Help with new 35" tires

Here Bill is showing the bad. The pictures tell the stories. IOW, you don't want to have a large tire on a Dana 35-C.

:)

DO NOT, put 35" tires on a Dana 35, unless you want to spend a lot of time walking back out. The Dana 35 is unquestionably THE WORST axle ever put under a Jeep, it's a testament to some bean counter at AMC, who started the plague in the first place, and the tradition of lunacy has been carried on at Daimler Chrysler. The best thing you can do with a Dana 35 is to either donate it to a scrap metal company so they can melt it down and make something useful out of it, or toss it into a pond for fish habitat.

Let us count the miseries of this axle 1) pinion bearings too small, which over heat and take out the pinion seal, 2) r& p undersized, 3) axle shafts undersized, 4) c-clip retention, 5) needle bearings at the axle ends that get overstressed under minor loads, 6) weak axle tubes, 7) low fluid capacity...the list goes on. In short, the thing is a CURSE!

Also, don;t waste money on a "Super 35" kit, either, it just delays the misery.

Guys, You put in words my worst thoughts. In fact I already broke an axle with this D35 and 33" tires, but this happened when I had my (broke) ARB locked. Right now I use only my stock limited slip dif and thought that maybe it couldn't break so easily ... Here in Portugal, where I live, it's very dificult to get a used Dana 44. One imported from USA is also very expensive so, what's my best course ? Is there any old Cheroke or Grand Cheroke or other brand 4x4 that used the Dana 44 ( here in Europe ) ? From which years ?

Thanks again,

Miguel Cunha mailto: snipped-for-privacy@netc.pt

190850 miles and still going strong on my D35. However I totally agree with you. The PO mainly used it for commuting on the highway. :)

BTW, I changed the gear oil and replaced the gaskets.

It depends what you want to do... the Dana 35 will be fine with

35-inch tires if you stay in 2wd on paved roads. The guys who are cautioning you against that combo are thinking that you are going to go off-roading. On paved roads you will be fine. And actually the 2.5L engine will work in your favor somewhat by keeping you from getting in trouble... it doesn't have the power of a bigger engine to tear up your axles so easily.

Joshua, Yes, I understand that. The problem is that the other guys are correct. I want to go off-road and specially I like to do rock crawling ...

I'm going to see if I found a Dana 44 rear end from a used vehicle, but I think it could be a long wait...

Thanks guys and good trips.

Miguel Cunha ( in Portugal )

In that case you may want to re-think the whole thing and maybe start over by switching to a different vehicle. That 4-cyl 2.5L engine is simply not going to want to push 35 or larger tires over big rocks on a long term basis. You can offset that to some extent by changing the gearing, but you will never truly be happy.

This is just my opinion, and I'm sure others would disagree, but if I had a limited budget and was in your shoes, I think I'd rather spend the cash on upgrading or trading in my jeep to get a model that is a better base vehicle all around. For what you are going to spend lifting and upgrading to 35s, you might be able to trade up to a model with 4.0 6-cyl engine and rear Dana 44. Then spend under $200 in mods for a 1-2 inch body lift and quick disconnects, and stick 32 inch tires on that puppy, and you're set. True, you won't be as impressive in height or size as guys with 35+ tires, but you'll have a better driving experience and more importantly, a better platform for future modifications.