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D44 or ford 8.8

1K views 7 replies 5 participants last post by  jeepwayoflife 
#1 ·
Hey y'all I have an 02 tj with stock axles. I'm looking to upgrading the rear. I have 33s and not trying to do anything extreme but I want to not have any worries of my d35. I've heard both were amazing, but I'm not trying to spend an arm and a leg for it. 8.8 sounds like a better choice for me to rip out at a junk yard but what are y'all's opinions.

Wavey!
 
#2 ·
If you find a tj Dana 44 for cheap, I would go with it. The 8.8 will require lots of cutting and welding as I'm sure you know while the Dana 44 would swap right in. I'm not sure about the 8.8 but I know the 44 is about 1" longer at the pinion yoke than the 35, so you may need to slightly shorten the driveshaft if you still have a stock one. I read that normally those with a 3"+ lift do not have to shorten it, but its something to keep in mind. I searched on and off for a few months until I found a Dana 44 from a 2001 tj in good mechanical condition for $350. I just cleaned the internal parts, painted the whole thing, and added new brakes. It came out pretty good. If you don't have any luck with a Dana 44, the 8.8 is a nice option.

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#5 ·
Locking up a D35 will just make it weaker. It'll add more tension on other parts. The best thing you could do towards a D35 is Superior's Super 35 kit. Which eliminates the C-clip, adds 30 spline shafts and a locker. Believe the kit cost somewhere around $1000. Your better off building an 8.8 or looking for a D44. My 8.8 build is costing me about $1200, which is pretty darn good for a locked up 8.8 and it'll be stronger than a locked up D35 for sure. A lot of guy's here will tell you to not waste a dime on the D35, and i would trust them. They know what their talking about.
 
#7 ·
I was in this same delima, I was looking to upgrade the axle and was debating between the 8.8 and 44. I wanted to do the 44 cuz it was easier but I couldn't find one priced right, I was about to pull the trigger on the 8.8 and start ordering stuff(artec truss, brackets etc,) and then I found my 44 on craigslist, ended up getting it for 700 bucks and it already had a grizzly locker in it,, so hunting and looking around pays off usually just depending on how patient u are, I will say that when I put the 44 in it was easy as pie, but my driveshaft was to long and I had to shorten it a little bit until I could order my tom woods, I have a 4 inch lift with a auto transmission for the record.
 
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