so i was planning on regearing to 4.10s but really why would i regear the dana 35 its a weak POS! but the whole you'll spin ur axle is kinda a turn off but i was wondering how do you brace it so it doesnt do that???? its my daily driver and it'll be cheaper hands down over a dana 44 and possibly needing to regear it to 4.10's when i can find a 8.8 already at 4.10s

thanks cole

 

just have to weld the tubes so they cant spin and that 8.8 will be pretty sold from the research i have done.

 

got a buddy running an 8.8 in his zj on 35s. he has ran it for three trail runs completely open and bounced it off rocks and what not. it has held up very well and given him no problems. very stout axles.

 

The tubes need to be welded to the center section. This should be done with Hi-nickeel rod. With preheating and slow cooling. If you are not a good welder, or if you have no clue what I just posted, it is best left to a professional welder/shop. If not done right you can crack the cast center section.

 

Believe it or not ... MIG wire is just fine.


These centersections are cast steel. Not cast iron. Yes, there may be a certain percentage of iron in the content.


Pre/Post heating is an excellent idea in conjunction with the MIG process.


Even more than that .... controlled cooling is the trick to reducing cracks in the weld.



Joe

 

i read that somewhere too. cannot remember-it was in a magazine. They where talking about the newer wire from esab that had a high nickel content and this driveline specialiast said that that only thing you can do.

I weld for living. (when working) I would heat the area i was going to weld to 250-300 degrees. Weld it up and just leave it on the bench to completly cool. I would weld with standard mig solid wire.
My 0.02

 

ive seen quite a few installed and never welded up and having no problems.
I would do it on mine just to be on the safe side though.

Here are some good write ups on the swap.

8.8 Axle Swap -Setup Data - NAXJA Forums -::- North American XJ Association

8.8 Swap - Great Lakes 4x4.

8.8 FACTS, HOW-TO'S

Cherokee 8.8 Rear Axle Swap

 

I'm doin this swap in few weeks and been readin up on it for months as I get parts together ..... So far best info I've found is this thread

I've got the 8.8 with LSD diff , disk brakes and 4.10's .... Got the iron rock Offroad truss and swap kit .... So gonna truss and weld tubes .... Maybe 4 link it later , truss is heavy duty I recommend the iron rock 8.8 swap kit with truss .... 200 bucks and u get truss with all the hardware

 

i loved the 8.8 i had in my xj. great mod!

 

I am torn between this and a C8.25.
With the C8.25 everything is bolt on but when I go to regear to 4.10s it's gonna cost almost $300. On the other hand I can get a stronger axle that already has 4.10s, but I'll need to buy extra parts to fit it.
What is the truly cheaper part??? I'm not gonna run tires bigger than 31s because of the cost of bigger tires so strength isn't my number one concern. TIA

 

My vote is to keep the 8.25.


To do an 8.8 you're going to need to mess with a yoke for the DS, possible driveshaft length issues, spring perches, and possible brake issues. It's the little stuff that adds up.



Joe

 

If your only gonna run 31's then just beef up and regear the 8.25 .... But for me I chose to swap cus I'm runnin 35's now and I had the 8.25 with the 27 spline shafts waiting to snap , it took me months of constantly checking pick n pull to find the 8.8 with all the goodies from factory and on sale 150 bucks ..... It's worth the swap too just for the disk brakes ... Double upgrade in 1 job

 

And ditto on the new driveshaft costs .... Things I didn't realize when I got the 8.8 , but when swap done its all basically brand new stuff under there , and beefy

 

Yes. Great axle, I too have the 8.8 4.10s and discs.. But there were added costs: I did a sye at the same time with a flanged double cardian ds, that was about 700 on top of the diff 200 conversion kit from know where to jeep 200 and misc parts for the brakes, and sand blast (it was rusty from the jy) 100. I did it proper, but it was pricey.
More money can be saved on this awesome conversion.
I had no choice though, my turdy-five **** the bed right before I did this.

 

I am doing it on my ZJ too now, plan to replace brake calipers, pads, all the lines have to be re-done, driveshaft adapter and the perches are cheaper than 4 CA brackets and TB bracket like on a ZJ but it will be alot better than my D35!