Dana 44 front upgrade info

Luke95 said:
Personally I see my jeep stopped. I have hit the stage of being done building stuff. I may do an 8.8 down the road, it's tempting and not to expensive. I personally regret doing my rear locker an not just staying welded. My front is built I guess you could say it has a Detroit and chromo shafts with 4.56 it will last me forever and a day. I won't build a new rear axle till I blow this one so I guess that makes it even simpler doesn't it. I am also still on short arms and don't wanna go bigger than 35s max. So I guess I am ok.
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You have been wheeling for like a year.
 
XJLI said:
You have been wheeling for like a year.
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And in that year I have found out what I want. And that I like the bigger brakes, lock outs, and front locker. I popped my Dana 30 spiders 1s 4 stub shafts and 2 short side shafts. I figure this is a fine replacement and it was worth what it cost me.
 
Wow! It's been a while since I have been able to get on here. It seems that this was a touchy subject. I read over Starboard M's HP 44 build thread and really liked it. So I am looking for a HP 44 as we speak. Thanks every one for the options and your opinions.
 
Luke95 said:
Personally I see my jeep stopped. I have hit the stage of being done building stuff. I may do an 8.8 down the road, it's tempting and not to expensive. I personally regret doing my rear locker an not just staying welded. My front is built I guess you could say it has a Detroit and chromo shafts with 4.56 it will last me forever and a day. I won't build a new rear axle till I blow this one so I guess that makes it even simpler doesn't it. I am also still on short arms and don't wanna go bigger than 35s max. So I guess I am ok.
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Other than a few chassis upgrades I am exactly where you are. I'll never be completely done, but for now I just want to wheel a reliable truck on 35's and I think I have that. BTW.. I started wheeling a 1968 scout in 1975 so I have definitely not been wheeling a year. Never done learning though!!
 
Here's my experience. I have never run bigger than 33" tires, I have a tendency to try the hardest stuff I can find on the trail. I have broken a bunch of D30 parts. I build my own stuff and have found that my D30 is pretty strong the way it is now configured. I have way less money into the D30 than I would have spent on a D44 or 60. In my opinion the weakest part I have had to deal with consistently is the D30 axle shafts where they butt up against the unit bearing. I have broken several of them (even alloys) at that location. I think a well built, gusseted and trussed D30 with RCV shafts and a full case locker, WJ or some other brake upgrade and good steering will satisfy all but the most abusive drivers running up to 35" tires. I will probably never go bigger than a D30 unless the deal of the century falls into my lap.
 
I went hp44 and 9" on my xj bronco width to get a half a way axle. my weak point is my unjoint that to me is alot better than a weak r&p a dana 60 takes my jeep to a point I dont want it I daily drive mine I like the bigger brakes and lock outs on the 44.
 
For me and I'm sure many others building up 1 ton axles is completely unnecessary, regardless of how much cheaper it is. For what it's worth I'm currently on 33s with a 30 and 8.8, and after a year of wheeling I've blown enough u joints to know I should upgrade. Being my daily driver, I just couldn't justify building up full width axles or putting in the work to narrow them, and found a steal on a waggy 44 housing, came with Ballistic fab spring and lca mounts, rusty's offroad flex joint uca mounts and otk trac-bar mount, '79 ford d44 flat top knuckles, synergy balljoints, dual piston calipers, Yukon spindles, Solid drive slugs, RuffStuff diff cover, dodge rotors for a big brake kit (writeup done on JP) all for $600.
Once I can afford a locker, shafts, gears and that Jana k kit, regearing the 8.8 to match and slapping on some 35's/37s with alloy rims I'm hoping to not only have all the strength I would need but also not be dragging boat anchors around, at least until it comes off the road for good
 
IMO, having had all 3 axles, stick with the d30 or go with a d60.
As Cal and others said, a mildly polished d30 will handle 35's well. I beat the piss out of mine, it held up just as well as my hpd44 did (never broke a ring gear in either one, only shafts and ujoints). The d30 is lighter, has more ground clearance, and cheaper. 27 spline outers actually seem to hold up well, all things considered.
If you decide to go with a d44, even a built one will get you up to only 37's at best, and that's if you run some uber expensive ujoints or cv's. Seems pointless for 2" extra tire, but this is only my opinion/experience.
Then you have the d60. You can go super cheap on the gears, locker, ujoints, and shafts, but the proper steering and decent wheels will cost you. There's a bit more work to get it to fit, but i didnt find it to be too bad. Chances are you'll be stuck with 8 lug, which means basically you're moving up to 17" wheels. And nobody runs 35's on 1 tons as you'll get hung up on everything, so you're going to be on 37's at a minimum. Again, a lot of work for 2" of tire, with less ground clearance and A LOT more weight. In my opinion/experience, save this option for 40's or bigger, as i find my diffs getting hung up a bit more than i'd like with 37's. And at that point, you're basically at buggy territory.
 
Vanimal said:
IMO, having had all 3 axles, stick with the d30 or go with a d60.
As Cal and others said, a mildly polished d30 will handle 35's well. I beat the piss out of mine, it held up just as well as my hpd44 did (never broke a ring gear in either one, only shafts and ujoints). The d30 is lighter, has more ground clearance, and cheaper. 27 spline outers actually seem to hold up well, all things considered.
If you decide to go with a d44, even a built one will get you up to only 37's at best, and that's if you run some uber expensive ujoints or cv's. Seems pointless for 2" extra tire, but this is only my opinion/experience.
Then you have the d60. You can go super cheap on the gears, locker, ujoints, and shafts, but the proper steering and decent wheels will cost you. There's a bit more work to get it to fit, but i didnt find it to be too bad. Chances are you'll be stuck with 8 lug, which means basically you're moving up to 17" wheels. And nobody runs 35's on 1 tons as you'll get hung up on everything, so you're going to be on 37's at a minimum. Again, a lot of work for 2" of tire, with less ground clearance and A LOT more weight. In my opinion/experience, save this option for 40's or bigger, as i find my diffs getting hung up a bit more than i'd like with 37's. And at that point, you're basically at buggy territory.
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So, stay Dana 30 or build a buggy?
That escalated quickly ;)
 
Colin994 said:
For me and I'm sure many others building up 1 ton axles is completely unnecessary, regardless of how much cheaper it is. For what it's worth I'm currently on 33s with a 30 and 8.8, and after a year of wheeling I've blown enough u joints to know I should upgrade. Being my daily driver, I just couldn't justify building up full width axles or putting in the work to narrow them, and found a steal on a waggy 44 housing, came with Ballistic fab spring and lca mounts, rusty's offroad flex joint uca mounts and otk trac-bar mount, '79 ford d44 flat top knuckles, synergy balljoints, dual piston calipers, Yukon spindles, Solid drive slugs, RuffStuff diff cover, dodge rotors for a big brake kit (writeup done on JP) all for $600.
Once I can afford a locker, shafts, gears and that Jana k kit, regearing the 8.8 to match and slapping on some 35's/37s with alloy rims I'm hoping to not only have all the strength I would need but also not be dragging boat anchors around, at least until it comes off the road for good
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So you upgraded everything but what you were breaking before the upgrade? :eeks1:
 
the only reason I went with a built 44/9 combo was because it fell it my lap at a price that made it hard to say no.. but with 4 wheel discs, 5.13's, hi steer arms and chromos with full case locker and a Strange S third member I don't think I'll break much on 35's.
 
Colin994 said:
For me and I'm sure many others building up 1 ton axles is completely unnecessary, regardless of how much cheaper it is. For what it's worth I'm currently on 33s with a 30 and 8.8, and after a year of wheeling I've blown enough u joints to know I should upgrade. Being my daily driver, I just couldn't justify building up full width axles or putting in the work to narrow them, and found a steal on a waggy 44 housing, came with Ballistic fab spring and lca mounts, rusty's offroad flex joint uca mounts and otk trac-bar mount, '79 ford d44 flat top knuckles, synergy balljoints, dual piston calipers, Yukon spindles, Solid drive slugs, RuffStuff diff cover, dodge rotors for a big brake kit (writeup done on JP) all for $600.
Once I can afford a locker, shafts, gears and that Jana k kit, regearing the 8.8 to match and slapping on some 35's/37s with alloy rims I'm hoping to not only have all the strength I would need but also not be dragging boat anchors around, at least until it comes off the road for good
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I hope you are either upgrading your u-joints or going RCV's (44 same u-joint)... the other alternative of course is laying off the throttle in locked turns.

Starboard M said:
So you upgraded everything but what you were breaking before the upgrade? :eeks1:
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Yeah... the 44 has the same u-joints. Sounds like a set of CTM's would have been a better investment? :dunno: I like my waggy 44, but I am running Alloy USA joints and carrying a spare set of stockers. Honestly I'm not a guy who breaks many u-joints.
 
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For what its worth. I can't say i have ever had a spicer 5-760x fail in my dana 44.

Snapped a pair of moser outer shafts, a pair of yukon outer shafts, a bushel of stock outer shafts, a stock inner shaft, a detroit locker, and a gearset. the stockers and yukons ears broke around the U joint and I lost the caps, but the U joint itself stayed intact aside from being roughed up a little.

Mosers both broke inside the spindle.

Colin994 said:
after a year of wheeling I've blown enough u joints to know I should upgrade
Click to expand...

Spicer 5-760x?

Full or half circle clips?
 
its not usually the u-joint, but the shaft ears that are the problem.
 
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