Dana 35 take the stress/weight of a 302?


roughranger

15+ Year Member

Joined
Oct 25, 2007
Messages
71
Points
3,101
Vehicle Year
94
Transmission
Manual
ok i have a 85 bronco II that i have a 302 in but i keep breaking u joints in the front end and tearing up hubs also. i rough truck thsi bronco so it has alot of weight coming down on the nose. my question is will a dana 35 take the torque of the 302 and take the weight of it when i land hard? thanks:headbang:
 
Nope, my D35 can't stant behind my 4.0L. Blown jounts, snapped shafts, exploded hubs, cracked axle beam. I think the D35 is a nice axle for a commuter/ DD truck, that as far as I'd put it, others may argue...

I think that in your situation a well built D44 or a D60 is in order.
 
Yours is welded, that's a BIG reason why yours wont hold up, the shafts never get a chance to unload except from the slipping tires.
 
Mines welded and his will see wheel spin and suddenly no wheel spin when he jumps it.
Either way, both are way to much force for the 35s shafts and joints.
 
Well it is a bolt in a affair, and much cheaper than building a 44 or getting 60. If you take the time to set it up right, you'll be a lot better off than you are now with the D28.
 
Ok thanks for all of your help! I will be looking for a 44 now to put in it! again thanks for your help
 
The Dana44 uses the same size joints as the D35, so the only thing you really gain (though some may disagree) is the fact that it is a straight axle. You could build it, but then you're looking at a price that is close to that of a stock 60, which is why it was mentioned.
 
roughranger said:
Ok thanks for all of your help! I will be looking for a 44 now to put in it! again thanks for your help
Click to expand...

So your going to go with a solid 44 up front or a ttb 44?

A dana 35 is a bolt in swap for the dana 28 (may have to shorten front driveshaft) and will have the same u joints as a dana 44.

If you are not locked in the front, I'd say the D35 would hold up just fine.
 
I'd say go for the 35 depending on what kind of wheeling you do. If you're in the rocks at all, go solid axle.

The problem with axle upgrades is that nothing is ever good enough for everyone... the 28 is crap to a lot of people, the 35 is as strong as the 44, building a 44 costs as much as a 60, building a 60 costs as much as Rockwells...see what I'm getting at?

I have had really good luck with my 28, which is kind of surprising. The only thing that's I've had problems with so far is the pinion seal and I wheel it pretty hard. I guess I did bend a drop bracket too. Which is one reason I am doing the D44 EB swap sometime. Just less shit to break.
 
UrbanRedneckKid said:
Nope, my D35 can't stant behind my 4.0L. Blown jounts, snapped shafts, exploded hubs, cracked axle beam. I think the D35 is a nice axle for a commuter/ DD truck, that as far as I'd put it, others may argue...

I think that in your situation a well built D44 or a D60 is in order.
Click to expand...


If you blew joints on your 35, you'll also blow them on the 44. The joints are exactly the same. As far as shafts, the inner shafts on a 35 are thicker than on a 44. The 44 necks down as it goes into the diff and frequently fails at this point. The 35 does not have this neck down.

As far as blowing up hubs, you can swap 44 outers onto a 35 beam fairly easily. Or, you can run Jeep hubs which are fairly strong.

If your beam cracked, you were either not running a pinch bolt, or you were doing something that put a rediculous amount of stress on the axle. The 35 beams are quite strong. If you cracked them there's a good chance you'll also have a failure with a 44 setup.

I run 35s under my rebuilt 4.0 with a locked D35. I've had the pedal to the rug many times on mud, rocks, and hill climbs, and have not broken anything in years.
 
Last edited:
Evan said:
If you blew joints on your 35, you'll also blow them on the 44. The joints are exactly the same. As far as shafts, the inner shafts on a 35 are thicker than on a 44. The 44 necks down as it goes into the diff and frequently fails at this point. The 35 does not have this neck down.
Click to expand...

I'll be using aftermarket shafts, which aren't available for the 35, and tougher joints. I'll have better articulation up front as well as less parts to break. And not to mention I'll be lifted 9'' with no bump steer. A little money now is better than the costly repair to the TTB later. The money I've used to repair my TTB now, would have paid for my SAS already.

Cracking the beam was my fault, but I was doing the same thing he wants to do with his, runnin the hell out of it. A solid 44 w/ it's tubes welded in and maybe a small truss/ backbone, wouldn't be phased by that type of use.

So for the reasons of his question, I believe a built 44 or 60 SAS is in order.
 
UrbanRedneckKid said:
I'll be using aftermarket shafts, which aren't available for the 35, and tougher joints. I'll have better articulation up front as well as less parts to break. And not to mention I'll be lifted 9'' with no bump steer. A little money now is better than the costly repair to the TTB later. The money I've used to repair my TTB now, would have paid for my SAS already.

Cracking the beam was my fault, but I was doing the same thing he wants to do with his, runnin the hell out of it. A solid 44 w/ it's tubes welded in and maybe a small truss/ backbone, wouldn't be phased by that type of use.

So for the reasons of his question, I believe a built 44 or 60 SAS is in order.
Click to expand...

Broncograveyard sells chromo outers for the 35. :icon_twisted:
 
UrbanRedneckKid said:
Mines welded and his will see wheel spin and suddenly no wheel spin when he jumps it.
Either way, both are way to much force for the 35s shafts and joints.
Click to expand...
Yeah, that's what breaks shit. Sudden wheel stoppage will break even a Rockwell. :no2:

And all this about the availability of blingin' chromo shafts... they aint quite all what they're cracked up to be either.
I've seen the results from destructive testing and they're maybe a little over 15% stronger than stock, whereas stock D60 stuff is 40-50% (or more) stronger, yet costs the same when you compare the cost of a built-up D44 that's now maxed out and cannot be upgraded any further (Hell, you can get 10-15% more strength out of D35/D44 stock shafts just by running the Spicer 760X u-joints (about $30 ea.) with full-round retainer clips (or just welding the caps in).

.

The D35 and D44 are both a good 50-60% stronger than the spindly little D28.
If it's just the weight you're worried about, the D35 can take that no problem (go check out a prerunner Ranger forum, they sky their trucks many feet quite regularly with no complaints from the D35. Just don't keep the throttle pinned to redline while you're actually airborne, because the shockload created in the driveline when those spinning wheels come crashing back down to earth is what breaks shit).

Additionally, if you haven't broken the rear 7.5" in your BII, I doubt you'd have anything to worry about with the D35.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Sponsored Ad

TRS Events & Gatherings

Where We Were in 2025 – The Ranger Station

Latest posts

Featured Rangers

Want to see your truck here? Share your photos and details in the forum.

TRS Latest Video

Official TRS Merchandise

Follow TRS On Instagram

Latest Album Photos

IMG_4690.JPEG
IMG_4689.JPEG
IMG_4688.JPEG
IMG_4679.JPEG
IMG_4656.JPEG
IMG_4625.JPEG
IMG_4562.JPEG
IMG_4561.JPEG
IMG_4560.JPEG
IMG_4559.JPEG
IMG_4558.JPEG
IMG_4445.JPEG

Product Suggestions

Back
Top