dana 44 price

[customcreationsllc]

You do know D44 and D30 share the same u-joint size, knuckles, ball joints etc.
D50 D44 and D30 all share the same yoke spline count.
And everything will still be 30 spline if I remember correct.

So upgrading a D30 for something just a tinny bit bigger is not worth it in my opinion.
If you are trying to stay in Class1 for RCrocs that is a different story, but you cannot upgrade to a D44 anyways you are stuck at a D30 (stock front axle).


The JK44 is a little larger yoke spline, and I believe the u-joint got a little larger too, and the ring gear is almost the same as a D50.

You can shove D50 (HP) or JK44 (LP) gears in a stock D44 housing with some work. Doesn't fix the u-joint problem. Then you can weld on D50/D60 Cs and Knuckles for larger u-joints.
A lot of work where a D60 you already get all that.

D60 you get both a larger Yoke, Larger Gear, Larger U-joints, Larger Axle shafts, for no extra cost.

Now you can buy RCV shafts and get the same strength as a stock D60 but for $1200 I'm sure you can get a D60 to fit.

D60 can still be upgraded quite a bit. but stock form will do you alright for 35s. I would upgrade the D60 outer 30spline shafts to 35 chromo, I broke a bunch of D60 30 spline outers with 35" tires and tired 4cyl.

As for the size the tube D60 is way beefier so you don't need a truss. If you want to spend a little time shaving a D60 you will only loose about an 1/2" of ground clearance over a stock D44 housing in that one spot.

I checked Car-part.com there are a bunch of D60 in the $500 range.

The only reason you have to upgrade your rear axle is if you want the same bolt pattern. Does your rear 8.8 also have 5on5.5 bolt pattern? You can probably find adapters. There are a lot of options for the rear axles and they are supper simple to swap, especially since it is leaf springs. The widths don't need to match narrow rear is common.

It is easier to stay 8 lug but they sell 5 and 6 lug all on 5.5 or larger front hubs for the D60.

Now fitting a D60 into an XJ can be a little more of a challenge but people do it.

Also shortening a D60 is easy, and new custom length shafts is only a phone call away.
Not as intimidating as you might think.




I would rather drag my diff on everything than be broke.
If you have any questions about building the axle let me know.
~Justin

[customcreationsllc]

I don't think a 9" is much lighter than a D60.
The reason 9 is lighter is because they use thinner tubes then you end up bracing it which negates the thinner tubes.
Then the outers are the same, 9 usually have unit bearings but so can 60s.
the ring and pinion are about the same weight so is the carrier and axle shafts.

So where is the weight savings?

9 having a third member which is a real nice to have.
If you are planning using all new parts 9 is the way to go. if you are planning on using mostly junk yard parts 60 is the way to go.

[customcreationsllc]

Never mind I just saw you have a TJ. I thought you had an XJ.

For class 1 I would build either a JK44 or D50/44 with D60 outers
This axle http://www.dynatrac.com/products/tj/...460Hybrid.html

[konastinky1234]

thanks for the info Justin. I'm gonna start looking at 60s I think and keep learning about them. I found a 89 king pin high pinion on craigslist. Guy wants way too much money so if I can get it for much cheaper I'll do it. Lots of options I'll figure something out.

[customcreationsllc]

I personally like the ball joints axles better.
They are stronger in my opinion plus you can adjust your caster and camber ±3° adjustable inserts.
If you get a balljoint axle you always have the option of running unitbearing or spindle bearings with the change of the knuckle.

Plus there are a lot more BJ axles out there and probably cheaper.
Like I said try Car-part.com You might be able to get an empty housing cheap then spend the money on fabbed knuckles and unit bearings etc.

Only issue is high steering obviously king pin is easy just bolt them on.
For BJ you need to either machine the knuckles to accept high steer or buy fabricated knuckles.
If you can live with lower steering that might be the way to go for a while.
I made a jig to make frabricated knuckles if I might be willing to lend it out.

I found all the ford 88-04 use the same inner shafts, I have a few sets might be willing to part with a set.


Little food for thought.
If you get dually hubs you can run hummer rims with no modifications.

Then build a rear D60 using front dually hubs google it or I can explain later.

That way you can run the cheap hummer rims and tires with no mods.
If you change your mind later just swap dually hubs out for single wheel hubs and your are good to go.

FYI
8 lug unit bearings are metric so will need to be redrilled for 8 on 6.5

Let us know what you end up going with.
~Justin

[customcreationsllc]

This is how much room you have on the short side.



This is what my fabbed knuckle looks like.
I have a jig for both unit bearings and spindle bearings.


This is what you can buy. about $550



for the rear axle you can buy the flanges then bolt on front spindles.
http://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com/.../FLANGE60.html
or buy unit bearing flanges
http://www.spidertrax.com/3-1-2-Housing-End-Cups


I'm giving all my ideas away...

[justtorchit]

If your committed to running just 35's save your money and bling out your 30

[konastinky1234]

Ha yeah our 30s have held up to some nasty stuff so far, not sure how but I am pretty impressed. I'm gonna see what the thing will really handle at the first rausch race this year. I don't expect it to make it out alive. Justin, thanks for all that 60 tech there. I've gotta keep thinking about what I will want to do for the long run, whether to buy and brand new fresh crate 60 or build one up in the fashion you've shown here. I really like the currie crate axles, they come setup with high steer, nice ball joints, takes care of that lack of space on drive side tube, you get bling shafts, fresh unit bearings, everything is fresh and new man. By the time I build up the stock 60 I'll have spent like 75% of what I would on the crate since I'm going to put mainly aftermarket parts on it like the shafts, carrier, and knuckle and steering setup.

That's for the reasonable price tag of about 7k

I could build an axle more slowly though, and not dump all the money at once and save quite a bit. I have lots of time to save and lots of time to think, not sure which I Want more of.

[Harry]

dana 44 price

Breakdown of my 60 costs:
Axle $300
Gears $250
Chromo shafts $500
Spicer u joints $100/set
Drive flanges $200
All new brake parts: $150ish
Solid cover $65

My bearings were fine so I left them. Add another $150? To replace all the bearings and seals if you desire. Ball joints are $70/side for Spicer online, not sure how much king pins cost to rebuild.

So around $2000 then add whatever if you want a fancy locker. Not sure where you're getting $5000+ to build a 60 unless you're planning on RCVs or some other craziness.

I also didn't throw all of that at it at once, I got over a year out of stock shafts and lockouts. Could have just replaced but decided to upgrade.

I also really don't think you need high steer, especially with linkage steering. Even full hydro, Dan's came out great using stock location on the knuckles.

Edit: I think you'd actually find that high steer is too high and you're better off without it, maybe not.

[lilnapsak]

If you decide to build an axle you should be able to find almost everything you need on pirate4x4. There's tons of traffic in the classified sections and (with my experience) people seem to accept offers way lower than expected.

[konastinky1234]

Hey Justin, ended up getting a king pin 89 ford high pinion today. Was in good shape, had new rotors and 5.38s installed, so I guess that's gonna be my new gear ratio. I think it'll be a good ratio for me. Ran me 900. I like all your knuckle work there that is real nice looking stuff, but looks like it won't work out for me now with the king pin. That's ok though I think I'll just run spindle stuff, not sure if there is any real disadvantage to this yet but I think that should work just fine. I heard that spindle nuts can come loose though haha so not sure but can lock tite just cure that? Also, I did some looking with brakes and fitting 15" wheels so I'll be in the market for some beadlocks at 15" with the 8 lug pattern when I go to do this swap and will grind down the calipers to fit, or you can also do the downgrade to the 3/4 ton brakes and get a smaller one plus less grinding. I think it'll work out well either way. And also will have to do a shortening by like 5 inches if I want to keep my width. Probably will want to shorten but not sure yet i have to do a lot more thinking.

[Harry]

Why not keep the nice big brakes and get 16" wheels?

[konastinky1234]

definitely an option, but tires suddenly skyrocket in price. If I can just grind the calipers down I'd be way more apt to do that. Little work to save quite a bit of money. and that's keeping the big brakes

[customcreationsllc]

That's a good axle, high steer is easy.

I think you need chevy brakes with grinding to fit 15" but I'm not positive.

I have five 8x6.5 lug 16x8" steel rims I may be willing to part with.

I also have 4 inner air locks and on Cooper STT 35 tires.
Tires have a lot of tread. One tire has a side wall puncture small, The spare only has about an hour of wheeling on it but that one doesn't have air locks.

If your interested let me know.
The rims wont work for me anymore I just haven't had the time to break them down to sell the rims.

[konastinky1234]

Yeah I may be interested in that stuff, I've been looking at the inner air lock style beadlocks and you had them as a sponsor? I wanted to see how well they worked out for you and how good the support from the company is. It seems to me that they are the better type of beadlock but the implementation and installation makes it tough to make em work. Tell me about them, your experience with them, and if you think I'd be happy with them. Are those coopers 16s? and the air locks?

For the brakes you can grind the fords and get a low backspace wheel, the more backspace you want the more grinding you'll have to do. Or you can downgrade to 3/4 ton brakes and reduce all of that. The 16s could be good for me but the darn tires get so much more expensive.

Still need to do some more thinking before I can make a decision on wheel size I think.