new to this forum - hi - upgrade axles?

toothey007

New Member
Joined
Sep 24, 2010
Location
raleigh
Hi all - I just signed up. I have a 94 YJ with stock axles. I've read and read opinions about the d30 and d35. Most say not to put any money into the d35 because its too weak. Most of my wheeling will be mud and sand, hardly ever any serious rock crawling. I was thinking about aussie lockers front and rear. Is there a shop you can recomend in the raleigh area to do this work?

What if I wanted to upgrade to d44's or the ford 8.8 - are there shops in the area that would do this work for me?
 
Eastcoast gear supply....Chase can do it all for ya
 
thanks, what does everyone think of 4 wheel parts? I dont think they even sell the lunchbox lockers, why? are they too high end?
 
Lunch box lockers are the lower end of the lockers, most work just fine with out issue. The Aussies are a good choice for a lunch box style locker, I have installed several different brands and the Aussie went in easier and seemed to be of higher quality. I run a Lock Rite and have not had one issue out of it.

The Dana 30 is not that bad of an axle and can be wheeled with out to many issues, Now the Dana 35 is a different story. The Dana 35 is unpredictable and undependable, I would highly recommend not putting a locker in the axle. If you stuck wheeling it, keep the tire size under a 33'' tire and keep the axle open. When wheeling it, the sudden traction will kill it, wheel bounce will also end your day with it.

I was in your position years ago asking the same question and I went ahead and locked the D35, first trip out after the locker and in ten mins I broke the D35, driving up a embankment. I put $280 (plus shipping) in a Locker for the D35, which I sold for $150 (less than 20 mins on it). I have $650 in my Ford 8.8, which is on the cheaper side for a swap, But the fact that I don't have to worry the whole time I am wheeling is worth it. I just wish I hadn't spent what I did on it. But the locker install, I already had replaced the Ring Gear due to the spiders busting and getting into the gear. So I put $300 - $400 in it before wising up.

Currently I run a Locked Dana 30 / Limited Slip Ford 8.8 combo on 35s and to me its a good set up. Looking to lock to 8.8 when I can.
 
burrellsjeep has some good points.

as a side note, aussie's are very easy to install yourself if you want to save the money.
oh, and the 8.8s with the LSD have a weaker carrier that also limits lunchbox locker selection.

I don't know what I had in my 8.8...but I just sold it for $450--setup for SUA, aussie installed, 410s, warn diff guard. they aren't too expensive, as far as axle upgrades go. I never once had a problem with mine, and never had to worry about it breaking.

I did start to snap d30 shafts...but it was after 5 years of wheeling, and odd circumstance mostly. that's a good front axle for tires <35" (locked)
 
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