WJ/XJ Dana 35 to TJ swap

Dvaniwaarden11

Dvaniwaarden11

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Hello all,
I’ve got a 97 TJ at the shop getting the rear axle regeared/new axle shafts etc. my mechanic was about to throw the axle shafts in that were for a Dana 35 out of a TJ when he realized the bolt pattern/sizing (or something, can’t remember his exact phrase) didn’t fit. He called his gear guy and found out this Dana 35 in my TJ wasn’t the stock Dana 35. I bought this Jeep a few years back from a guy who had recently bought it from a friend, it has 160k miles on it and it was driven hard so this isn’t the first curveball I’ve gotten.

My question is, is there any difference in length or specs that someone could tell me about which would tell me which vehicle this Dana 35 came out of?

I’d like to know just for my own knowledge, but it’s pretty strange because I don’t know why someone would swap axles and put the same old Dana 35 under this Jeep haha.
 
Unless they were extremely careful cutting,grinding and welding there would be evidence of brackets being cut off and rewelded. Xj is leaf springs and the grand cherokee uses different geometry. You could try to find wheel mount surface to wheel mount surface measurements for the different vehicles as another clue.

Another scenario is your jeep already had aftermarket shafts.

Or this mechanic is an idiot.....
 
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Can’t speak for he mechanics abilities because it’s my first time working with him but he was recommended by multiple people I trust.

I was only getting new shafts because I had some broken teeth so since I was regearing I figured I’d upgrade the shafts. If they were aftermarket what would be confusing about that to him? I understand how all of this is done, I just don’t have the shop or room to do the work myself, which is why I’m having him do it.
 
Dvaniwaarden11 said:
Can’t speak for he mechanics abilities because it’s my first time working with him but he was recommended by multiple people I trust.

I was only getting new shafts because I had some broken teeth so since I was regearing I figured I’d upgrade the shafts. If they were aftermarket what would be confusing about that to him? I understand how all of this is done, I just don’t have the shop or room to do the work myself, which is why I’m having him do it.
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You aren't providing a clear explanation of what or if there is even a problem. So i am providing a wide range of possibilities to match
 
My apologies, here are the two photos he sent me. One of the measurement on the old shafts and one on the new shaft that doesn’t fit. The plate is wider on the “stock” shafts that we’re taken out of the axle housing than the ones that should have fit the TJ Dana 35.

IMG_2749.jpeg
IMG_2750.jpeg
 
Dvaniwaarden11 said:
Well, guess I have a phone conversation for the morning. Mixed feelings about this but the plus side is that’s the cheapest modification I’ve had to do on my Jeep yet haha.
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Another bonus is your stock axles will be just fine.

Hopefully he didn't try to put any Dana 35 parts inside the diff that don't belong there
 
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Yeah probably not anymore. Talked to my mechanic and he said that it was a 44. But that he had order shafts for a TJ 44? In the picture I posted on this thread it looks like on the right side there’s evidence of where the leaf spring mounts were located. Does anyone here agree? I think there was just not good communication between myself and my mechanic because that would make the most sense with the info he gave me.
 
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Dvaniwaarden11 said:
Yeah probably not anymore. Talked to my mechanic and he said that it was a 44. But that he had order shafts for a TJ 44? In the picture I posted on this thread it looks like on the right side there’s evidence of where the leaf spring mounts were located. Does anyone here agree? I think there was just not good communication between myself and my mechanic because that would make the most sense with the info he gave me.
Click to expand...

It is hard to know what you have without a lot more measurements and pics. The biggest thing standing out is that the rear shocks look like they are too long and bottoming out. There isn't much up travel
 
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