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Axle question

1K views 13 replies 11 participants last post by  hedonist 
#1 ·
To some of you, I sound like a noob cake. Hey, I am and I respect and appreciate every word you guys contribute to help me out.

Question: I have stock gearing with 33s and a 4 inch lift. I'm happy with the power even though I mainly keep it on 4th on the freeway due to not having enough power to climb much in 5th.

Is having these wheel size putting a strain on my rear end? I don't mash, burn out, or throw rocks. I respect my Jeep but when I see mud, I have a little fun. I also love trail rides. Does having bigger tires and a lift significantly reduce the life of the axles. My neighbor said that the axles are one of the most expensive parts of a Jeep and those break. He said he changes his axle grease every 3k; WOW!!!
 
#2 ·
Of course larger tires are putting strain on the drive train. Do you know what rear axle you have? If its a Dana35, they are the weaker ones and have a bad rep for breaking with tires over 32" tall. If taken care of and not abused they can last though. Your neighbor is right with them being expensive, but there is no need to change the diff fluid ever 3k... more like every 4th or 5th oil change.
 
#7 ·
Describing how you wheel and drive your rig, I'll say that your 35 will hold up pretty well. People have wheeled much harder on it and it survives (and this is coming from a guy that can't stand D35's, and if mine had one I'd change it before I even got it home). But mine lives in the rocks and that's a different story. As far as our TJ's go you don't have to grease anything. There are no hubs and such like your neighbor is speaking of. I'll say to just change your gear lube at least twice a year to keep everything fresh.
 
#8 ·
Yeah, where I live, most of the TJ's don't see too much hard wheeling, and the D35's are pretty common, and I can only remember ever seeing one or two that came apart from anything that wasn't begging for carnage. You should be fine for trail rides and mild stuff of road.
 
#9 ·
Not to jack the thread, but how does re-gearing work? I plan on getting some 31's soon, and I don't want my gears to be so screwed up that I'll destroy something. Will I need to regear going from 27's to 31's?
 
#11 ·
it pretty much just restores your power loss when going to bigger tires. sometimes you cannot use your top gear because the RPM's are too low so its sluggish and you have no power in the top gear. i wouldn't worry about regearing with just 31's. what engine do you have?
 
#13 ·
ok go underneath the back of your rig and look at the rear differential (from the rear where all the bolts are) On the left side of the cover there should be a small metal tag that has bunch of numbers on it. Look for either 3.07 or 3.73 or 4.11 or something and tell us what it is.. might be even another number. While you're down there take a look at the plug on the differential cover (middle of the cover) is it black plastic/rubber or is it metal? since you've got the 4 banger i'd assume its black rubber/plastic
 
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