IT’S STILL A GOOD DEAL!?

Photos by Christian Sturtz

I ran across an LJ at a really good price. The seller listed it as a Jeep Wrangler, not an LJ Unlimited. So, when I went to look at it, I was a bit suspicious. I looked the Jeep over and noticed the rear-end was a Dana 35. The seller said he had a problem with the axle and paid a shop to put something in that would fit. To my knowledge, no LJ came factory installed with a Dana 35; they all had Dana 44s. I slid back under the Jeep and noticed the 3.07 gear tag on the axle – knowing the front had 3.73s; I knew that I would have to buy this thing for the right price to make it work out on paper. I voiced my concerns to the owner, and we reached an agreement. I pulled the LJ home.

My options were to re-gear the front or rear to match, or to re-gear both. Even the 3.73 ratio is a little tall for the 33” tires on the Jeep, so I opted to re-gear both to 4.10 and upgrade/replace a few more parts. (Figure 1) I started the process by draining the rear axle, removing the tires, unhooking the rear driveshaft, and tying it up. (Figure 2) The center pin bolt was then removed along with the center pin. This allowed me to remove the c-clips, slip the axles out, and roll out the spider/side gears. Next, the carrier bearing caps were removed and the carrier was pried out. (Figure 3) Make sure the caps are marked prior to removal. (*Tip: Dana 35 shims are on the outside, like several other Dana axles, make sure and mark shim location- this will give you a starting point on re-assembly)

To finish up the disassembly, the pinion yoke was removed, and the pinion was tapped out. The pinion seal was removed. The pinion bearing races and wheel bearings were driven out. The pinion seal can be easily removed with a long bar, or you can knock it out with a brass or oval punch from the backside. After this is removed, it’s easy to access the inner pinion bearing race. The most convenient way to knock the wheel bearing and seal out is with a long bar or tube from the opposite side. (*Tip: tie a garbage bag over the backing plate. It will catch the bearing and seal and save you from cleaning up a big mess) (Figure 4)

Clean up time! The housing and tubes were thoroughly cleaned, and new bearing races were driven in, followed by the axle seals and bearings. Wheel studs were pressed into the new Chromoly axles; this can be done in a shop press or ball joint press. (Figure 5) Prior to ring gear installation, the gear was cleaned of grease and oil, and the mating surface was deburred. I also deburred the carrier. Ring gear bolts were sprayed with brake cleaner and dried, a small amount of thread lock was installed, and the gear was bolted on and torqued. To finish up the carrier prior to install, the bearings were pressed on. (Figure 6)

You must pull the original pinion bearing off the old pinion to get the shim out – use this as a starting point for the pinion depth. The removed shim was placed on the degreased pinion, and the bearing was pressed on. The outer bearing was set into the front of the housing, and the seal was driven in. Next, the pinion preload was set. The pinion was slid in with the crush sleeve on it, the yoke and nut were also installed. Then, the nut was tightened until the desired amount of drag was reached- 12-15 in/lbs in this application. (Figure 7) For the carrier shims, I always check it with the factory shims first. If it doesn’t have correct backlash you should make up shim packs the same thickness as the original. This gets you the same carrier preload and allows you to adjust the shims from there. I ended up having to move .005” from drivers (ring gear side) to the passengers (non-ring gear side) to achieve correct backlash of .006” – .010”. Finally, the caps were retorqued, and the pattern was checked with marking compound.

I chose to install a Power Trax No-Slip Drop-In Locker in the rear end instead of the factory spider gears. The No-Slip Locker has better street mannerisms than most drop-in lockers do. I started by applying grease to the driver teeth and installed the springs towards the center pin with sticky grease. I also marked where the spacers correctly line up with the drive teeth. The axle on the ring gear was slid in, the c-clip was installed, the spacer was indexed, and the other driver gear was installed with my marks lining them up. I then slid the other side in and turned the parts 180 degrees to make sure my line lined up. (Figure 8) The springs on the outside of the locker were installed, and the gap was checked with the supplied gauge. It was fine. So, the c-clip was slid into position through the access window, and the new center pin was installed. To finish up the rear, the center pin bolt was tightened, the new Riddler cover was installed, and the sway bar bushings were changed. I also filled the rear end up with the correct oil and re-connected the driveshaft. (Figure 9)

Setup of the front-end is very similar. The two major differences are the hub assemblies instead of wheel bearings and seals and that the carrier shims under the bearings on the front. (Figure 10) I did new Chromoly axles by Ten Factory in the front to match the Chromoly axle in the rear. I chose to install a lock right up front and finish it off with a MetalCloak cover. (Figure 11) After all that, I still think it’s a good deal!

Parts Used:

Ten Factory

Front Axles: part # MG 22148

Rear Axles: part # MG 22138

Motive Gear

Front Bearing Kit: part # R30LRARBMK

Rear Bearing Kit: part # R35JRARBMK

Front Ring and Pinion: part # D30-410TJ

Rear Ring and Pinion: part # D35-411

Power Trax

Front Lockrite: part # 2210-LR

Rear No-slip: part # 9204352706