Super 35 Kit or Ford 8.8

yjkimrey

New Member
Joined
Oct 31, 2005
Location
albemarle, high point
just broke the axle in my dana 35 last weekend. im only running 31s but im locked. i put a new re 4.5 lift on it a while back but didnt have money to buy new tires. im planning on running either 33s or 35s. what would be the strongest thing to do, a super 35 kit or a Ford 8.8
 
9 inch or 60

don't do it twice, and it can be done for the same price with the better axles...
 
Here we go again.
:rolleyes:

Anything you do to a 35 is polishing a turd.

Go with the 8.8. It is plenty strong for 33-35" tires and is one of the easiest conversions for your application.

Going to a 60 is going to open a whole 'nother can-o-worms. With different wheels & bolt patterns, different width, fab work etc.

If you think you might want to go bigger than 36" then you might want to go to the heavier axles.
Otherwise the path of least resistance is the 8.8.
 
thanks, and no i wont go bigger than 35's and i dont want to buy any new wheels
 
i don't diagree with this at all. i should have asked where you saw yourself heading in a few years, bigger or what? if not, i agree with wbcaver, but if you are going bigger later, only do it once.


wbcarver said:
Here we go again.
:rolleyes:

Anything you do to a 35 is polishing a turd.

Go with the 8.8. It is plenty strong for 33-35" tires and is one of the easiest conversions for your application.

Going to a 60 is going to open a whole 'nother can-o-worms. With different wheels & bolt patterns, different width, fab work etc.

If you think you might want to go bigger than 36" then you might want to go to the heavier axles.
Otherwise the path of least resistance is the 8.8.
Click to expand...
 
I went through this exact same thing...kinda..between an 8.8 and yota 8 axle. I ended up choosing the ford 9" axle..go for the 9" and spool it and be done withw orrying about your axles.
 
dont rag on me for this one, but is the 8.8 the same as the 9 inch
 
nope... the 9 inch has a drop out center section and a 9 inch ring gear... it is also quite a bit stronger than the 8.8... the 8.8 has a, you guessed it 8.8 inch ring gear and is built similar to, for the sake of arguement, a dana axle... its not a bad axle in and of its self but like any axle has its weaknesses... another difference is that the 8.8 uses "c" clips to hold the axle shaft in whereas a 9" axle is bolted to the housing... really doesnt matter unless you break an axle shaft in which case, the 8.8 axle shaft is gonna flip you the bird when it seperates its self from the rest of your axle and takes your tire, wheel and brakes with it :flipoff2:
 
Never been a fan of c-clips either but...
If you run disc brakes on the 8.8 the caliper will hold the axle in until you limp off the trail.
:driver: ;)

My only real arguments against a 9" vs 8.8 for this application.
9" = extra low pinion which is harder to get your driveline angles where they should be on a SWB Jeep.

And the available bolt patterns.

Explorer 8.8 = 5x4.5 (YJ & TJ pattern)
Most 9" = 5x5.5
 
I have said it before and I will say it again. I run a super 35 kit I likeit. It has done exactly what they advertised it would do. Now I want to go bigger and the super 35 kit will not withstand it to well. Take it from me who has wasted his money on a super 35 kit. Do the swap it is right around the same price if you do it yourself. I say this because now I am wanting to do a swap on my YJ.
 
thanks for everybodys opionions, ill prob just stick to the 8.8 so i dont have to buy new wheels.
 
you know they make wheeel adaptors
also the 9" can be a full width if you dont get it out of a bronco
 
i did the 8.8. i have been very happy with it. if i could do it again, i would probably go with a 9. then deal with the low pinion til i could save up for the hi9 centersection. can't go wrong there. 8.8 would be the easiest/quickest way. don't do the super 35
 
Jeepnmud74 said:
I have said it before and I will say it again. I run a super 35 kit I likeit. It has done exactly what they advertised it would do. Now I want to go bigger and the super 35 kit will not withstand it to well. Take it from me who has wasted his money on a super 35 kit. Do the swap it is right around the same price if you do it yourself. I say this because now I am wanting to do a swap on my YJ.
Click to expand...

Or sell yours to him and...I have seen this happen quite a bit, and it "does" help offset the cost of doing it twice when you can pick up a super 35 "cheap"

But...barring that.. 8.8 seems to be the path of least resistance AS LONG AS you are planning on keeping the front D30. If you are thinking over 36" someday down the road...then that D30 may come into question.

Some further costs assoc with the 8.8 is welding on the coil spring 'perches', welding the tubes to the diff...and possibly trussing the whole thing for strength. (The axle tubes on the 8.8 is 'thin' and can rip in the right conditions..but that is more of a rear leaf deal now that I think about it.)

Sam
 
Not much salvage in the Super35 but there is some. 8.8 has lotsa resale potential if you go that route and then go bigger. I'm with Bill on the 9" pinion. You could plow a field with a D60 and 35's.
 
I like the SUP35 kit, all it needs is a custom truss across the top. One of our guys has one (TJ auto) and his Jeep passes over stuff that bangs my 8.8 all the time. I don't build for down the road, used Jeep parts bring too much $$$ to worry about that. Basically the path of least resistance with more clearance. Maybe you can buy Jeepnmud74's kit?
 
Mine will be for sale in few months. I am not to point of pulling it out yet. When it comes out I will post it for sale on here. If his is busted right now then he may not want to wait on my slow ass .... :D
 
no mines not busted, i fixed it on the trail. and i think i may try to find a 8.8 from what everybodys sayin
 
CYJKrawler said:
And a shiny turd is still a turd! Been there, done that, sold the 8.8 :)
Click to expand...

i agree with this also. everyone has their own preferences, but i think the 8.8 is also a pile of shit. c-clips, thin walls. you are going to have to put a detroit, and disk brakes on it. at what point is the "ease" that everyone talks about no longer worth it. you can get custom shafts for the 9 inch for cheap, change the bolt pattern that way. get creative, don't do the easiest thing available that costs just as much if not more....
 
I'd say run what you have, and save up and do both axles at once. I'd go with a waggyD44 and a Toy 8". You would be fine with 35s and with some alloy front shafts and aftermarket u-joints for 37-38s. The toy would be fine up to ~40" and is alot cheaper to build than a 9". Or build the 8" now and just run some different wheels in the back until you can get to the front.
 
I think PHeery hit it on the head... if you can find a good 9", you might want to consider buying a set of Yukon shafts with the 5 on 4.5 pattern in them. (I bet they are avail) No c clips, much stronger case, possible low pinion issue, but something you can "keep"

Someday down the road you can swap back in the orig 5 on 5.5 axles if you switch front axles or get another set of Yukons with the needed pattern.

Just a FYI, I am running a D44 front/Ford 9" combo. My 9" IS full width which does have some advantages and some disadvantages.

Nice part is I added a set of wheel spacers to the front (which gets them closer, front is still more narrow than rear) Another nice thing is when you are in a gully, the body is that much further from the wall....in fact I have yet to scrap my body on a wall!?!? Closest I got was rear corner tail light on upper 2. That doesnt really count as the side so...

Edited to mention, 8.8 will be disk, 9" is likely drum...mine is

Sam
 
getstucksome said:
in reply to pheery, explorer 8.8's, later models came stock with disc brakes.
Click to expand...

woopty fucking dooo

then you pay what, 250 for that turd, put a 450 detroit in it. still have c-clips. and if you want this disks to work correctly in an older application, yj/cherokee you need a new master cylinder. still sucks. nice reply, but lets get some info in this thread that isnt common knowledge...
 
The 8.8 isn't exactly a turd. It is a HUGE upgrade from a D35. It isn't the best axle out there, but it IS the easiest swap. The width is very close to a stock YJ/TJ and the bolt pattern is the same.
 
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