it helps to not be an idiot when doing an axle swap!!!

Duds0311

New member
Alright, so when I purchased my XJ the guy I got it from was in the process of building a trussed 8.25 with a Detroit, 4.56 gears and disk brakes. I also picked that up from him and basically completed the build.

when I picked up the axle I was given:

a trussed axle housing (8.25)
two sets of axles
brake rotors
brake calipers
brake shoes
and a box of miscellaneous parts (bolts, c clips, brake parts)

the sets of axles were totally different, one was stock, the other after market (alloy brand). put the stock ones in the axle... didn't fit in the locker!

put the alloy brand axles in... no problem!

figured the other axles were just random.... (dumb me)

anyways, put the axles that fit in the 8.25 c clips I purchased didn't fit on the axles, so I found some in the box that came with it that did.

had a killer time putting the retaining pin in the Detroit because the gears stuck out farther than the hole that the pin goes into. but... I got it!

ran beautiful steel braided lines for the brakes it looked awesome!

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I work for a glass company and we have a forklift, so I figured with all the other work I have done I wanted to flex the jeep and just make sure all the parts cleared the way they were supposed too....

lift up the rear axle and gear oil comes pouring out of some hole I didn't see because it was inside the truss!

I freaked out drained the oil, found metal in the diff, freaked out more and decided to do some research (SHOULD HAVE DONE THIS FIRST!!!)

found out, its normal for some shavings in the oil with brand new ring and pinion... that's why you're supposed to change the oil after a few hundred miles!

then comes the really dumb part!!!

the two sets of axle shafts I had gotten were actually really different.... one was for a DANA 35 (alloy brand) and the other set was a stock 29 spline 8.25!

They were obviously different sizes, but I just figured the alloy ones must be better cause they are aftermarket (I know, I know... IDIOT)

so that's why the stock looking ones didn't fit, the DANA 35 is a 27 spline, not a 29 spline!

so I took apart the axle I swapped out of my jeep that also happened to be a 8.25 and the whole time I figured that it was a DANA 35. come to find out the stock axles are 27 spline 8.25! so its an easy fix... just have to get the DANA 35 axle shafts out and put the right ones in.


word of the wise..... doing research first, then wrenching is way better than just winging it!
 
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