Rear differential went out at 60 mph

[Buckz6319]

Good thing I was able to make it to the ROW of the road I was on..This happened on Thursday 12/5/24 @ 7:00 AM.. on my way to work about 25 miles from home..

For you expert differential rebuilders..
I would like to know what could have caused this and any internal parts are salvageable.

Thank you.

 

[Feralkid]

Looks like water got in. I wouldn't reuse anything but the axle shafts. Is it a stock Dana35? It may be cheaper to just swap it out.

 

[Buckz6319]

Looks like water got in. I wouldn't reuse anything but the axle shafts. Is it a stock Dana35? It may be cheaper to just swap it out.

I though about water possibly intrusion…it is a Dana 35 with stock 3.73 gears..I need to evaluate what to do..cash flow is low..so, I will take time to think and research all my options..before making a decision

Thanks

 

[macleanflood]

I've still got my stock Dana 35 carrier and 3.07s if you want them.

-Mac

 

[Buckz6319]

I've still got my stock Dana 35 carrier and 3.07s if you want them.

-Mac

Mac sir, I do appreciate that offer and if I was not so far away from your location..I would take you up on that offer.

I’m looking in my surrounding areas…it there a rear Differential from another jeep model that would be the same setup as mine..seems like used parts with the ” TJ” name cost way more than like Cherokee ect

 

[macleanflood]

XJs, ZJs and Liberties all used D35s.

You might want to call around to all your local 4x4 shops. Odds are someone is chucking one into a metal scrap bin.

-Mac

 

[Feralkid]

XJs, ZJs and Liberties all used D35s.

You might want to call around to all your local 4x4 shops. Odds are someone is chucking one into a metal scrap bin.

-Mac

Would a ZJ rear be a direct bolt in to TJ?

 

[macleanflood]

Would a ZJ rear be a direct bolt in to TJ?

No. I think they use springs and brackets are in different spots.

You could weld correct brackets on, or pull the pinion and carrier and move it over.

-Mac

 

[Buckz6319]

I do appreciate all the info…this happened at a bad time..on the morning this happen…I was going to leave work early so I could get home that afternoon to spend precious time with our very old English lab ”Sam”… on his last day he would be with us…we peacefully put him to sleep that evening (vet home euthanasia) ..no more pain for Sam..it’s just not the same around here even though we have another elderly dog “ Charlie” who I believe is in mounting as we still are…all will get back to normal..whatever that is and life will move forward ( can’t stop the ticking away of time)

I will figure out what to do and how to do it so, my wife can get her car back soon as possible

 

[kam04LJ]

in my experience you can grab a TJ Dana 35 for free or even a few hundred bucks if you absolutely have too.

Few hundred and direct bolt in might be best deal to just drop it in and drive your jeep again. Unless you are really using the jeep offroad a 35 is fine.

 

[Buckz6319]

in my experience you can grab a TJ Dana 35 for free or even a few hundred bucks if you absolutely have too.

Few hundred and direct bolt in might be best deal to just drop it in and drive your jeep again. Unless you are really using the jeep offroad a 35 is fine.

In my area..I have not found a Dana 35 with 3.73 gears that doesn’t look like junk, leaking fluid or over 500.00 bucks .

I believe I’m gonna talk to my Caterpillar - loader repair mechanic and ask if he would help me change out the internals of my current damage differential.
I believe it’s gonna be my best option since I can not get the rear of my jeep high enough to have the suspension drop.

Thanks !

 

[kam04LJ]

Its just my opinion, but dont let a leaking Dana 35 deter you. They really only leak from a few places and all are easy to fix. Pinion seal is a $5 fix and diff cover leaks are cheaper than that.

I am merely providing context, but a random mechanic likely will not do the best job on a gear rebuild. Its a hard job to do. Let alone without the actual specialized tools. You are probably in for a few hundred bucks by the time you buy all the gears/seals and you havent paid for the labor of the swap.

At that rate, even 500 bucks starts to look like an ok deal for something already working.

If you are set on going down this path, people on this forum will help a ton! I did my own rebuilds with the help of this forum.

 

[C5TJ]

You could always check here to see if any local salvage yards have one:

https://www.car-part.com/index.htm

 

[Buckz6319]

Its just my opinion, but dont let a leaking Dana 35 deter you. They really only leak from a few places and all are easy to fix. Pinion seal is a $5 fix and diff cover leaks are cheaper than that.

I am merely providing context, but a random mechanic likely will not do the best job on a gear rebuild. Its a hard job to do. Let alone without the actual specialized tools. You are probably in for a few hundred bucks by the time you buy all the gears/seals and you havent paid for the labor of the swap.

At that rate, even 500 bucks starts to look like an ok deal for something already working.

If you are set on going down this path, people on this forum will help a ton! I did my own rebuilds with the help of this forum.

I understand…decisions decisions
Thanks

 

[Buckz6319]

I can find front and rear differentials in my area with 3.07 gears- $600.00 for a pair ..but I have read and hear they are not as beefy as the 3.73 and even if I was interested…a swap would be difficult for me at age 61..and I can’t even get my rear of the jeep elevated enough on stands to even remove the rear differential since I’m working on ground at my farm and not on a concrete slab..

 

[kam04LJ]

Yeah I don’t necessarily think you should do the swap. But there’s a huge difference in skill and labor between swapping a new housing (easy) to rebuilding the internals of your existing housing (hard).

Most shops would swap or even source a used rear end for you assuming you sign a waiver saying no warranty.

 

[Buckz6319]

Yeah I don’t necessarily think you should do the swap. But there’s a huge difference in skill and labor between swapping a new housing (easy) to rebuilding the internals of your existing housing (hard).

Most shops would swap or even source a used rear end for you assuming you sign a waiver saying no warranty.

I understand..I’m still searching for that elusive used 3.73 rear differential in my area.
I will update this thread..once I find what I’m looking for and get it installed

Thank all for your help!

 

[BlueC]

I understand..I’m still searching for that elusive used 3.73 rear differential in my area.
I will update this thread..once I find what I’m looking for and get it installed

Thank all for your help!

Not quite in your area, ATL is about a 6 hour drive from them, but I'd bet these guys have shipping available. They usually have a few Jeeps they're stripping.

http://marshautoparts.com/used-auto-truck-parts-search-nc.html

 

[Buckz6319]

I wants to update ya’ll on what I was able to do.

Saved up some cash and had the rear differential totally rebuild including new rear break shoes and wheel cylinders.
I had the jeep towed to a local Jeep and 4 wheel drive repair shop just down the road from my home. This shop has been in business for over 50 years and they don’t advertise…they get customers referrals by word of mouth so to speak.

They also have a yard full of old Jeep tons other older Jeeps that they sell parts off of to customers and I believe they do ship used parts also.

The owner is super nice and at age 74 he personally worked on my Jeep and took great care of me…he even let me come in on a Sunday afternoon to use one of his lifts so I could get my Jeep high enough to remove the transmission short skid plate so I could change the fluid and filter ( not the TQ fluid at that time). I was so appreciative of him letting me do this.

I’m off all next week and I’m going there to his shop just to chat a bit and take as much time as I want to just look around at all the used jeeps he has and some J-10s and some older Grand Cherokee’s that in the 70s

 

[Gilaguy23]

Looks like the left side carrier bearing went south. This allowed a bunch of left/right movement of the carrier which in turn ruined the R&P gears. I cant see the pinion, but based off the ring gear damage its all in bad shape really. A patch job will lead to a later failure and more repairs unfortunately. Hope you made out OK on the repairs.