Has anyone broken a Dana 35 1541H axle shaft?

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If so, what were you doing when it broke, and did you have a rear locker?

I'm just curious. I never broke a stock axle shaft, but I now have Revolution Gear 1541H axles shafts. I wonder how much more they can actually take. Admittedly, I was always easy on the stock shafts. still don't plan on hammering it on the trail, but I feel a little more condfident now. I also have Detroit TT's, so no stock carrier or spider gears to worry about.
 
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I have been curious as well.

Then there are 27 vs 30 splines. And there seems to be two extreme opinions on two.
30 spline - locker and 35's are good to go, feel free to go up the mountain and roll off the cliff, it will survive.
27 spline - nope, waste of money, same as Dana35, touch it and it will snap in half.
Makes no sense.
 
I have been curious as well.

Then there are 27 vs 30 splines. And there seems to be two extreme opinions on two.
30 spline - locker and 35's are good to go, feel free to go up the mountain and roll off the cliff, it will survive.
27 spline - nope, waste of money, same as Dana35, touch it and it will snap in half.
Makes no sense.
I don't do hard trails, but I've owned my Jeep since the summer of 2008 and have never broken anything. Mine is now "upgraded" as of the other day with 4.10's, Detroit TT's and 1541H rear shafts on a Dana 35. I agree though, that opinions are all over the map. Back when I first got my Jeep, most of the forums made it seem like the Dana 35 would break if you gave it a stern talking to. Those same people claimed they just broke at a stop light, or pulling into the mall parking lot (I never believed those stories).

The Super 35 is stronger, because it has 30 splines and is bigger, but it cannot be as you said, Super 35, super strong, 27 spline alloy 1541H super weak.

This forum is more truthful than most.
 
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If so, what were you doing when it broke, and did you have a rear locker?

Not yet but I’ll be trying again today 😜

Seriously though I try to be pretty responsible, too much money in this pig to abuse it. I’ve followed the S35 issue for a few years but haven’t seen or read about anyone breaking a shaft however I’ve read a couple accounts of people breaking other components. One was a guy that broke two ring gears and the other was a locker that exploded.

it cannot be as you said, Super 35, super strong, 27 spline alloy 1541H super weak.

I’ve never heard of a 27 spline 1541 breaking either but I’ve also never heard of anyone using them so they’re kind of hard to break if they’re all still sitting in boxes at the factory. Since they’re the same size as stock but made of a stronger material it stands to reason that they’d take more abuse than stock though how much would be hard to quantify. I mean if the company says they’re 10% stronger than stock does that mean I can push the gas pedal down 10% further, climb a 10% steeper grade, put a 10% larger tire on? I think I’d only consider them if I was already fairly confident that my stock shafts were strong enough for my purposes but also wanted a little more peace of mind; if I wanted to significantly increase my planned strain on the axle I’d skip over that choice, there's just not enough information out there, anecdotal or otherwise, like there is with the 30 spline.
 
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About 6 years ago (when I wasn't on this forum and didn't know much about the Dana 35 in my Jeep), I was getting ready to go to Moab and wanted a rear locker. I checked and I saw I had 27 spline axles, so I ordered an Eaton electric locker. Had it put in along with Yukon 4.56 gears and I have the stock 27 spline axles and running 33" tires. So off I went fat dump and happy to Moab, through "Hell's Revenge", " Fins & Things" and a few other trails and I had a great time. I didn't beat on my rig or go crazy. I get back and talk about my trip to other Jeepers. They hear what I had in my Dana 35. All of a sudden it's "OMG", I can't believe you made it through.... I'm living on borrowed time and all that. Well, this year went to Moab again. After all that talk, I don't want to change everything out, I did okay with stock axles, so for a little peace of mind I add the Revolution 27 spline 1541H axles. Went through the same trails and made it back alive with no issues.
 
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My thoughts are if they didnt last no one would make them as they would lose money on warranty replacements. Obviously the larger 30 spline shaft is going to be stronger but what exactly is the breaking point of a 1541 27 spline shaft?
 
Saw a friend break BOTH 27 spline Dana 35 shafts at the same time on 35’s in Hot springs.

I went the Super 35 route for a while. Though I never broke a shaft, I kept blowing the side gears out of the Detroit Locker.

Driving Style and usage is really the determining factors in all these Dana 35 discussions.

Edit: Forgot to mention that the shafts my friend broke were made by Superior. Not stock shafts
 
Saw a friend break BOTH 27 spline Dana 35 shafts at the same time on 35’s in Hot springs.

I went the Super 35 route for a while. Though I never broke a shaft, I kept blowing the side gears out of the Detroit Locker.

Driving Style and usage is really the determining factors in all these Dana 35 discussions.

Edit: Forgot to mention that the shafts my friend broke were made by Superior. Not stock shafts
Superior not only made stronger alloy shafts, they also sold stock strength carbon steel replacement shafts that might have been slightly stronger but not by much.
 
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Superior not only made stronger alloy shafts, they also sold stock strength carbon steel replacement shafts that might have been slightly stronger but not by much.

I don’t recall. I just know they had the metal red/silver disc that said superior axle on them. The disc that was prone to fall off shortly after install.
 
Saw a friend break BOTH 27 spline Dana 35 shafts at the same time on 35’s in Hot springs.

I went the Super 35 route for a while. Though I never broke a shaft, I kept blowing the side gears out of the Detroit Locker.

Driving Style and usage is really the determining factors in all these Dana 35 discussions.

I don’t recall. I just know they had the metal red/silver disc that said superior axle on them. The disc that was prone to fall off shortly after install.
That red/silver disc indicates it would have been their alloy shafts but being 27 spline, not even they were up to 35's, lockers, and tough trails. That's what their Super 35 kit with 30 spline 1541H shafts was for.
 
Also while going through old threads on this subjects, it seems like many people completely confused 1541 30 spline on dana 35 with 4140 30 spline chromolys on dana 44.

Thus when they come to Dana35 thread they start throwing wrong facts and claming 30 spline is 40% stronger compare to 27 spline.

Even some of the vendors claim this crazy % difference in product description.
 
According to Dutchman, 27 spline forged alloy 1541 shafts that are made in America are 25% stronger than the factory axle shafts in the Dana 35.

The TJ Dana 35 utilized 1039 axle shafts, correct?
 
Not yet but I’ll be trying again today 😜

Seriously though I try to be pretty responsible, too much money in this pig to abuse it. I’ve followed the S35 issue for a few years but haven’t seen or read about anyone breaking a shaft however I’ve read a couple accounts of people breaking other components. One was a guy that broke two ring gears and the other was a locker that exploded.



I’ve never heard of a 27 spline 1541 breaking either but I’ve also never heard of anyone using them so they’re kind of hard to break if they’re all still sitting in boxes at the factory. Since they’re the same size as stock but made of a stronger material it stands to reason that they’d take more abuse than stock though how much would be hard to quantify. I mean if the company says they’re 10% stronger than stock does that mean I can push the gas pedal down 10% further, climb a 10% steeper grade, put a 10% larger tire on? I think I’d only consider them if I was already fairly confident that my stock shafts were strong enough for my purposes but also wanted a little more peace of mind; if I wanted to significantly increase my planned strain on the axle I’d skip over that choice, there's just not enough information out there, anecdotal or otherwise, like there is with the 30 spline.
I would advocate to reading in depth about different alloys and their respective tensile and yield strengths. Compare and contrast.

For example; a 1040 alloy has a yield strength of 106,000 psi and a 120,000 psi tensile strength. (Shaft build dependent)

Compared to a 1541 alloy with a 164,000 psi yield strength and a 181,000 psi tensile strength. (Shaft build dependent)

The long way of explaining where the XX% comes from. I still have a lot of learning and reading to do myself. Someone please correct me if I am wrong. @Jerry Bransford

Yield strength is the point in which metal (carbon in 1xxx cases) is permanently deformed.
Tensile strength is a measurement of how much stress a shaft (for example) can take until it reaches it’s breaking point.
 
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Also while going through old threads on this subjects, it seems like many people completely confused 1541 30 spline on dana 35 with 4140 30 spline chromolys on dana 44.

Thus when they come to Dana35 thread they start throwing wrong facts and claming 30 spline is 40% stronger compare to 27 spline.

Even some of the vendors claim this crazy % difference in product description.
Right? It’s a bit juvenile to compare two different axles against one another. One being modified with upgraded carbon or even chromoly shafts and one being stock with factory carbon shafts.
 
Obviously the larger 30 spline shaft is going to be stronger but what exactly is the breaking point of a 1541 27 spline shaft?
See post #13 above.

Overall tire diameter, overall crawl ratio, engine tq, axle shaft diameter, and axle shaft material all play a roll in shaft selection.
Different materials, both carbon and chromoly, carry different yield and tensile strengths. That is what determines at what point your shafts will carry a high probability of breakage.
 
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Btw, reading through his build thread this morning.. @Justin Homan has broken a Dana 35 chromo shaft while wheeling.

Here’s to hoping he might be kind of enough to explain how it happened.

From my understanding, he should have not had chromo shaft in Dana 35 to begin with.
@Steel City 06 in one of my previous threads pointed out that it is a big no no, for which i am super grateful to him.
1541H is what you stick with due to hardness of the the bearings.

"According to Dutchman, 27 spline forged alloy 1541 shafts that are made in America are 25% stronger than the factory axle shafts in the Dana 35"
^ could you point me to this?
I was not able to find any US made 1541 when i was searching for shaft replacement.
 
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From my understanding, he should have not had chromo shaft in Dana 35 to begin with.
@Steel City 06 in one of my previous threads pointed out that it is a big no no, for which i am super grateful to him.
1541H is what you stick with due to hardness of the the bearings.

"According to Dutchman, 27 spline forged alloy 1541 shafts that are made in America are 25% stronger than the factory axle shafts in the Dana 35"
^ could you point me to this?
I was not able to find any US made 1541 when i was searching for shaft replacement.
Dutchman Axle makes their shafts right here in the USA. https://dutchmanaxles.com/jeep-stock-replacement-axle-c-clip-single.html

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