Hey first post, hoping someone can help me out. Are there any heavy duty aftermarket axles out there for a Dana 35? It is the factory rearend in my 03 Grand Cherokee. I have a lockrite in it and it behaves really well but would like to put a little better axle shaft in it. I am only running 31s so I am not greatly worried of busting it. Swapping a 44 in is not possible right now so I am going to have to go with this one. It is a bolt in axle by the way not a c clip with factory 27 spline axles, a Super 35 kit might be doable later but not at the moment either. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks

First lesson from Pirate 4x4 dot com.........

Don't waste one minute or one penny on a D35... it is a JUNK axle. No matter how much you polish it, it will ALWAYS be a turd.

First lesson from Pirate 4x4 dot com.........

Don't waste one minute or one penny on a D35... it is a JUNK axle. No matter how much you polish it, it will ALWAYS be a turd.

well that being said, I already stated I can not replace it at the moment, so I want spare axles for it. Was hoping someone could point me toward a decent set and then I will save the used ones as spares.

Little Jeep is right. Even with 31s, the grand is a heavy jeep and that weight plus the locker can mean trouble.

If I were you, I would take some extra stock shafts from a junk yard D35 and keep them with you for spares until you can afford an upgrade. Most people here would say that the upgrade should be a swap to a better axle. A swap will be a much better investment and won't cost a lot more than the Super 35 kit. If you absolutely have to keep the D35 in there, the Super 35 would be the best option for strength increase. You can get stronger shafts for it as is (27 spline) from anywhere - warn, superior, Alloy USA, but don't waste the time. Get the junk yard spares and use that money in the upgrade.

Another quick note - a lot of people have gone with stronger D35 components and then swapped to a better axle - you may be able to get some stronger shafts from those people for cheap. Keep an eye on the classifieds here, craigslist, wherever you are feeling lucky.

Brand new stronger shafts will likely cost at least $300+

If I were you, I would take some extra stock shafts from a junk yard D35 and keep them with you for spares until you can afford an upgrade.

This is good advice. If you are not breaking now, why not just get a set of stock shafts, and hope for the best. Until you can upgrade to a better rear, of course.

I keep 2 complete sets in my garage and take 1 set with me when I go riding. This is temporary until I replace the turdy-5 with an 8.8.

There all right. The 35 is a complete waste of time to invest money in. I understand you wanting a little warmer feelin in your tummy but regardless what you do to a 35 you wont get that feeling.

With 31's your breakage percentage is marginal. Not saying you cant break it, but unlikely. I would just carry a set of stock shafts and replace as necissary. As for aftermarket, Im not aware of a single company that offers stronger shafts for 27 spline 35's. The Super 35 kit upgrades to 30 spline so those will not work.

As for the Super 35....dont even consider this. Yeah it beefs the internals to comparative strength of a 44 but then your left with a weak housing that I assure you can and will bend or twist or break eventually making your 1200 dollar invesment worth dick.

Get yourself some stock replacment shafts and hold all coin until you can drop it into something worth a shit. Like an 8.8 or a pair of waggy 44's.

I learned the hard way about 35s, however I did get a lot of miles on a Warn full float kit.The tubes and ring & pinion become the weak point.With 31 and the limit that tire size will make on the type of wheeling you do you would have little problem. Negitive side ,cost about the same a the supper 35.

I did get a lot of miles on a Warn full float kit.

I bent 3 of those shafts and cracked 1 spindle, now I run a 9"...

Thanks for all the advise, was hoping someone other than chrysler made shafts, dealer shafts are expensive and non of the local parts houses have rear D35 shafts for a WJ go figure. Guess I will try a junk yard, the one closest to me will not pull axles, they want to sell the complete set up. Maybe I can find a cheap 44 but then I will have to regear the front as it is my understanding that all 44s that will be a dirct bolt in will be 3:73 and mine are current 3.55s. Also then I am stuck paying out the ass for a aussie locker that is probably used and I since this is my DD I do not want to do a swap that will require alot of fabbing to get it right like a 8.8.

If you were running a D35 in a TJ and it was open diff, I'd tell you to give it a shot. However, a Grand is a lot heavier of a vehicle and therefore a higher risk to the D35. Add a locker and you just about guarantee the death of your D35.

Since your WJ is coil spring all the way around, fab work is going to be required to swap to almost any axle. Some WJ's have the D44-A's (A = aluminum tubes, example WJ's with Quadra Drive) in them which should be a bolt in, but I am not sure they are worth the $$ and effort to make the swap.

Since your WJ is coil spring all the way around, fab work is going to be required to swap to almost any axle. Some WJ's have the D44-A's (A = aluminum tubes, example WJ's with Quadra Drive) in them which should be a bolt in, but I am not sure they are worth the $$ and effort to make the swap.

A is NOT AL tubes. It's an AL center housing.

OP,
Just get a S35 kit or some CroMo 27 spline shafts. That WJ will never see a tire big enough to hurt them without major body surgery.

The D-35 is a pile of shit waiting to leave you broke down. Its a good axle for a Golf cart.

Allot of fabbin my ass.

Get an 8.8 out of a Crown Vic 1996, or a MKVIII or newer with disk brakes. Most likely it's a 31 spline.
It's 3/8 of an inch wider on each side. Stronger Axles than a D-44.
I got mine COMPLETE with great rotors for $165 at the U-pull it yard in Tampa.

an 8.8 will suck ass in a wide body WJ.

The dude has bolt in axles not the fucked up TJ shit. So open your brain before speaking out your asses.

EDIT;
The damn truck in 2003 grocery getter with more residual value then most of our beat to shit TJ's He also might still be under 7/70 warranty. GFL getting the FORD 8.8 past Jeep for transmission warranty issue....UM, sorry buddy your trans if fuked because you put the wrong rear end in. That'll be $2600

an 8.8 will suck ass in a wide body WJ.

The dude has bolt in axles not the fucked up TJ shit. So open your brain before speaking out your asses.

EDIT;
The damn truck in 2003 grocery getter with more residual value then most of our beat to shit TJ's He also might still be under 7/70 warranty. GFL getting the FORD 8.8 past Jeep for transmission warranty issue....UM, sorry buddy your trans if fuked because you put the wrong rear end in. That'll be $2600

lol, actually just rolled 70k but I have an aftermarket 100k warranty bumper to bumper as well, so yeah a non OEM swap is out for a while.

an 8.8 will suck ass in a wide body WJ.

The dude has bolt in axles not the fucked up TJ shit. So open your brain before speaking out your asses.

EDIT;
The damn truck in 2003 grocery getter with more residual value then most of our beat to shit TJ's He also might still be under 7/70 warranty. GFL getting the FORD 8.8 past Jeep for transmission warranty issue....UM, sorry buddy your trans if fuked because you put the wrong rear end in. That'll be $2600

I'm Sorry my YJ is not beat to shit. I respect it and knowing HOW to drive is a plus. Putting larger tires on it will fuck up your warrenty. But then I could give a SHIT less about a warrenty. I know how to fix my shit, and have most of the tools to do it.

But that's what I want to do ask about maintaining a factory warrenty on Pirate 4x4.:shaking: You want to maintain your warrenty then don't mod anything untill it expires. NOT even the tire size
The dealer will look for any excuse to void a warrenty. Truth is any axle can bolt right in. A Crown vic axle is 63 inches WMS to WMS NOT the 59 inches the exploder axle is.:flipoff2:
You get an 8.8 out of an F-150 if you want Hell......
You can put Rockwells in it made to bolt right in. They make kits for all the trimmings to weld on.
http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc313/fa_ranger/Jeep%20work/Philippines1007.jpg

And you can replace the gears. But if you worried about warrenty then leave it alone.
http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc313/fa_ranger/Jeep%20work/Philippines1022.jpg

http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc313/fa_ranger/Jeep%20work/Philippines1011.jpg