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thekevin

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I have a 2003 4.0 42RLE 3.73s with Trac Lok. I am about to put a set of 33x12.50x15s on it and I am a little concerned with the stock Dana 35. I have looked at swapping in an 8.8 and looked at Dana 44's online and it really just doesn't make sense to me to spend that money on axles since I don't plan on going any bigger than 33's.

I was looking at the super35 kits and the axles are very reasonably priced but I am not finding any reasonably priced 30 spline lockers. I am very happy with my Trac Lok, it has been recently rebuilt and works great so I am thinking I may just get a set of upgraded 27 spline axles for it. I see some 1541H that say they are 25% stronger. I guess my real question is are they right in saying that those axles are 25% stronger than stock. I think for the way I use my Jeep that would give me piece of mind over running stock.

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IF you are never going to go any larger than 33s and will never install a locker in the Dana 35 then upgrading to alloy 27 spline axles should give you enough peace of mind knowing the TracLoc is a very light duty traction device.
 
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A guy in my club runs 35s on his dana 35 with the limited slip and stock shafts. His jeep has been through some pretty tough trails here in the northeast. The only time he broke was when the jeep had a lot of extra weight in the back he usually does not carry around. Its all about knowing how to wheel with one and knowing you can't beat on it.
 
It's been rebuilt at some point. It actually locks pretty quickly.

I did forget to mention that I am going to regear as well but I am thinking only 4.56 or 4.88. I was leaning more toward 4.56's because won't the 4.88s be a little thin in the 30 up front.
 
Jerry Bransford said:
So long as you don't install a locker your Dana 35 should be ok with 33's and the Tracloc. By the way, odds are good that your Tracloc clutch pack has completely worn out by now since they typically only last 40-50k miles. Which means, if the clutch pack is worn out as is common, that it's doing absolutely nothing for you.
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Jerry,

The OP said that he recently had the TracLoc rebuilt and it works great.... Probably still good for another 35-40K miles.
 
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I would still put a 44 or 8.8 in so that you have the piece of mind. If anything its a good project and you'll be over built which is never a bad thing.

I run 4.88's in my dana 30. Yes it starts to get tight but works well. I believe you can go up to 5.13 in the dana 30
 
I am out on a 8.8 but found a Dana 44 with 3.73s, disc brakes, trac lok for $1100 but if I did that I probably wouldn't regear for probably close to a year.
 
thekevin said:
It's been rebuilt at some point. It actually locks pretty quickly.

I did forget to mention that I am going to regear as well but I am thinking only 4.56 or 4.88. I was leaning more toward 4.56's because won't the 4.88s be a little thin in the 30 up front.
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Don't be concerned about the gears themselves. Even all the D30s regeared to 5.13 don't have ring and pinion issues. Unless you have chromoly big u-joint shafts or RCV shafts plus a front locker, you will likely destroy your axle shafts long before the gears fail.

With the 42RLE and 33s you'll want 5.13 (and not 4.88 or less) anyways.
 
thekevin said:
I am out on a 8.8 but found a Dana 44 with 3.73s, disc brakes, trac lok for $1100 but if I did that I probably wouldn't regear for probably close to a year.
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For that cost, I think a Super 35 would be more cost effective to get you where you want to go. You would need to switch to a standard locker, but the labor to put in a new carrier is negligible during a regear anyways
 
thekevin said:
I dont see a cheap 30 spline Dana 35 locker anywhere. Am I missing something?
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The only 30 spline lockers I'm aware of are the Eaton Elocker and the ARB air locker. You can usually buy them in a Super 35 kit. They aren't cheap but they are both very durable.

https://www.4lowparts.com/shop/super-35-rear-axle-kit-eaton-e-locker-Dana 35-30spl/
The best time to do the install would be with the regear. If you want a front locker as well that would also be a good time. There is also a Super 30 kit but it's generally not as needed as the Super 35
 
thekevin said:
I am thinking only 4.56 or 4.88. I was leaning more toward 4.56's because won't the 4.88s be a little thin in the 30 up front.
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Not following you here.....if you think that the 4:88's will be weak, that's an old wive's tale. People run 5:13's in their Dana 30's with no issues. I just installed 5:13's in my rig.
 
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thekevin said:
I was leaning more toward 4.56's because won't the 4.88s be a little thin in the 30 up front.
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Not...at....all. There is absolutely zero problem with that and there are zero problems with the 5.13 either even with 35's on VERY tough rock crawling trails where both ratios are extremely popular. Pay no attention to the rumors know-nothings like to spread.
 
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