How difficult is it to rebuild a Dana 35?

Well done. Without knowing someone’s background, I’m reluctant to suggest ring and pinion swaps.
it was a challenge but taking the time to get the pattern to match some good patterns i found online was super satisfying and worked great. at least as far as i can figure, if someone can turn a wrench and read instructions they could do it too. the chiltons manual was helpful but not a whole lot.
 
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it was a challenge but taking the time to get the pattern to match some good patterns i found online was super satisfying and worked great. at least as far as i can figure, if someone can turn a wrench and read instructions they could do it too. the chiltons manual was helpful but not a whole lot.

I also choose to do all my own gear work. Takes time as you stated. OP, you know your capabilities more than anybody. I trust you’ll make an informed decision.
 
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it was a challenge but taking the time to get the pattern to match some good patterns i found online was super satisfying and worked great. at least as far as i can figure, if someone can turn a wrench and read instructions they could do it too. the chiltons manual was helpful but not a whole lot.


The Billavista Gear Bible is the best reference I think.
http://www.billavista.com/tech/Articles/Gear_Setup_Bible/index.html
In my opinion, its not that it is a hard process, but it is a tedious process. You have to get the tolerances within thousandths of an inch. I was a spectator/extra set of hands when a friend of mine installed my rear ARB with 4.56 gears. It was a fun process and I learned a ton. We are doing it again but this time both front and rear with 5.13s in a few months. It will be good to see it all again.
 
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In my opinion, its not that it is a hard process, but it is a tedious process.

That's always the impression that I have got: that it's tedious but not necessarily difficult. Install, check pattern, remove, shim, reinstall, repeat until it's right. I've heard people doing this literally dozens of times before it's right, but that's the basic gist of the process. It can't be close, it can't be "good enough"; the pattern has to look right and the dial has to read within extremely tight tolerances. I've read a lot, watched a lot of videos, and plan to do much more before it's go time.

When I do get around to doing it later this year my TJ won't be a DD anymore so I won't be under the pressure of time constraints to get it running. I'm not wanting to do this because I'm cheap, I want to do it because... well, I just want to; it's fascinating to me. As a mechanically inclined person that is very technical and meticulous himself (to my wife's chagrin) I haven't seen any objective reason to be deterred.
 
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I would have to agree with most of the people that posted already, in my experience it is better to swap the axle or take it to a shop that can repair it correctly. Not to say a normal person could not repair it correctly, but is it worth your time to learn how to do it and spend the time to do it? I like to look at some repairs by comparing how much it would cost me to have someone else do it Vs. what it would cost me to do it. (i.e. parts, time, energy) Sometimes it could be better for you to repair it, other times not.
 
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It's my personal opinion that good results from first-time regearers are the exception. Those who do well will talk about it and say it's not hard, those who screwed it up are highly unlikely to make a public post admitting to having screwed it up.

It's significantly harder to get right than some are alluding to. So much so that not even those considered 'expert' at installing new R&P gears get it right every time. I've had two go bad... one at a shop by their best R&P guy (he was actually very good and well known) and one at a friend's home who had done a number of them. I assisted him, watched him do the math for the shims, saw all the proper measurements being done, & it still didn't go well the first time.
 
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And then there's the specialty tools; a good in-lb dial type torque wrench (50in-lbs), a decent yoke bar, a quality 400ft lb torque wrench, and a case spreader. $2000 although you can make your own case spreader and yoke bar if you have a welder and some shop skills. That will knock about 12-1300 off.
 
Find another Dana 35 with the same gearing as the Dana 30. I just sold one with 373 gears for $200.

OR

If you want to have deeper gears, just have it regeared, or DIY if you think you can. You’ve apparently done it before. Not much has changed in teh last 15 years.
 
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None of us are born with the know how to setup gears. You have to start somewhere so if this isn't you DD and you have a place to work on it and feel comfortable doing it then I say why not? I'd watch as many video's as I could to get a better understanding of the procedure.
When I did my first R&P set I was working at a Ford Dealership and the gentleman who did gear work was retiring so he walked me thru my first axle. Over the years since then I have learned a little more with each setup.
Do I think a novice shouldn't try it? No I do not. You are the only one who knows what your mechanical ability is. From reading other threads done by people who have tried I for the first time I would say what happens is that they get frustrated or get in a hurry. I have had some axles go together in 2 hours and everything was great on the first try. But then I have also had a axle that took me 3 days to finally get it right.
 
It's really not that hard if you do the research, have the tools, and proceed carefully. There are dozens of online tutorials on doing it properly, and they often overlap. Make sure you have EVERYTHING you need, and make you some setup bearings for both pinion and carrier.