Hey all i have a 97 wrangler sahara that came standard with the 30" wheel package and i was wondering what axle and gearing it has. Im almost sure its a dana 35 but the tag on the left rear reads 3.55 gears. I do not have any factory limited slips or anything so im guessing it was a mistake by the dealer. Is it possible that the dealer slapped on the 3.55 gear tag on a dana 35 or does this tag mean that my housing actually has 3.55's and my axle is in fact a dana 44? Any input would be appreciated.
I honestly don't know which axle I got... didn't get the larger tire package....but as I was reminded yesterday on a silty rain slicked road...I don't have ABS either!! hehe
I realize this has been asked before....but the 44 is the superior axle, isn't it?
35 not being a 'BAD' bit of hardware but that it's just a 'lighter duty' axle?!
I'm not 100% sure on this, but damn close -- I think you probably have a D44 in the rear.
I have a 1997 Sahara as well, and it has (or actually had) 3.55 gears, and has a Dana 44 rear. I believe, from what I read when I was buying this jeep a couple years ago (I could be mistaken, it was a couple years ago, after all), that the 3.55 gearing implies the Dana 44. It's even possible the Dana 44 upgrade was an included part of the Sahara package in 1997. The only caveat to this is if you have ABS. Since I knew I wasn't getting ABS, though, that didn't even enter my thinking, and I didn't look at how that affected any options as a result. Either way, my vote is you probably have a Dana 44, pending the outcome of your comparison to the pictures on the link Bill posted.
Let us know! I'd certainly like to know if I'm way off base in what I remember.
Ok, here's what I remember regarding the TJ D44. It has always been an option, about $500, and excepot for the current Rubicon has never been "standard" on any model, including the Sahara. D44s do not come with ABS.
3.55 gears and ABS indicate a Dana 35 with trac-loc limited slip differential. Dana 44s are equipped with 3.78s and all that I've seen have the trac-loc, though I'm told some do not.
Used to be if you ordered the 30" wheel & tire group you also had to get the D44, not sure that has continued because I've seen a few on the used market with the 30" wheels & tires that had D35s.
Dana 35s are the WORST axle ever put on a Jeep, period. Bill will gladly steer you to his infamous Dana 35 page, where you can not only see lots of broken D35s, you can even see one breaking in action!
Years ago some beancounting corporate idiot decided to stick that axle on the XJ, then it got passed to the poor YJ. Carrying on the plague, they stuck it under the TJ but hedged their bets with the D44 option. Chrysler out to offer $2,000+ reparations to anyone who ever got stuck with one of these piles of junk.
Why is it a pice of junk? Let us count the many curses: ring & pinion too small, pinion & carrier bearings too small, wheel bearings too small, axle shafts too small, c-clip design, weak, beand-prone housing. (Other than that, it's a fine piece of equipment!) All of this so Chrysler can save about $75 per vehicle.
As I've said before, the best thing you can do with a D35 is to throw it into a blast furnace and melt it down so it can be made into something useful, like bedpans. Otherwise, throw it into a pond for fish habitiat, if the fish don't mind the association.
Frankly, so many of these things have failed over the years I'm astonished Chrysler hasn't had to recall them or lost a big consumer lawsuit over the issue.
It's HIGHLY unlikely his '97 TJ had the stronger Dana 44. 3.55 was a common ratio though so the 3.55 tag is to be expected.
Derek, look at the fill plug on your rear axle to determine which you have. If the fill plug is a snap-in black plastic cap, it's the Dana 35c. If it is a steel bolt that is threaded into the rear cover, it's the much stronger Dana 44. However, Dana 44 axles were rare as hen's teeth in '97 TJs, with or without the 30" tire and wheel package. My '97 TJ came with the 30" tire and wheel package but it still came with a Dana 35c axle which I later swapped out for a used Dana 44 I found.
I gave my reasoning for why I thought he had the 44. I have a Sahara of the same exact year and model that originally shipped with the 30" tire/wheel package and dana 44, which included the "upgraded" 3.55:1 diff gears. So I have at least one example of why it would not be HIGHLY unlikely he has the 44.
What exactly are you basing this statement on? Just saying it's "HIGHLY unlikely" is like saying it's highly unlikely I have brown eyes, unless you qualify your statement with some reasoning. I'm not sayint you're wrong, just asking for better clarification. This way, I can say "oh, I see" and actually understand why I was incorrect in my previous assertion, and avoid making such an incorrect assertion again in the future.
Jerry, please disregard my previous tirade. I'm not sure why, but my numb Monday-brain somehow missed the part where you used your own '97 TJ's specs as a direct rebuttal to mine. My bad! :(
Dang then according to Bill, I guess it is a figment of our collective imagination that AMC introduced the AMC 20 axle with the dreaded 2-piece axle shaft design known for its weakeness to the CJ line. It was then Chrysler that reintroduced the Dana 44 axle dropped by AMC which according to Bill, made the CJ an non-Jeep? Hmmm... maybe Chrysler's ideas weren't so bad afterall, eh Bill? ;)
3.55:1 was an optional axle ratio for the D35c in '97. Jerry is right about the D44 - it was a late-year add to the option list, and didn't make the printed brochures for '97.
B
Actually it was AMC, not Chrysler, who brought the D44 back for the 86 MY simply because the AMC 20 had been phased out of production. AMC can also be credited with giving borth to the dreaded Dana 35 curse as well. Having worked for 3 auto manufacturers, I'm certain whoever the dimwitt4ed beancounter was thqat dreamed up the D35 nightmare was quickly identified as a high potential employee by Chrysler, and probably was responsible for the millions of Chrysler products you see running around with the paint peeling off in sheets...save a nickle, save a million (don't worry, the customers'l never know the difference!)
Ok, here's what I remember: They didn't start shipping 3.73 gears in the 44 until at least 99 or
2000. The 97s (and I think the 98s), when equipped with a 44, came with 3.55 gears. All 44s came/come with the limited slip.
When I looked up the included equipment for my Jeep, I concluded the seller wasn't lying about the 44 (I hadn't gone and looked at the rig yet at that time to verify), either because what I read said the sahara edition from 97 always came with a 44, or, more likely, because he'd also told me it had a 3.55:1 ratio, and THAT coincided with having a 44 in the rear on whatever I was reading. I wish I could find the old link. Also, every jeep I looked at when I was hunting didn't have ABS (I didn't bother looking if it did, as I knew it wouldn't have the 44), so I don't even consider that in my thinking ;-) I do think you're right, though, that I was mistaken in my memory thinking that the 44 was standard on the 97 sahara.
Anyway, enough conjecture. I think we're both just pseudo-guessing/remembering here anyway.
Wouldn't it be nice to hear from the OP what he found out so we can stop this debate? ;-)
Given that we know most SUV owners - and that includes Wranglers - are not driven off-road, and even most of those that are do not go "serious" off-roading.... is it really a bad business decision to make the D35c the stock axle? Don't the vast majority of Wrangler owners (which is probably a minority in this newsgroup) get years of satisfactory use out of their D35c axles without breakage? Again, I'm talking about the vast majority of Wrangler owners, not the majority of this group.
Mine hasn't broken yet but I'm certain it eventually will. I don't wheel to purposely break things anyway. No matter, a broken D35 is a great excuse for the missus to buy a 44. "Honey, if I repair it it will just break again, better to upgrade now rather than later! Wanna go jewelry shopping next weekend?"
Hey, maybe I should get a little more heavy of right foot.
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