Upgraded 27 spline Dana 35 axle shafts?
- Thread starter JMT
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https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017BW93RA/?tag=wranglerorg-20
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017BW94Z6/?tag=wranglerorg-20
These are on Amazon, says 1541H.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017BW94Z6/?tag=wranglerorg-20
These are on Amazon, says 1541H.
Thought this would be useful to you and others looking at axles,
https://www.dutchmanaxles.com/axle-tech
https://www.dutchmanaxles.com/axle-tech
There's a whole bunch of confusion and one side of the equation going on so far. First, let's get apples to apples in perspective. 1541H is a case hardening alloy. 4340 is a through hardening alloy. They are not readily interchangeable due to the 35 axle having a bearing journal that the bearing rides on directly without adding a hardened race. For that application, the superior axle material is 1541H because it is plenty strong and because it is case hardening, you can bring the surface hardness up high enough to withstand bearing rollers riding on it. "IF" you try to bring 4340 up to the same hardness, it will be brittle because there is no ductility left at those levels of hardness. The 1541H will have a very high surface hardness with a softer core for a good level of ductility.
This is typical of what 4340 does when you try to use it for a bearing shaft and don't nail the heat treat.
The very same thing that makes 4340 difficult to use for bearing shafts is what makes it a great material for non bearing shafts like the Dana 44 with Set 10 bearings. Since the hardness for a bearing journal isn't an issue, the heat treat can be brought up high enough that there is a lot of ductility left and a fairly high level of hardness throughout without it being brittle.
1541H Dana 35 shafts don't scare me, 4340 Dana 35 shafts scare me a lot.
Thanks Blaine. I could have sworn I had read that very thing, pic included, but could not recall where or whom had written it. Appreciate the post and clarification.
Just because it is 4340 means nothing. I can make it soft as butter nearly or so hard it will shatter like glass the first time you try to twist it. It's all about the heat treatment, not the material.I'm running 4340 shafts F&R and definitely wouldn't be using it if it was more brittle.
Okay......so I keep going back and forth on the two. I have a 2000 TJ, 4.0, 5 speed. I already have an Eaton e-locker and Yukon 4.56 gears and 27 spline axles. I've been in Moab and going back next year. I might at some point do the Rubicon again with this Jeep this time. I don't get crazy on the skinny pedal, I like to slowly crawl over things, but don't spend a lot of times in the rocks. Which would be the best axle for me?
Thanks for your help.....
Thanks for your help.....
Thanks, that’s one of the main articles I had read last night. It lead me to think the 1541-H would be superior for the rear Dana 35, just like Blaine said. Now to figure out which one. Yukon and Rough Country both offer them, and perhaps others. My guess is they’re made in the same factory somewhere in China. I might make some calls
The only reason 4340 Dana 35 shafts even exist is companies either grew weary of the education effort and lost sales, or they just pander to ignorance in that customers think 4340 is cool and strong so they have to have it. Similar to another company that advertises 4130 track bars. That is pure and total bullshit because 4340 is only marginally stronger unless you heat treat it. If you don't heat treat it, save yourself the expense and the penalty to the customer by using it. We both know why they do it and it isn't because it is a superior material, it because folks think 4130 is cool.
So basically, are you saying that 4340 can be taken through a process that would make it a good rear axle shaft, but the time and effort is so costly it wouldn’t be worth it to the customer?
I won't speak for Blaine, but reading the link from Dutchman, and reading what Blaine wrote, the 1541H sounds like what you want.
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