Dana 35 Swap

Here is the comparison between the Dana 28 and Dana 35

I finally decided to swap my Dana 28 that's in my 87 trail rig for a Dana 35. I searched for several months looking for a good deal on a Dana 35. Around here salvage yards were wanting between $500 and $700 for a Explorer or Ranger Dana 35 with out the rotors and calipers. I found a complete 93 explorer 35 in great shape, then found a deal on a  Detroit Locker with 4:10 gears to match my rear end.

I started to take out the Dana 28 thinking about some of the horror stories I have read about it being a PITA to take apart especially since I have no air tools . Well it took me about a hour to drop it out. The radius arm nut broke loose really easy, the drop down bracket nuts came off easy but getting the bolt out was a different story. I dropped the housings with the coil springs still attached to them. I didn't have much choice on that, the nuts had rusted so bad that they are round. You do not need to compress the spring it will fall right out after everything is unbolted and ready to drop. My coils are 4" lift coils with a 1 inch spacer under them. .

A couple questions I have seen about this swap is "What's a good price for a Dana 35" and "How much will it cost to do the swap" I think a far price is between $200 and $250 for the front end. If it has the 4:10s or 4:56 then it will be more and worth the higher cost. If it has a locker also higher yet worth it. I wanted to keep my swap around $500 or less. So I searched and waited for the deals I thought were good. When I was pricing new gears they seem to run around $240 the locker was around $550 and up. I found used parts in good shape and saved a lot of cash.  

Below is a break down on the cost of my swap. 

The Beginning                  Radius arm nut size 1 1/8"   The housing bolts on mine were 18mm

Driver side is out                                                       Passenger side

Painted the lift brackets green                                      painted axles green              Detroit locker                     

The Dana 35 torn apart, waiting on the gears.                                                Waiting for the Dana 35 

I installed the Dana 35 by myself and it took about 45 minutes. The passenger side was simple I placed the

radius arm in position and put the nut on it leaving it loose for now. Then I jacked the housing up and used a

large punch to align the hole. The driver side can be a PITA its heavy and off balance. I did the same on it but

it took a little longer and a few choice words. Before installing the coil springs jack the driver side up as far as it

will go smashing the bump stop. Check your lift bracket clearance to make sure you will not punch a hole in the

diff. My bump stops were lowered 2 inches, given me about a inch clearance. The total length from the bottom

of the stop to frame is 4 1/2". Click here for torque specs

Passenger side installed    Driver side installed                 Differential and Lift bracket clearance                Bump Stop

I installed the coil springs then had my helper stand on the housing to place pressure on it so I could slide the

springs into place. After that I place hose clamps on the top coil and spring seat to keep it in place, just in case I

every drop the axle lower enough to pop the spring out. Shocks were next to install. I opted to use the Dana 35

radius arms but I had the shock stud cut out and made a shock mount like the one on the Dana 28. This is simple

to do, just take the Dana 28 shock brackets off, line them up with the hole from the stud on the 35, drill the

mounting holes and attach took about 15 minutes. It was simpler then fighting the rusted studs on both axles so

I could swap arms.

Explorer Shock Stud       Converted using the  D 28 Mount    Hose Clamp on top of spring

I had the shop that installed the gears make a drain plug for the diff. They used a plug from a old BW 1350 t-case I

had laying around. They measured the bottom of the axle housing and drilled the hole so it would clear it. Driveshaft

was cut down 1 1/8 inch and will have plenty of room to move. It measured 23 1/2" before the cut down.

  Drain Plug                       Axles, Coils and shocks   Finally off the jack stands   Project complete             Just a test flex on a log

One problem I had was my brake calipers. The 87 ranger is a STX package and came with extended brake lines.

They mounted on the top of the caliper. Mine calipers were bad. I tried to use the explorer calipers but the brake line mounts on the side.

I ordered new calipers for the 87 and they too mounted on the side. Finally after doing some research I found that the calipers listed as

"before 10/86" or "to 10/86" are the top mount calipers.

Ranger Calipers                Explorer Calipers

One thing to remember before driving. BLEED the darn brakes. I forgot to do that. What a ride it was, I was glad I had a low gear.

Hope this helps some out that wants to do the swap. The complete swap could have been done in a weekend if I would have had

Everything ready before I started.  Any questions Email  me I will try to help.

Mike

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