ok I am planing on building a mild trail rig that will be for the wife when said and done, but my question is 30/35 combo will I be wasting money to chromothe front axle and running 33's or maybe 35's on there. Or should I just go ahead and look into axle swap?

axle swap, at least the 35d anyway!

yeah do an axle swap for the D35. I found a D44 from a 87 cherokee for $200 at a junkyard. Or grab a Ford 8.8 out of an explorer and use it.

yeah do an axle swap for the D35. I found a D44 from a 87 cherokee for $200 at a junkyard. Or grab a Ford 8.8 out of an explorer and use it.

x100000000000

Turdy five is junk. Seen em break with 32's. Swap that out fo sho.....as stated look for an XJ 44 (they are rare so good luck) or find a 95+ Ford Exploder 8.8. The 8.8 should win hands down though. Can be had for 100 or so depending on your salvage yards. It will have disc brakes, and 31 spline shafts. They also commonly came with 4.10 gears and a limited slip too. Only thing youll have to do is relocated spring perches and shock mounts, then get a flange adaptor for the driveshaft and your done. Oh and brakes. MORE offroad will have everything you need and resonably priced.

The 30 is ok. Its not a great axle but not a bad one either. You (granted your wife is driving ) should be able to make a 30 on 35 rubber last. If you intend to wheel it hard, expect some broken shafts.

how much stronger is an 8.8 than a 35

A fawking ton! Lets compare numbers....

D35.....Either C-clip or not....
27 spline at 1.16" dia.
7 5/8" Ring Gear
2.62 axle tubes ( not sure wall thickness but it aint much)

Ford 8.8 C-clip
31 spline at 1.31 spline
8.8" Ring gear (how it gets its name along with any other ford rear axle pretty much)
3" Tube .500 wall

I would say 2-3 times stonger than a 35. I ran 38s on mind and never broke it.

WAY, I broke my 35 numerous times with 35's barely wheeling. my 8.8 i have wheeled the hell out of with 37's and no issues at all. just did its winterizing this weekend and no twisted splines or anything 3 years now.

I already have a 8.8 exploder rear, out of my old ranger with a 302 in it geared with 4:10's.. I guess I was more worried about the front, 30 with the chromo's

8.8 exploder rear, out of my old ranger

So which is it? Did you swap a Exploder rear into the Ranger or are you talking about an 8.8 that acctually came from a Ranger? Theres can be BIG diffrences.....not all 8.8's were 31 spline.

i would look in to getting a hp44/9in ford. i found a set for 250. usally they come with good gears and can be strong. easy to swap in

i would look in to getting a hp44/9in ford. i found a set for 250. usally they come with good gears and can be strong. easy to swap in

X2 Thats what I did.

No regrets.

how much stronger is an 8.8 than a 35

If you build it correctly, it will be just a hair weaker than a stock D60.

So which is it? Did you swap a Exploder rear into the Ranger or are you talking about an 8.8 that acctually came from a Ranger? Theres can be BIG diffrences.....not all 8.8's were 31 spline.

i have a 8.8 out of a exploder that was in my ranger, but its to wide, we put air ride on it and need something a little more narrow so the wheels will tuck