Thoughts on welding up a D35

linvillegorge

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 23, 2005
Location
Morganton
Yeah, yeah I know, the axle is a boat anchor - but that's the point. My D35 is even worse than most. A year or so ago, I ripped a control arm mount off of it and that has been bent back into place and welded on. Plus, one of the axle tubes is ever so slightly bent (a little over an 1/8") from when an idiot rear ended the Jeep. Basically, the axle is worthless. I'm going to swap it and the D30 our as soon as money permits, but until I have an excuse (until I break it) I'm gonna run the D35/D30. I have a 4 banger TJ with 33x13.50 LTB's. Too much horsepower is not going to be a problem. Those tires will be if I'm stupid, but I'm used to nursing axles. I made a fully locked M20/D30 last for a while in a CJ-7 with a 330hp V8 and 36" Swampers. Within the next couple of years, I hope to have f/r 60's but until then, I'd like to get some more traction, but I don't want to waste any money on axles that are temporary.

BTW, does anyone know of a shop around Morganton that will weld an axle up? I can't weld :( Yeah, I know I need to learn. :rolleyes:
 
I have seen a D35 stand up to decent abuse without breakage(that was welded). The guy I am talking about has a cut up cherokee on 32's with a 4.0 and an auto tranny with a welded diff and pounds on his junk hard. They arent as useless as people make them out to be in my opinion(they are no superaxle), but under the right conditions, they can hold up well. From what I have seen firsthand, I think you will be fine with your setup. Don't go doing anything stupid and i don't see their being a problem. Someone correct me if I am wrong, I am just going by what I have seen.


I say go for it, if you break it, fix it, D35's are a dime a dozen....


Josh
 
Personally I would leave it open if you want a chance of it surviving.
But,
If you are bound and determined to do this...

Keep the stock axles.

They become the weak link.

The alloys tend to grenade and get stuck in the carrier and make for a long trail repair. Where as the stock ones just seem to break and the stub will *usually* come out pretty decent.

Carry spare axles.
And the tools to change them.
Carry extra gear oil. Bent housings tend to leak at the axle seals.
Carry brake clean to wash the gear oil off the rear brakes from the seal leaks.

Every time you blow it up. Put $5 in your piggy bank. Then after a few months of wheeling, you will have the money for a D44 or 8.8 upgrade.
:p
 
I'm with wbcarver on this one, If you want it survive a while leave it open......
You weld it up it may not last long and you may not have the $ at the time. Someone said they are a dime a dozen (true). But if you want another one, you'll still have to go through with the trouble of buying it, and putting it in. Then you get your D44 and have to do it again. If you weld it up and drive it around town a lot the tires will chirp like hell in parking lots (tight turns), and I'm sure this won't help the life of your D35.
 
i don't really have experience in this but i have heard (and it makes some sence) that welding a d35 can help it a little. now before all the bashing, here is the thought process.

with an open diff you can have a tire sitting still, and one spinning. if that one tire that is spinning makes contact with any sort of traction it will shock load both axle shafts and the carrier. with it welded you have more of a constant load.

just some thing that i have heard and made some sense. for me i dumped good money after good money on a d35, fixing all the parts that i had broke till i woke up and swapped in a 8.8.
 
sounds like a 50/50 split. Hmmm... think I might go for it. The Jeep isn't my daily driver, so if I grenade it, I can let it sit until I have the $$$ to fix it. Plus, I'm lucky in that a good family friend owns a boneyard so I could probably get some axles pretty cheap.
 
OK, it's not a DD, weld it, and tear it up!!! He's gotta point about open diff and wheel spin, but that's typically off road stuff only, not always though.
 
I don't know jack about Morganton, but someone that may weld your rear....

anyone who does race cars.....
A local automotive machine shop.....
if not one of these they probably know someone who will....

rbo
 
Alright, I can probably find someone to do it. What's the best method to use? I've heard to fill the teeth with ball bearings, weld around that, then weld it all to the carrier.
 
It's not your DD so weld it and tear it up.. if it sits, it's no problem.... that's your thinking right? Let me give you another tip, stay the fawk off the trails that I go on, cuase if I get stuck behind you and you ruin my day of wheelin cause of idiodic thinking like that, I might just walk up to where you are and stand there and heckle the shit out of just to make my day better.

IOW consider others that you might piss off with a dumb ass thought proccess like that.

Yes I know breakage happens, but you don't set yourself up for failure on purpose.

Leave it open, you ARE much less likely to explode your shafts. And that D35 sounds as if it's quetionable already.
 
The only way I have seen it done is to lay a bead in the side gears. To give it a little play lay the bead a tooth or 2 away from where it will meet the spider gears. A race car guy will know how to do this.
 
mbalbritton said:
Let me give you another tip, stay the fawk off the trails that I go on, cuase if I get stuck behind you and you ruin my day of wheelin cause of idiodic thinking like that, I might just walk up to where you are and stand there and heckle the shit out of just to make my day better.
Click to expand...

You may completely disregard this rant! He hasn't wheeled more than twice this year and will likely need to borrow YOUR magnet & brakeclean when *HIS* D35 grenades... fawkin up MY day of wheeling! :flipoff2:
 
mbalbritton, you must be even dumber than your post would imply if you honestly think that I would just leave my Jeep sittin' in the woods if I had breakage. No, I think I'd patch it back up and get it home and leave it sitting AT HOME until I had the money for a more permanent fix. You must be a real FDA.

BTW, FDA stands for fawkin' dumb@$$
 
linvillegorge said:
sounds like a 50/50 split. Hmmm... think I might go for it. The Jeep isn't my daily driver, so if I grenade it, I can let it sit until I have the $$$ to fix it. Plus, I'm lucky in that a good family friend owns a boneyard so I could probably get some axles pretty cheap.
Click to expand...

Hey...see if your buddy has a line on a Ford Explorer out there...if he does.. see what the cheapest you can get it for? It has the same wheel pattern as your D35... and the 8.8 is a good axle swap!

I know...now we are talking money...but heck if a buddy has a boneyard you might could score a long term solution for little cash? Then you can get back on here asking who can help me with the swap... (Someone can comment on how often you will find an Exploder with 4.10s which is what he will have in the TJ?)

Oh yeah... and if you keep an eye out, I bet you could score a lockright for your D35 for $150 or less...

Sam
 
rbo1577186 said:
To give it a little play lay the bead a tooth or 2 away from where it will meet the spider gears. A race car guy will know how to do this.
Click to expand...

Bad idea, no matter what axle it is. Leaving room lets the spiders/side gears accelerate before they hit the weld.
 
I would look for an 8.8, but it's not enough for where I eventually want to be. Eventually, I'm looking to have a 350v8 and probably 38's. It's just going to be a work in progress, but I want to do it right the first time. I don't want to get an 8.8 now and then have to get a 60 in a couple years.
 
linvillegorge said:
mbalbritton, you must be even dumber than your post would imply if you honestly think that I would just leave my Jeep sittin' in the woods if I had breakage. No, I think I'd patch it back up and get it home and leave it sitting AT HOME until I had the money for a more permanent fix. You must be a real FDA.

BTW, FDA stands for fawkin' dumb@$$
Click to expand...


nope just annoyed by the mentality of, oh let me just patch this pos axle and make it even more prone to failure. Then if/when it breaks I'll just "patch it back up"

It's the whole knowing you're creating a bigger problem, that bothers me.
 
look, you came here asking for opinions... I gave you mine as did others. if you can't take the nice guys with the jerks (me in this case) then don't ask questions that you know are gonna get flamed.

we see, you included, these questions about Dana 35's constantly. It's no secret they are junk. Hell I have one in the back of my ZJ and can't wait to swap it out. You obviuosly know the 35's reputation, so temporary or not it only takes one good hop to splatter it. again, you obviuosly know this already or you wouldn't have flammed your own set-up in your opening statement.

Did you really expect to come in here asking about welding it up and everyone pat you on the back and say it'll be alright....

You asked for thoughts, you got them, mine included.
 
If you were against the idea, you should've simply stated that. You just automatically assumed I was going to go out on the trail, thrash it until it breaks, then just leave it there until I could pick it up at my convenience. That's not the case. You have to understand the limitations of the vehicle you are wheeling. I understand that my axles are nowhere near bulletproof and I drive accordingly. What you did was attack ME personally, not my setup. I take offense to that. When you mess with the bull, you get the horns.
 
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