Did my 33s kill my Dana 35?

deadbeat son said:
How do you use the ~10% larger diameter S35 shafts without a correspondingly sized locker? Do they fit in the stock carrier? Do the stock 27 spline spider gears fit on the 30 spline shafts?
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You have to have a different differential with 30 Spline axles, but it doesn't have to be a locker.

However without a locker I wouldn't worry too much what I do with an open stock carrier. Though I might add that the PO swapped to 33s and did have issues with the OEM open carrier, but it could have also been the 200k miles too that did it.

Do I think it makes sense to do all that work without a locker? No. I don't think he needs anything but new gears and maybe new bearings and seals. If he WANTS to go another direction, now is a good time to do it.
 
Go to the junk yard and pick up another Dana 35 for a couple hundred bucks or fix yours and upgrade the shafts.
p.s. I know someone that ran 35s on a Dana 35 for 7 years with no issues. Mild offroad use.
 
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BugoutJeep said:
My local junkyard wanted almost $1000 for a Dana 35 with 3.07s. Just FYI, not all is equal.
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DAMN! I had a Jeep with 3.07s and got front and rear axles with 4.10s from a 4 cylinder for $300 (pair). People on craigslist are practically giving them away to get rid of them.
 
My junkyard is useless for most stuff. They have nothing for Jeep or Dodge 3/4 Ton or bigger. You can go on ebay and get one for $600 shipped to your door I think.

I don't do much on Facebook, but I occasionally look there and if it's available, it's junk.
 
BugoutJeep said:
Slightly bigger axle shafts and new differential. The axle spline count is increased to 30 and you need 1541 alloy axles and not chromoly ie 4140 or 4340. Often this kits do include a locker, but that's not necessary.

I think these are slightly more robust than a OEM Dana 44. Some of us do prefer a Dana 35 for clearance, but it limits many builds because of strength for typically just really large LOCKED tires.

For your purposes I would just regear and go on, if I couldn't find an axle to swap out for a good price. Technically you don't even have to regear, but you'll lose 4wd and I'd probably rebuild my transfer case in the near future, because it seems like these chains can stretch.

In my area, finding someone to regear is expensive, so you might be able to find an axle, but I couldn't find one someone hadn't done major damage to.
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I should clarify that I agree with what you’re saying, in theory. However, I don’t believe that an open differential for a Super 35 application actually exists. I believe the only differentials for a Dana 35 with 1.31” diam. 30-spline axles are locking differentials.

I’ll happily eat crow if someone demonstrates otherwise.
 
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deadbeat son said:
I should clarify that I agree with what you’re saying, in theory. However, I don’t believe that an open differential for a Super 35 application actually exists. I believe the only differentials for a Dana 35 with 1.31” diam. 30-spline axles are locking differentials.

I’ll happily eat crow if someone demonstrates otherwise.
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You're probably right on that part, though part of me kind of wants to see if there's some internals one could swap around. Also I thought I saw an open carrier somewhere or maybe it was the spiders that could be used in an open diff, but honestly it's kind of a moot question for almost all TJ owners.

There's a problem when I installed my Super 35 kit at least I think it's in the rear end, so I'm still debating to grab one of these axle assemblies sometime to swap out and confirm my suspicion.
 
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BugoutJeep said:
You're probably right on that part, though part of me kind of wants to see if there's some internals one could swap around. Also I thought I saw an open carrier somewhere or maybe it was the spiders that could be used in an open diff, but honestly it's kind of a moot question for almost all TJ owners.

There's a problem when I installed my Super 35 kit at least I think it's in the rear end, so I'm still debating to grab one of these axle assemblies sometime to swap out and confirm my suspicion.
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It's unfortunate you're not closer. I have a complete 35 you could have for nothing.
 
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Irun said:
It's unfortunate you're not closer. I have a complete 35 you could have for nothing.
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I appreciate the offer. I'm really just at the point I have to fix my truck (which I drug my feet on for more than a month) and then I won't need my Jeep for a few months, so I can go through the rear end and the transfer case properly.
 
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My Dana 35 in the YJ had 225k miles. I bought it with 33's and sold it with 33's, so at least 6 years of fun time on it 4 of those with 4.88s.
I'm betting on less 'wear and tear' and more 'lack of maintenance'
 
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