If you want locker performance, then get a locker, otherwise you will be dissappointed.  If you still want a LSD, get one of the tighter ones.  If you plan on having a LSD up front, be aware that the Jeep will exibit understeer.  This isn't noticed with Lockers becase they disenguage when corning.  LSD's will fight back though.

The most common reason for breaking an axle stems from getting stuck.  The driver will try to spin the tires which sometimes causes it to bounce.  This bouncing motion adds a lot of shock to the driveline and axle shaft.  Larger tires will give the axle more leverage but that can work against it because of the shock load.  Compound that with a locker.  Many times the locker will unlock then it will lockup.  (Open-diffs will send power to the tire with the least resistance so this saves you from damaging parts.)  Then add the heavy throttle.  Fast moving parts, bouncing then grabbing will break parts.  Now that's not the only scenario but probably the most common.

Here's one of my friends.  Happened while I was doing my D44 swap.

[DRW]

nice pic of old red Jeff.

That was one hell of a day. We were climbing some old waterfalls. I tried to easy up on a ledge that that was about 3 foot tall, got the front wheels up, and then the back. the back bounced a little when i got it on the ledge and snapped the passenger back axle. Broke right at the splines.  As i backed down off the ledge, the axle and tire started to come out. We had to strap a fence post under the axle to use as a skid. I had to drive back down 2 rocky waterfalls to get to pavement, then several miles of pavement to get back to highway. ended up calling a wrecker to come haul it home.

Anyway, just wanted to say Hi, haven't talked to anyone since i moved away from Hawaii in Nov 2000. Living in NW Montana now.

Had to sell Old Red last year to pay bills, One of the worst days of my life. Didn't really drive it much up here anyway, as i have 2 polaris sportsman ATV's. They are pretty much like a minature rock crawlers, and go about anywhere. Anyway, my e-mail is 1mightymouse@rmtnnet.com. Good to see u are keeping 4bangers alive and well : )

Danny White
Hamilton, Montana

[01amberfirewv]

Here is another, I know there are alot of variables but which would be harder on an Axle?  Larger tires, 33 x10.50 on aluminum rims or heavier tires 31x10.50 or 31x11.50 TrXus Mt's on stealies?

[NCJeeper]

I broke the stock D35 axles with 31's and a rear Lock right.  Since then (bout 5years ago or so) I've added Moser axles shafts and have been ok since...although, I'm thinking of going up to 35's...and I'm not too sure they'll hold..... :?

[FourbangerYJ]

Broke both shafts at once. Running 31's and a Lockrite.
About a year after I switched to 4.88's the R&P went south.
Switched to a D44 and it's been trouble free.