Installing a Dana 35

[PR1AWRet]

My son (his car 1985 wagon) and I replaced the AM 15 (Eagle) with the D35 out of a 95 Cherokee. There seems to be some misinformation about the shock mounts. The shock mounts on the Cherokee are almost horizontal where the Eagle's are more angled.
The driver side almost looks straight in this picture but is slightly angled up.

Passenger side.


The Cherokees are about 1 inch longer also. I've also read where only one of the shock mounts has to be removed which isn't the case, both do, they are reversed. (Gearing is another avenue I'm researching and needs to be addressed.)
AM 15 (Eagles)

D44 (Cherokee) (The D35 is a donor from this Jeep and the shock mounts are the same length as the D44))


What I did for the shock mounts.  Cut the longer ones off the D35 axle.  Measured the angle of the AM 15 shock mounts and then cut them off.  Welded the AM 15 shock mounts back on the D35 with the correct angle for each.  (The angle on both were different.  :shrug: )

The brake line from the Eagle's body to the axle is on the passenger side vise the driver side on the Cherokee.  I used the block from the Eagle and the brake lines from the axle of the D35 because of where I mounted the block. You have to remove the lines from the wheel cylinders and reverse them side to side.  

On the D35 passenger side, is a bracket that holds the brake line with 2 short metric bolts (head size is 10 mm).  (Side note, all the brake line fittings are the same size for the AM 15 and D35.)


I used the bolt hole closest to the backing plate on the passenger side and a longer bolt with a fender washer to hold the block/splitter and parking/emergency brake cable.


The differential vent tube is on the passenger side for the AM 15 and driver side for the D35.  The fitting for the D35 also holds the block/splitter.  I just reinstalled the fitting and put the tube on.  


The parking/emergency brake works with no problems and everything else is bolt in/on.

[doc65]

The question I can't find a definitive answer to is the WMS - WMS width on the factory eagle, we all know it works, and is at least close, but I'm curious where it really is is it slightly narrower on the Cherokee(I read this somewhere), the same, or slightly longer I personally wish for it to be 1"-1.5" wider.  Guess If I want to know badly enough I could go pull the wheels off my rear axle & measure it, but that's kinda a hassle in the snow...

[PR1AWRet]

Just measured the old AM15 out of the Eagle, 60.75" wms-wms.  The Cherokee is 60.625 wms-wms.

[eaglefreek]

I had a nice write up of an installation of a Chrysler 8.25" axle out of a Cherokee but it disappeared with a lot of other posts during a server migration. I did exactly as you did. I attached the stock Eagles shock mounts to the Jeep axle and also found the 8.25" axle to be very close to the width of the AMC15. I used wheel spacers to get the rear wheels out where I wanted them. As far as getting 3.55's up front you have a couple choices. Find a 3.54 front diff from a 4 cyl Eagle or do a solid axle swap.

[mudkicker715]

This thread says you have another option for 3.55 gears

 http://forums.amceaglesden.com/index.php?topic=21608.0

[PR1AWRet]

My son bought a D30 3.54 from car-parts.com.  He and I are going to be tearing into it today to rebuild it with new bearings and seals.

[captspillane]

Just measured the old AM15 out of the Eagle, 60.75" wms-wms.  The Cherokee is 60.625 wms-wms.

What year Cherokee? It varies. There is at least three different front wheel bearings and at least two different rim backspacing values used over the years.

I'd love to see someone successfully install a Ranger D35 IFS housing in the front. Several people, including myself, have intentions to eventually.

[doc65]

Front wheel bearing, wheels back spacing, etc wouldn't make a difference in this case as what you quoted was the WMS(Wheel Mounting Surface) to WMS numbers he measured for the rear axle AM15 vs. ChryCo8.25

[PR1AWRet]

Not much of an upgrade going to a D35 front.  The D30 is a 7.2 inch ring gear and the D35 is a 7.5 inch ring gear.  D30's will handle 35's, it's the half shafts where the problem would lie, I would think.

The D35, Chry 8.25, and D44 from XJ Cherokees are all the same WMS to WMS.

[carnuck]

MJs are the same width as Eagles too, as are the TJs and ZJs. (see my post below for more)

As for rims with different backspacing, I found that early IH 2wd (at least the '66 Travelall I parted) are the same bolt pattern, but centered offset, like most RWD cars. Eagle and XJ rims are what they call thrust offset. (1/2 way between RWD and FWD offset)

Watch your braking after the axle swap. I use the Eagle rear wheel cylinders in my MJ (because they are larger bore) to increase my rear braking for 33" tires. The smaller XJ cyls will lower the rear braking power.

[Jurjen]

Wow, really old topic, but just the info I needed.
Lost my right rear wheel the other day, came to a controlled stop on the soft shoulder of the road.
I think I will replace the rear axle with a XJ's  DANA35 (I have 3.08 gears) to keep it as original as possible.

[carnuck]

I forgot to mention above that the spring pads are exactly the same from XJ to Eagle but not the others. You want the rear from a 4.0L (6 cyl) 5 speed to find that ratio. Or if your current gears are good, you can swap them into a D35 so you only need a housing and axles to do the swap if XJs aren't common there.

[Jurjen]

I found the axle in the US for a reasonable price, complete with all the brake hardware. I'm getting the axle send over to our US based company and then shipped to NL. The 4.0L with 5 speed (3.07 ratio) wasn't sold in the Netherlands. The 4.0L with Auto (3.55 ratio) was very common and axles are easy to find.
Swapping over gears will be my escape route, if something goes wrong with the shipment from the US.