looking to gear my ride. they say with 33 you should go 4.10. I was between 4.10 and 4.56. any info welcomed.
gearing
onebigzj
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so from 31's to 33's i would like 4.11 or 4.27.
neeeeet website there
neeeeet website there
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yes but they do not make a 4.27 gear ratio. So you woul either want 4.10' or 4.56. They make a jump so you'd have to take your pic between the two.
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from what i hear i need to change my axles too. something about them being weak
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Haha, well the D35 is considered a weak link in the Grand Cherokees. It has the weakest axle shafts and axle tubes. Basically it cant handle to much heavy abuse before it dies. So a lot of people dont like to gear it and such since it will probably fail anyway. Its simply not a very dependable axle. Thats why before people gear and add lockers they will usually swap in a D44, Ford 8.8, or equivalent duty axle. These axles can handle the added abuse and torque created by lockers/gears. But if you are staying with a smaller tire and you dont off road often than this may not be the best way for you to go. It all depends on how ya use and what you wanna run.
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what do the numbers stand for on danas? and what exactly is weak? is a dana 40 just thicker heavier metal on everything or whats the deal? i have a friend with a xj that has 8 lug axles off some chevy i think
I think the Dana 30 and 35 get a bad rap. Sure a Dana 44 is bigger and stronger, both the physical enclosure and the parts inside, but I don't see the need unless your turning 35s. Of course bigger is almost always better, but I feel all you really gain is the ability to make worse driving decisions. In my opinion, if you keep the skinny petal in check a Dana 30 or 35 will last plenty long. That being said, if rock crawling is your only thing, then a bigger axle is probably a must. I posted this in another post...but it seems relevent here too...
This months 4 Wheel Drive and Sport Utility Magazine
It has a whole build up of a Dana 30 and a Chrysler 8.25 with Alloy USA heavy duty replacement parts and ARB lockers both front and rear. They mention in the article that the same kits are available for Dana 30s, 35s, Chy 8.25, and Dana 44s.
It's a helluva read, I'm looking to use it as a model for upgrading my Dana 30, and 35 as opposed to doing an axle swap. They are doing the buildup in order to run 33s on a project '97 XJ. Here are the links they mentioned at the end of the article.
Replacement axle upgrade parts....
www.alloyusa.com
www.precisiongear.com
ARB lockers...
www.arbusa.com
By the way fellas, the above mentioned magazine has a built up ZJ in it almost every other month...some of them are pretty bad.
This months 4 Wheel Drive and Sport Utility Magazine
It has a whole build up of a Dana 30 and a Chrysler 8.25 with Alloy USA heavy duty replacement parts and ARB lockers both front and rear. They mention in the article that the same kits are available for Dana 30s, 35s, Chy 8.25, and Dana 44s.
It's a helluva read, I'm looking to use it as a model for upgrading my Dana 30, and 35 as opposed to doing an axle swap. They are doing the buildup in order to run 33s on a project '97 XJ. Here are the links they mentioned at the end of the article.
Replacement axle upgrade parts....
www.alloyusa.com
www.precisiongear.com
ARB lockers...
www.arbusa.com
By the way fellas, the above mentioned magazine has a built up ZJ in it almost every other month...some of them are pretty bad.
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1,415 Posts
Yes, the bigger # dana axles are just overall generally beefier. A lot of people will say once you hit 33" tire territory is when you should start thinking about an axle swap. Especially if your gonna run a locker or gear it lower. Its true, the Dana 35 axle can handle 33's or even bigger and with locker too sometimes. In doing this you have a much greater risk for snapping axle shafts though. This is why many people swap the axle, to avoid this problem or at least get something more dependable. Its just one less thing to have to worry about as much. Still, a Dana44 is generally tough enough to handle most ZJ excursions is it were to be swaped in. This is because the axle tubes are thicker, ring and pinion are more beefy, and the axle shafts have 30 splines over the Dana35's 27 spline shafts. Bigger axles have numerous advantages but you dont want to do a swap if you simply wont need the extra strength anyway. You need to figure out how hard you are on the zeej while off road, what tires your gonna run, do you want lockers, are you gonna gear lower, how much gas do you give it while off roading, what kind of terrain do you usually encounter when wheelin, ect. Weigh the options and how ya use it and then decide on wether it even makes sense to swap axles or not.
Now it's an 8.8 and I haven't had any problems. :mrgreen:
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Yeah if you plan on keeping that 35 rear-end, I'd suggest welding the tubes to the housing....I do that on all my axles now.
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???????????i have a welder tell me where to weld and what it'll do for me
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You'll need to pick up some cast-iron welding rods. I use Super Ni Cast 55 3/32". You'll want to weld the axle tubes to the axle housing. This will help keep the axle tubes from separating from the housing (I've had experience with this on a D35. The drivers side tube actually ripped out from the housing.).
I know this is a crappy/blurry picture but you get the idea...hopefully. This just shows where I am talking about welding.
![Image]()
I know this is a crappy/blurry picture but you get the idea...hopefully. This just shows where I am talking about welding.
well for right now I got 4.10 gears for my 30/35. I only have time to go to work so not much off road. I will be going bigger axles later. I will also be trussing the axles. the only off road iv done is in my driveway after they dumped 25 ton of drive way gravel on it. [smilie=bal_cool.gif]
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![Image]()
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ps I will be puting gears in this weekend
ps I will be puting gears in this weekend
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