[gcdcpakmbs]

I'm curious. The Dana 35 is "notorious" for breaking. I know a couple of you have stated you have seen them break 1st hand. Under what conditions? How many? Who has had one come undone personally, and under what conditions?

Just curious whether this rep is truly 'earned' or 'perceived'.

 

[04moneypit]

I did everything I possibly could to salvage my "bad" 35. I thought, I'll throw a super 35 kit under it and be okay, I did and I still broke my R&P in the sand.

 

[erickpl]

The one I saw break - guy was trying to climb a rock and was spinning and spinning - lotsa throttle.

The tire then grabbed - BOOM!

He now runs a Super 35 with Ox locker.

 

[Rawkon]

Ive had mine on lots of moderate to difficult trails with no issues. I believe its all how you handle your jeep. if your hard on the pedal and the jeep is bouncing around and not going anywhere then they are bound to break.

im on almost a year with 33s with no issues. my rear axle is open and i wheel 3 to 4 times a month. im not saying its a good axle but if you use more finesse then WOT you will have better luck keeping it together. I still carry spare shafts just in case.

Guys who i know who have blown them are very hard on there jeeps. then they break on an easy trail and they are scratching there heads on why they break. nevermind the fact that the last 5 trails there were on they were pounding the crap out of it.

that siad i still plan on swapping in a better axle so i can run harder stuff with less worry

 

[1BLKJP]

There's nothing strong on that axle. It's a c-clip so if you break a shaft or clip the whole tire is coming off. The tubes and housing is weak so it can bend and hose things up that way. The ring gear is small and weak so it's not too hard to break that. All around the only thing that's actually salvageable off that axle are the brakes.

The "Last" one that I saw break last weekend blew up the spiders gears. He wasn't getting on it or anything. He was coming thru a squeeze. I think the spiders blew up because the housing was being tweaked right then. It shot teeth out of the cover.

D35 translates into "CRAP" if you wheel "hard" at all you will break that thing. So if you are going to keep it you might as well learn how to work on it yourself to save you some money.

 

[erickpl]

There are options to keeping the shaft in place - disc brake conversions come to mind.

You can also truss the D35.

A 44 and 8.8 didn't make sense with my wheeling style and frequency. When I wheel, I wheel hard enough to flop it over and I'm not afraid to give it gas, but the 4cyl can only do so much.

The D44/8.8/D60 solution just simply isn't for everybody - plain and simple.

 

[1BLKJP]

With a little bit of welding skill or a friend who can weld you can put an 8.8 in your rig for less than 800 bucks. I'd say that is a pretty good investment for never getting stranded on some trail when no one has a D35 spare shaft and you can keep your tire on.

However that's only my opinion as was asked for on this thread.

 

[Rawkon]

then you run the risk of your axle tubes spinning on the 8.8s

Most axles are c cliped. you have to convert to a full floater kit to get rid of them. theres pros and cons to everything.

it all depends on how you wheel.

 

[1BLKJP]

then you run the risk of your axle tubes spinning on the 8.8s

Most axles are c cliped. you have to convert to a full floater kit to get rid of them. theres pros and cons to everything.

it all depends on how you wheel.

A simple tack weld on 4 opposite corners of the 8.8 alleviate's that problem.

And I would be impressed if anyone could show me a broken c-clip from an 8.8.

 

[Scoob]

My D35 broke while making a left turn after a stop sign. Was not getting on it either. Just got finished making the turn and got into second gear and "pop".
I had a 4 banger and open diff's at the time. It had been wheeled a few times before that but nothing excessive or "hard". I just pup a spare shaft in then traded the whole Jeep in 6 months later.

 

[binaryking]

Third year with 33s and no breaks. I'm pretty rough on mine.

 

[4Jeepn]

My buddy bust his about ten feet from me. Was going up a off camber hill. and bang. This was a 4 banger with a locker in the rear and 31's.

Next one was the aftermath of one. Trying to climb a hill again. seems that pressure on one side and speed are what kills it.

 

[AzTJ]

Third year with 33s and no breaks. I'm pretty rough on mine.

How many miles are on it? My TJ has just over 56K original miles... so I hope it can last at least one year on 33s before a D44 upgrade.

 

[gcdcpakmbs]

That was surprising, and educational. Looks like a 44 in my future.

 

[Moab Man]

D35, 31's, and locked rockcrawling with a four banger. Not a throttle junkie. Just the strain. Personally witnessed three other explode with this same setup.

 

[Rawkon]

yea i wouldnt lock a dana 35

 

[Mike001]

They are crap mine breaks every time I take it off road whether I'm rough or gentle or just cruising down a dirt road. Then the u-joints break. Then I have to get my cv rebuilt and it still breaks but I'm trackin that problem down. I am gonna save for better axles or sell it and get a Rubicon later.

 

[affende]

i blew up 2 D35 shafts with 33s and a stock drivetrain ... had a tracloc in the diff .... blew up 2 more shafts within the last 2 months when i stopped adding friction modifier to the diff fluid (essentially turning the trash-loc into a spool) .... although, when i wasnt breaking shafts, it was climbing really well

dont waste money polishing a turd, spring straight for a D44

 

[Mike001]

What about the dynatrac trail series D60 they arent to much more than the D44's I've seen I think the Rubi pulloffs

 

[1BLKJP]

What about the dynatrac trail series D60 they arent to much more than the D44's I've seen I think the Rubi pulloffs

Well there's never a problem having 3.5" axle tubes, 1.5" 35 spline shafts, and a 9.75" ring gear. However it can get a little expensive. For Trail Series 60 setup for a TJ with a locker is going to run you about $3900, but well worth it.